Not easy to occupy during confinement. After three weeks, you have to know how to renew yourself. There are those who take refuge in video games, those who put on series or those who immerse themselves in the books piled up on their shelves. And then there are the musicians who take advantage of the confinement to practice the guitar, the piano, the violin or any other instrument. But music is shared. So, for three weeks, initiatives have multiplied to connect musicians to each other.
Open stage 2.0
It is in this spirit that the start-up JampSpace organized an open stage - a competition of amateur musicians - not in a room but on Facebook. All participants had registered and were invited to log on to the live at 7:30 p.m. The image is not very clear, of course, but the sound is good. And this is the main thing for the five amateur musicians, delighted to be on Facebook for a small competition.
Everyone has the right to 15 minutes to perform the songs of their choice. No, the first to inaugurate this format, opts for example on the acoustic guitar covers of Hit the Road Jack , the classic of Ray Charles, of The Anthem of our campaigns , of Tryo, or, more surprisingly, of Scarface , song from rapper Booba. The others opt instead for compositions from their own repertoire. As it would have done in an auditorium, the public votes behind their screen by awarding points. The key is a day of recording in the studio. When the containment is lifted ...
This idea of an open scene on Facebook, it was Alice Robelin who had it. This passionate 26-year-old bass player founded JamSpace, a startup that was once housed at Station F, which usually connects musicians for studio sessions.
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Group covers but everyone at home
In addition to new and more frequent open scenes on Facebook, Alice Robelin is embarking on a new project: a cover, by twenty musicians - always each at home - of the timeless Feeling Good . JamSpace users voted for Michael Bublé's version, released in 2009. The "big band" orchestration will simply be adapted for a pop-rock group.
This initiative is not the first, far from it. For several days, covers of famous songs have flourished on the canvas involving dozens of musicians across France and the world. The conductor Samuel Sené has gathered 135 amateur musicians for a cover of the Queen's hit The Show Must Go On . More professional, the musicians of the National Orchestra of France recorded, each at home, a delightful version of Ravel's Boléro .
Among the other original musical initiatives put in place during this confinement, the festival "I stay at home" gathered dozens of artists during concerts at their homes from April 1 to 7, to find on the Facebook page of the 'organization. In the United States, a large virtual concert bringing together several prestigious artists will take place on April 18 to raise funds to fight against the coronavirus.