CD | Pastoral – Suspended Night | Christophe Bailleau O’Farrell (Fr/Be) + Philippe Franck (Fr/Be) | Transonic (Be)

CD | Pastoral – Suspended Night | Christophe Bailleau O’Farrell (Fr/Be) + Philippe Franck (Fr/Be) | Transonic (Be)
CD | Pastoral – Suspended Night | Christophe Bailleau O’Farrell (Fr/Be) + Philippe Franck (Fr/Be) | Transonic (Be)
Posted on 20/09/2026 in 2026, Agenda, All news, Artists, Belgium / FWB, CD, Creaconnections, Edition, NoLA, Paradise Now, Philippe Franck, Production, Soundart, Transcultures team, Transonic, Transonic Catalogue

CD | Pastoral - Suspended Night | Christophe Bailleau O’Farrell (Fr/Be) + Philippe Franck (Fr/Be) | Transonic (Be)

Pastoral was the Franco-Belgian duo formed in 2010 by Christophe Bailleau O’Farrell and Philippe Franck. Bringing together their respective artistic worlds, they created music spanning ambient, electro post-folk and post-rock, where ethereal and earthier sonic textures meet impressionistic melodies. The duo presented their work at various festivals, exhibitions and events in Belgium and internationally.

Suspended Night was the last project they undertook together before Philippe Franck’s death in 2025. Left unfinished, the album was revisited and completed in 2026 by Christophe Bailleau, using material created by the duo, in collaboration with the Transonic (Belgium) and Mahorka (Bulgaria) labels. It thus stands as the final chapter of Pastoral, extending a world suspended between electronics, sound poetry, cinematic reverie and experimentation.

Christophe Bailleau O’Farrell (Fr/Be)

After studying librarianship in Brussels, Christophe Bailleau obtained a Master in Plastic Arts at ERG (School of Graphic Research) in Brussels in 2004. Multidisciplinary artist, Christophe Bailleau has been developing an atypical musical project for more than 15 years. His compositions are based on acoustic sources (guitar, percussions, vocal sounds) triturated and mixed with concrete and domestic sounds. He thus conceives a game of waiting, silence and stormy tension.

With Philippe Franck, he operates within the group Pastoral, and plays with Billy Hasni within the combo Prism. Since 2004, his compositions have been published on various European labels (Stilll, Postcard, Annexia, Fenetre, Soundscaping, Optical Sound, Sacred phrases, Transonic…). He also produces sound poetry for radio stations and installations , he also practices photography and more recently drawing and poetry.

Finally, Christophe makes intriguing and poetic short films, recording lost moments, before or after an action, trying to capture the unspeakable. With the video-musical duo Pastoral, he takes a look that is both surreal and poetic on Walloon imaginaries and resort areas where a form of Lynchian strangeness is hidden. A DVD of his short films dating from before 2008 was published by 68/70 (Brussels) and his films have been shown in many European festivals (Rotterdam, Argos, City Sonic, Les Transnumériques, Videoformes, Dig @ ran…) . His audio and video work is also available in installation..

Philippe Franck (Fr/Be)

Under the name Paradise Now, Philippe Franck developed a multifaceted artistic practice from the early 1990s onwards, driven by an exploratory and strongly collaborative approach. He composed and created numerous musical works for choreographies, exhibitions, interdisciplinary performances and videos (notably for Régis Cotentin, Hanzel & Gretzel and Thomas Israël), as well as multimedia installations with digital artists Philippe Boisnard, Marc Veyrat and art2.network.

In 2014, Philippe Franck co-directed the film Bernard Heidsieck, la poésie en action, which was also released as the book and DVD box set Variations sur Bernard Heidsieck.

Alongside his collaborations with holistic performer Isa*Belle, with whom he created several body/sound installations and performances from 2005 onwards, Paradise Now also worked with electronic musicians Christophe Bailleau (as part of the duo Pastoral), Gauthier Keyaerts (in Supernova), Stephan Dunkelman, Christian Leroy and Didié Nietzsche, vocalist and performer Maja Jantar, as well as several poets, including Ira Cohen, Gerard Malanga, Werner Moron, Eric Therer, Catrine Godin and Habiba Sheikh. From 2021 onwards, he was a member of the hypermedia collective Société i Matériel, where he was responsible for the sound and poetic dimensions.

His recordings were released notably on the Transonic, Optical Sound and Sub Rosa labels. Philippe Franck died suddenly on 27 January 2025.

philippefranck.be

Credits

  • All tracks
    Pastoral – Chirstophe Bailleau O’Farrell, Philippe Franck
    Mix and Visuals – Chirstophe Bailleau O’Farrell
  • Guests
    • 2. Programming: a limb
    • 6. Tibetan bowls, bells and chimes : Isa*belle
    • 7. Hurdy gurdy : Stéphane Kozik
    • 8. Sax ; JJ Duerinckx
    • 9. Bass : Gauthier Keyaerts

Informations

Production