French musician Loup Barrow makes the most of the rare privilege to play the just-as-rare Cristal Baschet on his comeback record, ‘Immineo.’

Stream: ‘Immineo’ – Loup Barrow

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are still a recent memory, with an estimated 15 million spectators having descended upon the city, and many Parisians having left town themselves and retreated to some of the calmer and more nature-oriented regions of France.

One Parisian who’s familiar with that very process is Loup Barrow, albeit for different purposes. He’s mainly based in France, but has experimented with many exotic instruments in a variety of locations – steel pan drums in Guadeloupe, the glass harp in Venice, African percussion in Morocco, and the erhu fiddle in China. In 2005, Barrow also got to meet his fellow French musician, Bernand Baschet, who personally introduced him to yet another innovative instrument, one which he had conceived alongside his brother François back in the 1950s— the Cristal Baschet, described as “a delicate glass organ comprised of 56 chromatically-tuned glass rods.”

Immineo - Loup Barrow — Immineo – Loup Barrow

The Baschet brothers only got around to producing a small number of Cristal Baschets — for the most part, you’re likelier to see this glass instrument behind glass itself, at the Music Museum in Paris for instance, rather than performed onstage anywhere. Yet Barrow was one of the lucky few who managed to get his hands on this piano-sized glass delicacy.

Impressively enough, he also managed to transport it from Paris all the way out to Finistère, the westernmost region of mainland France. Like much of the rest of the province of Brittany, Finistère is dominated by a coastal seaside atmosphere, and all that fresh air evidently provided Barrow with plenty of positive artistic inspiration as he set about composing new music in self-imposed isolation out there.

Barrow has emerged from that months-long retreat with Immineo, his third LP and first since 2015. Here, he speaks to Atwood Magazine about the concept and development of that project, and how it sets the stage for an entire trilogy of Cristal Baschet-based records to follow.

A CONVERSATION WITH LOUP BARROW

Atwood Magazine: It's been a while since you put out your last solo album (The Kite in 2015). What's kept you busy in the meanwhile?

Loup Barrow: My last albums, The Kite in 2015 and Silent Witness in 2019, were collaborations. I recorded The Kite in 2015 with Guo Gan, grand master of the Erhu (Chinese two-stringed fiddle) after doing a series of concerts in China with him. In 2019, for Silent Witness, I collaborated with Radek Bond Bednarz and Mieko Myazaki.

With Immineo, I wanted to write a symphonic album in which the Cristal Baschet would be the common thread. The inspiration came in one go. I had this album inside me for a few years.

What is your background in classical music like, and how did it ultimately lead you to this rare instrument, the Cristal Baschet?

Loup Barrow: I was born into a family of musicians. From my very first day, I’ve been nurtured by music. I didn’t follow a classical curriculum, but I was in contact with the classical repertoire from a very early age. At the age of five, I took violin lessons in London with the first violin concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra. I tried my hand at various instruments before coming across the Cristal Baschet, which won me over. In 2005, I crossed paths with the Baschet brothers, electro-acoustic geniuses who, in the 20th century, invented the Cristal Baschet, the centerpiece of their work. The Cristal Baschet is an instrument on which I can express a wide range of artistic choices: melodic, harmonic, rhythmic. It’s a unique instrument, and very impressive in terms of the playing possibilities it gives me, thanks to its acoustic design.

You spend a lot of time in Paris as well as in Finistère. How does dividing your time between France's urban and natural regions affect your creative output?

Loup Barrow: A place puts you in a mood, a way of being in the world. When I’m in Paris, I feel as much in my element as when I’m in Finistère. I adapt to the environment and let myself be influenced by what’s going on around me. With an open-minded attitude, I take full advantage of what’s around me. It’s a luxury to be able to draw inspiration from both the noise of the city and wilderness.

What was making your new album, Immineo, like? What made you decide to record again after a fairly long hiatus?

Loup Barrow: I never stop writing music. I have a lot of musical folders full of melodic, harmonic, [and] rhythmic sequences which are used in projects or which are kept for future projects. For me, writing music is a way of life. I record regularly in my home studio. Recording Immineo was a great opportunity. It came just at the right time in my life and I thank Sonic Ritual for the great work we have achieved together.

You have put out two singles for this album, “Abdita Telleuris” and “Passio.” How do they represent the entire project?

Loup Barrow: “Passio” and “Abdita Telluris,” the two singles released before the album, set the tone for the album without giving it away. I thought they were a good introduction to the album. Each piece is unique and the two singles do not represent the entire album; they are part of it.

What about the other songs? Can you share some interesting facts about “Quercus,” “Ex Tempore,” “Sequentia,” etc.?

Loup Barrow: I can’t share facts about each piece, because for me, each piece depends on the other in the overall vision of my work.

What are your hopes for this album's release? What do you hope audiences will take away from it?

Loup Barrow: Great hopes, of course! For me, the release of Immineo is both a personal achievement and the beginning of another phase in my life. I sincerely believe that, with Immineo, I’m standing at the threshold of a myriad of possibilities. I’ve surrounded myself with a wonderful team in Sonic Ritual, [my independent record label]. I plan to go to the United States this autumn and promote Immineo, [while] meeting professionals and the American public. As for the audiences, as soon as the album was released on platforms, I received hundreds of incredible messages full of positive vibes.

Are you planning to perform your new music live soon?

Loup Barrow: I am preparing for my trip to the US in autumn and I am planning to perform in New York and Los Angeles. For more info, follow me on social media!

Immineo is apparently the first of a trilogy of albums based around the Cristal Baschet. How do you hope the next two entries will build upon what you've accomplished with this first one?

Loup Barrow: Immineo is the first opus in a trilogy. I, immediately after composing Immineo, felt the need for a sequel. I like the framework of the trilogy. It contains a story in itself. Not in the sense of the power of intention, but rather in the sense of the search for nuances and colors. Composing is very similar to writing poetry. For me, it’s all about the suggestion of representation. It’s up to each individual to create his or her own story with my music.

Anything you'd like to add?

Loup Barrow: I’d like to thank all the artists I have met in my life (musicians, choreographers, poets, actors, dancers…), and people who work behind the scene and have made it possible for me to express myself as a performer and a composer. Composing is a solitary task, even if, when you write music, you have in mind the music of hundreds of composers who influence you. Recording and releasing an album is a teamwork and I love this aspect of my work.

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