lockdown : vinyl find #44.

There's no clear mark in my memory of my first encounter with François de Roubaix's work. I may have subconsciouly grown up with his music in my ears, considering the type of soundtracks he did. 

However, it became obvious very early in my digging "career" that I had to collect as many records involving François de Roubaix as I could find and afford. It became an obsession, that I filled with a few 45's and LP's. Recent reissues came to my rescue, considering the price tags of some of the originals. For others, they'll probably remain as dreams for my entire life. 

Beside his most famous soundtracks, François de Roubaix was a pioneer in electronic music, infusing synths and crazy sounds into his composition, or even composing entire titles with electronic means and exotic, if not self-crafted, instruments. His personality, his work ethics, became worthy of interest, although there was very few documentation to find.   

I bought this compilation of music composed to score short movies very early, in Bordeaux, probably at the very good record fair that used to be held at the Velodrome. It was like a gift from God. I didn't know anything about WéMé Records at the time, but I worshipped them for this compilation. It contains such a variety of styles (jazz, pop, funk, afro, proto-electronic...), such an amount of music,  such diversity in moods, on just two records, it's simply impressive. 

When I became aware of the influence of WéMé Records in the Belgian landscape, I found it odd that they were the ones who put on the market that many de Roubaix's recordings ; I gotta admit that besides pressing de Roubaix's exclusives, they are also responsible for a bunch of weird records. And the same guys are responsible for the best second-hand bookstore in Brussels, Pêle-Mêle. 

Spanning from 1963 to 1973, "Courts métrages", is an essential addition to any collection, especially for those focusing on soundtracks. Like the hand-drawn cover, it perfectly shows the typical négligé elegance of de Roubaix's music. Those flutes, damn, those flutes... a signature.

François de Roubaix - Courts métrages.

Here's the CD version : YouTube.

Other labels (notably Pucci Records) have released a collection of his soundtracks for short movies.