Gwendal

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Gwendal at the festival "Het Lindeboom" 2009 in Loon-Plage

Gwendal is a Breton band that has been playing together since 1972 and, in the first few years of their existence, became known in particular for traditional instrumental titles from their region of origin and other Celtic areas , namely Ireland . Stylistically , the group is assigned to folk rock , which, however, does not adequately describe its frequent echoes of jazz .

history

From 1972 the group was called the Soporific String Band . When the musicians were negotiating their first record deal with EMI , the company suggested they pick a name that sounded more Breton ; so it was renamed Gwendal, which is a male given name, which - actually in the spelling Gwenn-dall - means something like "dazzling white". From 1974 to 1976 produced an annual Gwendal LP, which in France on the Pathé-Marconi - label appeared. Their successful debut album, simply titled Gwendal , even required reprinting in 1978 . The record contains 14 traditionals that were arranged by Gwendal himself . The giant Lutin , which strides across a rural area with a sweeping step on the record cover designed by the comic artist Enki Bilal , became the band's trademark in the first few years.

In 1979, Gewendal's fourth LP was released under the name 4 . From the 1980s, her style and instrumentation developed more in the direction of electro-folk-rock, among other things due to the use of electric guitar , drums and synthesizers . This was accompanied by personnel changes. References to Celtic music were retained in their record releases and appearances, as were the jazzy elements that were generated in particular by the wind instruments . After the seventh LP in the mid-1980s, EMI did not renew Gwendal's record deal.

The band, which still existed in Brest in the 2010s, has continued to release records and is not only a regular guest at small and large music festivals in France ; that ranged from appearing in Loon-Plage in northern France at the festival of traditional music known as “Het Lindeboom” (in German “Die Linde ”) (2009) to the Printemps de Bourges (1979) and the Festival Interceltique de Lorient (most recently in 2019) . Gwendal also often appears in the Spanish part of the Basque Country , for example at the folk festival in Getxo ; A live recording of this concert was released in 2016 by Keltia Musique , her last record so far (see the discography below) .

Gwendal had never had any notable chart success, but three best-of compilations (1994, 1998 and 2008) suggest that the group can count on a solid circle of lovers of their music. In Spain she was awarded a gold record for the sales of the album Aventures celtiques - which was called Lo mejor de Gwendal there - and the prestigious Charles Cros Academy awarded the band its Grand Prix du Disque for Glen River .

Staffing

When recording their first LP, which was released in 1974, the group consisted of Youenn Le Berre (flute Bombarde , alto saxophone, cornemuse ), Bruno Barré (violin), Jean-Marie Renard (guitar), Roger Schaub (bass guitar) and Patrice Grupallo (Mandolin, percussion).

In the following more than 40 years there were repeated changes in the line-up, as did the instrumentation and the number of band members, which increased to seven at times. Of the musicians who joined later, two played an essential role in Gwendal's development, namely the guitarist François Ovide and the multi-instrumentalist Robert Le Gall, who played the violin, acoustic guitar, mandolin, percussion and bass guitar and for whom the group - like Ovide - numerous original compositions owes. Both later left Gwendal; from the very early line-up from the 1970s, only Youenn Le Berre was still there in 2016.

Discography

The group has only released records in long format , initially on vinyl and later on CD .

LPs
  • Gwendal (1974 and Reedition 1978), is often referred to as Irish Jig after the first title on the A side .
  • Joe Can't Reel (1975)
  • Rainy Day (À vos désirs) (1976)
  • 4 (1979)
  • En concert (1981)
  • Locomo (1983)
  • Danse la musique (1985)
  • Glen River (1989)
  • Pan Ha Diskan (1995)
  • War-Raog (2005)
  • Live in Getxo (2016)
Compilations
  • Les Plus Belles Chansons de Gwendal (1994)
  • Aventures celtiques (1998)
  • Best of (2008)

Web links

Notes and evidence

  1. ↑ Booklet for the CD Best of , p. 3
  2. ↑ after the band biography at gwendal.eu
  3. ↑ An excerpt from Gwendal's concert in Getxo can be found on YouTube.
  4. ↑ according to the band biography at gwendal.eu and the more precise information on albumtrad.com
  5. ↑ Information based on the cover of the vinyl LP Gwendal .
  6. ↑ Booklet for the CD Best of , p. 6
  7. ↑ see the discography at discogs.com