Jour bleu, Olivier Casassus’s debut solo EP, unfolds quietly across six pieces written and recorded with close attention to resonance, touch, and silence. Using a prepared piano, Casassus shapes each track with restraint, allowing overtones and decay to carry as much weight as melody. The result is a record that rewards stillness and careful listening.
The opening piece, “Partisan”, introduces this approach immediately. Written while Casassus was living 9,000 kilometres away from his future wife, the composition shifts between separation and reunion through repeating figures that subtly change shape. Notes linger, overlap, and pull apart, mirroring the distance that inspired it without relying on overt drama.
“Octobre” follows with a warmer palette. Its gently circling motifs echo the fading light of autumn, drawing on the Brazilian idea of saudade without spelling it out. The piece moves slowly, its phrasing unforced, leaving room for memory to surface and recede.
At the centre of the EP sits “Voyage”, the first piece Casassus released from the project. Dedicated to his wife Clara, it traces the idea of shared movement through steady patterns and small variations. There’s a sense of continuity here, of two lines running alongside one another rather than converging in a single moment.
“En attendant” carries the most tension. Written while Casassus waited during his mother’s surgery, the piece begins in a low, heavy register before gradually opening into lighter tones. The progression is subtle but deliberate, guided by patience rather than release.
“Entre chiens et loups” captures the in-between hours of the day, when light softens and time stretches. Airy phrases and open harmonies give the piece a drifting quality, creating space for reflection without settling into resolution. The EP closes with “À l’aube”, a brief, understated outro that suggests transition rather than conclusion.
Throughout Jour bleu, Casassus’s background as a screen composer is present in the clarity of his writing, but the focus remains intimate. Rooted in Marseille, the port city in the south east of France, the project draws on the city’s light and open horizons to shape both its sound and visual world. Blue runs through the record as both colour and atmosphere, a steady presence rather than a symbol.
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