GILLES LAVAL

 

Electric and Acoustic Guitar

France

A guitarist for the legendary Lyon-based rock band Parkinson Square in the 1980s, he has since been involved in numerous collaborations and projects, blending underground and avant-garde influences. With more than twenty albums to his credit—ranging from solo work to compositions for 100 electric guitars—Gilles Laval is a unique figure in France’s unclassifiable music scene. A catalyst for energy, an innovative educator, and the driving force behind numerous projects, he has just released his latest CD, titled “100 Guitars on a Drunken Boat,” on the American label Cuneiform Records. This extraordinary project—performed with 100 or sometimes 40 guitars—has taken him from Lyon to Avignon, from Berlin to Leipzig, from Grenoble to Chambéry to Pouillat, and more stops are already on the horizon!

 

“100 Guitars on a Drunken Boat” is a fifty-minute piece created by guitarist and composer Gilles Laval, loosely inspired by Arthur Rimbaud’s poem “Le Bateau Ivre.” “100 Guitars on a Drunken Boat” is a musical work as powerful as the waves of the ocean. By turns melodic, rhythmic, and raucous, this piece is a heart-wrenching cry for the protection of the oceans. Four stages arranged according to the cardinal directions, with the audience at the center, immersed in sound and visuals for an extraordinary sensory journey.

 

His solo “Dehors Pythagore!” showcases perfect mastery of improvisation and a rich, deeply personal exploration of sound on the world’s most widely used rock instrument. You’re sure to be spellbound...