SHYFRIN ALLIANCE
A personal crisis can be a curse or a blessing, either plummeting the victim into despair or forcing them into making change for the good. After years as a successful businessman, mathematician and physicist, Eduard Shyfrin had a crisis that prompted a life-changing revelation. A whole new way of thinking was born as the award-winning scientist embarked on a steadfast pursuit of meanings and purpose, research and writing bestselling books – all of which has culminated now in his debut album, Shyfrin Alliance.
In this album of intoxicating rock, blues and romantic balladry, written entirely by Eduard himself, you won’t find songs devoid of meaning. These 12 tracks brim with the messages of unconditional love and antiwar – themes which resonate on a timeless level but no more so than today.
I try not to write meaningless lyrics without a message - I’m not interested in that,” Eduard says with a dismissive flick of the hand. “For me the message - the lyric - is very important.
In 1960, Eduard was born into a semi-underground one-bedroom apartment in Ukraine, his parents and grandparents crammed into one room. And when his parents took a new bigger apartment a few years later, the first thing they bought for their newfound space was a piano. Eduard’s father insisted that he learn and at the age of seven, he was sent to a school of music, from which he graduated at 14, having trained classically on piano, and studied the history and theory of music, and choral singing.
Back home, jazz was the music of choice. Since childhood, Eduard remembers the sounds playing in the family apartment: Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald. His parents bought him sheet music so he could play along.
Music-playing would lay dormant for a few decades. Yet, even when Eduard emerged from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys with a degree in Metallurgy and a profound understanding of physics (he gained his PhD after university, when working at the metallurgical mill in Ukraine), despite having not played an instrument for 30-something years, music had always been there.
“Actually, I never parted with music,” he says. “I was listening to all these popular groups, hard rock, blues, soul, classical, jazz, rock, disco, Italian, French… All my life, I never stopped listening.” Ask him his favourite music, and he’ll simply say: “Good music.”
Later on he would play guitar and sing. But before that, the crisis: in 2002, a combination of adverse events led Eduard to suffer something of a breakdown.
“I got through and continued working, but I realised that something inside me had radically changed. I started asking myself questions which I’d never asked before: Why are we here? Why must we die? What’s after death? I realised that unless I found answers, I wouldn’t be able to continue living a normal life.”
He started exploring the deep world of Kabbalah and science, and the result of his research was the publishing of his book, the Amazon bestseller ‘From Infinity to Man: The Fundamental Ideas of Kabbalah Within the Framework of Information Theory and Quantum Physics’ – and a radically changed mindset. On everything. “Most importantly, it changed my attitude to the world, my understanding of the meaning of life, of our mission,” he says.
Several years later Eduard returned to playing music, when the 2020 lockdown afforded him the time. He and his wife of 41 years, Olga, with whom he has three children, had moved to the south of France where he resumed lessons in piano, guitar and vocals, and went to weekly karaoke sessions to practice. (He also took part in Alpine skiing, power yoga and martial arts…) The guitar and piano-playing came back very quickly. “I’m a man of action,” he explains. “If I do something, I do something regularly, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. It’s my approach in life.”
It was the beginning of his musical journey, but it never crossed Eduard’s mind that he would compose songs. His first experience of writing lyrics – in Russian for family and friends – was inspired by lockdown and its unsettling uncertainty, not knowing what was around the corner. A contact suggested finding someone to write music for his lyrics, and the resulting song garnered two million views on social media.
But this wasn’t enough for this man of action. With the firm belief that “life must be fun”, he thought ‘why not create a band, and play for family and friends?’ His music teachers introduced him to distinguished local musicians from the Paris Opera Orchestra, and soon they were playing summer gigs, with Eduard on rhythm guitar and vocals.
He also immersed himself in music, exploring the vast offerings of blues tracks on Spotify over a short period of time. With his impeccable memory, he loaded his brain with musical information – not with any ambition to compose, but just to enjoy the music.
“I’ve listened to rock blues, soul blues, jazz blues, acoustic blues – I don’t think there are any blues songs on Spotify which I didn’t listen to. It was a very intense charge of information.”
Then he began to learn jazz chords. As a mathematician and physician, he quickly understood all these ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, and he practiced piano and guitar daily.
But all that did not spark the magic of creativity. He cites Curie’s Principle in physics, which states that in order to initiate a physical process, the symmetry must be broken. “I mean the symmetry of the soul, of the state of mind,” he explains. “Due to certain events, my symmetries were broken.” And in September 2022, once everything had aligned to ignite that creativity, he wrote his first song, ‘I See Your Eyes’. He thought it was a one-off, but his vocal teacher told him that he would continue to compose. And she was right.
“All of a sudden, I decided the purpose of this project and my research, and the books which I published. The purpose is to send a message to the world, of love and of anti-war. It could be sent in different ways: through the articles, through the books, through the music and lyrics.”
Theatrical rock number ‘The Cage’ is as strong an anti-war song as any, imparting the message that the more we give in to war and senseless anger, the further away utopia becomes. “Spiders in the cage/ the breath is filled with rage/ blood is in the eyes/ So who the first to hell or paradise?” he sings.
‘Bridges of Paris’ sounds like a classic blues-rock number, Eduard’s effortless rich and distinctive authoritative bass voice against blues guitar licks. It’s a track to listen to on a relaxed coastal drive with the sunroof off. But the message is there.
“The bridge connects,” he explains. “It could be a bridge between the people, between two minds, two hearts. A bridge could be physical, it could be mental – our directions in life. If we want to change something, we need the bridge to go there. Where do we want to go?”
His blues knowledge courses through Shyfrin Alliance, with rock-blues songs ‘God’s Number Blues’, ‘Shakespeare Blues’, ‘Whiskey Blues’, and ‘Upside Down Blues’. The upbeat ‘Shakespeare Blues’, with its gospel-blues chorus and bursts of saxophone and hammond organ, is the writer’s playful aim at expressing a universal concept in as few words as possible. “I look at my baby, my baby doesn’t look at me. But then I don’t look at my baby, she looks at me” he sings, capturing an almost universally experienced tale of romantic dramas in just two lines. “That is the essence of all the love dramas in the world,” says the songwriter. “I love you, you don’t love me, but then I don’t love you and suddenly you love me. That’s it!”
When it came to the vocals, he had tried to find a singer who could convey the emotions and messages of his songs, but failed. “There are a lot of people with a very good voice, but it is most important to produce an emotion that touches people’s hearts, not the ears. If you manage to touch the heart – the soul – that’s success. My lyrics and my music came from my soul, from my life experience.”
He sought the advice of the manager of his music project, the Cannes-based jazz singer Lizzy Parks, who suggested that he apply his own distinctive bass baritone to his songs. Eduard followed her advice, and started practising. After some training, he can sing notes which usually only operatic basses can reach. Of the record’s 12 tracks – recorded at Paris studios Barillet, Ferber and Grand Armee – he sings nine.
One song in particular harks back to his early exposure to jazz: the gorgeous piano and saxophone-drenched sultry number ‘Cheval Blanc Blues’. And there is balladry in ‘I See Your Eyes’, ‘Unconditional’, ‘To Your Soul’ and ‘Conversation with Love’. The cabaret jazz-infused latter – intended as a Frank Sinatra-style ballad, and featuring the honeyed vocals of Lizzy Parks – is about someone who has not felt love for a long time and is grappling with whether or not to trust it. “It’s about the nature of love,” explains its writer. “Love can kill, and love can heal, love can be from hell or from paradise.”
‘Unconditional’ was inspired by the love of his grandmothers, with whom he grew up in the small apartment. It was the fastest song Eduard ever wrote. He had decided to take some lessons in public speaking to ease the tenseness he could feel when lecturing on Kabbalah and science, and in one exercise was asked to imagine the place where he was born.
“Then my soul went to the apartment where I grew up, 60-something years ago. I had a fantastic feeling of warmth and happiness. It was a happy place where I was loved unconditionally.” He came back home from the session and wrote the music and lyrics in a few minutes.
Meanwhile, ‘To Your Soul’ encapsulates the inevitable obstacles to romantic love, and the innate drive to reach it.
That the songs span such broad genres is down to Eduard’s life-long thirst for music, but also his scientific mind. After all, he says, Pythagoras discovered that music was intrinsically linked to mathematics, and could be used to manipulate and create moods. “So I realised that any kind of music is for a purpose. There is music for dancing. If you’re at a disco, you want to hear popular songs. If you want to meditate you might want nice jazz…”
The goal was simply to write good music – and nothing predictable. For this mathematician is all too aware of the science of writing a song and the obvious chord combinations. And everything, he says, must be bigger than the sum of its parts, in line with the scientific concept of holism. “The composition is an indivisible whole between music, lyrics and vocals. If you’ve managed to strike bingo and great holism, then it will strike people,” he says.
Eduard hopes that Shyfrin Alliance will strike that bingo. “I have behind me a Miro painting on the wall. I can stand in front of this painting for hours and I cannot explain why. My attitude to art is that souls should talk, not the ears or the eyes, and that the primary emotion comes from soul to soul. If you take a fine painting, it’s not just a collection of atoms on the canvas. If they’ve managed to put soul into this creation, then this soul radiates forever from the painting. And it goes into your soul.”
There is one thing that’s clear: Eduard Shyfrin is a singular talent, and one that will get under your skin and into your soul.
BIOGRAPHIES
Basile LeRoux (Guitar)
Real name Christian Leroux, Basile Leroux is a French stage and studio guitarist, born in Dijon in Burgundy.
He has accompanied renowned artists such as Higelin, Joan Pau Verdier, Eddy Mitchell, Yves Simon, Patrick Juvet, Marc Lavoine, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Julien Clerc, Alain Souchon, Pascal Obispo, Céline Dion, Maxime Le Forestier, Salvatore Adamo, Michel Jonasz, Véronique Sanson, Jane Birkin, Patrick Bruel and Thomas Fersen.
In addition, he was one of the founding members of the French prog rock band Transit Express with David Rose, Dominique Bouvier, Jean-Claude Guselli and Serge Perathoner.
A true guitar virtuoso, he is a fan of the Fender Stratocaster guitar models (equipped in particular with Lace Sensor pickups supposed to reduce residual noise) and the Fender Telecaster, although he sometimes plays on the Gibson Les Paul as well.
Dominique Bertram (Bass)
Influenced by Otis Redding, rhythm and blues and passionate about jazz-rock, Dominique Bertram was the bassist in Zao, Neffesh Music and Alien Quartet before meeting Christian Vander to join Magma (Live à Bobino 1981).
His path crossed that of Eddy Mitchell and Patrick Bruel in his two flagship tours, of Laurent Voulzy for Le Gothique Flamboyant Pop Dancing Tour and of Liane Foly (Live Acoustique au Palais des Sports and Une Etoile Dort ) as well as collaborations with Renaud, Michel Jonasz, Catherine Lara, Nicole Croisille and Véronique Sanson with whom he continues to tour.
He was the bassist for the first Enfoirés tour and has participated in several Taratata, notably to accompany Al Jarreau, with pianist Michel Petrucciani. and was commonly seen on guitar with Mino Cinelu, Khalil Chahine,Thierry Eliez and Franck Monbaylet.
Very active in the jazz world, he composed two solo albums Chinese Paradise in 1985 (with Manu Katché, Jean-Yves D’Angelo, Kamil Rustam, etc.) and Bass Now in 1992 (with Loïc Pontieux, Michel Gaucher,Thierry Eliez) and created an electronic project for bass and guitar, that has since been completed and rewarded in particular by the 2010 Lépine Competition.
Jean-Baptiste Cortot (Drums)
Jean – Baptiste Cortot began playing piano at the age of 6, then, studied and played classical percussion from 8 to 18 years old. He came to Paris France in 2005 where he collaborated with French artists such as Daniel Levi, Oxmo Puccino, AaRON, France Gall, Amel Bent, Veronique Sanson, Chris Stills, Ziggy Marley, many of whom he continues to perform with to date. Healso features as the drummer for “La Nouvelle Star” (“American Idol” French version).
Influenced by Steve Gadd his stylistic influences range from classical to jazz, funk, pop… and many more. Endorsed by the prestigious symbol mark ‘Zildjian’ he affirms that he favorite drum combination to play is a 3 crashes, 1 ride, 2 HH, 3 or 4 effects cymbals set up.
Frederic Gaillardet (Keys)
Pianist, Keyboardist, accordionist and arranger Fred Gaillardet, studied at the Bayonne and Bordeaux Conservatory. Endorsed by Yamaha and nicknamed ‘Fredo, he has become one of the most requested musicians on the French scene. Previously on stage with Sinclair, Manu Dibango, Laurent Voulzy, Raphaël, Hélène Ségara, Laurent Voulzy, Les Enfoirés and Ayo among others others, he currently tours with Véronique Sanson having featuring on her latest album and is the pianist and arranger on ‘The Voice’ (French version).
Yannick Soccal (Lead Sax)
Originally from Monaco,Yannick studied violin, saxophone, music theory and harmony at the Monaco Music Academy and at the CNR in Nice. He continued his training on an internship with Lee Konitz and Eddie Henderson, and participated in a festival with the “Monaco jazz all stars” in North Carolina where he played with trombonist Curtis Fuller (who plays on the album Blue Train by J. Coltrane).
In 1996 he began his career in Paris and performed in several concerts with Christian Vander’s group Magma and composed, among other things, the soundtrack for a documentary on Wayne Shorter for the Arte channel. He was part of drummer Loic Pontieux’s group and recorded on his album “Le voyage d’une plume”.
He has accompanied international artists like the Bee Gees, Robbie Williams, Duffy, Karl Barat, the Temptations, during TV shows and concerts, as well as French artists like Charles Aznavour, Johnny Hallyday, Serge Lama, Michel Jonasz, Amel Bent, Patrick Bruel, Christophe Maë, Laam.
He plays regularly in the orchestras of the shows “Star Academy”, “Dancing with the Stars”, “The Voice”, “N’ez-don’t forget the lyrics”, several times in the show “Taratata” with can be seen live on stage withVeronique Sanson,Andrew Strong and Karl Barat.
Lizzy Parks (Vocalist)
Originally from the south of England, Lizzy caught the attention of the UK jazz scene with her 1st & 2nd self composed albums ‘Watching Space’ (2005) and ‘Raise the Roof ’ (2008) released with the indie record label Tru Thoughts. With early features on Ninja tunes artist, saxophonist Chris Bowdens ‘Slightly Askew’ album and collaborating with the like of producer/singer/songwriter ‘Fink’, she has performed with the likes of Nostalgia 77 and the prestigious ‘Heritage Orchestra’ as featured vocalist, at music festivals worldwide and with several European tours, she became a favourite on the BBC6 music scene.
With an early education of jazz Saxophone and Clarinet, her self confessed first love was with jazz vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan from who she took influence in scat singing and completed a degree with honours in jazz at The Birmingham Conservatoire.
Now based in the south of France, Lizzy continues to perform, as well as providing voice overs for tv and radio and is a prominent musical educator.
Fred Luzignant (Arranger/Musical Director)
Frédéric Luzignant studied music at the CRR in Nice, notably classical trombone, electric bass and writing before completing a Bachelor of Musicology then a CAPES in music.
In 2001 he obtained the first CA in Amplified Current Music before founding the MAA class at the CRR in Nice in 2004.
In 2007, he won the Audience Award at Jazz à Juan and went on numerous tours with the group Sashird Lao. Passionate about teaching, he has been teaching musical training since 2012 and following creative projects at the Rainier III Academy.
Alongside his teaching activities, he pursues a career as a trombonist, singer and arranger, occasionally collaborating with big names in jazz (NJO, Pierre Bertrand, Michel Legrand, Richard Galliano, Belmondo, Roberto Fonseca, Ed Motta, etc.) and developing more personal artistic projects like Sashird Lao(Public Prize at Jazz à Juan 2007, international tours, 3 albums), Hard Time Killing Boys(folk blues), Up to 5 (Vocal Quintet a cappella), groups for which he composes and ensures arrangements.
For several years he has been developing activities as an orchestrator/arranger for various events mixing classical and pop such as Cannes Orchestra, Liège Orchestra, Bacchus Quartet, Paradiso Orchestra.
Ludovic Tartavel (Sound Engineer)
Ludovick studied music at the Conservatory of Grenoble from 1989 to 2001 before devoting himself to sound technologies at the ISTS School in Paris in 2003.
Recording and mixing represent his passion with a particularly draw towards the mix of vintage and modern recording techniques, including analog tapes and 96 kHz ones, which enable it to obtain a unique sound signature.
As a valuable part of the Studio Grande Armée team, he has taken part in the recording and mixing of many French and international projects including Rihanna, Jermain Jackson, Malavoi, Jason Derulo, Sean Paul, Brice Conrad, Ryan Leslie, Jenifer, I Will am & Black Eyed Peas,The Black Keys, Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand, Lenny Kravitz, Travis Scott, Kid Inc, Future, Zayn Malik and The Weeknd.
Becoming more involved as an independent sound engineer, he worked on “Les Ricochets” hit, coming from a charity project involving 50 of the best French artists.This was the most played song on the radio in 2012.
He also worked on the Robin Hood musical, an ambitious project including more than 25 tracks performed in more than 800 dates in 2013/2014, along with the singles recorded with Matt Pokora, followed by ” RED” (double platinum disc ) and “My Way” (diamond disc), and on the DVD “R.E.D. Tour” and “My Way Tour”.
Ludovic he worked in parallel on original scores with famous composers, such as Beatrice Thiriet, Bruno Coulais, Ludovic Bource who won the Oscar for best Original Score in 2011, Christophe Julien, Alexandre Desplat also nominated in the Oscars for the music of “Zero Dark Thirty”, and “De Rouilles Et D’Os” by Jacques Audiard, as well as Francis Lai for the Claude Lelouch’s movie “Un plus Une” and “Chacun Sa Vie”.
He currently develops his work in Immersive sound (Dolby Atmos and360 Reality Audio), the new standard for music distribution on most digitals and streaming platforms.
With more than 600 tracks mixed in this new Immersive format, his expertise is highly appreciated by labels and artists.
Studio Grand Armée:
One of Paris’ most prestigious & renowned recording studios, first opened its doors in 1972. Studio Grand Armée has reinvented itself several times over the years to accommodate some of the biggest music stars to record.The studio designed by Tom Hidley (world-renowned acoustician) remains a reference in professional acoustics.
https://www.studiograndearmee.com/en https://www.instagram.com/studiograndearmee/?hl=en
Studio Ferber:
Established in 1973, renowned sound engineer René Ameline moved to rue du Capitaine Ferber, in the heart of the countryside in Paris’ 20th arrondissement and undertook the design of two recording booths, the now famous Studios A and B.
This iconic studio has hosted a multitude of prestigious artists from Serge Gainsbourg, Charles Aznavour, Henri Salvador, Michel Petrucciani, Richard Galliano, Chet Baker, Manu Chao,Vanessa Paradis, Oxmo Puccino, Carla Bruni to name just a few.
Ferber Studios also became a landmark of choice for many international artists and groups, such as Cat Stevens, Frank Zappa, Nina Simone, Black Sabbath, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry, Lenny Kravitz and many others.
In addition to their acoustics and seductive atmosphere and aesthetics drawing in numerous feature films, Ferber Studios remains a landmark for recording film scores because of its exceptional layout for large orchestral groups.
https://studios-ferber.com
https://www.instagram.com/studiosferber
Julien Sanine (Photo/Videographer)
Photographer & film maker recognized for his original and aesthetic work, with over 10 years of experience, Julien is inspired by peers such as Josef Koudelka, Joel Meyerowitz, Bruce Gilden, Sebastiao Salgado, Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier-Bresson. His first passion was STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, enjoying both its playful and complex, calm and dynamic elements. His passion for photographing and capturing a one off moment, whilst integrating technical components of the image, composition, light, subject, color, shadow and reflection is primary in his work.
Julien tries to tell a story that can compose and interpret, denounce, reveal, provoke reflection and lead to questioning. ‘These moments suspended in time, are for me one of the best sorts of expression’.
As a speaker and now trainer at national level, he continues to enrich himself and share his skills through his methodology and observations.
Giselle Toloni: (Orchestral conductor)
Tommy Edward (Guests vocalist)
Le Barillet (Production Company)
Paul Cépède (Guitar)
Paul Cépède is a French musician, producer and composer based in Paris. He started playing guitar at the age of 7, playing in blues and rock groups before studying Jazz and touring across France. His career as a guitarist has led him to perform and collaborate with artists such as Mc Solaar, Eric Serra, Amandine Bourgeois, Murray Head, and on the Starmania show. A fan of both Zappa and Brassens, he co-leads the Rock group Puissant Blaster and leads a solo project of songs called Princesse Basalte, the first EP of which was released in February 2024.