Francis Rimbert (born 3 October 1952 in

Val d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) is a French musician and composer.

Biography

Francis Rimbert started playing classical piano when he was 5 years old. At the conservatory, he studied harmony, counterpoint, the fugue and orchestral leading. He won first prize in

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and moved onto

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he became a salesman, working in a music store which by chance imported synthesizers, at a time when nobody has sold such before. He became interested in those

electronic instruments An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronics, electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is pl ...

and took the stage (Theatre des

Champs Elysées Champs may refer to: Music * The Champs, a U.S. instrumental music group * Champs (Brazilian band), a Brazilian boy band * Champs (British band), a British folk- and indie rock-influenced band * The Fucking Champs, a U.S. progressive heavy metal ...

–

) solo, surrounded by all his synthesizers (''Bionic Orchestra'', 1979). Rimbert met another proponent of the synthesizer:

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...

, through a mutual friend

Michel Geiss Michel Geiss is a French sound engineer, instrument designer and musician who was a long-time collaborator of Jean Michel Jarre. He has also collaborated with other famous French artists such as Marc Lavoine, Patrick Bruel or Laurent Voulzy. In 19 ...

, in 1979 at Jarre's concert in

Place de La Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...

. Since the 1986 Rendez-vous Houston concert, Rimbert has been at Jarre's side on stage. Aside from his work on various albums for Jarre, Rimbert has created several works of sonic illustration and has won first prize at the international festival of electronic music in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in 1988 (chaired by

Isao Tomita , often known simply as Tomita, was a Japanese composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements. In addition to creating note-by-note rea ...

). In 1994, Rimbert created music for some

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

. In 2003, Rimbert released a new album, entitled

Double Face ''Double Face'' ( it, A doppia faccia, german: Das Gesicht im Dunkeln/ translation: ''The Face in the Dark'') is a 1969 thriller film directed by Riccardo Freda and starring Klaus Kinski, Christiane Krüger and Annabella Incontrera. It is part ...

. ''Gaelick'' is an homage to

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows ''Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', ''Feet of Flames'', and ''Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 milli ...

(

Lord of the Dance (musical) ''Lord of the Dance'' is an Irish musical and dance production that was created, choreographed, and produced by Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley, who also took a starring role. The music for the show was written by Ronan Hardiman. ...

) and the lightness of the

Irish dance Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vario ...

. In 2005,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

distributor Atomic Quill Music signed a distribution contract and 10,000 units of

were pressed. Rimbert performed a showcase during the Fuse-In festival in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and held a release party at Record Time, a Detroit shop of electronic music. Various titles were remixed by

Djs, including Kenneth Thomas and D:Fuse and distributed by Moist Music. During September 2005,

was released in

and throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In November, Rimbert held a showcase at Le Divan de Monde, in

. In 2006, Francis signed distribution contracts in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

and with digital distributor Wild Palms Music. A single, Mecanique du Temps, a duet with his friend and hard rock guitarist

Patrick Rondat Patrick Rondat (born 12 October 1960) is a French guitarist. He plays instrumental heavy metal associated with diverse influences such as new-age music, progressive metal, classical music and jazz. He has collaborated on various projects with J ...

, was released as a limited edition to coincide with a performance at Salon de la Musique in September. A compilation: Sound of Vintage Volume 1 followed. March 2007 saw the release of Sound of Vintage Volume 2, followed by Snap Shots in October. During 2007, Rimbert and his band performed live concerts featuring some of the titles of this record. In these concerts he has shared the stage with

LOL LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud and a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to- ...

, and his friend Sylvain Durand. Also on board are a percussionist Victor Paillet,

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

Nicolas Mills and singer Angy. Invited by his distributors, first in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and then the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

before taking on the rest of

, Francis pursued a promotional tour and performed a concert in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

in November 2007, to benefit

Handicap International Humanity & Inclusion (formerly Handicap InternationalOn January 24th 2018, the global Handicap International network changed its name and became Humanity & Inclusion. This was done "to communicate more effectively on the diversity of its activiti ...

.C.ZEN PROD
/ref> During 2008, Francis toured with

, performing the full Oxygene suite in several European cities. During 2009 and 2010, he has toured again, this time in the ''IN<>DOORS'' and ''2010'' tours of Jarre.

Live concerts

* 21 June 2007 in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud an ...

- outdoor

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

* 23 June 2007 in

Croissy-sur-Seine Croissy-sur-Seine (, literally ''Croissy on Seine'') is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a suburban town on the western outskirts of Paris. Many expatriates reside in Croissy, given a ...

- outdoor

(''2500 people attended this live concert'') * ''A DVD of these two outdoor concerts was released fro
C.ZEN PROD
on 14 February 2008 with the title: LIVE IN 2007.'' * 16 November 2007 in

- indoor

charity concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

for

. A DVD of this concert was released in 2008.

Discography

Source
The Official Francis Rimbert Site

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial blogSpanish Official Website and webshop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimbert, Francis 1952 births Ambient musicians French composers French male composers French electronic musicians 20th-century French male pianists French keyboardists Living people Lounge musicians New-age synthesizer players People from Val-d'Oise Video game composers 21st-century French male pianists