Philippe Besombes

When the bunch of filmmakers known as The Pattern Group (Roland Moreau, Georges Perdriaud and Jean Talansier) did Libra, their second movie, in 1973 they thought it would be a good idea to use bits from Pink Floyd's Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother to create its soundtrack. The movie, a 90-minute film with no dialogue, depicts the story of four youngsters living in communion with nature, an idyllic life that is drastically changed when a U.S. satellite crashes in the area and attracts the attention of journalists and TV crews that come to destroy the peace of the place. Obviously, the Pink Floyd bits had been used without permission, and The Pattern Group saw they needed an original soundtrack if they wanted the film released without legal trouble.

They approached Jean-Michel Jarre, who declined the invitation to create the new soundtrack, but suggested instead Philippe Besombes. Besombes was a sound explorer who walked similar paths as other avant gardist young musicians from his generation such as Richard Pinhas (Heldon), Paul Putti (Pôle), Jean Louis Rizet or Jean-Michel Jarre himself (way before he became the famed wizard of commercial synth music as we know him today). Besombes was requested to produce a soundtrack 'in the style' of those Pink Floyd tracks used. However he came up with that and more.

Always aiming to find new ways of musical expression, he produced music that fitted perfectly in what the filmmakers needed but which was totally of his own. Surrounded by a cast of friends, he locked himself in the basement of his girlfriend's father (who even ended up providing the financial funds for the project to reach an end!) and taped the amazing sounds that form the Libra soundtrack, a landmark in French electronic tripping music. The soundtrack was recorded in 1974, and it was released as a vinyl LP on the Tapioca label in 1975. It has since become a highly sought-after LP among collectors of electronic music worldwide, and gets a great vinyl reissue on Purple Pyramid in a deluxe edition on blue vinyl.

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