Space Art was a French

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo that originally consisted of Dominique "Terracota" Perrier on keyboards and Roger "Bunny" Rizzitelli on drums. Formed in 1977, Space Art split up in 1981, after releasing three studio albums. Rizzitelli died in 2010, and two years later, Perrier released a tribute album with a number of musicians including his late wife, Janet Woollacott, under the name Dominique Perrier Project. In 2016, Perrier recruited Rizzitelli's son Tommy to play drums, and they released two further studio albums, once more under the name Space Art. Perrier died in 2023.

History

Formation: 1977

In 1974, Dominique "Terracota" Perrier had been working as an

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

with Christophe, for whom Roger "Bunny" Rizzitelli had been drumming. Christophe brought an

ARP Odyssey The ARP Odyssey is an analog circuit, analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Minimoog, Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, a ...

synthesizer, which was used mainly as a

metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

, into the studio. He then lent the synthesizer to Perrier for two years, during which time the band was born. According to Perrier, he originally preferred to name the band Moon, but after a trip to a fun fair, Rizzitelli suggested an alternative. One of the fair attractions had been named after

Spessart Spessart () is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...

, the German mountain range. This then morphed into Space Art, which sounded better to them both.

Career peak: 1977–1980

The duo released three albums between 1977 and 1980, selling three million units worldwide and achieving number-one status in France. ''Space Art'' (1977), ''Trip in the Center Head'' (1979), and ''Play Back'' (1980) were all recorded at in Paris. In 1981, they supported

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 music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and New-age music, new-age genres, and is known for organising out ...

during his Concerts in China tour, thereby becoming among the first Western musicians to perform in that country during its reform era. Space Art dissolved in 1981, and Perrier went on to co-found the pop rock group

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

in 1992.

Death of Rizzitelli and aftermath: 2010–2023

Following the death of Rizzitelli in 2010, Perrier invited a number of musicians to record a tribute album, which was released in 2012 under the Dominique Perrier Project moniker. It included input from Perrier's wife, Janet Woollacott, on vocals; Lilli Lacombe on violin and vocals; Michel Valy (Stone Age) on bass; Laurent Faucheux on drums; Alain Pype on drum programming; and

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 Jazz is a music genre that originated ...

on guitar. Perrier kept the project going, reclaiming the name Space Art, and released a compilation album in 2016, titled ''On Ne Dira Rien – Best of All Times''. A few years later, he recruited Rizzitelli's son Tommy to play drums on the project's new album, ''Entrevues'', which came out in 2020. In 2023, the duo published the album ''Personal Duty''. Perrier died in 2023.

Band members

Final lineup * Dominique "Terracota" Perrier – keyboards * Tommy Rizzitelli – drums Original lineup * Dominique "Terracota" Perrier – keyboards * Roger "Bunny" Rizzitelli – drums, percussion Other members * Janet Woollacott – vocals * Lilli Lacombe – violin, vocals * Michel Valy – bass * Laurent Faucheux – drums * Alain Pype – drum programming *

– guitar

Discography

1977–1980 * ''Space Art'' (1977) * ''Trip in the Center Head'' (1979) * ''Play Back'' (1980) 2012–2023 * ''Space Art Tribute'' – credited as Dominique Perrier Project (2012) * ''On Ne Dira Rien – Best of All Times'' (compilation, 2016) * ''Entrevues'' (2020) * ''Personal Duty'' (2023)

References

External links

Interview with Dominique Perrier
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Space Art (band) Electronic music duos French electronic music groups French musical duos Male musical duos Masked musicians