Born in Paris, Loup spent his childhood between London and Paris with his musician parents. In 1984, at the age of 3, Loup Barrow took his first lessons with a violinist from the London Symphony Orchestra, who visited him every week in a small apartment in East London where he lived with his musician mother. He played the violin until his return to France in 1988, when he was offered a Gretsch drum kit by Dave Wickins (a British jazz drummer and family friend).
Loup played drums in a number of projects before turning to instruments whose sounds attracted him: the dulcimer, steel drums, Din Pah and the chromatic Mbira. He was introduced to percussion while touring with his parents in South Africa, and continued his training on one of his trips to Morocco with Mustafa Tuita. In Guadeloupe, he studied steel pans with Guy Louiset. During a trip to Venice, he came across the glass harp. Attracted by its crystalline tones, he built himself an instrument that he has mastered and incorporated into numerous musical projects.
The glass harp, also known as the glass harmonica or the musical glasses, is an intriguing musical instrument that has been captivating audiences for centuries. It consists of a series of tuned glass bowls or goblets, arranged in a way that allows them to be played by rubbing the rims or tapping them with fingers. Each glass produces a distinct pitch, creating a mesmerizing and ethereal sound.
It was during a visit to Venice that he encountered this fascinating instrument. As he listened to its enchanting tones reverberate through the air, he knew he had stumbled upon something special. Intrigued by its delicate beauty and haunting melodies, he was inspired to build his own glass harp.
Determined to master this unique instrument, he dedicated countless hours to honing his skills and understanding its intricacies. With time and practice, he not only became proficient in playing the glass harp, but he also began to incorporate it into his various musical projects.
Today, his glass harp adds a touch of distinctiveness and charm to his compositions. Its ethereal sound has found its way into both classical and modern genres, lending an air of magic and mystique to his music. Whether performing solo or as part of an ensemble, his glass harp captivates listeners and transports them to a realm of otherworldly beauty.
Who inspired you to make music?
For as long as I can remember, music has been part of my daily life. I learned early on not to disturb my parents, when they were practicing. I took my first instrumental lesson at the age of 5, in London where I lived with my mother. My teacher was a concertmaster with the London Symphony Orchestra. Back in France, I tried out a number of instruments because I was curious, and my parents made it easy for me to learn a variety of instruments. I devoted myself to the drums during my teenage years, until Ibecame interested in more unusual and unknown instruments.
All my life, I’ve been inspired by a wide spectrum of music: Indian, Middle Eastern, classical and contemporary. I also like hip hop, metal, UK drill, jazz..
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I can’t say that I compose in a systematic or typical way, as your question suggests. Composing an album takes place at a specific moment in one’s life. I am influenced by my feelings at the time, the surroundings around me and current events. I am always on the move, discovering and aspiring to something new. All these elements are put into my work.
What is your creative process like?
For the album Immineo I drew inspiration from long walks on the coastal path in the early mornings. I was spending some time in a region of France called Finistère which means « the end of the world » in Briton. The landscape there has preserved its fierce beauty and authenticity which shaped the sound of the music I wrote. As a composer, the environment of Finistere allowed me to go further into a certain wildness of sound evoking nature and the elements.
What’s next for you?
First of all the release of my album Immineo (Sonic Ritual) on June 7th. Then, I will be coming over to New York and LA to promote my music in September/October. I will travel with the Cristal Baschet and will do few showcases and gigs. I am also working with different european artists with whom I am in the process of writing. The rest of the year will be very busy for me and I’m really looking forward to it!
What do you enjoy most about being an artist?
As I said earlier on, I enjoy moving. As a performance artist, I love the stage, the public. I love travelling, meeting artists from all over the world with whom I can share my passion and different projects. As a composer, I love the moments where inspiration hits me, the clarity of the moment. Composing has happened everywhere: in a Riad in Morocco, in an hotel in busy Shanghai or in my flat in Paris. I love the freedom of thoughts and movements it gives me.
What makes you nostalgic?
Nostalgia links us to the past. It is a feeling of sadness at the loss of someone or something dear. I think myself as beeing more of a romantic with a touch of melancholy. Not melancholy as an hindrance, but melancholy as a “sacred disease” (thank you, Aristotle). A melancholy that pushes me towards a certain creative utopia.
What’s your favourite children’s story?
My favourite children’s story is The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson by the Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf who was the first woman to be the winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1909. I didn’t know that when I was a child enjoying reading the book. I was taken by Nils’s adventures as he is transported over the countryside on the back of a goose. Nil’s witnesses a lot of incredible events and I could identify myself with him.
Loup Explores Infinite Power Of The Wilderness with Meditative Album Immineo
“Immineo means the imminence of something to come. The anticipation of an unknown future that, whatever the cost, will be,” says Loup about his new album (released: June 7, 2024 via Sonic Ritual).
Throughout the seven tracks that make up Immineo, Loup has captured the anticipation of that unknown future. Escaping from the chaos of Paris to Brittany’s western tip of Finistère – which the French call Penn ar Bed (translated to “The end of the world”) – with only the necessities and his Cristal Baschet, a very unique, rare, and delicate glass organ comprised of 56 chromatically-tuned glass rods. So scarce is this otherworldly instrument that only a handful of them exist in the world and Loup is only one of five professional musicians who perform with it.
1. Abdita Telluris
2. Quercus
3. Passio
4. Ex Tempore
5. Sequentia
6. De Profundis
7. Harmonia Noctis
Stream Immineo https://lnk.to/Immineo
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