KottonKrown
The 80's were rich in the Japanese music industry. Thus, they invited chanson stars to make albums. It's unthinkable now.
Favorite track: Le Pollen.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
€7EUR or more
Limited Edition LP + Bonus 7inch
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Incredible album by French singer Pierre Barouh recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a monumental cast of legendary musicians and producers including Yasuaki Shimizu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Francis Lai, Kazuhiko Katoh, Motohiko Hamase, most of the Moonriders (Keiichi Suzuki, Tohru Okada, Masahiro Takekawa), Daniel Lavoie, Masanori Sasaji, Hideo Yamaki (Toshinori Kondo & IMA) and many more. Also featuring David Sylvian, Harumi Ohzora, and Nanako Satoh. Scroll down for full credits!
INFO
WRWTFWW Records is beaucoup happy to announce the official reissue of Pierre Barouh’s hard-to-describe-but-easy-to-enjoy French flair meets Japanese avant-garde lost treasure of experimental-electronic-chanson-pop with a new-wave-minimal-bossa touch, Le Pollen. Originally recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a who’s who of Japan’s most groundbreaking musicians of the 80s, the album comes as a LP with bonus 7inch, housed in a heavy sleeve displaying two immaculate photos of Barouh and holding a printed lyrics insert.
A free-spirited world traveler with an incredible ear for music, Paris-born singer and activist Pierre Barouh introduced the sounds of Brazil (and more) to Europe and pushed the envelope with his pioneering label Saravah, home of adventurous innovators Brigitte Fontaine, Areski, Jacques Higelin, Naná Vasconcelos, and Roland Bocquet’s Catharsis among many others. His bohemian border-free vision of modern chanson, blending musical tradition from various parts of the globe with forward-looking artistry, resonated particularly well in Japan, where the scene spearheaded by Yellow Magic Orchestra fell in love with everything Barouh.
And so one day in 1981, Pierre Barouh received an invitation from a Japanese label to come record an album in Tokyo. Not one to turn down an escapade around the world, the French visionary jumped on a plane and landed in a studio surrounded with a dream line-up of musicians: Yukihiro Takahashi (who had named his solo debut Saravah! after Barouh’s imprint) and Ryuichi Sakamoto of YMO, Yasuaki Shimizu and his Mariah bandmates Masanori Sasaji and Hideo Yamaki, members of the Moonriders, Motohiko Hamase, Mitsuru Sawamura of Interior, Kazuhiko Katoh and the list goes on. Also participating in the making of the album were longtime collaborator Francis Laï and the mysterious and beautiful David Sylvian.
The result is Le Pollen, a sincere and affectionate mix of nouveau chanson, techno-pop, post-punk, jazz, bossa, ambient, and minimalism. And probably something else entirely. Honestly impossible to classify in a particular genre, Pierre Barouh’s fascinating cosmopolitan music melting pot is, above all, a reassuring ode to humanity, where friendship, exchange, and collaborative creativity breeze freely. Making music together. It’s all love.
Pierre Barouh sadly passed away in December 2016, leaving behind a monumental legacy of music and art for us to cherish, and a life philosophy that’s well worth considering:
La vie, qu’elle soit longue ou brève
Moi, tous mes rêves
Je les prends toujours au sérieux
Quand l’utopie brise les chaînes
C’est l'oxygène,
De ceux qui sont restés curieux
Life, be it long or brief
Me, all my dreams
I always take them seriously
When utopia breaks the chains
It’s the oxygen,
Of those who’ve remained curious
From the song "L’Autre Rive" on Le Pollen.
L’AUTRE RIVE
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora, Nanako Satoh
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Electric Bass - Morio Watanabe
Marimba, Clarinet - Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano - Masanori Sasaji
PEPE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Kazuhiko Katoh
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano, Synthesizer Bass - Nobuyuki Shimizu
SANS PARLER D’AMOUR
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed and arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano - Nobuyuki Shimizu
PERDU
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Michel Rivard
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Acoustic Bass - Motohiko Hamase
Drums, Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Electric Guitar - Kenji Omura, Yoshiaki Shirai
Sopranino Saxophone - Mitsuru Sawamura
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
LA LETTRE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Keiichi Suzuki
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Folk Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
LE POLLEN
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Additional vocals by David Sylvian
Drums, Prophoet-5 - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Gut Guitar - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
PARENTHESE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano, Tenor Saxophone, Emulator - Yasuaki Shimizu
LES UNS ET LES AUTRES
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Nobuyuki Shimizu
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
DEMAIN
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Backing vocals - David Sylvian
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Acoustic Piano, Clarinet, Flute, Prophet-5 - Yasuaki Shimizu
Jupiter-8 - Masanori Sasaji
Prophet-5 - Morio Watanabe
SAINT PAUL DE VENCE (on bonus 7")
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
BOULE QUI ROULE (on bonus 7")
Written and composed by Daniel Lavoie
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio (Akasaka, Tokyo)
Producer: Naoki Tachikawa
Artistic direction: Ken Okada
Engineered by: Toshimitsu Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Recorded by: Toshihiko Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Cover photo: Kishin Shinoyama
Design: Haruo Koguchi
Includes unlimited streaming of Le Pollen
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
Sold Out
Le Pollen LP (with Bonus 7inch) + Saravah T-shirt
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
"IL Y A DES ANNÉES OÙ L'ON A ENVIE DE NE RIEN FAIRE"
The LP, the 7inch and the super limited t-shirt!
Tee ->
SARAVAH
il y a des années où l'on a envie de ne rien faire
silkscreened on Gildan heavy t-shirt
Incredible album by French singer Pierre Barouh recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a monumental cast of legendary musicians and producers including Yasuaki Shimizu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Francis Lai, Kazuhiko Katoh, Motohiko Hamase, most of the Moonriders (Keiichi Suzuki, Tohru Okada, Masahiro Takekawa), Daniel Lavoie, Masanori Sasaji, Hideo Yamaki (Toshinori Kondo & IMA) and many more. Also featuring David Sylvian, Harumi Ohzora, and Nanako Satoh. Scroll down for full credits!
INFO
WRWTFWW Records is beaucoup happy to announce the official reissue of Pierre Barouh’s hard-to-describe-but-easy-to-enjoy French flair meets Japanese avant-garde lost treasure of experimental-electronic-chanson-pop with a new-wave-minimal-bossa touch, Le Pollen. Originally recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a who’s who of Japan’s most groundbreaking musicians of the 80s, the album comes as a LP with bonus 7inch, housed in a heavy sleeve displaying two immaculate photos of Barouh and holding a printed lyrics insert.
A free-spirited world traveler with an incredible ear for music, Paris-born singer and activist Pierre Barouh introduced the sounds of Brazil (and more) to Europe and pushed the envelope with his pioneering label Saravah, home of adventurous innovators Brigitte Fontaine, Areski, Jacques Higelin, Naná Vasconcelos, and Roland Bocquet’s Catharsis among many others. His bohemian border-free vision of modern chanson, blending musical tradition from various parts of the globe with forward-looking artistry, resonated particularly well in Japan, where the scene spearheaded by Yellow Magic Orchestra fell in love with everything Barouh.
And so one day in 1981, Pierre Barouh received an invitation from a Japanese label to come record an album in Tokyo. Not one to turn down an escapade around the world, the French visionary jumped on a plane and landed in a studio surrounded with a dream line-up of musicians: Yukihiro Takahashi (who had named his solo debut Saravah! after Barouh’s imprint) and Ryuichi Sakamoto of YMO, Yasuaki Shimizu and his Mariah bandmates Masanori Sasaji and Hideo Yamaki, members of the Moonriders, Motohiko Hamase, Mitsuru Sawamura of Interior, Kazuhiko Katoh and the list goes on. Also participating in the making of the album were longtime collaborator Francis Laï and the mysterious and beautiful David Sylvian.
The result is Le Pollen, a sincere and affectionate mix of nouveau chanson, techno-pop, post-punk, jazz, bossa, ambient, and minimalism. And probably something else entirely. Honestly impossible to classify in a particular genre, Pierre Barouh’s fascinating cosmopolitan music melting pot is, above all, a reassuring ode to humanity, where friendship, exchange, and collaborative creativity breeze freely. Making music together. It’s all love.
Pierre Barouh sadly passed away in December 2016, leaving behind a monumental legacy of music and art for us to cherish, and a life philosophy that’s well worth considering:
La vie, qu’elle soit longue ou brève
Moi, tous mes rêves
Je les prends toujours au sérieux
Quand l’utopie brise les chaînes
C’est l'oxygène,
De ceux qui sont restés curieux
Life, be it long or brief
Me, all my dreams
I always take them seriously
When utopia breaks the chains
It’s the oxygen,
Of those who’ve remained curious
From the song "L’Autre Rive" on Le Pollen.
L’AUTRE RIVE
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora, Nanako Satoh
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Electric Bass - Morio Watanabe
Marimba, Clarinet - Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano - Masanori Sasaji
PEPE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Kazuhiko Katoh
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano, Synthesizer Bass - Nobuyuki Shimizu
SANS PARLER D’AMOUR
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed and arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano - Nobuyuki Shimizu
PERDU
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Michel Rivard
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Acoustic Bass - Motohiko Hamase
Drums, Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Electric Guitar - Kenji Omura, Yoshiaki Shirai
Sopranino Saxophone - Mitsuru Sawamura
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
LA LETTRE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Keiichi Suzuki
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Folk Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
LE POLLEN
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Additional vocals by David Sylvian
Drums, Prophoet-5 - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Gut Guitar - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
PARENTHESE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano, Tenor Saxophone, Emulator - Yasuaki Shimizu
LES UNS ET LES AUTRES
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Nobuyuki Shimizu
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
DEMAIN
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Backing vocals - David Sylvian
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Acoustic Piano, Clarinet, Flute, Prophet-5 - Yasuaki Shimizu
Jupiter-8 - Masanori Sasaji
Prophet-5 - Morio Watanabe
SAINT PAUL DE VENCE (on bonus 7")
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
BOULE QUI ROULE (on bonus 7")
Written and composed by Daniel Lavoie
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio (Akasaka, Tokyo)
Producer: Naoki Tachikawa
Artistic direction: Ken Okada
Engineered by: Toshimitsu Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Recorded by: Toshihiko Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Cover photo: Kishin Shinoyama
Design: Haruo Koguchi
Includes unlimited streaming of Le Pollen
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
Sold Out
Le Pollen LP (with Bonus 7inch) + Saravah Sweatshirt
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
"IL Y A DES ANNÉES OÙ L'ON A ENVIE DE NE RIEN FAIRE"
Save 25% by ordering before December 18th 2020.
*This is a pre-order, ships late January*
The LP, the 7inch and the super limited sweatshirt!
Sweater ->
SARAVAH
il y a des années où l'on a envie de ne rien faire
silkscreened on Gildan heavy sweatshirt
Incredible album by French singer Pierre Barouh recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a monumental cast of legendary musicians and producers including Yasuaki Shimizu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Francis Lai, Kazuhiko Katoh, Motohiko Hamase, most of the Moonriders (Keiichi Suzuki, Tohru Okada, Masahiro Takekawa), Daniel Lavoie, Masanori Sasaji, Hideo Yamaki (Toshinori Kondo & IMA) and many more. Also featuring David Sylvian, Harumi Ohzora, and Nanako Satoh. Scroll down for full credits!
INFO
WRWTFWW Records is beaucoup happy to announce the official reissue of Pierre Barouh’s hard-to-describe-but-easy-to-enjoy French flair meets Japanese avant-garde lost treasure of experimental-electronic-chanson-pop with a new-wave-minimal-bossa touch, Le Pollen. Originally recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a who’s who of Japan’s most groundbreaking musicians of the 80s, the album comes as a LP with bonus 7inch, housed in a heavy sleeve displaying two immaculate photos of Barouh and holding a printed lyrics insert.
A free-spirited world traveler with an incredible ear for music, Paris-born singer and activist Pierre Barouh introduced the sounds of Brazil (and more) to Europe and pushed the envelope with his pioneering label Saravah, home of adventurous innovators Brigitte Fontaine, Areski, Jacques Higelin, Naná Vasconcelos, and Roland Bocquet’s Catharsis among many others. His bohemian border-free vision of modern chanson, blending musical tradition from various parts of the globe with forward-looking artistry, resonated particularly well in Japan, where the scene spearheaded by Yellow Magic Orchestra fell in love with everything Barouh.
And so one day in 1981, Pierre Barouh received an invitation from a Japanese label to come record an album in Tokyo. Not one to turn down an escapade around the world, the French visionary jumped on a plane and landed in a studio surrounded with a dream line-up of musicians: Yukihiro Takahashi (who had named his solo debut Saravah! after Barouh’s imprint) and Ryuichi Sakamoto of YMO, Yasuaki Shimizu and his Mariah bandmates Masanori Sasaji and Hideo Yamaki, members of the Moonriders, Motohiko Hamase, Mitsuru Sawamura of Interior, Kazuhiko Katoh and the list goes on. Also participating in the making of the album were longtime collaborator Francis Laï and the mysterious and beautiful David Sylvian.
The result is Le Pollen, a sincere and affectionate mix of nouveau chanson, techno-pop, post-punk, jazz, bossa, ambient, and minimalism. And probably something else entirely. Honestly impossible to classify in a particular genre, Pierre Barouh’s fascinating cosmopolitan music melting pot is, above all, a reassuring ode to humanity, where friendship, exchange, and collaborative creativity breeze freely. Making music together. It’s all love.
Pierre Barouh sadly passed away in December 2016, leaving behind a monumental legacy of music and art for us to cherish, and a life philosophy that’s well worth considering:
La vie, qu’elle soit longue ou brève
Moi, tous mes rêves
Je les prends toujours au sérieux
Quand l’utopie brise les chaînes
C’est l'oxygène,
De ceux qui sont restés curieux
Life, be it long or brief
Me, all my dreams
I always take them seriously
When utopia breaks the chains
It’s the oxygen,
Of those who’ve remained curious
From the song "L’Autre Rive" on Le Pollen.
L’AUTRE RIVE
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora, Nanako Satoh
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Electric Bass - Morio Watanabe
Marimba, Clarinet - Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano - Masanori Sasaji
PEPE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Kazuhiko Katoh
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano, Synthesizer Bass - Nobuyuki Shimizu
SANS PARLER D’AMOUR
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed and arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano - Nobuyuki Shimizu
PERDU
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Michel Rivard
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Acoustic Bass - Motohiko Hamase
Drums, Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Electric Guitar - Kenji Omura, Yoshiaki Shirai
Sopranino Saxophone - Mitsuru Sawamura
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
LA LETTRE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Keiichi Suzuki
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Folk Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
LE POLLEN
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Additional vocals by David Sylvian
Drums, Prophoet-5 - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Gut Guitar - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
PARENTHESE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano, Tenor Saxophone, Emulator - Yasuaki Shimizu
LES UNS ET LES AUTRES
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Nobuyuki Shimizu
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
DEMAIN
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Backing vocals - David Sylvian
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Acoustic Piano, Clarinet, Flute, Prophet-5 - Yasuaki Shimizu
Jupiter-8 - Masanori Sasaji
Prophet-5 - Morio Watanabe
SAINT PAUL DE VENCE (on bonus 7")
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
BOULE QUI ROULE (on bonus 7")
Written and composed by Daniel Lavoie
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio (Akasaka, Tokyo)
Producer: Naoki Tachikawa
Artistic direction: Ken Okada
Engineered by: Toshimitsu Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Recorded by: Toshihiko Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Cover photo: Kishin Shinoyama
Design: Haruo Koguchi
Includes unlimited streaming of Le Pollen
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
Sold Out
Pierre Barouh - Le Pollen Test TEST PRESSING LP+7inch (Edition of 30)
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Collector's item // Pierre Barouh - Le Pollen Test TEST PRESSING LP+7inch // Only 30 available // Only here.
Includes unlimited streaming of Le Pollen
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Save 20% on vinyl by ordering before December 18th 2020.
*This is a pre-order, ships December 118h*
Incredible album by French singer Pierre Barouh recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a monumental cast of legendary musicians and producers including Yasuaki Shimizu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Francis Lai, Kazuhiko Katoh, Motohiko Hamase, most of the Moonriders (Keiichi Suzuki, Tohru Okada, Masahiro Takekawa), Daniel Lavoie, Masanori Sasaji, Hideo Yamaki (Toshinori Kondo & IMA) and many more. Also featuring David Sylvian, Harumi Ohzora, and Nanako Satoh. Scroll down for full credits!
INFO
WRWTFWW Records is beaucoup happy to announce the official reissue of Pierre Barouh’s hard-to-describe-but-easy-to-enjoy French flair meets Japanese avant-garde lost treasure of experimental-electronic-chanson-pop with a new-wave-minimal-bossa touch, Le Pollen. Originally recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a who’s who of Japan’s most groundbreaking musicians of the 80s, the album comes as a LP with bonus 7inch, housed in a heavy sleeve displaying two immaculate photos of Barouh and holding a printed lyrics insert.
A free-spirited world traveler with an incredible ear for music, Paris-born singer and activist Pierre Barouh introduced the sounds of Brazil (and more) to Europe and pushed the envelope with his pioneering label Saravah, home of adventurous innovators Brigitte Fontaine, Areski, Jacques Higelin, Naná Vasconcelos, and Roland Bocquet’s Catharsis among many others. His bohemian border-free vision of modern chanson, blending musical tradition from various parts of the globe with forward-looking artistry, resonated particularly well in Japan, where the scene spearheaded by Yellow Magic Orchestra fell in love with everything Barouh.
And so one day in 1981, Pierre Barouh received an invitation from a Japanese label to come record an album in Tokyo. Not one to turn down an escapade around the world, the French visionary jumped on a plane and landed in a studio surrounded with a dream line-up of musicians: Yukihiro Takahashi (who had named his solo debut Saravah! after Barouh’s imprint) and Ryuichi Sakamoto of YMO, Yasuaki Shimizu and his Mariah bandmates Masanori Sasaji and Hideo Yamaki, members of the Moonriders, Motohiko Hamase, Mitsuru Sawamura of Interior, Kazuhiko Katoh and the list goes on. Also participating in the making of the album were longtime collaborator Francis Laï and the mysterious and beautiful David Sylvian.
The result is Le Pollen, a sincere and affectionate mix of nouveau chanson, techno-pop, post-punk, jazz, bossa, ambient, and minimalism. And probably something else entirely. Honestly impossible to classify in a particular genre, Pierre Barouh’s fascinating cosmopolitan music melting pot is, above all, a reassuring ode to humanity, where friendship, exchange, and collaborative creativity breeze freely. Making music together. It’s all love.
Pierre Barouh sadly passed away in December 2016, leaving behind a monumental legacy of music and art for us to cherish, and a life philosophy that’s well worth considering:
La vie, qu’elle soit longue ou brève
Moi, tous mes rêves
Je les prends toujours au sérieux
Quand l’utopie brise les chaînes
C’est l'oxygène,
De ceux qui sont restés curieux
Life, be it long or brief
Me, all my dreams
I always take them seriously
When utopia breaks the chains
It’s the oxygen,
Of those who’ve remained curious
From the song "L’Autre Rive" on Le Pollen.
L’AUTRE RIVE
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora, Nanako Satoh
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Electric Bass - Morio Watanabe
Marimba, Clarinet - Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano - Masanori Sasaji
PEPE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Kazuhiko Katoh
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Backing Vocals - Harumi Ohzora
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano, Synthesizer Bass - Nobuyuki Shimizu
SANS PARLER D’AMOUR
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed and arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Drums - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Acoustic Piano - Nobuyuki Shimizu
PERDU
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Michel Rivard
Arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Acoustic Bass - Motohiko Hamase
Drums, Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Electric Guitar - Kenji Omura, Yoshiaki Shirai
Sopranino Saxophone - Mitsuru Sawamura
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
LA LETTRE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Keiichi Suzuki
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Folk Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
LE POLLEN
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yukihiro Takahashi
Additional vocals by David Sylvian
Drums, Prophoet-5 - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Gut Guitar - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5 - Yukihiro Takahashi
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
PARENTHESE
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed & arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Acoustic Piano, Tenor Saxophone, Emulator - Yasuaki Shimizu
LES UNS ET LES AUTRES
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Nobuyuki Shimizu
Drums - Tetsuro Kashibuchi
Electric Bass - Hirobumi Suzuki
Electric Guitar - Yoshiaki Shirai
Prophet-5 - Keiichi Suzuki
Prophet-5, Sequencer, Acoustic Piano - Tohru Okada
Violin - Masahiro Takekawa
DEMAIN
Written and composed by Pierre Barouh
Arranged by Yasuaki Shimizu
Backing vocals - David Sylvian
Acoustic Guitar - Takayuki Hijikata
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Acoustic Piano, Clarinet, Flute, Prophet-5 - Yasuaki Shimizu
Jupiter-8 - Masanori Sasaji
Prophet-5 - Morio Watanabe
SAINT PAUL DE VENCE (on bonus 7")
Written by Pierre Barouh
Composed by Francis Lai
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
BOULE QUI ROULE (on bonus 7")
Written and composed by Daniel Lavoie
Arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio (Akasaka, Tokyo)
Producer: Naoki Tachikawa
Artistic direction: Ken Okada
Engineered by: Toshimitsu Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Recorded by: Toshihiko Takahashi & Keishiro Sonoda
Cover photo: Kishin Shinoyama
Design: Haruo Koguchi
Influential 60s French label Saravah Sound's roster mixed pop, jazz, and soul; this new double LP compilation tells its fascinating history. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 21, 2022
