The Laos Song Cycle is a collection of lyrics about the Laos secret war (1964-1973). They are inspired from stories of people impacted by the war that I collected early during my research. For the last ten years, they have been part of my repertoire and have known many different arrangements, orchestrations and versions depending on the ensemble and band I was part of. To this date, this is my last version and there will be at least two more texts to be added as The Laos Song Cycle - part 2.

For the last nine months, I again found myself taking a new journey into the unpredictable paths of free improvisation. I put composing and scoring to a rest and focused on building a new relationship between the musicians, the audience and the sounds. A relationship based on trust, risk-taking, spontaneity and anarchy.

It seems to me that the practice of free improvisation is rooted deep in the history of man and woman. Based on an oral exchange, it triggers reflexes and instincts that could be traced back to their earliest need for survival. Similarly, the flute is an archaic instrument that evokes mysteries from forgotten time and territories. It can speak to us about the beginning of mankind. This particular position in peoples' psyche makes the flute an ideal instrument to practice free improvisation.

The organologic proximity between the flute and the modular synthesizer is remarkable. To name a few, the flute’s low timbre density mirrors and mimics the pure sinusoidal waves produced by the modular synthesizer. Moreover, we could perhaps say that the modular synthesizer shares, via the pipe organ, some genealogical branches with the flute family.

Because of its subtractive way of shaping or sculpting the sound, the modular synthesizer can be considered an anti-instrument. Therefore, it completes any traditional musical instrument such as the flute that is an additive instrument.

At its core, the modular synthesizer, unlike most traditional instruments, is not based on any musical quantifications such as temperaments, scales, timbre or register. That alone helps people focus on sounds rather than on music.

In general, I use both vocals and animal sounds dialectical and sensory impacts to deliver ideas, poetry and sounds. Whereas I may fluctuate between improvised verses, words and vocals, in this 3 pieces, I chose to focus on a specific text.

Another sound source we frequently used in our duet is field recordings. Here, too, it directly informs people’s sonic memories while bypassing the cultural frame usually required from a musical form.

I would like to thanks Chantala Kommanivanh for letting me use his paintings in my graphics and for being my friend. Nat Quinn for giving me some of his pétanques and trusting me. Legacies of War for their support. Channapha Khamvongsa for welcoming me at Legacies of War. Sera Koulabdara for helping editing the live projection and sharing her story. Danae Hendrickson for your interest in my project. Annie Bright and Todd Eden Smiley for proof-reading the liner notes, listening to me, supporting my music, the numerous parties at Sala & Betty and for being my friends. And all the people that helped me navigate in the making of this project.


François Minaux