Beyond the postcard: the Ocean between Freedom, Constraint and Responsibility
- Terraquota
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
An incredible interview, or rather "a journey"with Marieke Huysmans, Pianist, sailor & project leader of EU Project S.E.A, on navigating uncertainty, cultural access and the limits of control at sea.
How did the idea of Pianocean come about, to create a relationship between music and water?
The idea of Pianocean was born from a double passion: that of music and that of sailing, but also from a deep love of wandering. I wanted to imagine a different way of sharing music, culture and poetry, outside the traditional circuits that are usually dedicated to them, such as concert halls.
I really like the idea that music and poetry can be accessible to everyone, including those who don't necessarily have access to culture or who wouldn't spontaneously walk through the doors of a concert hall. In this sense, ports are particularly interesting places: they are often at the heart of the life of coastal and island territories and bring together a great social mix. They are therefore open spaces where the meeting can take place naturally.
The relationship with water is also very important in this project. For me, it refers to a notion of slowness. When I thought about the most coherent way of wandering to carry my music, the sailboat was an obvious choice. It is a way of transport that keeps a human pace and requires a real effort to reach the territories. This way of arriving by sea profoundly changes the relationship with coastal and island populations.
There is also the fact of being dependent on the weather. You can't always do exactly what was planned, you have to deal with the wind, the sea, the weather. I really like this part of uncertainty. In a society where we often try to control everything, I like the idea of leaving a place for nature, of recognizing that it can have the last word.
Before Pianocean, what was your connection with the sea and sailing? When did this relationship begin?
My relationship with the sea began with a relationship with the coasts and coastal communities. At a very young age, around the age of 14 or 15, I travelled to Ireland along the coast. It was there that I discovered the life of maritime communities: navigators, fishermen, and especially those who keep maritime traditions alive.
I was particularly impressed by the Galway Hooker, these emblematic old Irish rigs. All this universe, full of stories, traditions and adventure, fed my imagination as a teenager. The discovery of these landscapes and maritime cultures had a profound impact on me, and it was partly from there that the dream of Pianocean was born.
However, at that time, I was not a sailor. I grew up far from the sea, in the mountains of the Vercors. So when the idea of Pianocean started to take shape, I decided to really learn how to sail, first to see if it really suited me.
I started by doing internships at the Glénans sailing school in Brittany. A first internship, then a second, then a third... and I quickly became completely passionate. During all my music studies at the Valence jazz school, I continued to sail at the same time, often for several weeks on board the Glénans.
Little by little, I gained enough experience and skills to reach a level that allows me to be the captain of my own sailboat today.
What does a "typical" day look like when you live and travel aboard the boat?
There is no typical day on board Pianocean, and that's also what I really like about this project: every day is different. First of all, because we are completely dependent on the weather. One day is not at all like any other depending on whether it is raining heavily in the north of Norway or whether it is a scorching sun with 30 knots of wind in the trade winds in the West Indies. The weather conditions what you can do, where you can go and how you live on the boat.
The time is therefore divided between several activities. First of all, there are the sailing days, which are entirely devoted to the sailboat, the crew and safety: following the route, monitoring the conditions, managing departures and arrivals in port. Upstream, there is also all the preparatory work: studying the maps, checking the route, identifying potential dangers and ports of fallback.
A large part of the time is also spent on technology and maintenance. Maintaining the boat and the piano is part of everyday life: repairing a bilge pump, having a sail sewn up, spending a day in the engine hold to change a mechanical part... These are must-have tasks that take up a lot of time during rounds.
Artistic creation finds its place in the moments that open up between all these activities. As soon as it's a bit quiet, I can sit in the aft cabin to compose, record in the small studio on board, or rehearse for the next shows.
There is also all life on board. We live with a crew and as a family, so the daily life is very concrete: shopping, cooking, cleaning the boat, taking care of our child, schooling on board.
Another important part of the trip is devoted to meeting people and discovering: spending time with the people you meet, going on a hike, visiting a museum or meeting local artists.
And then there are the concert days, which are particularly intense. You have to hoist the piano on deck, prepare the communication, coordinate the organization with the partners on site, install the technology, access electricity, do the soundchecks... Then comes the concert itself and the meeting with the audience. These are often very long days that end late and you end up completely exhausted.
Finally, there is still evening time, when we return to our bunk. It is often a time dedicated to reading. During Pianocean's travels, I really like to dive into the literature of the countries we pass through. Reading the novelists, poets or essayists of a territory feeds the imagination enormously and also allows you to discover a country through the words of those who live there.
When planning your routes, how much do winds, currents and tides decide your route?
When planning a sailing trip, the natural elements have the final say. The winds, the currents, the state of the sea, the tides... All this completely determines the route, the route, and even the possibility of doing the navigation or not.
That's why I often say that Pianocean is a totally weather-dependent project. Sailing means accepting that you don't go where you want, when you want. We always have to deal with the natural conditions.
The limitations of the vessel and those of the crew are taken into account. We try to go with the wind and with the current, to arrive at the right times in relation to the tides, to avoid storms or gales, and not to put ourselves in dangerous situations.
In the end, nature decides absolutely everything. It is the one that imposes the rhythm and the choices, and it is also what makes sailing so special.
Spending so much time at sea gives you a unique perspective. Are there any changes or phenomena related to the environment that particularly strike you?
Yes, obviously, we are seeing changes. The first thing that strikes you is the evolution of the marine fauna. It really feels like life in the ocean is dwindling. There are far fewer fish than in the past, at least much less than described in the accounts or testimonies of navigators from a few decades ago. This decrease is very noticeable when you spend a lot of time at sea.
There is also everything that we observe in the island territories. Many islands live in high energy dependence and are facing rapid transformations linked to tourism. In some regions where we have recently passed, such as the Canary Islands or the West Indies, the impact of over tourism is particularly visible.
By navigating from territory to territory in this way, one inevitably becomes a witness to these realities. These are things that mark and make you think about the evolution of the oceans and coastal regions.
Is there anything that people who live on land misunderstand, or don't perceive, about the ocean?
I could answer on two levels. First of all, in relation to the ocean itself. I sometimes have the impression that the ocean is so vast that it becomes a kind of no-place, almost lawless zone. On earth, when we see the damage that human beings can cause — waste, discharges, pollution — it is visible, so it can at least be observed and controlled. At sea, it's different: what's happening is much less visible. The vastness of the ocean then also becomes a fragility, because enormous quantities of waste can be dumped on it or abominable things can disappear without it really being seen.
Then, if I talk about navigation and sailing, there is also something that I often try to share. The boat inspires a lot of dreams. We imagine freedom, magnificent landscapes, a simple and peaceful life. But in reality, the navigation is extremely engaging and demanding.
Life on a sailboat requires constant attention. It's a lot of energy, work, sometimes stress, sometimes fear. Of course, there is also a tremendous amount of wonder, and that's what makes this life so strong. But we often forget this part of effort and commitment because we keep in mind a very "postcard" image of life on a sailboat. In reality, it is a constant balance between the beauty of what we experience and the intensity of what it requires.
As you navigate from place to place and meet different communities, do you notice any differences in the way people experience their relationship with water?
Yes, depending on the culture, the relationship with the sea can be very different. You really see it when you sail from one territory to another.
A rather telling example is the relationship to swimming. In some island communities, especially in the north, almost everyone can swim. In Iceland, for example, many people even have sea first aid training. The sea is part of everyday life, we learn to know it very early on and to prepare for it.
Conversely, there are also island communities where the sea is rather viewed with suspicion. Sometimes, we almost protect ourselves from it. You don't go swimming there, you don't necessarily learn to swim, and life is more turned towards the land than the water.
These differences show how deeply cultural the relationship with the sea is. Depending on the territory, it can be very familiar, almost natural, or on the contrary marked by distance and caution.
A lot of discussions about water and the environment involve scientific data or analysis. What can music express or convey that these approaches can't always show?
I think part of the answer is in the question. Today, we have the data. There are very competent scientists working to collect and analyze them. But for this data to really resonate with as many people as possible, it must strike a chord.
Not everyone is equipped to decode numbers, graphs or scientific reports, and to immediately feel their impact. This is where art can play an essential role. Music, poetry, stories have this ability to touch people deeply, to make something intimate vibrate.
Telling stories, singing songs, creating sensitive images can make it possible to integrate these realities and knowledge in a different way. In my opinion, science and art really need to go hand in hand, because they are profoundly complementary.
And then, there is already a lot of poetry in science. It can be revealed.
How does the ocean influence your compositions?
Everything influences my music: the ocean, the journey by sea, but also the communities and cultures we meet along the way. All this deeply nourishes my compositional work.
Recently, and particularly in the last year, we have been doing longer and more committed sailing. These experiences have inspired a whole series of new songs that will be released on my next album. They often explore a parallel between the ocean and human beings: between island territories, both strong and fragile, and human beings, who are also made of strength and fragility.
The ocean becomes almost a mirror of our own inner landscapes. It's a very strong source of inspiration for me.
By the way, the titles of the songs speak for themselves quite well. Among the most recent are Océan Mer (Ocean Sea), Just a Wave, All the World Is Blue, Le cinquième point cardinal (The Fifth Cardinal Point) and La baie de vos bras (The Bay of Your Arms). So many songs that are directly nourished by the experience of travel and by the intimate relationship we have with the sea.
How has your relationship with the sea evolved since Pianocéan? What does it mean for you now?
My relationship with the sea has changed, probably because I too have changed. When I launched the Pianocean project, I was 25 years old. I was carried by a lot of momentum and probably also by a certain naivety. Even though I knew that sailing was going to be demanding, you don't think quite the same way at 25 as you do at 35.
At that time, I had no family, no children. Today, the situation is different: my son is on board with us. And paradoxically, after ten years of sailing, the sea sometimes scares me more than before. But this fear is linked to the fact that I am no longer the same person.
My relationship with the sea has become more cautious, more aware also of its power and fragility. And at the same time, it's very interesting to take this fear with you, to continue despite everything, for the love of travel, for the love of poetry and the stories that these crossings allow you to live and tell.
I believe that our relationship with the sea, like many things in life, evolves with us. It depends on how old you are, what stage of life you are in, and how you look at the world at any given time.
If the ocean could send a message to humanity in a bottle, what do you think it would say?
This is precisely where the problem lies. If I answer this question, I will necessarily answer as a human being, by saying what message I would like to convey to humanity.
But the reality is that the ocean cannot send a message. Marine animals, ecosystems, deep-sea gorgonians, all these living beings have no voice to speak directly to humans. And that's precisely where the problem lies.
Interview managed by Diane Naffah, with the kind collaboration of Marieke Huysmans.
Follow Pianocean on Instagram for news and concert dates & location : https://www.instagram.com/pianocean/?hl=fr
