It's safe to say that a cloaked guitarist delivering an intense shred solo wasn't among anyone's predictions for the Paris Olympics. However, the masked virtuoso who emerged, wielding an all-aluminum guitar, immediately captured the imagination of the global guitar community.
After 21-million viewers tuned in, the internet was abuzz with speculation about who the mystery guitarist could be, with rumors intensifying after no official statements were made. Some commentators even posited that Gojira's Joe Duplantier had reprised his role from the opening ceremony.
Eventually, internet sleuths pointed to the little-known Noé Efira, a childhood friend of the French indie rock band Phoenix, as the guitarist behind the mask.
“Seeing headlines the next morning reading, ‘Who was the masked guitarist’ and all the related speculation just added to the excitement,” Efira tells Guitar World. “It was an artistic choice and I really think it paid off. The cat is definitely out of the bag now though!”
Efira's artistic sensibilities are inextricably linked to his childhood. His father, an in-demand session guitarist in ’50s and ’60s Paris, recorded and toured with famous French artists, including Serge Gainsbourg, Eddy Mitchell, and Hugues Aufray.
“I remember seeing him performing on variety shows on French TV when I was just a toddler as our family gathered around the television set. His musical influence on me is paramount,” he says.
“Dad always knew I should be a guitarist, like himself. He bought me a little acoustic guitar when I was six but I had very little interest at first. It just seemed all so hard!”
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It was, however, a mixture of Van Halen's Eruption and You Really Got Me, Prince, and a certain ’80s sci-fi movie that forever sealed the deal, solidifying a fate that would eventually see him perform on one of the world's biggest stages.
“I saw Back to the Future and I knew then that I was going to get to work on becoming a proficient rock guitar player.”
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Growing up, who were your main influences?
“Prince definitely inspired my love for lead guitar. I would show his solos to my Dad and he’d say, ‘If you like this, you need to hear Hendrix!’
“Then I got into Jimi big time, especially the Band of Gypsys era. I also went through all the classic players: early Clapton with Bluesbreakers and Cream, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Johnny Winter, Angus Young, ZZ Top, and of course, Eddie Van Halen.
“From there I quickly started developing an appetite for more technical and flashy players like Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, and eventually Greg Howe, which made me invest considerable time in trying to develop my technical abilities.”
You and Phoenix go way back. How did you first meet them?
“Christian Mazzalai [Phoenix guitarist] and I were in the same class in high school and lived quite close in the same town. We initially met through our first love: skateboarding!
“We were very close and I quickly met his brother Branco, and even the Daft Punk guys, who at the time were all in the band Darling together. Eventually, Christian changed schools and he met Thomas [Mars, Phoenix’s lead singer] and reconnected with Deck [d’Arcy, bassist] who he already knew from primary school.
“We hung out at Thomas’ house in Versailles a lot where he and his brother had put together a great studio with soundproofing so we could play very loud and have lots of fun. Our styles were so different but it was never a competition. They had a very clear vision from the start.”
You were featured on the studio version of Funky Squaredance. How did the collaboration with Phoenix originally come about?
“When it came time to record their first album, they approached me about wanting to recreate a moment similar to the Eddie Van Halen solo in Michael Jackson’s Beat It for one of their songs.
“It was also my first time in a real studio, and the engineers let me crank out a Marshall JCM half-stack with literally every dial maxed out, while I played in the control room.
“I used my purple Music Man EVH which I still have and use to this day. My father also played the vocoder pedal steel on Funky Square Dance Part 1 and some gorgeous classic steel lines on another track called Summer Days from the same album, United [released in 2000]. He’s an exceptionally tasty player.”
How did it feel to get the call to perform at the Olympics, especially one in your native France?
“It was as mind-blowing as it sounds. My heart nearly stopped when I got the text from Christian. We had just had a great time playing together at the Warfield in San Francisco only the month before and I did not expect a call back so soon, let alone for literally the biggest gig in the world!
“The fact that this also was in Paris, where I was born, just really sealed the whole experience: a lifelong friendship that we could share on the world stage in our home country. What could be more beautiful than that?”
What was going through your mind while you were performing on such an international stage?
“Deliver, deliver, deliver. I was not at all nervous for some odd reason… maybe because the audience was so far away, or maybe because it was just too huge to really fully grasp.
“But I was 100% focused on giving it all. As a result, I played very aggressively and I think you can hear that. There’s one tapping note in particular that you can see on the Olympic broadcast footage that I put my whole forearm into – I’ve never done that before. But that’s the power of live performances – literally putting everything into it with a healthy dose of abandon.”
You opted for a vintage Veleno guitar for your Olympics performance. What was the reason behind this choice?
“We knew this opportunity required a very special instrument and wanted to avoid the usual suspects. When this vintage Veleno became available to us, via the personal collection of French group Justice, we knew we just had to go with it.
Deliver, deliver, deliver. I was not at all nervous for some odd reason...maybe because the audience was so far away, or maybe because it was just too huge to really fully grasp
“Cedric [Phoenix's guitar tech] did a great job setting it up – it played beautifully, with a low and fast action, and excellent balance which was crucial considering I was playing masked. The all-aluminum construction created a spectacular look and a perfect complement to the world-class light show produced that night.”
What was the rest of your rig like?
“Because I only played one track, I wanted to keep things simple and to the point. After a bit of trial and error I settled on a very simple but effective rig: a single Boss IR-2 pedal straight into the PA. I opted to use my own IRs instead of the ones built-in. The particular amp model I went with was the SLDN (modeled after a Soldano SLO).”
What was the concept behind the hooded costume?
“It is based on a Venetian Bauta costume. Phoenix are all well-versed in French and European history and invested in their heritage. When we played in San Francisco a few months back, we used the Bauta character as an element of surprise, as it was already a recurring part of their live shows.
“We took it to another level by hiding the guitar under the cape and then going into the solo to surprise the audience. It was a lot of fun to take the concept even further for the Olympics, and we were so fortunate to have access to some of the best costume designers in France to put the outfit together.”
We took it to another level by hiding the guitar under the cape and then going into the solo to surprise the audience
You have ample session and live experience. What are the highlights of your career so far?
“Before moving away from France, I worked briefly with the French band Air. While overseas, I had the opportunity to record and perform with many different bands over the years, including trading licks with the late great Phil Emmanuel.
“I have also worked for Taylor Guitars and TC Electronic, as well as an artist rep, product manager and clinician for Peavey guitars and amplifiers for some time, which had me travel all over Australia and New Zealand for a few years and was great fun.
“Since 2022, I have been running my own guitar channel called Noe’s Garage Jams on Instagram, and also a Patreon page sharing the same name, focused on tutorials and sharing all I have learned.”
Can we expect another collaboration with Phoenix sometime soon?
“That is always an option. The Phoenix crew and I have been regularly in touch over the last three decades since I left France and have played together as often as possible. We are all still savoring this delicious moment of the Olympic Games, however, dare I say, watch this space!”
