Cinephonic was founded in 2018 by composer / pianist / vibraphonist Pierre Chrétien, as an outlet for the new cinematic tunes he had been quietly writing when he wasn't busy leading larger groups such as The Souljazz Orchestra, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble and Slim Moore & the Mar-Kays.
In the fall of 2020, he releases Les Paradis artificiels, his first full-length album under the Cinephonic moniker, on which he collaborates with heavyweight hip-hop drummer Robert Biesewig (Wu-Tang Clan, Havoc, Alchemist) and versatile percussionist Marielle Rivard (The Souljazz Orchestra, Slim Moore & the Mar-Kays), while performing all other parts himself on mellotron, piano and vibraphone.
Drawing his main inspiration for the album from classic French film and library music, Chrétien expands on the sound with elements of orchestral jazz, cinematic soul, and instrumental hip-hop, creating a rich, evocative, and complex soundscape that juxtaposes intricate compositions with dark funk backbeats - a kind of epic soundtrack for a
film that never existed.
October 3rd, 2020 - Worldwide
DJ Gilles Peterson featured Cinephonic's "Béton et Ferraille" on his BBC Radio 6 show
just now - the whole set is straight-up fire, showcasing some of the best tunes that
came out during the last few months of lockdown, check it out.
October 2nd, 2020 - It's out!
Cinephonic's debut album Les Paradis artificiels is finally out today! Now today is also Bandcamp day - all proceeds from album sales go directly to the artists -
so it's a great time to pick up the vinyl LP or CD from them. Oh, and for those of you in Ottawa, The Record Centre (1099 Wellington Street) has the
vinyl LPs for sale, that's your best bet if you're local.
September 29th, 2020 - City Rising...
Hey, so Le Grigri Radio in France just did the world premiere
of a brand new Cinephonic track, "Éveil de la cité" ("City Rising"), with an amazing article to boot...
September 25th, 2020 - We Got The Jazz...
Nice! Cinephonic just hit #1 on the !earshot Jazz chart in Canada, side-by-side with heavyweights Mulatu Astatke, Christian McBride, and Nubiya Garcia!
Big ups to all the DJs for doing what they're doing despite this whole Covid mess...
Out today! We're psyched to share the vid for Cinephonic's brand new single, hot off the analogue reels...
This one's a rainy-day, bittersweet, melancholy orchestral soul tune called "Après, le déluge",
featuring members of The Souljazz Orchestra with frequent Wu-Tang Clan collaborator Robert
Biesewig on drums.
(Hey, by the way, the upcoming Cinephonic album is currently the #1 "soul-jazz" album on
Bandcamp, thanks to everyone that helped
make that happen!)
We're excited to share the video for the new Cinephonic single, an epic cinematic soul track called
"Béton et Ferraille", driven by majestic brass-and-vibraphone goodness, with hints of
David Axelrod, Isaac Hayes & Jean-Claude Vannier.
August 19th, 2020 - New Cinephonic Album
Cinephonic's debut album comes out on October 2nd! You can preview the first single on YouTube,
a dark baroque soul opus entitled "Les Corbeaux", or pre-order right now from Bandcamp.