The Reunionese phonogram producer Soredisc

A look back at a page of history

publié par

Fanie Précourt

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The vinyl production company Soredisc was created in 1967 in Saint-Denis of Reunion Island by Pierre Fen-Chong. Michel Admette, Pierre Rosely and Henri Madoré are some of the artists who have seduced listeners with their voices recorded on the 45 rpm of this label, which was well established in the Reunionese musical landscape until the 1990s.

Pierre Fen-Chong was very young and became aware of the trade, alongside his brother Jules who opened a photography shop in the town of Le Port, in front of the town hall. He animated the place by playing 78 rpm records on gramophone and organised film projections, thanks to the first scopitone imported into Reunion Island. The room was really small and only allowed about thirty people to attend the film projections, which were repeated every 20 minutes to satisfy a maximum of people. It was in 1965. At the age of 24, when the opportunity arose for Pierre to become manager of the Soredisc record sales company, he seized the opportunity, on the symbolic date of 20 December 1967. A year later, he decided to create the recording studio of the same name, before quickly finding himself at the head of eight shops until 1978.

In the last shop, the historic parent company still in existence on the corner of Pasteur Street and Jules Aubert Street in the chief town, Soredisc had been selling musical instruments, sound equipment, broadcasting equipment and records of local music (which it produces) and international music (which it orders from Paris) since the end of the 1960s. We are in the 1970's and dance bands such as ''Les Super Migs'', ''Les Glous-Glous'' or ''Les Poids du Cap'' (with Michel Vergoz on drums!), regularly call upon his services to get equipment, which he makes available to them the time of a few animations. These same orchestras are were the main ones that would accompany the local stars during the sound recordings made in the studio for the pressing of the label's vinyls. It was Soredisc that revealed Pierre Rosely, and then '' the Prince of Sega '' Michel Admette, with his inevitable '' Route en corniche '', published in 50 000 copies. The first recordings were made from an Ampex tape recorder ordered from the United States. Unfortunately, the differences in voltages and Hertzian frequencies of the device between countries (usually usable on 110 volts and not 220 volts) made the first recordings inconclusive and forced Pierre Fen-Chong to produce only 1000 copies of Pierre Rosely's first 45 rpm (Sor 20002). He had met the artist a year earlier. The latter had come to his shop for the first time in 1968 to buy a Gibson to take part in the Floralys singing competition (which he won by performing C. Jérome's hit ''Et tu danses avec lui''

However, Pierre Fen-Chong did not loose heart and when he was in Paris and understood how to get an artist into the Hit-Parade, he decided to bet everything again on this artist, even if it meant finalising the production of a single with the Pathé company (Pat C 016-10276). 50,000 discs of the hit ''Marylou'' (A: Gigant Jean-Claude/C: Pierrot Rosely) were snapped up like hotcakes and managed to establish Pierre Rosely's career for a long time. It remained in the top 10 of the French record sales charts for several months. This title was even reinterpreted in rumba by Claude Ciari on two Pathé singles (Pat 600108, Pat 600121).

SOR 20015 Face A, 45 Tours
SOR 20015 Face A, 45 Tours
SOR 20016 Face A, 45 Tours
SOR 20016 Face A, 45 Tours
SOR 20017 Face A, 45 Tours
SOR 20017 Face A, 45 Tours

In the end, it was the increased competition (sometimes unfair) and the change in recording media that defeated the label. It ceased production at the dawn of the 21st century, despite recorded treasures that were never published. It will nevertheless remain one of the most important companies in the history of local production.