PREMIER ELEMENT

Natural Element Quartet, the Parisian quartet featuring Clément Thirion on double bass, Franck Morin on piano, Renaud Védie on guitar and Patrick Chenais on drums, Natural Element Quartet offers a bewitching mosaic of harmonies, elegantly fusing jazz tints, contemporary nuances and improvised accents.

Since 2017, the stars seem to be aligning, guiding these four musicians towards a most inspired encounter, where a musical as well as human understanding blossoms naturally. A deep love for the melodies of great masters such as John Abercrombie, Kenny Wheeler and Marc Copland is the catalyst, feeding their burning desire to immerse themselves in them and express themselves in a unique way. In this quartet, three of the musicians compose. The genesis of their own carefully woven musical universe is thus embodied in original compositions, the fruit of each member’s artistic journey.

Influenced by John Coltrane’s Giant Step, Franck Morin presents Bodies are Flow, which evokes the fluidity of existence, like bodies in motion in an impetuous flow. With Saturne Indécision, composed by Clément Thirion, music becomes a web of questions, revealing multiple paths with uncertain consequences.
The journey continues with Inner Song One, which explores a parallel universe where the magic of notes opens a passageway to infinity. Music becomes a messenger, transporting listeners’ souls to faraway lands. Subtle touches reminiscent of Bill Evans are also present.
In Accroché aux Branches, the musicians invite us to follow the thread of a subtle time, where dreams mingle gently, like distant echoes suspended in existence.

Like an emotional odyssey, Franck Morin dedicates My Dad to the loved one who guided him. The composition navigates through contrasting times, weaving a sonic portrait imbued with sensitivity and filial love. In Donna Dark, like a nuanced musical fresco, it’s his mother, the mistress of the house, who takes center stage.
With Suite to Death, a sonic catharsis, the composition reflects the torments of society. Like a torrent of thoughts and emotions, the track captures the essence of a collective ordeal, reminiscent of confinement, and sublimates it into a profound and revealing work. As Franck Morin puts it: “The ostinato draws us into a whirlwind of reflection.”

Renaud Védie composes the tracks Trois Fois Pour Rien and Second Signe. The music transports us into a ball of renunciations, where the waltz of destiny guides each step. John Coltrane and John Abercrombie are not far away. Two stars that light up Renaud Védie’s career. With Second Signe, like a veil lifted over revelation, the composition depicts the power of a moment of awareness. As Renaud Védie puts it: “My musical journey has been a complicated one, between construction, abandonment, success, failure, enriching encounters and destructive criticism… A dense summary of existence in a way. And then, just when the desire to give up becomes too strong, the unexpected event that we were no longer expecting comes along and restores the desire. “Without music, life would be a mistake”, according to Nietzsche. This second sign is the one that brought this aphorism back into my consciousness.”

Closing the album, Clément Thirion’s Crépuscule Bleu sounds like the last melodic breath, enveloping the listener in an atmosphere of quietude. Calm follows sunset. Night spreads its veils over a city in chrysalis, enveloping everyone in a cocoon of softness and melancholy. Drawing inspiration from Paul Verlaine, Clément Thirion introduces this track by reciting these lines “Il pleure dans mon coeur; Comme il pleut sur la ville; Quelle est cette langueur; Qui pénètre mon coeur?”

The album Premier Élément is a tribute to the art of creation, where the harmony of the instruments intertwines with the sensitivity of the musicians. The music transcends the boundaries of time and space, inviting the audience to plunge into a sonic environment where each note is a star dancing in the ether of time. Natural Element Quartet’s jazz is for sharing!

Bodies are Flow (Franck Morin)
Saturne-Indécision (Clément Thirion)
Inner Song N°1 (Clément Thirion)
My Dad (Franck Morin)
Trois fois pour Rien (Renaud Védie)
Donna Dark (Franck Morin)
Accroché aux Branches (Clément Thirion)
Suite To Death (Franck Morin)
Second signe (Renaud Védie)
Crépuscule bleu (Clément Thirion)

Published by Éditions Amoc

Franck Morin (Piano)
Renaud Védie (Guitar)
Clément Thirion (Double Bass)
Patrick Chenais (Drums)

Recorded byPatrick Chenais at Studio Aéronef
Mixed and mastered byAntoine Karacostas
Graph by Clément Thirion
Design and photographs byOlyric
Production : Patrick Chenais
Release date : 17-11-2023