Notes from Charles Pasi’s journal - Episode #5: ZEBRA

French-Italian singer, songwriter and harmonica player Charles Pasi's fifth-ever and second album from Blue Note Records, ‘Zebra’ was released in February, almost a year later than planned, due to the pandemic.

In 'Zebra' Charles Pasi turned to a slightly more acoustic and organic sound, and this time he has found a very solid co-star to his harmonica. Fred Dupont's Hammond B3 organ adds a very pleasant flavour to the music. His other teammates are Vincent Peirani on accordion and Cyril Atef on drums; musicians whom he had never played together or even met with some, but had admiration for.

Charles Pasi has been pushing the boundaries of the usual since his 2011 album ‘Uncaged’, where he broke his musical chains and did not hesitate to reflect all the styles he was influenced by to his music. In this album, he followed a 'wild', even relatively risky path like the zebra, with which he parallels himself in many respects, and preferred to have his songs shaped in the studio with the touches of the musicians, without any demo or rehearsal. For this, he even stalled the musicians until the day of recording saying, "I will send the songs either today or tomorrow", however, he knew from the very beginning that he would enter the studio with no preperation. The lengthening of studio hours was not appreciated by the record company that’s for sure, but being ‘tamed and predictable’ is not very Charles Pasi-like. “In the era of producer as the king, I wanted to hear musicians playing. I wanted to deviate from the trend towards the metronomic. These days, everything is too thought-out. It's as if we no longer have the right to make mistakes. Or have mishaps. We play out our lives on a single track. It's a shame.

The result is a laid-back, spacious but slightly more pop-oriented arrangements than we are used to and a clean, warm and velvet-like sound.

It is again difficult to describe the music. Soul, a little bit of blues, a little bit of pop, jazz and groove... Common ingredients, but the fusion that Charles Pasi offers through his own kitchen bears the signature of a gourmet chef. The binding agents in this fusion are his trademark harmonica playing and his mellow voice that is well able to touch you deep inside.

Please click the picture to listen.

Listening to ‘Zebra’ is like walking through the pages of Charles Pasi's journal. The songs feel like they were written from somewhere more personal this time. Even if he writes about other people or talks about something fictional, all of Charles Pasi's songs are naturally based on his own feelings, but while the previous albums talk more about life and human situations in general, ‘Zebra’ feels as if most of the stories were actually experienced by the author. The album may seem sombre at first, but the irony is everywhere and even if you feel the sadness, loneliness, contradictions, and despair in the songs, you can find yourself smiling somehow, even laughing at times. Charles Pasi is a master storyteller. The charm in his songwriting is due to his ability to make subtle fun of both himself and the situations, while he has the courage to take you in his privacy.

Happy Single, written after a finished relationship and where irony takes the lead;

Warm Embrace telling the story, evident that it will not end well despite love, of a couple as different as black and white;

Don't Blame Me is the words of a man feeling stuck in a relationship due to expectations that he cannot meet and therefore who has come to an end, along with a magnificent harmonica solo that can smoothly convey all those feelings;

and

Monsters On The Ceiling, in which he expresses his longing with all his fragility, constitutes the 'heart department' of the album.

Sing-along Back to Casablanca, a homage to Casablanca; 

Silence, featuring Vincent Peirani, one of the most tranquil pieces of the album, except for a tiny turbulence the harmonica solo may cause in you.

10 Years Old with its naive lyrics written from a little kid’s perspective and its 'feel good' music;

Mike & Richie, another ballad that has one of the most penetrating harmonica solos of the album with its powerful melody;

Hello Spain, a laughter piece with its fictional story (fortunately)

and

Elio, which Pasi wrote to his nephew when he was born, whispering his first lesson in his ears about the world he came into;

'Zebra' is an album that gets rooted in you as you listen to. The world created by Charles Pasi draws you in more and more each time you lend your ears to his music.

If you are one of those who has discovered Charles Pasi with ‘Zebra’, I would strongly recommend that you check out his other albums too.