Life hasn't been kind to Pone, but the 48-year-old music producer has decided not to give up. Quadriplegic and unable to speak for several years, Guilhem Gallart alias Pone continues to do what he loves: compose music. On Friday, he released a third album composed by the movement of his eyes, titled
Listen and Donate
. The funds raised will be donated to the Trakadom association, which works to facilitate home care for heavy chronic patients.
Attracted by music from an early age, Guilhem Gallart is originally from Toulouse. In high school, he met François Dilhan alias Don Choa. Together, they join Marseille and meet other young musicians. They then created the rap and hip-hop group, Fonky Family. In 1998, they released their first album,
If God wants…,
for which Pone is responsible for production. The album was certified gold in the spring of 2000. In 2001, their second album,
Art de rue
, was also gold in just eight days, and sold 450,000 copies. Then, after
Marginale Musique
in 2006, the group announced its separation.
But in 2015, everything changed for the producer: he was diagnosed with Charcot's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
It is a serious neurodegenerative disease which results in progressive paralysis.
It also affects sound production, breathing as well as swallowing.
The same year, the group reformed for a concert in Marseille, in support of Pone.
Read also: Charcot disease: the lesson of life from Jean d'Artigues
"
I found the Pone I knew before
"
Then began a painful period for Pone, who "did
not make music until January 2019. It's not that I didn't want to, it's that I was busy with something else, to survive,
" a he explained to AFP. "
When the specter of death disappeared, largely thanks to the tracheotomy, I found the desire to compose, but I thought it was not possible with the eyes,
" he said. And yet, thanks to an eye tracking system that guides the mouse, Guilhem Gallart can once again write, speak via a voice generated by his computer, surf the Net and therefore compose music. "
Like all creations I think, there is first of all this feeling of being elsewhere, of not seeing the time fly. Then the well-being provided by the satisfaction of the work accomplished, when you get to where you wanted to go, has something exhilarating and soothing at the same time,
”confides the artist.
A real rebirth for the one who had lost taste for life, specified his wife in 2019, on the occasion of the release of his first album composed thanks to his eyes,
Kate & Me
: “
he accepted his life, which is different today. hui. Despite your illness and the degree of your disability, if you want to do something, you can. There is always life, even if he no longer has the possibility of moving,
”his wife detailed in the columns of Le
Parisien
. Three years later, the latter is still delighted to see that her husband has taken back the taste for music: “
I found the Pone that I knew before. And even stronger than he was before. Pone's music today has changed. I have the impression that today his emotion,it makes it stand out even more
", She told AFP.
"
As a patient, anything is possible
"
This time, it is therefore a mini-album of four electro tracks that Pone gives to listen to, entitled
Listen and Donate.
For this album, he once again uses Kate Bush's songs, as he had done in 2019 for
Kate & Me
: “
We sent her this record and she immediately wrote me the most incredible email I have. receipt in which she said she loved the album and that I had her blessing to sample her entire discography. It took me three days to get over it,
”laughs the artist. "
She is a huge artist and she is in my top 5 along with Bob Marley, Curtis Mayfield, Notorious Big and Claude Nougaro,
" he enthusiastically.
Read also: Kate Bush, the legend made woman
And for this new opus, it is not just a question of creating but also of helping: the work aims to raise funds for the association Trakadom, created by Pone and two doctors to train caregivers and helpers in order to supervise the return home of patients with hearing aids.
“
Talking about this with doctors, nurses, caregivers and carers, I not only saw that this lack (of training) was important, but that there was in most of them , a desire to be trained,
”detailed the artist to the press agency.
He is bedridden, connected by tubes to an artificial respirator, at his home in Gaillac (Tarn) and lives alongside his wife and two daughters.
To help the association, it is therefore sufficient to listen on the platforms - which generates transferred copyrights - or to acquire a three-track vinyl or its four-track collector's version. It is the Parisian artist JR who signed a series of photos illustrating the two vinyls offered in limited edition. “
I've always been a fan of pictorial art,
” Pone confessed. “
I also started with graffiti before being caught up in sound. I won't hide from you that given the charitable aspect of the project, we wanted to make a lot of noise. And JR was the perfect person for that. He was then asked and he said yes without thinking. I am infinitely grateful to him
”. "
If there was a message, as a patient,it would be that everything is possible
", Concluded the artist, who confesses to have still"
many other projects
".