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The Album
After being acknowledged by great Scandinavian musicians and becoming the French reference of North-inspired music with Octantrion/ 8, the duo devised and produced the album II so as to make it more accessible to the general public. The theme of the raven was chosen as a symbol of pagan Nordic/ Viking cultures and to serve as common thread for the new opus. It holds 15 songs among which are 10 original compositions and 5 rearranged traditional Swedish and Icelandic tunes. Its melodies tick over in your mind and the pieces can be danced on and hummed, and take the listener on an escape journey to a dreamt North, a land of legends.
© Marius LENIÈRE
While the album Octantrion and its variation 8 were showcasing the timbres of the extraordinary instruments played by Eleonore Billy (Swedish nyckelharpa, Norwegian hardingfele) and Gaedic Chambrier (Nordic bass cittern, mandocello, harp-guitar), with a light double bass accompaniment by Jean-Philippe Viret (winner of a victory for music in 2011 and a victory for Jazz in 2020) as well as by some percussions, much denser orchestrations can be found in the album II. Six other musicians took part in the album, and voices and singing can be heard in four pieces.
PLAYLIST
1. Bältares Långdans (Eleonore Billy/Gaëdic Chambrier/ Trad./ Sweden)
2. Hugin (Eleonore Billy/Gaëdic Chambrier)
3. Ragnarök (Eleonore Billy/Gaedic Chambrier/ Trad./ Island)
4. The Dead King (Gaedic Chambrier)
5. Element [Vilya] (Gaedic Chambrier)
6. Strömkarlen Spelar (Eleonore Billy/Gaëdic Chambrier/ Trad./ Sweden)
7. En Gång När Jag Ska Dö (Eleonore Billy/Gaëdic Chambrier/ Trad./ Sweden)
8. Dans [När] (Gaëdic Chambrier)
9. Element [Nén] (Gaëdic Chambrier)
10. Munin (Eleonore Billy)
11. Against The Wind (Anne Hytta)
12. Father (Olivier Derivière)
13. Element [Cén] (Gaëdic Chambrier)
14. Chaman (Eleonore Billy/Gaëdic Chambrier/ Trad./ Island)
15. The Dead King [Radio edit] (Gaëdic Chambrier)
© Marius LENIÈRE
LINE-UP
© Marius LENIÈRE
© Marius LENIÈRE
Eleonore Billy
Voice, tenor nyckelharpa, alto nyckelharpa CGDA, alto nyckelharpa AbEbAbEb, soprano nyckelharpa, hardingfele. Éléonore BILLY plays Jean-Claude CONDI nyckelharpas and SAVAREZ strings.
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Gaedic Chambrier
Voice, acoustic & electric guitars, harp-guitar, theorbed octave mandolin, mandola, mandocello, cittern, bass, drums, percussions, keyboards, programming. Gaedic CHAMBRIER plays Patrick QUERLEUX, Tony GIRAULT, Jean-Yves ALQUIER & Xavier JEAN guitars, BMS harp-guitars, Florian JOUGNEAU medieval instruments, KELT amplifiers and SAVAREZ strings.
Special Guest Musicians
Cécile Corbel
Singer and harpist. 11 albums to his credit, including 4 at Polydor / Universal Music, over 1'000 concerts around the world. Collaborations with singers Pomme and Natasha St Pier, with Gabriel Yacoub and Japanese turntable star DJ Daishi dance.
- Awarded the Andrée Chedid Prize in 2020
- Best Film Music Tokyo Anime Fair 2011
- Best Film Music 2010 at the Japan Golden Disc Awards
- 2 Gold Records for the Karigurashi no Arrietty's soundtrack
- Paris Young Talents Award, 2005.
She plays the Celtic harp in 3 pieces (Element [Nén], The dead King, The dead King [Radio edit]) from album II, bringing in her fairy universe and gentle touch.
Blandine Champion
Bassist and double bass player. She has accompanied Vincent Blanchard (Cesar for Best Film Music 2019 for Guy of Alex Lutz) for several years. She also accompanied Alex Lutz on the AccordHotels Arena / Paris Bercy stages and in various TV shows. As Octantrion grants a lot of importance to sound and rhythm, the band called on her for The Dead King [Radio edit].
Éric Pariche
A classical tenor, he has been singing in most French opera houses for 20 years. Nonetheless, he devotes himself to Metal! His band, Superscream, is known all around the globe. Octantrion called on him for his vocal characteristics. Indeed, he is a sort of chameleon, capable of almost anything with his voice. It’s just perfect to refine arrangements. He sings in The Dead King. [Radio edit].
Julien Lahaye
A Specialist in digital percussions of scholarly Persian music, he collaborates with many Asian, African and European artists in various registers such as improvised music, ancient music, drama and dance accompaniment, songs or even world music. Munin, as a tune, required the slightly wild percussion of a virtuoso. Julien Lahaye was the man for the job owing to his dexterity and the way he masters the tombak (THE Iranian percussion).
Xavier Milhou
A bass and double bass player and a great improviser, for 30 years he has accompanied various projects such as l’Attirail (14 albums, collaborations with Patrice Leconte, l’éolienne cirque chorégraphié) or Ben Herbert Larue, a rising French singer. With years of collaboration with Gaëdic Chambrier, working with him sounded more than obivous. Quick at work, precise, attentive… Who else? He plays in The Dead King.
Christophe Piot
A drummer and percussionist, he accompanies Cécile Corbel on stage and in records, along with Gaëdic Chambrier. A nomadic musician, he travels the world to fuel his musical practice and his inspiration too. He feels at ease when playing African-Cuban music as he does with contemporary or electro music. There is nothing that he cannot do with his instruments. Christophe Piot is the ideal Swiss Army knife for whoever wants to complete their arrangements. Incidentally, he has now become the official percussionist of Octantrion. He plays the drums on The Dead King [Radio edit].