Chassol

Christophe Chassol, born 1976, grew up in France; his parents come from Martinique. He already engaged with music as a child, studied classical percussion and piano at a conservatory early on and then went to the USA to continue his studies at the Berklee College of Music. Chassol’s musical interests are not as easily described has his curriculum vitae: his compositions are shaped by jazz and soul, classical music and advanced pop, and have just as many by Indian and Caribbean influences. His soundtracks sometimes have an aspect of Steve Reich’s minimalism and are sometimes somewhat exuberant with a touch of Ennio Morricone. His collaborations are also diverse – after conducting for a few years, he played together with Sébastien Tellier, Phoenix, Keren Ann and Frank Ocean. His own audio-visual work is often based on extensive travelling: in 2011 he went to New Orleans from where he brought back brass band recordings that he then changed with his own sounds – new accord structures, loops, surprising sound layers. He calls this method “outhar monising” and also applies it to film sequences from India, for example. In his debut film “Nola Chérie”, he incorporates sound scraps into melody lines that have an incredible appeal. He harmonises everyday noises, and incorporates pulsing street noises into rhythmic structures. Chassol’s films and albums depict his broad horizon. It stands to reason to call this experimental sound art.