What can I say this February 2025, other than that it’s a time that’s difficult to describe? It really depends on where you live, because I believe that the uniformity of all forms of life and vibration can change. For example, with all the political turmoil and intensity in the United States, but on a day-to-day level, there is an obvious coldness. And what about relationships between people? What are they like? Maybe they are the same as they were 20 years ago, two centuries ago? I don’t know. I’ve kept a low profile these past three weeks simply because I haven’t had much time to align myself, physically, mentally, or in terms of my daily tasks. I’ve had some minor health issues, nothing too serious, but it does require rest and, above all, finding warmth to calm the body. As for meditation and zazen, I didn’t realize how difficult this form of meditation really is. It’s not as simple as one might think.

I bought a good bench, as I wasn’t ready to admit that the lotus position, due to a small issue with my vertebrae, would prevent me from doing it properly. In the end, this small bench allows me to practice something that’s part of the tradition, but caution is necessary. There are many schools of thought in Zen. Recently, I studied the Diamond Sutra more in-depth, and I’m currently focused on the Lotus Sutra, which is quite different. The Bodhidharma Treatise is also part of my studies, and I’ve just finished it. However, I’m almost sure that it wasn’t the ideal time to study it, but the important thing was to skim through it.

As for the Heart Sutra, it really aligns with the concepts I’ve been working on. This is still a challenging time for me. I’m facing structural issues with people who, instead of admitting they can’t do something, try to shift the responsibility onto me, which pollutes my life.

I continue to work every week on the fusion of guitar and modular synth. I admit that, on this day, there are some recurring combinations and problems that make it harder to reconnect everything and properly list what needs to be done musically. But this constant evolution, along with regular practice, allows me to learn new things. A module recently broke down, and I saw it as a good opportunity to optimize what I had, especially my desire to no longer use large reverbs or excessive effects. There was a Doepfer Phaser module that I didn’t manage to optimize, but with the Prism module, I was able to shape my sound without needing an entire bank of effects that ultimately lead to confusion. So, sometimes a small accident or perceived shortcoming ends up sparking new ideas, narrowing the possibilities and focusing on what matters: the inspiration, which is indescribable.

While working within this process, it remains something vital for me. Little by little, with time, I can feel the generational divide growing wider, but I don’t want to dwell too much on these moods because I feel it could lead to confusion. However, I do believe that many things are impersonal when it comes to inspiration. It’s about compiling a dossier and writing down the ultimate ideas that will help create vocal illustrations. This exercise is different from before, but that’s the point. The important thing is to capture the idea in the present moment. There’s a notion of what comes after: returning to the title or phrases, the ability to bring happiness, and the desire to reproduce it. This is essential when creating something you don’t want to listen to later.

Two main ideas keep coming up regularly, but I won’t say more, as it would reveal the first details and two songs for this project. I have no problem today with this patient—being able to design things while following a certain path—and I think I’ve let go of some reflexes from the past that I now find unnecessary.

Zi