The Modern Illusion — “it’s about the 70’s California we idolized”.
Two satellites on a collision course. After so many sessions and productions for other artists, it was, of course, bound to happen that Paul Curtiz and Denis Moulin should have their own project. And if there’s one thing to be said for global pandemics, there’s certainly a chapter about having a bit of time on your hands and a lot of music waiting to pour out of your brain. “We always knew it would happen, sooner or later. It just happened to be the right time for dark satellite.”
(full biography at the bottom of the page)
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album available on CD or digital download
dark satellite – “the modern illusion” (a sortabiography)
Two satellites on a collision course. After so many sessions, concerts and productions for other artists, it was bound to happen that Denis Moulin and Paul Curtiz should finally work together on their own project. And if there’s one thing to be said for global pandemics, there’s probably a chapter about having a bit of time on your hands and a lot of music waiting to get out of your system. “We always knew we would do something of our own, sooner or later. It just happened to be the right time for dark satellite.”
Denis and Paul have crossed paths countless times during their respective careers, resulting in a long-standing friendship and obviously creating a fertile ground for a common effort. Although steeped in soul, funk and jazz, both musicians have worked in eclectic genres throughout their musical journey. But this one was to be different. “We started it as a bit of a joke: let’s do a cliché “smooth Yacht Rock” slash West Coast tune. At first it was just one song, but then they just kept coming. And before we knew it, we had an album. It’s been some of the most fun I ever had making music”, says Curtiz.
The Modern Illusion, dark satellite’s debut album, is a collection of songs infused with road trips, retro sci-fi, faux-Hollywood and quirky characters. “It’s a romanticized version of the 70’s and 80’s, reminiscing about discovering the US and California right as we were coming of age, and turning on the radio to hear nothing but Steely Dan or the Doobie Brothers. That whole vibe, we just went shamelessly for it and turned it into our own cultural appropriation version”, says Moulin. “Think West Coast, Normandy”, Curtiz adds.
The West Coast inspired trifecta of Nothing Like California, Hollywood and D.A.B. indeed sets the mood. “We imagined this couple on a week-end road trip somewhere in North-Western Europe during one of our not-so-bright summers, fantasizing about the much more vacation-friendly California weather. We drew on all the clichés —even though some of them are very real. It’s L.A. and Hollywood from our shallow perspective, with our European culture as a reference point ”, says Curtiz. “Yeah, we probably won’t be making any new friends in California”, chuckles Moulin.
These serve as the perfect background setting for songs very much anchored in our own crazy epoch. “Flat Earth Dean came about as a reflection on trying to argue with people who mistake opinion for fact. It’s easy to make fun of them, but in the end we’re still going to have to be living together in the same society. So how do we make that work?”.
Asked about Another Movie, a reprimand and threat-filled monologue from a sleazy movie producer to his trophy starlet girlfriend set in a (hopefully) bygone era, Curtiz is prompt to reply: “If we want change, we need to acknowledge things used to be different. Of course this guy is a dirtbag. But it used to be like that (in the entertainment industry), wasn’t it ? It probably still is to some extent. The last thing we should do is erase the past. We should learn from it.” Moulin jumps in : “So let’s make this character a shameless asshole, turn him into a full-on caricature, and have fun with it. The more he says, the deeper the whole he digs for himself.” (By the way, extra points if you can spot references to a Blake Edwards production).
With Jetpack, dark satellite have delivered a protest song dressed as a postcard from the 60’s: “As kids, we were raised in that era, mid-late 60’s, early 70’s”, says Curtiz. “Right into the Jetsons re-runs”, quips Moulin. “Jetpacks and flying cars were the promise of the future. And alongside the technological advance, we were obviously headed for a better society, one of peace, equality and a better life for everyone. Boy, did we get that wrong! Somehow we ended up in Blade Runner. Oops.”
Twisted relationships also get their moment although Curtiz is quick to say “Those aren’t autobiographical. We might have lifted “moments” from people we know, but the stories are made up – except perhaps for the idea that kickstarted Penny Wants A Ballad. Denis played the demos of the album for his daughter (Penelope, also a gifted musician) who said she liked it but that it was missing a ballad. Challenge accepted! We came up with two of them —the other one being Bora Bora, just because we’ve both been there and have both had mixed feelings about the tropical paradise thing. Not to mention, when you fly from Paris to Tahiti, the one stop-over is L.A., of course. So that was an easy tie-in to the theme. And since we’re on the topic of flying, Kerosene came about because we wanted to find out how many “Right Stuff-isms” we could cram in there, in a Raymond Queneau type of exercize”, explains Curtiz. “Also, take a minute to reflect on the guy naming his daughter “Kerosene”, laughs Moulin.
Moving along the track list, Curtiz says: “Never Saw It Coming is our “sad loser” track. I never cease to be amazed by people who have no relationship radar at all”. Moulin adds “…and Encore is pretty much the same but from the perspective of a musician, ha ha ha. Yeah, we function in twisted ways. We liked the idea of making it sound like a band playing this tiny club to a mostly indifferent audience, hustling our record to a few drunken souls over the noise of glasses and cutlery. If you’ve played long enough, you’ve been there and done that.”
Of course, sooner or later the elephant in the room, or rather, shall we say “Burrough’s metallic pleasure device” also needed to be addressed. “Well obviously the record is a Steely Dan homage. And we hope we did it in a way that will speak to the audience. We tried to catch the vibe, even though the songs quickly took on a life of their own. In any case it’s only our interpretation of that vibe. But to even imagine we’ve come near to what they did? In the words of Donnie Brasco, “fuggetaboutit”. These guys play in a league of their own. So if anyone complains that it sounds even remotely close to Steely Dan, it’ll be “mission accomplished ”, notes Moulin.
There’s a double nod to Walter Becker, starting with Walter Speaks. Says Curtiz, “Musically I’m probably leaning ever so slightly more towards Fagen, but Walter Becker —besides being a stellar musician— makes me laugh and laugh. There are treasures of comedy in everything he wrote —and he wrote a lot. The guy had a difficult youth and humor is always a good weapon to get through tough times. So we came up with this witty character able to share his wisdom while playing verbal tennis over the head of idiots.” “With Red Guitar, we stumbled upon a very rough version of one of his demos online – and I was intrigued, because I have a thing for red guitars. We got to thinking —Hey, we should add a cover to the record, and what better cover than an unreleased WB track! It’s a melancholy song about a fictitious up and coming band, with a very poetic set of lyrics. It was just a one or two-minute demo, very basic, so we had to flesh it out a bit and we took some liberties in the coda. Again, we hope we did it justice. And yes, we asked permission.”
Most of the songs were created with both musicians working remotely from their own studios. “We started this in the middle of a pandemic, unable to travel. We just sent each other audio files and talked a lot over the phone. It sounds unpractical but we’ve actually been doing that (online music collaborations) for decades, we know the drill. Of course, when we were finally able to get together in the same room it took us minutes to fix things we’d been arguing about over the phone for weeks”. Both multi-instrumentists, they played everything themselves on the early versions of the songs. “We were happy with the tunes, but if we were aiming for that West Coast league, we knew we’d have to “up our game” when it would come to the finished product. We’re just lucky we have so many fabulous musicians around us”, says Moulin. Once all songs were ready, dark satellite booked a studio and enlisted the help of a select group of like-minded musicians who elevated the project to the next level. “Working as we did with just the two of us at first, we made the record without any logistical constraints about a band in mind. But then we had all these amazing musicians helping out —and the record is so much better because of them. Of course, now we want to play these tunes in front of audiences, and it’s going to require a big line-up because the music demands it. But we’re eager to play!”, says Curtiz. “It’s gonna be so smooooth!” quips Moulin. In the meantime, The Modern Illusion should quench anyone’s thirst for quirky infectious jazz-pop tunes.
dark satellite were helped by a bunch of über talented musicians:
Yves Baibay – drums (Maurane, William Sheller, BJ Scott)
Nicolas Fiszman – guitar (Cabrel, Zazie, Sting… amongst many, many others)
Kamil Rustam – guitar (from France Gall to Peter Gabriel to Stevie Wonder…)
Dominique VanTomme – piano & keys (Axelle Red, Vaya Con Dios, Tony Levin)
Olivier Bodson – trumpet & flugelhorn (amongst others Lavilliers, Soulsister)
Jan Eggermont – saxophone (Soulsister, Axelle Red)
Peter Delannoye – trombone (Soulsister, Axelle Red)
Vincent Faucher – guitar (Lavilliers, Marc Lavoine)
Penelope Antena – backing vocals (herself a solo artist and Denis’ daughter)
Monique Harcum – backing vocals (singer of Mo & Grazz)
Manuel Destanque – France -slide guitar
Rune Thoen – Norway – guitar
John Dooher —Canada – percussions
Paul Curtiz — Denis Moulin
| Paul Curtiz has been active on the musical scene for longer than he cares to admit. Some of his credits include Chris Yates (Crepuscule), Antuka Vraiment (CBS France), Perry Rose (T4A/Sony), Marka (Sony France), as well as Owen Curtiz (T4A/Sony/CNR), his duo with Stéphane Owen. He has had albums released in Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Japan and Asia (T4A/Sony/JVC), and he wrote Belgium’s 2007 entry for Eurovision (“Lovepower”/KMG’s-T4A/Universal). He is still actively touring with Belgian 80’s funk outfit Allez Allez (Virgin). Denis Moulin was an artistic story waiting to happen, born in a family of writers, poets and musicians. Forever surrounded by music, he became a studio musician at a very young age. He has toured with Klaus Klang, Black & Blue (Crepuscule) and has produced and worked on records for countless artists such as Lais (EMI), Mo & Grazz, Jeff Bodart (PIAS), Miossec (PIAS), Sioen (EMI) and of course his father Marc Moulin (Blue Note, also of Telex and Placebo fame). He has toured with and produced many releases by singer Isabelle Antena (Crepuscule/Island/JVC) —to whom he is married. |
dark satellite –The Modern Illusion (© 2024 astrolabe records)
(what they’re saying about dark satellite)
By Thomas Splett
Aug 14, 2024
Dark Satellite, the dynamic duo of Denis Moulin and Paul Curtiz, have delivered a captivating debut album, The Modern Illusion, that masterfully blends West Coast music nostalgia with a modern twist. After years of collaborating on various projects, the two musicians finally came together during the global pandemic to create an album that is as fun as it is musically sophisticated.
Rooted in the smooth vibes of 70s and 80s West Coast AOR, The Modern Illusion is an eclectic collection of songs that transport listeners on a road trip through retro sci-fi landscapes, quirky Hollywood fantasies, and reflective musings on today’s society. The album is a playful homage to the music of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, with tracks like “Nothing Like California” and “Hollywood” immersing you in a romanticized version of California, seen through the lens of European culture.
One of the album’s standout tracks, “Flat Earth Dean,” is a clever commentary on the current state of discourse, highlighting the challenge of coexisting with differing viewpoints in today’s world. Meanwhile, “Another Movie” offers a satirical look at the darker side of the entertainment industry, with a biting portrayal of a sleazy movie producer that’s both amusing and thought-provoking.
Moulin and Curtiz’s ability to mix humor with poignant observations shines through on songs like “Jetpack,” where they wistfully reflect on the unfulfilled promises of the future, and “Penny Wants A Ballad,” a response to Moulin’s daughter’s request for more tender moments on the album. The duo’s musical chemistry is evident throughout, with the tracks seamlessly blending their diverse influences of soul, funk, and jazz into a cohesive and delightful listening experience.
The production of The Modern Illusion is top-notch, featuring contributions from a host of talented musicians who elevate the album to new heights. Despite the challenges of remote collaboration, Moulin and Curtiz have crafted a polished and vibrant album that is sure to resonate with fans of smooth AOR and beyond.
In the end, The Modern Illusion is more than just an album—it’s a journey through time, culture, and sound. Dark Satellite has managed to create something fresh yet familiar, quirky yet sincere. This debut is a testament to the enduring appeal of West Coast-inspired music, with a modern twist that makes it uniquely their own. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the genre or just looking for something new to groove to, The Modern Illusion is well worth the listen.
https://westcoastsoul.de/album-review-the-modern-illusion-by-dark-satellite