When the music is good at sea!

He named his boat ‘STAND AS ONE’ before discovering that it was the title of a song by Skip the Use. But for Éric the links between this band and his adventure are more numerous, as the lyrics correspond to much of what can experience on the ocean. He then decided that the singer of Skip the Use, Mat Bastard, would be the godfather of his boat. At the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023, to christen the IMOCA, a concert was organised on the pontoons. At the Vendée Globe, Mat Bastard came to greet Éric at the start. Above all, he told him that they were going to embark on a crazy project: to tell the story of his round the world trip in song. 12 weeks at sea, 12 songs and an aquatic journey named Sail and Sound"

"I'm keeping a dose for the road"

In these songs, available on Youtube, Mat Bastard evokes the contradictory emotions of the open sea, the questioning, the urgent need to believe in one's star. One song sensitively evokes Éric's wife, Marie, and life on land, another: "Papa et papi", or Éric Bellion for father and Jean Le Cam for grandfather, of whom the singer says that he "speaks with his eyes". There are catchy rhythms, while the lyrics tell the reality of the women and men of ocean racing, as with the first lines of ‘Jusqu’au ciel’ published three weeks ago, which translate as:

“Desperate / broken down / it took me ages to put myself back together / I keep a dose for the road, anyway I have nothing else to do / Time passes like a life that is too short”

Sail & Sound 4

Ruyant – Molécule, the previous one

This project is reminiscent of the one that Thomas Ruyant (currently VULNERABLE) had led with the composer and artist Molécule during the last edition of the Vendée Globe. Together, they had installed a capture device for sound and images. This raw material gave rise to a film (29,173 NM) that presents one of the most impressive immersions of what this race is about.

Bande-annonce

Great connections between skippers and artists

The links between sailors and artists are multiple. Fabrice Amedeo's boat (Nexans - Wewise) was christened by singer Jérémy Frérot (former member of the duo Fréro Delavega) in Les Sables d'Olonne. "I thought Jérémy was a great ambassador, I contacted him on social media and he responded right away," explains Fabrice. Singer Anne Sila was on the deck of Monnoyeur - DUO for a JOB to christen Benjamin Ferré's boat. She had brought Benjamin a letter signed by Jean-Jacques Goldman, which Benjamin kept on board during his round-the-world trip.

In the same vein, there is also Francis Cabrel, godfather of Fortinet - Best Western, Romain Attanasio's boat, a huge fan of the singer. In addition, Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) was encouraged by Patrick Bruel, who he met through mutual acquaintances. This is also the case for DJ and former Star Academy candidate Quentin Mosimann and Maxime Sorel (V and B - Monbana - Mayenne). The skipper was also on stage when the artist performed at the Vendée Globe bar.

Different styles

Since departing for their circumnavigation, all the skippers have taken hundreds of tracks with them, with many of them saying they "took a bit of everything.” Indeed, over the weeks of the race we have indeed heard a bit of everything. Arnaud Boissière has filmed himself several times sailing to rock or reggae tunes, while Jingkun Xu appreciates traditional Chinese music. Sébastien Marsset was treated to an anthem created by a sponsor, and listens a lot to Lose Yourself by Eminem.

For his part, Alan Roura is passionate about Jacques Brel, which he sings at the top of his lungs, sometimes having fun rewriting the lyrics. Tanguy Le Turquais has filmed several great moments listening to MPL (Le mystère abyssal) or Tiken Jah Fakoly (Alou Maye). His partner Clarisse Crémer assures us that she “listens to Spotify playlists” but “is unable to say what the titles and lyrics of the songs are”. She adds: “on the other hand, when I can, I dance a little on the bridge. And as for music, I’m a bit stuck in the 1970s.”

Romain Attanasio has regularly demonstrated his singing talent during the race. At Cape Horn he sang Eddy Mitchell’s "La dernière séance,” repeating the chorus: "bye bye le grand Sud". On Wednesday, a new title, this time in front of a sunrise with the cover of Pierre Bachelet, 'Elle est d'ailleurs', was offering vibrations of happiness.