Ar Re Yaouank (; ) is a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

band, established in 1986 by two brothers born in

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, northwestern France, Fred and Jean-Charles Guichen (16 and 14 years at that time) playing the

diatonic accordion A melodeon or diatonic button accordion is a member of the free-reed aerophone family of musical instruments. It is a type of button accordion on which the melody-side keyboard contains one or more rows of buttons, with each row producing the ...

and the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

respectively. They were joined in 1987 by Gaël Nicol (

bombard __NOTOC__ Bombard may refer to the act of carrying out a bombardment. It may also refer to: Individuals *Alain Bombard (1924–2005), French biologist, physician and politician; known for crossing the Atlantic on a small boat with no water or food ...

and

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

), David Pasquet (bombards), then in 1990 by Stéphane De Vito playing the

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck The ...

. With the energy of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, while respecting the spirit of the traditional tunes, they add a very fast rhythm, bringing dancers in the trance. Thus, they revitalized the

Fest Noz A Fest Noz (Breton for ''night festival'') is a Breton traditional festival, with dancing in groups and live musicians playing acoustic instruments. Although it is all too easy to write off the ' and ''fêtes folkloriques'' as modern inventions, ...

(night festival), attracting the young audience and new followers. The group disbanded in 1998, and each continued to evolve in the Breton music, with various bands. The Brothers Guichen mainly worked as a duo under their own name.

History

Reformation

On July 14, 2011, the group agreed to re-form exceptionally and to open the 20th edition of the

Vieilles Charrues Festival The Vieilles Charrues Festival (french: Festival des Vieilles Charrues, ; br, Gouel an Erer Kozh, ; literally: Old Ploughs Festival) is held every year in mid-July in the city of Carhaix, located in western Brittany, France. This festival is the l ...

, on the main stage, in front of 40,000 spectators, dancing the

an dro An dro or ''en dro'' (Breton: "The Turn") is a Breton folk dance in . It is a form of a circle dance. Technique The dancers link little fingers in a long line, swinging their arms, and moving to their left by taking longer steps in that directi ...

and

gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, according to one source. Ac ...

s. During a private party for the meal of the volunteers of the Vieilles Charrues Festival in January, 2012, the band played together a second time. It also re-formed a third time on November 23, 2013 during the Yaouank Festival in front of more than 8,000 dancersLe groupe Ar Re Yaouank remet le couvert
''20 Minutes'', 10 July 2013

Discography

Studio albums and live

*1989: ''Sidwel'' *1992: ''Fest-Noz Still Alive'' *1994: ''Breizh Positive'' *1996: ''Trivet Act'' (Act 3)

Participations

*1995 : ''Kleg Live''

Compilations

*1998: ''Best of'' *2013: ''L'intégrale'' ("The Complete", 4 CDs

Coop Breizh Coop Breizh is a Breton cultural company founded in 1957 by Kendalc'h confederation, based in Spézet, Brittany, France. Specialized in the production, the publishing and the literary and musical distribution, it propose articles related to Breton ...

)

References

External links

Ar Re Yaouank
on

discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

.com
Video Live in Francofolies Festival
"Breizh positive" {{Authority control French world music groups French rock music groups Musical groups established in 1986 Breton musical groups 1986 establishments in France