Pierre-Michel Sivadier

pianist, composer, singer and songwriter 

emusic4you@orange.fr

 

 
Reviews

 

 

Penetrating songs by Pierre-Michel Sivadier. Half-heartedly, they hustle as Chet Baker would. With a gentle touch, they sound right, far from superfluous things. In the tactile smoothness of voices and insisting emotions. Exactly what you like to hear from today and tomorrow songwriters : may they never leave you. Alex Dutihl
 

Translation by Denis Desassis
In an other world or in other times, « Lavandières » would be on every lips, enchanting France with its melodic grace, its simple and mysterious words : "O saintes lavandières / Faites que tout se passe / Comme aux portes d'hier / Faites qu'elle m'embrasse / Et m'emporte à demain / Qu'à l'insu des misères / Me donne rendez-vous / Rue des Lavandières / Sainte Opportune..." Here and now, you listen to « Lavandières » in an exalted loneliness, between joy and sadness, with your heart suddenly washed and your body pacified. How many songs like this one, on the verge of tears and so close to a prayer ? Jérôme Reybaud

Translation by Denis Desassis
Poetry from in-between two worlds, carried by a light breeze
riding the trail of torments.
Rustle seeking madness.
A voice at the core of the unsoundable... love that sails, escapes, humbly disappears in the face of poets.

Pierre-Michel, farther, or even closer to Here,
yet a simple passerby...

Will you hear him?

Christian Vander - August 15 2008, 10:45pm

Translated by Marie-Noëlle Dana
Marrying poetic texts with rich and sensuous melodies, Pierre-Michel SIVADIER, that secret and private being, most excellent musician and singer, opens himself up and reveals his inner self. If it is necessary to place him in any musical family, then Christian VANDER, Leo FERRE, and also BARBARA could well be members.
Pierre-Michel Sivadier combines classical intensity with sheer rhythmic innovation. French composer and pianist, he has worked with great artists (Jane Birkin, James Ivory, Michel Hermon, Christian Vander).

NAGOYA , JAPAN Throughout the six months of the World Exposition 2005 , a programme of cultural events will enhance visitors' understanding of France's participation. For France’s National Day, Michel Hermon will be presenting excerpts from his last show.

He will be accompanied on the piano by Pierre Michel Sivadier with whom he has worked on numerous occasions. Pierre Michel Sivadier was a member of Christian Vander’s group, Magma, for ten years and also accompanies Jane Birkin. He has also recorded some of his own compositions, including “D'amour fou d'amour” which has been released in Japan.
charismatic and expressive singing... D'Amour Fou D'Amour is a very emotive, stereotypically French album
Sivadier is a pianist who combines a sighsome delicacy of touch with Zeuhl's proclivity for obsessive, repetitive chordings, here    placing     his  unique  fusion in the service of gorgeous, strange, love-mad songcraft.    
He was the main songwriter besides Vander on Stella Vander's solo album D'épreuves D'amour, and here, he steps fully out in front to show his considerable talent as a leader
Sivadier has put together an enchanting collection of gently riveting fever-dreams, utterly unlike most of the rest of Seventh's catalogue.
  Joe McGlinchey   Pierre-Michel Sivadier is one of the players associated with the Seventh Records label, home to Magma and related acts. Since his start as the keyboard player for Christian Vander's Offering in the 80s, he has slowly gained more visibility. 

  He was the main songwriter besides Vander on Stella Vander's solo album D'épreuves D'amour, and here, he steps fully out in front to show his considerable talent as a leader. Unlike Emmanuelle Borghi (Vander's other main keyboard player of choice), whose playing seems primarily jazz-based, Sivadier's style shows a greater affinity to the delicate, brooding pieces of the Romantic era, with richly-layered harmonic piano lines. 

  Perhaps since I am used to seeing him in a supporting role, I was surprised at how charismatic and expressive his singing is. D'Amour Fou D'Amour is a very emotive, stereotypically French album (heck, just look at the title), with complex and rapidly-delivered text for many of the pieces, that will probably decrease accessibilty for those who have less than a native command of the language.

 Still, there are several remarkable tunes on here, and the music is enough to carry the project successfully. "Les Gens dans les Blés" shows Sivadier's writing strengths, and "Tard dans la Nuit" has some spine-tingling vocals from Stella at the end, who sings in full, ghostly melancholy: "I know it is Carnival/I have chosen a mask that pleases me/I am happy..."). There are also the more upbeat "Si la Guerre Éclate" and the moody, tension-building "Saint-Malo," both of which will transport you instantly to those hole-in-the-wall, smoke-filled, jazz cafes in Paris. This isn't an album that will instantly hit you, but I find it is one that pays off quite well in the long run.

Stummfilm-Konzert Pierre-Michel Sivadier  

Ich küsse Ihre Hand,Madame.Nach der ertsmaligen Wiederauffhürung der frisch restauriertenFassung im Rahmen der Bonner Marlene-Dietrich-Ausstellung wird Osnabrück der zweite Ort sein,wo „Ich küsse Ihre Hand,Madame“ präsentiert wird. Marlene stellt hier den damals neuen Frauentyp dar,der Erotik ausstrahlt und gleichzeitig viel Stil hat,eine echte „Dame“,mit der man auch durchbrennen kann.Haryy Liedtke als ihr männlicher Gengenpart hat es schwer,ihr das Wasser zu reichen.Er repräsentiert den charmant lächelnden Gentleman,einen eleganten Herzensbrecher der alten Schule.Ergebnis dieser Kombination: eine schöne Romanze.

 
Pierre-Michel Sivadier

Der Pianist Pierre-Michel Sivadier begleitet seit mehreren Jahren Stummfilme an der „Cinémathèque Française“ sowie in der „Vidéothèque de Paris“.Soeben hat der Mittdreissiger sein erstes Album herausgegeben :“D’amour fou d’amour“,dessen Kompositionen sich zwischen Chanson und Jazz bewegen ,sich durch Poesie in den Texten sowie viel Gefühl in den Melodien auszeichnen.Damit führt er eine Linie des französischen Chansons weiter.Auf den 11.TAGEN DES UNHABHÄNGIGEN FILMS präsentiert er zu dem lange verschollenen Marlene-Dietrich-Film „Ich küsse Ihre Hand,Madame“ seine eigens dafür komponierte Begleitversion.Ausserdem konzertiert er am Freitag,26.1.1996,im Steinwerk Ledenhof (Osnabrück).