Knock… Knock… Knock… Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the SebScylla theater: A one-of-a-kind theater where a couple of protagonists reply to each other with musical notes.
On their theater stage, Magali Bournez and Sébastien Dutertry perform a comedy, a drama, or even a tragedy: “a place where we can say everything…”
When you see them for the first time, their style astonishes us, then we get into their game and enjoy living with their texts, their notes, and their artistic colors: SebScylla pure dynamic and poetic creation!
On the occasion of the release of their first album, Nice-Première went in search of the “Hidden Side” of the SebScylla theater.
Nice – Première: Hello and welcome to your theater, can you introduce it to our readers?
Sébastien: Our theater is first and foremost a playground, the place where we can say everything… or almost, because we are protected. We never move forward with our faces uncovered, we are masked “to hide all the wounds we enjoy concealing from you.” That’s our concept; evolving in a catharsis, a confessional, but always “Hidden Face” (title of our 1st Album).
Magali: Our theater, … it’s our universe. A place where various influences and themes reign. A place where we protect ourselves while saying a lot.
It’s our means of communication, passionate and dynamic… a melting pot of our emotions. It’s our little cocoon and our way to externalize things that nag us or poison us. If you want to see our theater, go surfing on the internet https://www.sebscylla.com. You will discover our universe full of colors, joy… a picturesque world ready to unveil itself.
Nice – Première: What play is performed there?
Sébastien: Pieces of various characters, because I have this desire to be “musically elusive.” To make the listener lose all bearings, from one song to another… that’s something that interests me (Laughs!).
Magali: The pieces are very diversified, the themes always different. Sébastien lets his imagination speak without putting any barriers or labels on it. One thing is certain, we claim our originality, the desire to do what we love, without questioning it. Sometimes pieces with jazzy influences, sometimes classical, going through electro loops, pop-rock rhythms, without forgetting new songs with colors derived from world music.
Nice – Première: Is there a plot?
Sébastien: Of course… Each track of the album contains a “plot”, a secret. I would even say that it is its foundation. Whether it comes from the musical or thematic structure, the “plot” is omnipresent. But doesn’t a man or a woman, hiding behind a mask, represent the epitome of “intrigue”? (Laughs!).
Magali: But yes, obviously, and I’ll even give you a scoop (Laughs)! I would even say that the biggest intrigue is mainly in the title (“Hidden Face”)… up to you to discover why!
Nice – Première: How is a piece created?
Sébastien: A creation comes to life when I observe what’s around me… by listening to a visual, a sound… Let’s take the example of “What Time is It?” (Track 4 of the album). This time that pressures people… We are all running behind it! And yes, time passes, time breaks, time also freezes; it has enormous power over us… It’s enough to look at people in the street. They know they are here to live, but also to die… hence sometimes unexpected reactions… like those who cut in line at the supermarket. Why do they do that? Probably to try and kill time (Laughs!).
Magali: How is a piece created? Not so simple… a whole ritual for Seb (Laughs)!!!
First, getting up around 3 am, sitting at the piano, moving around the room during the delivery of ideas… then finally, laying everything down in one go on a recording to be able to go back to bed (Laughs)!!!
Nice – Première: And who are the protagonists?
Sébastien: Generally, they are the people I scrutinize around me. My music becomes a painting. You could talk about descriptive music, hence its lively and interactive character. It is very codified… it describes what I see. You can’t imagine all the things I have to say about my baker! Why not in the second album (Laughs!). Sometimes I even stage myself… it’s always more delicate… listen to track 8 of the album (“The Room with Gray Walls”) you tell me!? (Laughs).
Magali: Anyone could be the future target of SebScylla! It takes nothing, a slightly peculiar story, an event that has moved us, a touching or unfair person… everything is context for our music. But the protagonists are always human, never all white, never all black. It’s lively music that tells through notes and text what we see every day. Of course, we can also be part of the protagonists… we do not spare ourselves (Laughs)!!!
Nice – Première: At just one year of existence, the album is on stage, a beautiful birthday gift!
Sébastien: Yes! The most beautiful… it’s the kind of gift you wouldn’t dare ask from your parents because it’s so “enormous.” It can also be terrifying… it’s like if everyone who bought the album could get inside my head; a thousand psychiatrists just for me!! Yes, yes… it’s a very beautiful gift (Laughs!).
Magali: Yes, the most beautiful gift this year is the release of the album. It marks a milestone in our very young journey and a realization of our project. We are very proud of it, it’s a bit like our baby (Laughs)!! Additionally, the gift is even more intense when people come to congratulate us.
Nice – Première: Does SebScylla have a dependency?
Sébastien: Yes! And not the least: Music, of course… you know the kind of thing you do obsessively, all the time, as soon as you’re not sleeping (Laughs!). Above all: Creation! I even think that’s what makes me live: “the stage; I am… life kills me.”
Nice – Première: What time is it?
Sébastien: It’s too late!!!! Yes… that’s the leitmotif phrase of our song “What Time is It?” (Track 4 of the Album). It expresses the fact that everything on this earth passes too quickly… At the end of good moments we sometimes say: “hey… it’s already over… I didn’t see anything go by!”
Magali: It’s a very powerful song. This question “What time is it?” can have a multitude of answers. And yes, the time to be famous, to be on stage, the time to die, the time to change things… It’s a universal theme that sensibly touches each of us. It’s the song of truth (Laughs)!!
Nice – Première: But no, it’s intermission time, and during intermission, what do we do?
Sébastien: We rest those little ears for the second part!
Magali: We do whatever we want… have a drink… stretch our legs… air our ears… be curious backstage. The thing is… to come attend the second part, because the show isn’t over.
Nice – Première: In the second act, you use “The Staircase” as a setting. Why?
Sébastien: The staircase; an intimate, even popular place. The perfect decor to bond further with our beloved audience! And then… if you observe closely, a lot happens in a staircase… “Everything is truly comical there.”
Magali: Maybe it’s a more intimate act!? It’s a decor that everyone knows and that we want to share with the audience. Maybe this decor makes us enter into the intrigue right amidst the other protagonists?
Nice – Première: In the 7th scene, you take up a text by Baudelaire. A text that is also married to that of Colombine alias Magali Bournez. Why such a choice?
Magali: Sébastien and I chose a poem by Charles Baudelaire that deeply touched us. From there, with a view to musical structure, we wanted to reinforce the theme and insert a chorus, which remained entirely in the spirit of the existing text. I then worked on the lexical field related to hatred and composed this refrain. It was something tricky, easily criticizable in terms of adding to the poem… but I think in the end, the two texts married quite well. Our only priority was that the two texts form only one, that we don’t feel the addition… that everything is homogeneous.
Nice – Première: A hint of romanticism with the room with gray walls?
Sébastien: Rather a ridiculous situation… A man in a waiting room sees a sublime woman enter. He tries by all means to catch her attention… but she doesn’t see him. He will wait to meet her gaze until the end… but in vain. This absurd momentum softens the romantic side, which was for me a bit too “overly sweet” for my taste! But poor guy (Laughs!). Wasn’t it me by the way!?
Nice – Première: Then SebScylla sets “Sails” towards where?
Magali: “Sails” towards… Paris, soon… in the hope of finding a lighthouse that illuminates us, and that we hope, will welcome us warmly and without waves (Laughs)!!
Nice – Première: But by the way Magali and Sébastien, what is your “Hidden Face”?
Magali & Sébastien: …Shh! “We all have a hidden face!”.
Concerts:
Saturday, December 16 at 9 pm -> “Le Sezamo” 32 rue Fontaine de la Ville – Nice Riquier
January 27, 2007 at 8:30 pm Salle “Le Raimu” avenue de la Borde Cannes la Bocca
Official site: www.sebscylla.com
Blog: https://sebscylla.skyblog.com/
Contact: prod.acte@sebscylla.com
Recording, mixing, premastering, graphic design of the album and photos carried out at the studio: ADE Multimedia Mougins www.ade-multimedia.com
Interview given on May 14, 2006: https://www.nicepremium.fr/article.php3?id_article=672
