Dour/Le Pottier Quartet
Breton Tribal Music
The group has been playing for over 5 years, and has already earned a strong reputation with dancers. It has also offered a wider audience the opportunity to view breton music through new eyes, thanks to its unique orchestration of string instruments and percussion,
and to the diversity of arrangements of our ancestral music.
Three years after the release of its first album (Trid an Douar) which sets
the band's sound, the quartet has just realeased its second album:
"Treusioù ar Pewar Awel" (Windward cross-roads)
15€ (Including
shipping costs)
The guests, met over 5 years of touring, contribute many different shades to this new album:
Indo-Breton singer Parveen Khan and her brother, tabla player Ilyas Khan,
French singer from "Poitou" Christan Pacher (band Ciac Boum),
Breton singers Youenn Lange and Fanch Oger and German singer Stefanie THEOBALD.
An album that is full of surprises, and extends the artistic approach of
"Trid an Douar" while exploring new directions.
Inspired both by traditional fiddle players (Brittany, France, Sweden...) and middle-eastern sounds, as well as by classical harmonies and rock riffs, this quartet is a real musical melting pot. The quartet from Central Brittany was born from the duo formed by Jonathan Dour and Floriane Le Pottier (2011 Brittany traditional all-instrument duo champion), joined by Mathilde Chevrel on the cello and Antonin Volson on percussion. The group's music defies definition: it is subtle and wild, highbrow and popular. Neither smooth nor mild, it sounds like a tribal modal chamber orchestra! And it sounds great! (“La Gallésie en Fete” Festival in Monterfil, Brittany)
"Treusioù ar Pewar Awel", the second album
"Trid an Douar", the first album
The quartet soon became popular on the Fest-Noz scene in 2013, and played at festivals all over Brittany
(The Cornouaille Festival in Quimper, the Interceltic Festival in Lorient, Yaouank in Rennes...).
In order to embody this new approach to Breton music, the band recorded its first album in Autumn 2013. “Trid an Douar” (The Earth Trembles...) was self-produced by Alkemia Production and released on 22 March 2014, distributed by Coop-Breizh.
The album didn't go unnoticed...
"Trid an douar is a subtle combination of violin strings and drum skins, and stands out in the Breton musical landscape.
A medieval touch lingers over these superbly led dances. (…)
It delights us with both classical elegance and traditional trance”.
Gwenaël Dayot, Ouest-France
A new and refreshing approach to Fest-Noz music. Classical and traditional harmonies and rock riffs take dancing to another level of trance and escape.
Frédéric Jambon, Télégramme
Warning: look out for young talents ahead! These 4 musicians offer us a most promising and successful album. Their music seeks to combine “traditional, modal, tribal, and classical inspiration and improvisation”, and succeeds perfectly in doing so. Their repertoire is mostly dedicated to dance music: Plinn, Gavotte, Kost ar c'hoat...are delivered with an uncommon depth, energy and inventiveness. (...) The whole album is quite brilliant!
Pierre Morvan, le Peuple Breton n°606
(…) an acute sense of rhythmic awareness. The cello's strong attack brings energy to the dance, the inventiveness of the riffs adds a kind of obstinate determination to the melodies. What also makes the quartet's inter-action remarkable is how easy it is to identify the dances played (…) Each instrument has its rightful place within the group and its balanced range of sounds (…) An excellent first album!
Michel Toutous, Armen n°201
This album is a gamble that came off perfectly! (…) Bringing their dancers to a state of trance, these talented musicians dig into their roots in order to lead their contemporaries to conviviality and powerful vibes. This album ought to be played and played again, but the band should above all be seen live, so as to get right into the music (…) Magazine Keltia, n°31
This disc is fluid and full of energy: four technically irreproachable musicians have achieved this difficult balance with a really beautiful album, whose sound remains just as pleasurable throughout the 14 tracks. Ronan Gueblez, Musique Bretonne n°240
The quartet invites us on a fascinating journey from North to South whilst dancers tread the Breton soil.
Marc Bauduin, Le Canard Folk (magazine Belge)
Well done!! ...If anything should be emphasised, it is how danceable all these tracks are, and this despite a number of elements that may be difficult to accept for the ears of traditional music purists. The particularly strong cello attacks, Jonathan and Floriane's bow strokes and the pulse offered by the drumbeats altogether shape a musical voice that very nearly brings the dancers to a state of trance.
Guests Stefanie Theobald, Krismenn and Jean-Pierre Quere join the quartet and lend their voices to the already rich, lush, lively, dynamic and wild music. A real success. This first album is absolutely brilliant.
Philippe Cousin, Trad Mag n°159
12€ (Including
shipping costs)
How the quartet came to be...
During a trip to Sweden, Jonathan became interested in the use of double strings to set up a drone, and in violin duet playing. This led him subsequently to look into similar traditional use of the violin in France, and especially in the centre of France and in Haute-Bretagne (the eastern part of Brittany) in and around Rennes.
Thanks to Erik Marchand, he then met Fawaz Baker, a Syrian musician, who encouraged him to play Breton music with the Arabic tuning of the violin. This particular technique may evoke the ancestral bowed string instruments of the European Middle Ages, up to the Baroque viola d'amore. It is much more adapted to traditional modal music: drones, resonance, and non-tempered modes.
The combination of these two approaches completely changed his attitude towards the music of Basse-Bretagne (the western part of Brittany) on the violin. He and Floriane pursued these musical explorations for 2 more years, until Mathilde (who was already part of the AODAN show) joined them on the cello (also in open tuning), and finally Antonin on the drums (BADUME'S BAND, GUICHEN...).
Floriane, Mathilde and Jonathan have all received both traditional and classical musical training, which allows the quartet to explore a wide range of sounds to accompany the dances. Antonin also brings to the ensemble his own original touch with a very melodic playing style and the unique sound of his tribal percussion kit!
CONTACT QUARTET
Alkémia Production / Jonathan DOUR
Bodero - 56630 Langonnet - France
06 86 16 55 36 / 02 97 23 96 24
References (2013-2018)
Breton and Celtic Festivals: The Interceltic Festival in Lorient, the Cornouaille Festival in Quimper, Yaouank in Rennes, the Fisel Festival in Rostrenen, Festival du Loup in Corbeyrier (Switzerland) the Gallésie en Fête in Monterfil, the Bogue d'Or in Redon, Paris-Breizh in Bagneux, and a number of Festoù-Noz!
Folk Festivals: Funambals à Lyon, Le Bouche à Oreilles in Parthenay, Les grands bals de l'Europe in St Gervais d'Auvergne, FOD in Danemark, Boulegan in St Jean du Gard, The Week-end in Montpellier, Le P'tit Bazar in Le Mans...
