Paris (AFP)

Composing despite quadriplegia: Pone, former pillar of the famous hip-hop collective Fonky Family, struck by Charcot's disease, continues to make music thanks to software that obeys the movement of his eyes.

"If there was a message, as a patient, it would be that anything is possible," Guilhem "Pone" Gallart told AFP.

An eye-tracking system, which guides the mouse, therefore allows it to compose, but also to write or speak via a voice generated by its computer (obviously with a little latency for responses).

He sums up his career in recent years.

“I fell ill in 2015, and I didn't play music until January 2019. It's not that I didn't want to, it's that I was busy with something else, to survive”.

"When the specter of death disappeared, largely thanks to the tracheotomy, I found the desire to compose, but I thought it was not possible with the eyes."

Its disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is characterized by a progressive death of the neurons which control, among other things, walking, speaking, swallowing and breathing.

But thanks to his technological relay, the forty-something was able to make music again and take advantage of its virtues.

"Like all creations, I think, there is first of all this feeling of being elsewhere, of not seeing time fly by. Then the well-being provided by the satisfaction of the work accomplished, when you get to where you wanted to go. , has something exhilarating and calming at the same time ".

- "Open your eyes" -

"I found the Pone I knew before," his wife Wahiba told AFP.

"And even stronger than he was before. Pone's music today has changed. I have the impression that today his emotion, he makes it stand out even more."

The result has been heard again since Friday with "Listen and donate", a mini-album of four tracks.

Pone distills a dreamy electro where we hear "Open your eyes", quite a symbol.

As its name suggests ("Listen and give" in French) this work aims to raise funds for the association Trakadom (tracheotomy at home).

This structure was created by Pone and two doctors to train caregivers and caregivers in order to supervise the return home of patients with hearing aids.

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"Talking about this with doctors, nurses, caregivers and carers, I not only found that this lack (of training) was important, but that there was in most of them , a desire to be trained ", unrolls the artist.

He is bedridden, connected by tubes to an artificial respirator, at his home in Gaillac (Tarn) and lives alongside his wife and two daughters.

- "Work for 10 years" -

To help the association, all you have to do is listen on the platforms - which generates transferred copyrights - or acquire a three-track vinyl or its four-track collector's version (from Naïve / Believe).

It is the famous artist JR who signed a series of photos illustrating the two vinyls offered in limited edition.

"I have always been a fan of pictorial art, confesses Pone. I also started with graffiti before being caught by sound. I won't hide from you that given the charitable aspect of the project, we wanted to do A lot of noise. And JR was the perfect person for that. We asked him then and he said yes without thinking. I am infinitely grateful to him. "

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The other big name who came to give, indirectly, a precious helping hand is Kate Bush, already mentioned in reference in the previous projects of the musician-producer.

"She is a huge artist and she is in my top 5 along with Bob Marley, Curtis Mayfield, Notorious Big and Claude Nougaro," he enthuses.

"We sent her + Kate and me + (2019 Pone record) and she immediately wrote me the most incredible email I received in which she said she loved the album and that I had her blessing to sample all his discography. It took me three days to get over it.

Other projects?

"I have plenty, maybe a little too much ... Music, writing and associative medical projects, I have work for 10 years".

© 2021 AFP