With a life in music, spanning almost four decades Pascal Joseph Nabet Meyer, is deservedly so, one of the many unknown and unsung heroes in the music world whose work has garnered nods, from the Grammy's. Ever since childhood, hard work and instinctiveness have been his friend. Let’s take a walk in the shoes of this multi-instrumentalist, writer, arranger, producer, ethnomusicologist, entrepreneur, celebrity gourmet chef, and owner/CEO of Soulitude Records.
It begins in Paris, where Pascal was born and raised with his seven siblings.; and had his earliest musical experience, hearing Egyptian singer Om Kalsoum; through the walls of the adjoining apartment. Proficient on the accordion at age four.
A drummer by nine and his guitar abilities to play by ear, this young instrumentalist subsequently played in a trio at the age of 13, performing traditional French music at clubs and parties.
Pascal son of Marguerite and Emile Meyer Nabet is a survivor of a latent TB, diagnosed in 1964 at the age of six, where he would spend two and half years away from his family in a preventorium where his faith allowed him to survive this deadly disease as he recalls. He was sent in a boarding school after that where he was the only kid who could play guitar among 2500 students and was invited to participate in the music classes with all of the other students.
During this time he discovered that photography was one of his passions spending most of his free time in a darkroom to experiment with black and white prints and even built his own photo enlarger. In 1973 he was accepted at the ORT college to study sound engineering and took a side job at the famous Photo Lab in Paris Publimod where he was assigned to work with photographers Helmut Newton and Edouard Boubat; until the Yom Kippur War started. Pascal quit school and his job as he wanted to join the Israeli army to fight against the oppressors.
His father now a famous chef stepped in and took him under his wing to study French Cuisine. He went on to get a degree in French Culinary under the supervision of his late father who had studied under the Escoffier Method known as Le Roi des Cuisiniers and graduated in 1978.
In 1979 he joined the CIM the prestigious Jazz school where he studied composition and improvisation with the late Pierre Cullaz.
In 1980 he moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin where his older brother Patrice was living and spent months playing blues guitar in bars and pubs.
Back to Paris in 1981, he came across a book, “Before and After”, that Paul Gauguin had written; which made him sell the only few belongings that he owned; and bored with the conventional directions of western pop music, took his first of many trips to Tahiti.
What started as a brief stopover turned into five years stay, during which time Nabet Meyer became a key player on the Tahitian music scene, writing, collaborating with Bobby Holcomb, and the Tahitian stars of the Eighties.
Even as he was absorbing everything he could about the sounds and history of the South Pacific, he was teaching a music course at a college on the main island, playing in a blues band with Alexis Korner's veteran Rod Dough, while working as a DJ on the atoll's first rock radio station.
Pascal also promoted concerts throughout the South Pacific.
But it was the music of the Polynesian people that increasingly engaged his creative energies. Teaching himself the scales and song structures of the indigenous people, Nabet Meyer augmented his income by cooking in a small hotel and feeding sharks for the benefit of the tourists.
"It started in the Eighties when I was feeding those sharks in the lagoon of the atoll of Manihi in the Tuamotus islands, I fell in love with marine biology, the alchemy of pearl farming, using the Mikimoto process and I became a Pearl farmer owner."
Starting an experimental eco-farm in Huahine, and diving for Tahitian Black Pearls.
He had Always known as a true renaissance man, his vision is boundless.
In 1985 Pascal relocated once again, this time to Los Angeles, where he quickly became involved in a number of writing and producing projects, including working with Walter Becker, Steely Dan, Charlie Haden, Joe Henderson, Steve Tyrell, Robben Ford, Daniel Lanois, Peter Erskine, Remi Kabaka, Gerry Brown, The Blue Nile, Greg Phillinganes, Rickie Lee Jones, Rick Braun, Jackie Lomax, Victoria Williams, Daft Punk, Greg Penny, Charles Wright, Lili Haydn, Adam Cohen, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Buscemi, Autumn de Wilde, Steven Spielberg and David Lynch.
Pascal won an Emmy Award in 1992 for his voice as "Pepé Le Pew" in the Warner Brothers release of the Looney Tunes around the World produced by Steven Spielberg.
He never relented from his Tahitian project and would go there for ten consecutive years, sleeping on the floor of the church, in order to record them and share their brilliance by bringing the soaring, majestic choral sound of the remote South Pacific to the world as, "The Tahitian Choir - Rapa Iti" via the help of his friend the late Walter Becker, resulting in the release of his first numero uno World music album that remained for 36 consecutive weeks in Billboard including #1 for 12 weeks.
Also known as "Rapa Iti - the Tahitian Choir" has elevated Pascal to the top ranks of musical explorers, and the island of Rapa Iti to an international audience.
This is among the first of many remastered albums to come from the vaults of Soulitude Records; that chronicle the fruits of his journey.
Surrounded by the artifacts and memories of his incredible journey of diligence
and perseverance, he has organically created a record label that reflects his humanity and devotion to freedom of expression.
Pascal Founded Soulitude Records in 2001 where he is running his eclectic music label quite appropriately; from his home in Santa Monica, California.
Soulitude Records as the name implies is built on the awareness, as to the power of all living beings, and reflects the gratitude that Mr. Nabet Meyer has towards humanity without boundaries.
It is the voice of the voiceless, the sound of freedom, a glimpse into the future and the celebration of life. Although he is strongly influenced by Mother Nature, the legacy of Mr. Nabet’s vast experience, business acumen, and perseverance is what fuels the engines; and makes this label unique, historical and inspirational. It is truly a service to all to share such a journey. The level of artistry of it's stable of artist, is beyond compare. Pascal's finely tuned ear captures the purity of their sounds, the message in their songs, to produce records, second to none.
The Jazz Messiahs is his first album as an artist coming out in 2023 and has garnered great reviews; along with the digital re-mastering of David Lynch a/k/a BlueBob, The Tahitian Choir- Rapa Iti, Red Room- Le Paradis, Incarnation Blues Band with Tucker Smallwood, Arlen Roth, James Gadson - A Tribute to Robert Johnson and music from two time Grammy-winning bassist, Jerry Jemmott, coming on all the digital platforms in the fall of 2024.
With Soulitude Records he has set the table for you to experience a musical epicurean delight. This is food for the soul.