1. Hey Jean-Baptiste! To start, can you tell us how you first got into music and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?
As a child, instead of repeating my piano homework, I was more curious about the tones. So I started playing with the keys myself, making some melodies or chords. I’d then open the upright piano and look at the mechanisms where chords are hit. You then smell this mixture of wood, steel, cotton, and dust. This is what made me fall in love with Music, the fact it developed my senses fully in the present moment. When I was 14, I found a game on PlayStation called “MTV” music creator. I just couldn’t stop producing music on it and it was the start of a flourishing journey in music production. I released my first track with Emi in Dubai when I was 22, studied music production in London a few years later, and started working for a dance record label.
2. Your artist name “9 Odyssey” suggests a sense of exploration and journey. How would you describe your music genre?
Producing Dance music was fun, but it became overwhelming. I needed calm music so, on the side, I was producing fun, minimalistic/ orchestral music for media. I started placing some of those productions and, when I moved from London to Gdynia in Poland, I decided to create a mix of those genres in one album. It’s a blend of electronic and ambient music with soft vocals, I call it “Cosmic Music”.
3. “Cosmic Boy” has a deeply thematic focus on the child within us. Was there a personal experience or moment in your life that prompted you to explore this concept?
Yes absolutely. About 5 years ago, I met someone who made me realize I was blocked in my work and actually in my life. She said this: “If you feel blocked, why don’t you talk to a psychologist? If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for your Music”. I was always reluctant to see one. She was the only one who knew how to present the idea to me. And to tell you, I went to see one straight away.
It made me realize that I needed to sort out many things from my childhood. And the first focus was on the fear of Death. My mom told me as a child, that when we die, we become Dust. It stunned me and it stayed with me almost all my life. It became the theme of the album and the first music I made after seeing the psychologist was “Cosmic Boy” and I re-imagined the conversation saying instead: “You’ll become Cosmic Dust”. How much more interesting and inviting it is to be “Cosmic Dust”! Funny enough, the person who convinced me to see a psychologist was also the singer after the song was introduced. It made a lot of sense.
4. You have now created a live show for Cosmic Boy? What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in translating the album’s energy into a live performance?
We are still learning, but after doing the show’s premiere 6 weeks ago, I can tell you the 3 months of building the show were life-changing. I went from secluding myself in a studio to talking to all the shops and restaurants in the city and distributing flyers. Many people encouraged me and it was very positive. We also prepared ourselves by doing an improved show in the streets which was a breakthrough for us as well as a free pre-show at the theater which brought enough confidence for everybody to be ready. The main issue we had was losing the lights engineer 3 weeks before we started but we somehow managed and we definitely worked amazingly as a team. To quickly present the team, we are 6 people. As performers we are 4: Blanka Błazejowska a talented young singer, Milena Crameri, dancer and choreographer of the show (professional dancer at Opera Bałtycka in Gdansk), Christina Janusz (replacement dancer also from Opera Bałtycka) and myself. For the technical part, we had the help of Christophe Fremaux as the director and the lights engineer Georgis Ronewicz.
5. As I understand it, this is a concept album and it tells a story. What would you say it is about?
I have written the story using parts of my life. For example “I’m coming” is about losing a person who died or a separation, “Paradise” is when I left my country to avoid issues in my personal life I couldn’t deal with. “Feel” is after Paradise because I put on a mask avoiding someone and eventually, avoiding/ lying to myself and now I have to reconstruct and feel myself again. “My Galaxy” is when I am ready to be my best and have a harmonious relationship and “Solace” is a reminder of what a toxic relationship is so it doesn’t happen again. My view is that we often leave home to, in the end, come back and appreciate what this beautiful home was.
6. Here’s a more personal question—Is there something about you that most people don’t know? Maybe a quirky habit or a surprising fact?
Ok. Let’s see. The first thing that comes to mind is that I tend to choose an object that represents a person I love or miss. It is my way of reminding myself that I will take care of that object and that the relationship is very important to me.
7. Thank you so much for the interview, I just have one last question before we finish. When are the next show dates and where will it happen?
Sure! We have two dates booked in the center of culture in Gdynia. The Polish name is Gdyńskie Centrum Kultury and the dates are Friday 17th of January 2025 and Friday 07th of February 2025 both at 19:00 local time.
You can see a preview of the show on my website https://www.9odyssey.com or on my Facebook page and you can purchase the tickets here: https://www.gck.gdynia.pl/cosmic-boy/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@9odyssey
