Open Borders in concert
Armel Dupas, a modern-day troubadour
“Travelling as an eternal source of inspiration.”
If humans can only define themselves in reaction to their surroundings, is it not up to the artist to go here and there, carrying their stories, creating connections? As soon as he placed his hands on the Keybird piano, Armel knew he would be back on the road.
A tireless creator, he continues his musical exploration in a new solo program called Open Borders. Composed on his new mobile instrument, Open Borders paints the portrait of a young forty-year-old in search of meaning and inner peace.
To fully experience this modern-day troubadour adventure, Armel and his piano hit the road in April 2024 for a 4-month, 19,000 km tour of Europe.
Open Borders, the fruit of happy coincidences
“This music is the consequence of a profound inner change of which I am both the actor and the witness: although a return to my sources in 2020 had opened my consciousness to the existence of a subtle world, I was still finding myself faced with the ghosts of the past, as if I was clinging to my limitations.
Those four years of staying away from the tumult of the world, observing the cycle of seasons, lead me to a decisive act of cutting invisible links, of manifesting my change in vibration: I had to free myself from that part of my work which kept bringing me back to difficult episodes .
I took advantage of a concert to say goodbye to the melodies which had been representing me as a composer for more than ten years. I played them one last time with tenderness, while I imagined putting on hold my journey as a solo pianist.
So, the following week, on my Keybird piano I assembled a few ideas that had been laying scattered here and there. I witnessed, to my greatest astonishment, the birth of a new repertoire of 11 titles fully anchored in the present. Their musical and emotional validity were unveiled to me a few days later during a last-minute concert.
Synchronicities?”
“For the first time, I have the feeling of playing something that really resonates with me, without too strong an external influence, without trying to please or convince.
“Open Borders” finds its reflection in my life today. I travel across Europe with my Bulgarian partner to meet a mobile piano produced by a Belgian in Denmark. We ride freely, without borders.
I go and meet those who are liberated from the cultural codes and mental limitations of another time. We share a love of music and attach no importance to labeling it jazz, pop, or neo-classical. “Open Borders”!
The recording of this album was done in conditions just as surprising and fluid as its conception. I made an appointment for January 27, 2024 at Peninsula Studio in Sarzeau (FR) to do some tests with a view to a future recording with my trio. In the last minute, I decided to take my Keybird and invite the attentive and caring ear of my pianist friend Pierre Van de Walle.
We set up the microphones, enjoyed a piece of cake and started recording: “We'll see!..” 3 hours later, almost all in one take, the 11 tracks were in the box!”
The Keybird piano & the sound of the album
The work of a brilliant inventor based in Copenhagen, this portable acoustic piano opens up perspectives for pianists in search of new sensations. “It’s the piano of degrowth.”
A wooden frame, Una Corda (one string per note), light and easy to tune, we instantly recognize its crystalline timbre, differentiable from the traditional piano. Armel chooses to play it with a felt which softens the sound: “It’s the instrument that inspires me the most today for soloing. Sometimes resembling folk guitar, harp or harpsichord, I look for acoustics that highlight that. I’m learning to tune it myself, I feel like I’m discovering the piano thanks to the Keybird.”
The sound recording of the album (engineering by Jonathan Marcoz, mixing by Moritz Bintig, mastering by Julien Climent) give an acoustic image that most closely represents the real sound of the instrument played by Armel whose breathing we can hear.
There is a feeling of deep intimacy with the artist.
Organize your event featuring Open Borders
A unique experience to share with your entourage
Past
Events
25/11/23 Home Piano Live (Treillières - France)
26/11/23 Jazz Club Mon Oncle (Nantes - France)
13/01/24 Home Piano Live (Nantes - France)
19/01/24 Desevedavy Pianos (Nantes - France)
10/02/24 AG Les Musicales de Redon (Redon - France)
02/03/24 Samauma 89 (Sens - France)
21/04/24 Home Piano Live (Alexandria - Italy)
02/05/24 Barabar Centre (Pristina - Kosovo)
21/06/24 Dechko Uzunov House Museum (Kazanlak - Bulgaria)
27/08/24 Festival Les Rendez-Vous de l'Erdre (Vay - France)
14/09/24 Home Piano Live (Pontchateau - France)
21/09/24 Home Piano Live (Doué en Anjou - France)
22/09/24 Home Piano Live (Edern - France)
26/09/24 Home Piano Live (Rânes - France)
28/09/24 Home Piano Live (Meudon - France)
12/10/24 Festival Piano à Bézyl (Sixt-sur-Aff - France)
19/10/24 Home Piano Live (Clisson - France)
20/10/24 Festival Graines d'Automne (Puceul - France)