We have known each other since the beginnings of Breizh Music since Soig Sibéril from the start agreed to come and give lessons for our guitarist students. He receives me with that simplicity that characterizes him. A coffee and he tells me his story.
What brought you to the guitar? I started out in standard chord with American folklore music like Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger. Then I got interested in bluegrass music to understand the technique of the pick. We are at the end of the 1970s. How did you come to DADGAD? I lived in the Paris region and I came to live in Center Brittany. This is where I discovered the fest-noz and it was a shock to me. I was a fan of bands like Diaouled ar Menez and Les Sonerien Du but also traditional ringers and singers. One day in Saint Péran, next to Glomel, I saw a couple of Irish musicians, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and Mick Hanly and it was a second shock because I did not recognize any chords. I took my courage in both hands and went to ask them how they played and with what tuning. They explained to me how to tune my guitar in DADGAD and from that day on I only played like that. Why did you choose a solo career? I've always wanted to sound my guitar to find the style of singers or ringers. Make sure that when you play a gavotte on the guitar, it sounds like gavotte. Which is not the easiest because the guitar is not a traditional Breton instrument. So I wanted to embark on a solo career to do what I wanted to do and not limit myself to a role of accompanist. I made the CD "Digor", which means "open" in Breton. Above, I perform traditional arias but also early compositions. I don’t read music, but I like to compose and draw inspiration from music from here. |
Since “Digor” you have recorded eleven other albums. Which do you prefer? The next one coming out, “back to celtic guitar”. Why do you prefer to play in DADGAD I think it's a chord that fits well with the accompaniment of traditional Celtic music. This is a way that corresponds to the interpretation and accompaniment of Breton music. Both in arpeggiated picking and also with the pick. The advantage of this tuning is that you can play both minor and major. The goal is to make the guitar sound at its maximum by playing on the dissonances. For starters, you play in a group. What memories do you keep? There were a lot of concerts in Brittany, in bistros and cabarets, a bit like what was happening in Ireland. It was there and in the festoù-noz that I had the opportunity to meet many musicians and groups. I started with a group from Saint Brieuc called Skrilled which became Skaed. Then, in the Brittany center, I met Patrick and Jacky Molard, Eric Marchand, Pierre Crépillon and Youenn Le Bihan. This is how the Gwerz group was created. At the same time, I played in Kornog with Jamie Mc Menemy, Jean-Michel Veillon and Christian Lemaitre who also gives lessons at Breizh Music. With Kornog and Gwerz, I have toured a lot in the USA, Europe and Brittany. Your new album is a duet with JF Lalanne. Have you known each other for a long time? I have known Jean Félix for about 23 years. I was at home when he called me one day to tell me that he really liked what I was doing. We met and created “Around the Guitar”. In 2012, we got together again with Gilles Le Bigot, Dan ar Bras and Gildas Arzel for a series of concerts “Around the Celtic Guitar”. And since then, nothing. |
