Vivien Lalu (born 2 December 1978 in

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 ...

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

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

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 ...

and

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

who plays in the

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band A-Z as well as his own

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

project, Lalu. His distinctive signature as a

Keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

is his inventive use of keyboard layers, which frequently combine

New-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation technique, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecs ...

elements with retro,

textures.

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

praised Lalu for his "endlessly imaginative keyboard arrangements". When it comes to

Musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

, The Prog Space highlighted Lalu's decision to move away from his early melodic prog metal sounds toward a "modernised" progressive rock style. Citing

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

as a major inspiration, almost religious to him, Lalu declared while promoting his latest effort, Paint the Sky: "There is only one Yes, and no one will ever be able to replace them! But I aim to bring their kind of music to a new generation".

Early life

Vivien Lalu was born on 2 December 1978 in Paris, France, to Michel Lalu, the guitarist and vocalist of French progressive rock band Polène, and Noëlle Lalu, its keyboardist. According to Lalu, his love for progressive rock may have been prenatal; it may have originated when his pregnant mother was playing

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

while he was in utero. He explained that his mother's Minimoog keyboard was right under his nose as a child, and that he always preferred the smooth feel of keys to the roughness of guitars. He also grew up listening to his parents' tape recordings, as well as progressive rock bands like

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

, and others, which fuelled his enthusiasm for this sort of music. He was similarly influenced by

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

and

video game music Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...

from the 1980s, having spent his first ten years of life in this decade. Lalu used to visit his uncle one time per month, where his cousin's synthesizer was waiting for him. He would spend all day in her room making music, coming up with melodies of his own, committing them to memory before returning the following month to refine them. He claimed that one of the first songs he ever wrote as a youngster was some sort of Irish waltz. Lalu didn't choose to become a musician at first, though. He aspired to work as a mechanic in the

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

since he had always admired aircraft, however his eyesight and inner ear difficulties made him unsuitable for a pilot's career. He decided to pursue painting and enrolled in a school of graphic arts instead, where he initially joined his first music group, with which he played keyboards. His love for painting was subsequently neglected and totally supplanted by his love for music. Even though Lalu had started listening to

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

while he was in school, and then around the end of college,

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

and

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

, the real "shock" happened the day he received a gift from one of his high-school friends:

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

Images and Words ''Images and Words'' is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on July 7, 1992, through Atco Records. It is the first Dream Theater release to feature James LaBrie on vocals. Since its release, the alb ...

album. He was astonished because he had never conceived that metal music with huge guitars and double bass drums, could be combined with the progressive rock sound that he loved.

Career

Oniric Metal (2005) In 2004, Lalu began recruiting musicians from various bands and establishing his own

project under the name "Lalu". His first full-length album Oniric Metal featured guitarist Joop Wolters on guitars,

Ryan Van Poederooyen Ryan Joost Van Poederooyen (; born November 13, 1972), often referred to by his initials RVP, is a Canadian drummer. He gained international recognitionSharpe-Young, Garry (2005). ''New Wave of American Heavy Metal''. p. 157. New Plymouth: Zonda ...

The Devin Townsend Band Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also h ...

on drums, Russel Bergquist of Annihilator on bass, and Martin LeMar of

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

on vocals. The album was released on

Lion Music Lion Music is a production company and record label founded in 1989 by composer and artist Lars Eric Mattsson. History Lion Music was founded in 1989 by Lars Eric Mattsson as a production company to handle production and licensing for his reco ...

in 2005 and received the title of "Album of the Month" in the French edition of

in May 2005.

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technolog ...

called Lalu "a promising artist who will become a leader of the Progressive French scene without any doubt". ProGGnosis made a similar observation, labelling Lalu a "fresh newcomer to a scene desperate for something different". Atomic Ark (2013) After a lengthy absence from rock and metal music production, Lalu began working on the second Lalu opus in 2012. He handled the composition and songwriting, as well as keyboards for the entire album. The main band on Atomic Ark consisted of returning vocalist Martin LeMar, bassist Michael Lepond of

Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael Lep ...

, guitarist Simone Mularoni of DGM, and drummer

Virgil Donati Virgil Donati (born 22 October 1958) is an Australian drummer, composer and producer. He holds the drum sticks in the Traditional grip, traditional style and is also proficient at the Keyboard instrument, keyboard. Donati formed Planet X (band), ...

Planet X Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th century and continued at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's ...

. It also featured a number of guest musicians, including

Jens Johansson Jens Ola Johansson (born 2 November 1963 in Stockholm) is a Swedish keyboardist and pianist who currently plays in the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius and Ritchie Blackmore's rock project Rainbow. He is notable for his high-speed neoclas ...

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

and

Jordan Rudess Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American musician, software developer and composer best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive metal supergroup Liquid Tension Experime ...

among others. Sensory Records reportedly signed the album immediately upon hearing it, and released it worldwide on 10 September 2013. The media's response has been highly positive. According to Metal Injection, Atomic Ark is a "Shining example of how to do progressive music correctly".

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

described it as "meticulous progressive craftsmanship, all finished with a virtuoso panache".

praised its technical aspects, calling it a "celebration of excellent musicianship". Artist Endorsement with Roland Corporation In March 2014, Lalu officially became a firm endorser of

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

, declaring having used their keyboards for nearly twenty years. Atomic Tour & Live at P60 (2015) Lalu embarked on a small spring 2014 European tour with a limited number of shows featuring Atomic Ark's line-up and adding Joop Wolters as a second guitarist. The tour ended with the live recording during the final evening at P60, which was released as a digital-only album. Produced by Lalu himself, mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio, Live at P60 was officially released on 29 June 2015 through

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

exclusively. Celestial Spheres (2018) In 2017,

asked Lalu to create a collection of ambient / cinematic sounds for the JD-XA. The company released it on their Axial platform in June 2018. Multiple-album deal with Frontiers Records Lalu started composing the third Lalu album, Paint the Sky, in 2019. Most of its music was written in 2020 while Lalu was confined as a result of French Covid-19 restrictions.

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the m ...

, impressed with the result upon hearing the album thanks to

Alessandro Del Vecchio Alessandro Del Vecchio (born 21 April 1979) is an Italian multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his collaborations with hard rock and heavy metal artists such as Jørn Lande, Revolution Saints, Hardline, Fergie Frederiksen, Ted Poley ...

, promptly made contact with the French composer. They announced the signing of Lalu for a multiple-album deal in the following spring of 2021. Paint the Sky (2022) It has been said that "being the son of two musicians from the 70’s, and growing up surrounded by progressive music, Lalu always wanted to craft a true-to-its-roots

album". To this end, Lalu's main lineup changed to:

Damian Wilson Damian Wilson (born 11 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Wilson works in the progressive metal genre and was the lead singer of Headspace and Threshold. He sang and toured with bands and projects for Star One, Ayreo ...

Headspace Headspace may refer to: *Headspace (company), an online healthcare company specializing in meditation *Headspace (organisation), an Australian non-profit organization for youth mental health *Headspace or ullage, the unfilled space in a container ...

, Jelly Cardarelli of

Adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a Tempo#Basic tempo markings, tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive m ...

on drums, and Joop Wolters on guitars as well as bass this time. Lalu took care of the

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

, while

handled all of the lyrics and vocal lines. Jelly Cardarelli co-produced the album with Lalu, and handled the mix entirely on his own.

took care of the mastering. Paint the Sky included contributions from several extra guest musicians, including

and

, both of whom had previously performed on Atomic Ark. It also included appearances by Tony Franklin, Steve Walsh formerly of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, and Simon Phillips formerly of Toto in the bonus-track version of the title track. The album was finally released by

on 21 January 2022, and in Japan through Marquee/Avalon.

Prog (magazine) ''Prog'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to progressive rock music. The magazine is published 11 times a year by Future. It was launched in February 2009 and is based in London, publishing its 100th issue in August 2019. ''Prog'' ...

labelled Lalu's third opus as "by far and away his best work yet", and a "corker" in their issue #128. Metal Injection's site editor himself called Paint the Sky a "progressive metal masterpiece". Yukinori Otani of

Young Guitar Magazine ''Young Guitar Magazine'' is a Japanese guitar magazine first published in May 1969 by Shinko Ongaku Shuppansha (now Shinko Music Entertainment), with a focus on folk music. Starting from the 1970s, it started covering hard rock in the 1970s, an ...

gave Paint the Sky a bold metaphor "What if Jesus did progressive metal?". A-Z (2022) On the lookout for a keyboard player and composer for his new band, A-Z, Mark Zonder contacted Vivien Lalu via a common friend in the beginning of 2020. Lalu began working with Zonder to write songs based on the drum grooves supplied to him. Lalu got Joop Wolters, his long time guitar player, to join in as a guitarist and songwriter as well. In the band's introduction video,

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...

's bass player

Philip Bynoe Philip Earl Bynoe is an American musician best known for his work with Steve Vai. He has been the bass player of Vai's touring band since 2012, a role he previously held from 1996 to 2000. He has also played on four of Vai's studio albums. Other ...

humorously dubbed Lalu and Wolters the "Songwriter guys". The line-up was then rounded out by

Ray Alder Ray Alder (born Raymond Balderrama, August 20, 1967) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist of the progressive metal band Fates Warning since their 1988 release ''No Exit''. He is of Mexican descent. He has released two albums ''Engi ...

Fates Warning Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup ...

, as well as

Bynoe Bynoe is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Benjamin Bynoe (1804–1865), naval surgeon on HMS ''Beagle'' with Charles Darwin *Hilda Bynoe (1921–2013), Governor of Grenada *Peter Bynoe Peter Charles Bernard Bynoe (born Marc ...

. Later in 2021,

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

announced their signing of the band. According to Mark Zonder's social media posts, the group is getting closer to a debut.

Personal life

According to the city's official publication, issue 474 of March 2019, Lalu married Greek

Eleftheria Zavalis in

Maisons-Alfort Maisons-Alfort () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Maisons-Alfort is famous as the location of the National Veterinary School of Alfort. The Fort de Charenton, constructed betwe ...

. On "Paint the Sky," they composed the song "Emotionalised" together. Lalu has two children from a prior relationship: Emma and Nina, who he frequently names in album liner notes. Lalu also has two

Miniature Pinscher The Miniature Pinscher, also known as the Zwergpinscher and Mini Pin, is a small breed of dog of the pinscher type originating in Germany. The breed's earliest ancestors may have included the German Pinscher mixed with Italian greyhounds and dachs ...

dogs, named Perla and Luna according to their

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

profile. They are mentioned under the pseudonym "Laluloggies" in Paint the Sky's booklet. Their active social media presence and photographs are frequently featured in

Lifo (magazine) LIFO (pronounced La-ee-fo) is a Greek weekly free-press/city guide published by DYO DEKA and distributed in selected spots in Athens and Thessaloniki. It was created by journalist Stathis Tsagkarousianos in 2005 and its first issue was publishe ...

Filmography (TV, theater)

*Norvège : le crépuscule des rennes (TV / France 5) 2010 *A Deux Pas Du Futur" (TV / France 2) 2010 *Égypte : les métamorphoses du delta (TV / France 5) 2009 *Science 2 (TV / France 2) 2009 *Science X (TV / France 2) 2008 *Celine Engelstad (TV / Jewelry commercial) 2008 *Eden Roc (TV / France 3) 2008 *Seuls Two (Theater / Warner Bros.) 2007 *Les Dossiers Bogdanoff (TV / SCI FI Channel) 2007

Discography

Lalu

* Oniric Metal (2005,

) * Atomic Ark (2013, Sensory Records) * Paint the Sky (2022,

) * The Fish Who Wanted To Be King ( 2023, rontiers Records

Guest appearances

* Joop Wolters – Snapshot (2021, Self) * Il Rovescio Della Medaglia – Tribal Domestic (2016,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

) * 21 Octayne – 2.0 (2015,

AFM Records AFM Records GmbH is a music label based in Schwalmstadt, Germany. They focus on the heavy metal musical genre, signing bands such as U.D.O., Doro, Lordi, Kotipelto, Masterplan, Nostradameus, and Annihilator. In 2005, Candlelight Records si ...

) * Joop Wolters – False Poetry (2011, Self) * Laszlo Jones – Banana Nation (2011,

Universal Music France Universal Music Group owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to UMG official site, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Bravado, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammopho ...

) *

Shadow Gallery :''The Shadow Gallery is also the name of the home of the protagonist in the graphic novel V for Vendetta.'' Shadow Gallery is an American progressive metal band formed in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It was originally ...

–

Digital Ghosts ''Digital Ghosts'' is the sixth album by the progressive-metal group Shadow Gallery. It was released on October 23, 2009, in Europe and November 3, 2009, in the U.S. This is the first album since their former singer Mike Baker died on October 2 ...

(2009,

Inside Out Music Inside Out Music is a German independent record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Century Med ...

) * Shadrane – Temporal (2008,

) * Mind's Eye – Walking On H2O (2006,

) * Hubi Meisel – Kailash (2006,

) * Hubi Meisel – EmOcean (2004,

) * Joop Wolters – Speed, Traffic And Guitar Accidents (2004,

)

References

External links

Official Vivien Lalu site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalu, Vivien 1978 births Living people French composers French male composers