Name: Duplex
Members: Didier Laloy (accordeon), Damien Chierici (violin)
Interviewee: Damien Chierici

Nationality: Belgian
Current Release: uplex's Maelstrom is out via ARC.

If you enjoyed this interview with Duplex and would like to find out more about their music, visit the band members' respective websites: Didier Laloy; Damien Chierici. We also recommend our earlier Duplex interview about collaboration.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I have always loved the moment of creation, when melodic lines and musical landscapes are born out of nothingness. Music is a way to travel and escape.

The DUPLEX album was born during the confinement linked to the Covid 19 crisis. A moment when we could not travel, dream. And the music allowed me this journey and this moment of sharing with Didier Laloy. We sent each other our ideas of songs, of imaginary journeys and the album was born from this meeting "in duplex”.

Human relations are fundamental to create. Other forms of art, such as painting or photography, invite this form of travel, too.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I don't really have a concrete idea at the beginning of a creation of a piece. More like a little melodic line or a theme. Then I have a desire to develop it and let myself be surprised by what the song becomes.

Sometimes I also have a desire for a direction, a landscape, a place to which the song could be the soundtrack.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

For Duplex, the preparation of the pieces is like a game of pingpong between Didier and me.

We send each other first versions, then we call each other, we discuss, we try to integrate some melodic themes, some arrangements, other parts to the song, etc. So it's a real discussion which takes place. Most of the time, it's positive. (laughs)

And the pieces can have several versions before their final form

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I always need my few morning coffees nearby to get me started composing. (laughs)

I also like to look out my studio window. Tthe weather on that particular day can influence the mood of the song. Rainy weather will make a sad song faster.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

Although I am a violinist, I often compose at the keyboard.

Finding a little melody that stays in my head. To find a sound for it as well. Find a tempo for it and finally a groove.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

These different elements will generate others, that will create atmospheres, landscapes on top of which we can then layer our instruments: accordions and violins and the musical dialogue between us.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I am not a control freak at all. I just like to feel the song escaping and taking us sometimes where we don't expect it.

It is also a strength that we have to be two composers with Didier Laloy. He will sometimes hear a melody that I would not have imagined and that will bring a new strength to the song.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

Absolutely, it happens regularly that alternative ideas come up. They also allow us to create new parts to the song: a bridge, a pre- or post-chorus, a finale, an introduction, etc.

You have to take these alternative ideas as a strength and not be too hard on yourself to keep the first idea at all costs.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

It is a state that requires you to immerse yourself fully in that creative moment.

We are sometimes a little cut off from the world. Physically, we are a part of it. But mentally, we are deeply immersed in the creation.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

At the end of our creative pingpong game, we make a recording, a demo of the piece. This demo can sometimes change but most of the time is a very good skeleton and photograph of the final song.

The end of process comes with the professional recording in studio.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

It is important to be able to let a piece rest. To compare it with the opinions of people close to you. I regularly have 4 or 5 improved versions of a song.

Playing it live, bringing it to life, also allows you to see what works and what doesn't with an audience.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

A good song often has to fit into a simple version: piano solo, accordion/violin duo, in our case.

But for me, a good production, arrangements can magnify a composition. The moment we take the recording to the mixing is something I am passionate about. I'm heavily involved in that part and trying out production techniques on the songs speaks to me.

Mastering is the last step, the last coat of varnish on our musical painting.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

This feeling of emptiness occurs regularly in the life of an artist. After a tour, after the recording of an album, its production. Indeed, the artist gives everything for his work in these moments, he is focused 24 hours a day

7 days a week, the project can spin in his head, sometimes causing insomnia, etc. When the pressure is released, there is sometimes a feeling of emptiness.

Personally, I don't like to be without a 'project'. And so I quickly get back to work on other projects.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Every human being is creative in his or her field. A chef will also be creative when creating his menu or his dish and will also invite to a journey to a sharing of emotions.

For my part, it is through music that I can best share emotions.