La Planete Sauvage

Music by Alan Goraguer

 

 

 

 

 

French pianist, composer and arranger, Alan Goraguer composed for several names of popular French music as Maurice Chevalier, Sasha Distel, Brigitte Bardot and Mireille Mathieu and had a partnership with Serge Gainsbourg.

Goraguer would also make an interesting film career composing soundtracks for L'Homme de Marrakesh (1966), La Servante (1970), and short animations of Rene Laloux as Les Temps Mortes (1964) and Les Scargots (1966). The partnership with the surreal fantasies of the French animator would be responsible for Goraguer´s best remembered work: the cult animation La Planete Sauvage (1973) of Laloux and Roland Topor. The Planete Sauvage music captivates immediately with its spirit of fantasy, adding jazz and rock influence in relaxed "psychedelic" atmosphere. Composed almost a single theme (Deshominisation) that passes for several arrangements, the music has an emphasis on keyboards, electric pianos and guitar chords in wha-wha effect. Following arrangements for the main theme (in vignettes with an average time of 1 minute) some passages add flutes - as chirps of birds - or female vocals to climatic effect as Generique or Meditation Des Enfants. Interestingly Goraguer got a constant atmosphere of ethereal suspension, despite the weight of the instruments sound, giving an extra touch to the surreal universe of Topor and Laloux. Amazing moments as the soul in Ten et Medor and the sensual mood of Strip Tease (with sax solo), and the vignette "baroque" Conseil Des Draags, adding variety to sound. Stands out as main feature of the work the careful record of the instruments for creating atmosphere and ambience. Available in a well-kept edition of DC Recordings label.