André Duchesne (born 1949) is a Canadian

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

guitarist and composer. He was a co-founder of

Ambiances Magnétiques Ambiances Magnétiques is a Canadian record company and label started by Jean Derome, René Lussier, and others, and the artists' collective that preceded it. History In 1982, "guitarist René Lussier and saxophonist/flutist Jean Derome presente ...

, a Canadian

musical collective Musical collective is a phrase used to describe a group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared.Liisa Ladouceur"Collegjthk ctive Souls" ''This Magazine'', November/December 2004. The concept is distinct from th ...

and record label, and formed several experimental music bands, including Conventum, Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar and

Locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

. Duchesne has also released five solo albums.

Biography

André Duchesne was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec in 1949. As a teenager he learnt acoustic guitar, but was not satisfied with the popular rock music being played at the time. In the mid-1970s he formed an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

folk-rock group called Conventum with

René Lussier René Lussier (born April 15, 1957) is a jazz guitarist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a composer, guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, bass clarinetist, and singer. Lussier has collaborated with Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Jean De ...

Jean Derome Jean Derome (born June 29, 1955) is a French Canadian avant-garde saxophonist, flautist, and composer. A prominent figure in the Montreal ''musique actuelle'' (new music) scene, Derome has been a member of experimental, jazz, and rock groups, and ...

, Jean-Pierre Bouchard, Jacques Laurin, Bernard Cormier and poet Alain-Arthur Painchaud. Conventum was described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as a mixture of "

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

's folk roots with absurd poetry and progressive arrangements". They released two albums, ''À l'Affût d'un Complot'' in 1977 and ''Le Bureau Central des Utopies'' in 1979. In 1983 Duchesne, Lussier, Derome and Robert M. Lepage formed

, a

and artist-run record label specialising in avant-garde music. Duchesne released his first solo album, ''Le Temps des Bombes'' on the new label in 1984. Then he began writing

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

compositions for a guitar quartet, and formed Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar (The 4 Guitarists of the Apocalypso-Bar) with Lussier, Bouchard and Roger Boudreault to perform the pieces. Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar was a concept band that Duchesne said was from

post-apocalypse Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astr ...

Canada "inspired by the ghost of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

". They premiered at the 4th

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville is an annual international music festival held in Victoriaville, Quebec that showcases contemporary music. The festival is known for its small scale (usually no more than 20 performan ...

(FIMAV) at

Victoriaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabask ...

, Quebec in October 1986, and continued until 1989, touring Canada, the United States and Europe. They also released two albums in 1987 and 1989. After the success of Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar, Duchesne returned to FIMAV in 1989 to premier "his most ambitious work ever", ''L' Ou 'L'', a composition that explored different styles of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. In 1991, he formed

with Claude Fradette and Rémi Leclerc, which also performed at FIMAV in 1991. Locomotive recorded an album of the same name in 1992, which AllMusic called "the pinnacle of André Duchesne's discography". During the mid- to late-1990s, Duchesne formed several rock bands, but they never recorded. In 1999 he released ''Réflexions'', an album of classical guitar solos, and in 2001, ''Polaroïde'', a

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...

session for guitar, viola and percussion. Duchesne returned to FIMAV for its 21st edition in 2004 to premier ''Cordes à danser'', a new project of his featuring a string quartet and a "power trio" of guitar, bass and drums.

Discography

* ''Le Temps Des Bombes'' (1984) * ''Le Royaume Ou L'Asile'' ( Ambiances Magnetiques, 1990) * ''L'Ou'L'' (Les Disques Victo, 1990) * ''Locomotive'' (Ambiances Magnetiques, 1993) * ''Reflexions'' (Ambiances Magnetiques, 1999) * ''Polaroide'' (Ambiances Magnetiques, 2001) * ''Arreter Les Machines'' (2006) * ''Cordes A Danser...Suite Saguenayenne'' (Ambiances Magnetiques, 2006) * ''Andre Duchesne Meets Bamberg'' with Matthias Kundmueller, Frank Taschner (Cavalli, 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchesne, Andre 1949 births Canadian experimental musicians Canadian guitarists Living people Musicians from Montreal