Dominique Le Duff (born 20 August 1960) is a Breton singer-songwriter.
Early life
Le Duff was born in
Plouescat
Plouescat (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. It is a seaside resort, complete with a casino and a large camping and caravanning site, adjacent to its extensive beach of fine, powdery sand. The reg ...
in the Finistère department of
Brittany in north-western France. Dom Duff was raised on his parents coastal farm and learned both French and
breton language
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...
.
In 1974 he started learning guitar, then joined various local bands for fifteen years. After horticultural studies he worked as a teacher,
in garden centers, and as technician for vegetable seeds companies.
Music career
In 1995 he started to be a full-time musician and teamed up with friends to start the Breton music band
Diwall.
They toured a lot Europe and released two albums : "Dansal ha Nijal" (Dancing and Flying 1997) and "Setu ar Vuhez" (That's life 1999).
In 1999 he established himself as a solo act. His songwriting is mostly in Breton and 2003 was the release of his first album "Straed an Amann"(Butter street), nominated for 2003 best Breton album.
He is collaborating with artists such as
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a French, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specifically ...
for the album Emerald, and joined him for the magical breton night
Yaouank in Rennes on 11/19/2009.
Dom collaborate also with
Kila, Pascal Lamour, Bagad Roñsed Mor, Skilda.
In February 2010 Duff started a side project "Brythonics". He teamed up with Swansea songwriter
Andy Jones. They wrote songs about Brythonics migrations and the show has been played three times in Brittany.
In 2012, Dom Duff has been asked to write the anthem of the famous breton relay "Redadeg" and Foeter Breizh (Breton Wanderer) was released for the event, been sung by runners all over the 1500 km all over Brittany.
Early 2013, he started a crowdfunding campaign to help him release his new project Babel Pow Wow, an album celebrating Global Diversity. The campaign worked well, about 300 listeners and pledgers helped him to reach the goal, through his crowdfunding page and also his website.
Dom and collaborators started also their own label Paganab to help him release the album.
Discography
Awards
* ''Straed an Amann'' : "Coup de Cœur" ''Le Télégramme'' 2003 and "Bravo!!!" ''Trad Magazine'' (n°90, p. 97)
* On 29 January 2010 Duff won Breton Singer of the Year and Best Album
awards at the
Prizioù (
France 3).
References
External links
Official site of Dom Duff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, Dom
French world music groups
Breton musicians
1960 births
Living people