Description
'The Price Of Illusion' is the second solo album by British singer/composer/musician David Guez. Written and produced by the artist himself, it forms the concluding chapter of a two-part concept that began with 'An Imperfect Harmony' in 2019. Structured as a series of "stories", the record portrays a narrator both as a young boy and as an adult, moving back and forth between an imagined past and a dreamt future. Through this lens, the listener is taken on a contemplative, dreamlike journey, full of metaphorical emotions and surreal soundscapes.
The album features notable collaborations with New York-based arranger Michael Leonhart (Steely Dan, Mark Ronson), French saxophonist Adrien Soleiman (Sebastien Tellier, Kavinsky), along with Guez's long-time live band (Antoine Reininger, Thibaut Barbillon, Mathieu Penot and Cyrus Horde). The recording took place at the legendary Chateau d'Herouville Studio CBE in Paris and later mixed by Bob Clearmountain and Patrick Dillett.
An Anglo-French musician raised in both England and France, Guez describes his music as "out of step with the times". With a family steeped in musical tradition, David began writing songs before he could even play an instrument. His first motivation to write songs was to emulate his musical heroes. He found himself particularly inspired by the artistic integrity of Burt Bacharach, Paul McCartney, Donald Fagen, Kate Bush, Kraftwerk, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.
Remaining true to that sense of musical integrity has been a recurring theme throughout his life. After "many setbacks and false starts" - touring mainly in the US, releasing electronic records with collectives such as British band The Real Tuesday Weld on labels including PIAS, Six Degrees and UCMG - he came to the realization that "it is unwise to expect the music industry to fulfil one's dreams, and far better to rely on oneself to make them happen."
Bob Clearmountain: "David's songs were an absolute joy to mix! Besides being a brilliant songwriter, he has a wonderful voice. His arrangements are clean, spacious, and highly dynamic - they even reminded me a little of Steely Dan. I was genuinely flattered that he asked me to mix two of his tracks."
Michael Leonhart: "David has written a collection of infectious melodies steeped in the rich legacy of the great songwriters of the 1970s and 1980s. It was a complete pleasure to arrange, orchestrate and play horns on such beautifully crafted and recorded songs.
