I first heard Frederic Delarue’s music on the 2000 Real Music compilation “Cousteau’s Dream.” I had heard lots of electronic keyboard-generated music, but there was something different about Frederic’s. Two years later, he released his first full CD of original music, “Voyage of the Soul,” which I love, and I’ve felt something special about all of his music since then. Frederic recently released his sixth album, “A Mind Like An Ocean,” his second release in 2007, and possibly his best album to date.

Frederic’s story is definitely unique. A near-death experience when he was twelve put him in touch with “Angels and Beings of Light,” who have guided him through his life and his music. A spiritualist as well as a composer/musician, Frederic gives talks about his experiences and the powers of healing that we all have within us. He also creates CDs based on people’s names and their spirit readings. (He did my name in 2002 to thank me for the review I wrote of his CD, and it was quite an experience to listen to!) Frederic Delarue’s CDs are always a treat and remain some of my very favorite music, so I thought it was time for an interview. I think you’ll find his story fascinating.

Frederic Delarue was born in Chartres, France (known for its famous gothic cathedral and its sacred labyrinth) on May 27, 1963. He grew up on a farm in the small village of Ecrosnes, about an hour’s drive west of Paris. He asked his parents for piano lessons at the age of 4 1/2, and took lessons privately until he was fifteen. As a young boy, Frederic played in piano competitions at the French National Academy and won several awards. After that, he studied music and harmony at The Experimental School of Music in Sevres, near Paris. He started composing music when he was nineteen and moved to the US the end of 1999, settling near Palm Springs, CA.

KP: Were you encouraged to improvise or compose by your piano teacher(s) or anyone else?

Delarue: Friends, especially the ones near San Jose, California, suggested that I should compose more. They were always telling me that when I play the piano, they have tears of deep joy within and that they feel better. It took me a long while to accept this gift.

KP: Do you play other instruments?

Delarue: Piano, church and cathedral organ, keyboards.

KP: When did you start playing professionally?

Delarue: In the US in 2000, with my first collaboration in “Cousteau's Dream” with Yanni, Kenny G., Vangelis, Kitaro, Michael Hoppe, etc.

KP: Tell a bit about the accident and near-death experience you had at the age of twelve.

Delarue: The accident occurred with my parents and brother in the car, but I was the only one injured. I remember hearing everybody screaming at the horrific scene I was in. My left eye was out of its orbit and my head was heavily damaged with concussions and trauma. I remember Angels talking to me during my passage through the long, dark tunnel, which was kidney-shaped like a swimming pool, and seeing the bright light from a distance and then closer and closer. It is sooooooo bright, but it does not hurt your eyes. It’s so warm and welcoming - the Divine Light is so pure! I also met with Beings of Light while in the tunnel. Some were moving faster than others, and some were the color of white clouds, some more grayish. Beings of Light are around us at all times.

KP: After that experience you started communicating with angels?

Delarue: Yes.

KP: How does that work? Can you summon them at will, or do they contact you?

Delarue: It depends. Sometimes they contact me. Sometimes I ask for connection with them. For example, if I need to know something, I will call for them to show me the answers to my questions. Sometimes they send me a flash, a vision, a thought with pictures, like a download of information into my forehead.

Here is a very easy example of how to communicate with them and ask them a question: take three deep breaths, releasing all of the thoughts that fill up your mind at the present time. Be sure to release all tensions, thoughts, and worries when you exhale deeply. After the third deep breath, ask your Angels a simple “yes” or “no” question. For example: “I have met this business partner who wants to sign up with me. If (s)he is good for my Highest Purpose, show me a sign and make us closer now. If (s)he is not the right person for my Highest Purpose, show me a sign to reject (her)him from me and this project.” Usually within twenty-four hours of such a request, the answer will be astonishing. You will be able to see by the behavior of that person which decision to make. This is good for anything - personal, business, etc. - that can be answered by “yes” or “no.”

KP: When did you start doing people’s names in music?

Delarue: I discovered my gift at the age of thirteen, when I was guided to play the name of a famous singer, Dalida. After playing her name, I was so shocked because it was like a window opening in the universe where I could see her deep distress, and I did not know what to do with that. When I heard she committed suicide two years later, I understood that I really did hear her distress, which nobody knew about. I felt guilty and useless at the same time because I still did not know how I could use my gift to help people before they feel they have to do this terrible act to themselves. So I’ve been doing “The Music of Your Soul Personalized CD.”

KP: About how many names have you done?

Delarue: It’s hard to tell - somewhere around 500-600.

KP: Do you ever find it frightening to do people’s names?

Delarue: No.

KP: Do you ever encounter things that are ominous or tragic? If so, how do you handle it?

Delarue: I learned to shut it down so I don’t get affected. Most of the time, the info passes through me, but I don’t want to be emotionally affected by it. So, I can only feel if the past of that person was tragic. I do not allow more to affect my emotions, otherwise, in the long run, it would kill me.

KP: What inspired you to start composing your own music?

Delarue: Something inside me always told me that I had to create my own music, so one day I just had to do it.

KP: About how many pieces have you composed so far? Have you recorded most of them?

Delarue: Oh my! I have composed and recorded so many pieces since the age of nineteen! I have DAT tapes and cassettes full of my music. It’s incredible!!! Most of them could be used for songs with lyrics and others for movie soundtracks, if they were rearranged.

KP: How much composing for films and TV did you do in France? Any in the US?

Delarue: I did a couple of soundtracks in France, mostly documentaries, and in the US, I did some for UCLA students.

KP: Did you release any CDs in France?

Delarue: No I didn't. It was not as easy to start a company in France as it is here in the US.

KP: You mention on your website that you denied your true calling for many years. Why? What brought you around?

Delarue: When I started to compose music, I created instrumental pieces mixed with sounds of nature. All the music producers in Paris that I went to just laughed at me, saying: “Hey buddy, do you ever listen to the radio? What you are doing has no chance, so go home and listen to some good radio and come back with stuff like that.” I was so humiliated. I decided to do more commercial music, thinking that if I could get famous, it would give me an opportunity to showcase what I am really about. I did that for many years, intensively. I created music for and produced six amateur singers, all with different styles, which explains all the recordings of music that I have. My friends kept telling me that the music I was doing before was more unique and more ME, but I would not listen! I just wanted the attention of the music producers. Of course, someone had to stop me! What happened was that a medical error was made and I was paralyzed from the waist down. When I realized that touching my legs was like feeling the air, that changed my perception of lots of things in life. First and most of all, I understood it totally!!! I was not angry because this was a huge revelation for me. I committed to God and the Angels that from then on, I would do my life's mission, leaving my fears of the unknown behind me, even if I had to do it from a wheelchair. I was determined, and I suddenly felt free in my solar plexus. I was free of my greatest fears. Eight months later, I could walk normally again.

KP: Did you have to do extensive therapy to get there?

Delarue: Some of course! My parents took me into their home and took good care of me.

KP: How did that event change your approach to your music?

Delarue: For about a year and a half after being paralyzed, I did not touch a piano. I just could not. During that time, I asked my Angels to help me select two mentors - one for physical healing and one for spiritual and psychic development - and I found the right two people. I followed courses with one healer for a year and met with a Parisian psychic, Helene Seconde, who really helped me accept my natural, intuitive gifts. For so many years, I thought I was making up stories, that I was perhaps “nuts,” seeing things around me that no one else could see. She helped me tremendously to accept and have confidence in my gifts. After the first year with her, I wanted to continue for another year but she told me: “Keep your money. Go and practice and do your life's mission.” She encouraged me to go to the States, and also told me to keep my money because I would need it when I moved to the States, which was sooooo true!!! Her integrity was such a high example for me, and I will never forget her. Regarding how the events changed my music, they helped me find myself again and to dare to be myself again. I learned to ignore those who would laugh at me, and to do what I have to do, honoring ONLY how I feel inside and always being connected to my source, to my Angels, to God and the Universe.

KP: You were in another more recent wreck where you were again seriously injured. What happened?

Delarue: On 10/20/03, I was in a very severe car accident when my car rolled over six times after hitting a bridge. I lost consciousness, got my lungs punctured, and both of my hands were cut up from the glass. The day after the crash, I received an incredible teaching. Jesus took my hand and showed me scenes of His healing. My life is a series of miracles that I like to call “Blessings in Disguise”! I believe that this accident was to show me something very deep within. The fact that Jesus showed me this specific part of his life was very meaningful to me, because I could relate and understand how healing can take place in someone's life and body experience. This is what I love to talk about before starting a meditation - to explain in which mind set people need to be to let healing occur, how surrendering can bless their lives. Usually people have no idea until they are led to experience it.

KP: What it the crystal bed mentioned on your site?

Delarue: It’s a bed made of a variety of crystals and with angelite stone (from the desert of Peru). It’s very powerful and people lay on it during a personalized session. I compose the music of their soul while they lay on this table. It recharges people in ten minutes!

KP: You perform live regularly in Palm Springs. Do you play piano? Keyboards?

Delarue: I play my keyboards, and I play live my CDs.

KP: It seems like it would be difficult to recreate your recorded music live without a lot of prerecorded sounds. How do you do it?

Delarue: I bring a little mix table with most of my sounds and I play my keyboards over the top of it. This is the only way.

KP: The calendar on your website shows quite a number of spiritual lectures. How do you approach that?

Delarue: I talk about my story, my near-death experience, the day I was paralyzed, the day when Jesus took my hand and showed me how healing is done. I understand that people, by hearing my story, identify with events in their own lives, and that the perception you give them about your life, about the unfortunate events in your life, can change theirs, especially when you name those unfortunate events as the greatest blessings of your life. I love inspiring people and for them to be able to feel as free as I felt when I committed to God and the Angels after being paralyzed.

KP: What has been your most exciting musical moment or experience so far?

Delarue: It’s hard to respond to this question because each moment is great and different. I love when I play in Palm Springs outdoors on Thursday nights. There are a lot of children and they get my music. They know where this music comes from and it shows on their faces. Their parents most often do not understand and try to get them away from my booth, but the kids keep looking me in the eye and give me the most tender acknowledgment possible with their innocent, rewarding smiles. They are usually attracted to my music like a magnet, and will look at me until their vision does not allow them to see me anymore. It is always very moving to witness. When people stop being paralyzed by my music, they suddenly surrender in tears. Those moments are many and they touch me deeply. That's why I do this music - to touch people's lives and to give them an opportunity to feel better, and most importantly, to feel in touch with who they truly are.

KP: Each of your albums has had a specific theme. How do these come to you?

Delarue: I believe they are usually given to me by the Angels. I usually do not compose or decide what to do because when I do, it’s usually never completed. Inspiration comes naturally, so the most difficult part of my work is waiting for the right time, when the “download” of the music is ready to take place. The most amusing thing is that after composing a whole album, which usually happens in one to four days, I must learn to play what I just composed. That's not my favorite moment! It is hard work to figure out how in the world I was able to do all this stuff!

KP: You seem to be very prolific right now with two albums released in the past six months and another on the way. Any idea of what is causing such a creative surge?

Delarue: Not really. I know my style will keep evolving, and this has to do with healing more people. I believe that if I stay in one style, I only can touch the same people again and again. By trying different styles, more people may be reached.

KP: How did you find Eva M. Sakmar-Sullivan for the collaboration on your newest CD? Did she do the painting you worked from specifically for this project?

Delarue: I met Eva in 2004 or 2005. Last year, she called me to purchase a couple more of my CDs and told me she was painting angels and dolphins by channeling work. At the end of the conversation, I went to her website (www.stardolphin.com) and felt complete shock when I realized the power of her work. I felt a strong similarity in the way we both create and told Eva that it would be great to have one of her paintings as a CD cover. She offered to do one for me, which put me in shock again! I told her what the Angels told me about my next album, the title and what it would be about. She said she would try to do a painting for this album and started to listen to my CD, “Dolphins... A Message of Love,” over and over. The painting she created was named after the title of my latest album, “A Mind Like An Ocean.” Meanwhile, no inspiration was coming to me, and I kept postponing the creation of this album. One day, I asked Eva if I could buy the original painting, and she accepted! The day I received it, I just entered the painting - it was THAT powerful!!! The next day, I started creating the music for “A Mind Like An Ocean.” After all of the delays, it only took three days to complete!

KP: I see you have some concert tours coming up. Where are you playing?

Delarue: I have a large following in Canada and am planning a tour in OR, WA, BC and AB for June and July of 2008.

KP: You’re a real estate agent now, too? You really do it all!

Delarue: No, I don’t do it all! I have intuitive skills and I believe that I can do anything that demands these skills to be applied. In real estate, I want to focus on finding why a house is not selling and use my skills to connect a living home with a living person. It’s all about connection, bringing the cord of Light between one person and one home. This is how I see it.

KP: There are these two houses in Hercules that need to find the right people.... Who are your favorite composers?

Delarue: Jean Michel Jarre, Debussy, Ravel, and Faure.

KP: Do you have any hobbies?

Delarue: I love hiking in nature, discovering new places, driving, and letting my intuitions guide me.

KP: What are your favorite colors?

Delarue: Blue, purple, burgundy.

KP: If you could have any three wishes, what would they be?

Delarue: To scream at everyone that they need to listen to their dreams, believe in them, and do whatever it takes to live them!!! To build The Cathedral of Angels, a cathedral in the shape of a pyramid, in Palm Springs, and to receive thousands of people to be healed from listening to the music. I don’t know yet how it will happen or how or when it will be built, but I know this is in process and that the Angels put me on this huge mission. My third wish is for my sound and light shows to inspire the masses. This is very important to me because the masses are the main population that need inspiration, that need to re-learn to listen to their hearts.

KP: What’s up next for you?

Delarue: I want to create sound and light shows that help people have a good time and to surrender their problems to a dream, to help them let go totally so they can receive their blessings whether they are in the form of an answer, self-confidence, or a physical healing - this is really what I want to do. I want to inspire the masses with dreams of light, sounds, visuals, fireworks, water features, etc. - to make a real show for anyone to be inspired emotionally, spiritually, mentally, to be a better, loving person - to give anyone a different perception of an event by giving them mine as an example.

KP: Do you have any words of advice for young people who are studying music now?

Delarue: For me, music is a therapy. No matter why you want to play the piano, it should always remain one of your best friends and confidants. I taught piano for four years to eighteen children from the age of 5 to 18 in my early 20’s. I always liked to teach them to release all their bad days, bad moods, and any negative thoughts or feelings with their pianos. Just go sit at your piano, talk to your piano as it is your best friend, then close your eyes (or not) and start playing whatever comes through you at that very moment. You will realize that within ten minutes, your anger or your sadness is completely gone! It is the best doctor for emotional issues.