The Steve Reich Guitar Project

At the beginning of March 2020, I was in production at the Strasbourg Opera/ Mulhouse Orchestra. I was travelling between Paris and Mulhouse, letting my pedalboard at the Opera. The first lockdown happened when I was in Paris, and my pedalboard stayed blocked for one month and a half in Strasbourg.

On April 28, the production had sent it back to me. I could start working again and I decided to record and shoot a lockdown video, just as many musicians were doing during that time.

My choice went naturally to the first movement of Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint”, that I had planed to perform for two years already: I felt that the relation to time that we had at this moment was so specific that it reminded me Steve Reich’s music.

The video was released on May 24, 2020.

I will perform the three movements of “Electric Counterpoint” during the France Musique Festival, in July 2020. The solo part of the piece is to be recorded on July 4 in their studios, and I will give an interview to Jean-Baptiste Urbain on July 16.

I am currently recording the tracks on which I will perform the solo guitar for the France Musique Festival. This has led me to the idea that I will record a whole album of Steve Reich’s Music for guitar (original and transcriptions). As M. Steve Reich will celebrate his 85th birthday in October 2021, this will be a great occasion to celebrate this event with him.

I already have a good idea on the program, that I will announce in an upcoming video. I have already ordered the scores at the editor ‘Boosey & Hawkes’ and I try to get into contact with Steve Reich via his agent.

I have shot this video to officially announce my Steve Reich Guitar Project. The video was released on July 15, 2020.

Here is my original communiqué:

have always been very touched by Steve Reich’s music. For two years now, I’ve been planning to record a monographic disc of his music. Then came the lockdown, and its suspension of time. Overnight, the world came to a standstill, and we were confronted with a new relationship with time. Steve Reich’s music came back into my life at that moment. A minimalist music, where time flows differently. I wanted to record it and illustrate it with a video of the 1st movement of Electric Counterpoint, a work for Live Guitar and pre-recorded tapes, which would represent my perception of this strange moment of lockdown, a new moment in our lives. I made this video in about a month. She hung up on my desire to do new projects. A desire that had left me at the beginning of March, swept away by the extent of the disaster we were all going through.

Following the publication of the video, on May 24, 2020, I received many enthusiastic messages and comments on social networks.
France Musique then invited me to come and play all three movements of Electric Counterpoint for its Summer Festival.
Invitation accepted and challenge taken up: I had to go back to recording the tapes for the two movements that were missing, and provide them for the Live recording on July 4th 2020. This emulation around these different projects, led me to the obvious: I had to record the recording I had planned for two years already.
Today, I want to involve you in this project that’s so close to my heart. I hope that you can contribute to its creation. A project like this requires a huge investment, both in time and money.

You can participate to the Crowdfunding until September 30th, by clicking here: The Steve Reich Guitar Project – Crowdfunding

I have already contacted Steve Reich’s publisher to obtain the recording and arrangement rights, and to receive the various scores. Technically, this is music that requires the superimposition of 15 to 16 guitars, including two basses. Recording so much sound material over an hour of music is the equivalent of weeks of recording studio time, which must be financed and assumed with the pressure of time.
I would feel that it would go against my project: music and time. Getting back the time to do things. So I decided to do all the sound recording by myself, as I’d already done on one of my records. It’s a method that I want to be almost “home-made”, where you look for the best sound with the best elements: the right guitar, the right effects, the right tube amp, the right microphones, the right microphone preamp (also tube), the right cables, the right audio interface, the right microphones placements… You slowly shape the sound of the record. You become a sound luthier. It’s a recipe that you prepare, patiently. It’s alchemy. And it’s this work of patience that I want to return to you, warm, lively, and above all comfortable to listen to: that of a musician who has taken the time to try and get the best out of himself. So that you, as well, can listen to it in peace and quiet and enjoy for a moment a return to a more suspended time.
After these sound recordings, and the editing, I will go to the studio for mixing and mastering, for a duration of about 5 days, certainly during the month of September 2020.

And finally, when the time is right, the record will be released digitally and physically on a label that will be able to accompany me in its promotion and distribution.
It’s a long process, and a great challenge, but I’ve decided to take it up. Those who know me a little bit know that when I’ve decided on something, I go all the way. So there will be a Steve Reich monograph on guitar. And it will be you who made it possible.

Thank you in advance, and I’ll see you soon,

Pierre, July 2020

You can listen to my performance of “Electric Counterpoint” as well as my interview with Jean-Baptiste Urbain here: Live and interview on France Musique (starting at 38:00).

I have transcribed and recorded the three movements of “Different Trains”, and sent them to M. Steve Reich who has done several comments on them. I am waiting for his validation to eventually include it in the album.

I am very happy to announce that after my performance and interview on France Musique, I have been contacted by several recording companies, which are interested to sign my album!

M. Reich has given me his validation for the program (“Different Trains” is not yet validated): “the rest of the pieces are all for electric guitar and should work well. I look forward to hearing more”. This means I will at least have “Nagoya Guitars”, “Electric Counterpoint” and “Electric Guitar Phase” on the album.

Thanks to my patrons to have made the project possible: Xavier Carrere, Fanny Bibault-Cazade, Marie-Hélène Hérault-Bibault, Philippe Soussand, Magali Koutti, Maxime Froment Regaignon, Marc and Anne Lallemant, Thierry Bary, Valentin Chioukh, Cédric Carceles, Emmanuel Duvshani, Benjamin Girardot, Bruno Bianco, Claudine Manesse, Nicolas Barillot, Jean-Claude Cazade, Patrick Amar, Marina Milinkovitch, Vincent Ramos-Filaire, Pascal Lemaire, Nicolas Fraissinet, Fabienne Bouvet, Arnaud Toussaint, John Alvarado, Jeffrey Holmes, Nicolas Mondon, Xavier Baraton, Elke Prinsier, Erwan Larzul, Guo Yi, Raphaël Guichard, Philippe Castaings, Benjamin Belot and Evan Prevost.

The video was released on May 24, 2020.

Throughout the upcoming year, you will be able to follow my work on the album, directly on my Instagram account. To do so, simply click on the Story Archives “Steve Reich”. Don’t forget to follow me!

The Steve Reich Guitar Project on Instagram

On February 16, 2021, I will give a conference on Steve Reich, his music, and more specifically on my upcoming album/ project: “The Steve Reich Guitar Project”. Due to the Covid situation, the conference will be online. You can join the meeting here:

The Steve Reich Guitar Project, Conference, KCB/ VUB

Steve Reich finally decided not to validate my transcription of “Different Trains”. I completely respect his choice. Therefore, the piece will not be on the album. The program will remain: “Nagoya Guitars”, “Electric Counterpoint” and “Electric Guitar Phase”.

I am very happy to announce that the album “The Steve Reich Guitar Project” (which is not the final title of the disc) has been signed on the Label IndéSens Records.

I can’t wait to work again with their teams!

These two months will be dedicated to the final recording of the album.

I also have decided to add the piece “Clapping Music” to the album, which is the last piece of Steve Reich on Phase studies. As the disc is planned to be release as a Vinyl disc, it will suit perfectly with the piece “Electric Guitar Phase” on the B Side. I also want to celebrate the renewal of applause in the world’s venues, that have stopped for the last year and a half, due to the Covid situation.

The session with Manuel has been incredibly rich. We have shot 4 pictures that will be officially used for the communication around the disc.

I would like to thank Manuel very much for his amazing work. You can have a look at his general work here: Manuel Braun, Photographer.

The pictures of my session with him are to be published later here and on my Instagram and Facebook pages. Stay tuned!

I would also like to thank Catherine for her deep and touching work. I can’t wait to show you this incredible picture…

You can have a look at her work here: Catherine Peillon, Photographer.

Thomas Vingtrinier has mixed and mastered the album. I am more than satisfied with the result. Stay tuned for the release on October 1st!!!

One of the label that had contacted me after the France Musique interview to sign my album, and with whom I have refused to sign last May, has decided to have the disc recorded anyway (with exactly the same program), by another guitarist… The disc is to be released at the exact same period as mine.

I am deeply saddened by such a greedy and ununderstandable decision, that I won’t comment any further.

Nevertheless, this will have absolutely no influence on my own project. The original ones remind the true ones!

Reich Redux, De Bijloke

I am very happy to present you the cover and the back of my Steve Reich solo electric guitar album, to be released on October 1st 2021, on the label IndéSens Records.

The cover is a picture that has completely subjugated me as soon as I saw it. I immediately knew it had to be the cover of the disc, because it represents exactly what I have tried to put in this album in terms of colors, layers and intensity. It is signed by the photographer Catherine Peillon. The back is signed by the photographer Manuel Braun. Cover: © Catherine Peillon, 2008. Back: © Manuel Braun, 2021.

The Disc “Steve Reich | Pierre Bibault, Guitar” will be released on the Label IndéSens Records.

Buy now: if you want to support the Artist, you can buy this Digipack directly here: https://pierrebibault.bandcamp.com/album/steve-reich-pierre-bibault-guitar