Pat O'May (born 1961) is a French musician who blends rock music with elements of

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

. He originally worked with the heavy metal band Marienthal, and also produced several solo albums. He has written over 100 tracks for the TV show ''European coast seen from the sky''. He participated in Alan Simon's rock operas ''

Anne de Bretagne Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...

'', '' Excalibur: The Celtic Rock Opera'' and started working with

Martin Barre Martin Lancelot Barre (; born 17 November 1946) is an English guitarist best known for his longtime role as lead guitarist of British rock band Jethro Tull, with whom he recorded and toured from 1968 until the band's initial dissolution in 201 ...

touring and recording with him.

Career

O'May was born in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, France. As a teenager, he was a fan of rock music and R&B from the

Osmond Brothers The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (the Osmonds). The group has c ...

, but the album ''

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses, and others, and ...

'' by

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

inspired him to become a hard rock guitarist. He joined the heavy metal band Marienthal about 1982. He gave guitar lessons and took them himself from Patrick Duplan, which made him explore classical music,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and bossa nova. Marienthal toured France, England, and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, and opened for acts such as

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ...

Alvin Lee Alvin Lee (born Graham Anthony Barnes; 19 December 1944 – 6 March 2013) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, who was best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the blues rock band Ten Years After. Early life Lee was ...

, and

Chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

. After conflicts with their manager, the band split in 1987. O'May continued touring with the group Road 66 across France but playing in bars led to excesses. O'May decided to put an end to this during a tour in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

. He stayed in Belfort where he met the band

Ange Ange or Anges may refer to: Places * Angé, Loir-et-Cher department, France, a commune * Ånge Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden ** Ånge, the seat of Ånge Municipality * Änge, Jämtland County, Sweden, a locality * Ange (river), Ai ...

and as drummer Peter Hartmann and bassist Alain De Bernardi, with whom he refounded the group Road 66. O'May moved to

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in 1989. After a third group experience with Road 66 and the sound of Breton concerts and bals, he released his first solo album, ''Bob Up'', in 1994, with Breton musicians Alain Genty, Michel Aumont, Fred Guichen and Stéphane De Vito. Godin, a French guitar distributor, chose him as its spokesperson. In 1995, he was invited by the Festival "Cannes Passion Music" in Cannes for master classes. In 1996, he released the album ''Kids & the War'', with Celtic instruments: Scottish

Snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

and

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ), also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the ...

). He recorded his third album, ''Breizh – Amerika'', in which he continued to fuse rock and traditional sounds, adding Celtic music, and involving French guitarist

Norbert Krief Norbert Albert Krief (; born 17 July 1956), often known as Nono, is a French rock guitarist of Tunisian descent. Krief was the guitarist of hard rock bands such like Shakin' Street and Trust. He later worked as lead guitarist for Johnny Hallyday ...

. He had the album mixed by

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

guitarist Ron Thal in New York City, and released it in 1999. In 2002, O'May produced the album ''Un Souffle Pour la Vie'' (Breath for Life) with many artists. He donated the profits to

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

research. That year, he also released his fourth album, ''Anakoustik'', and followed it with a tour with pianist Philippe Turbin. In 2003, he created a show with the Breton singer

Gilles Servat Gilles Servat is a French singer, born in Tarbes in southern France in 1945, into a family whose roots lay in the Nantes region of Brittany. He is an ardent promoter ardent of the Breton culture, and sings in both French and Breton, as well as ...

. O'May has composed over 100 tracks for the TV serial ''European coast seen from the sky'', which has been distributed to 15 countries. Breton musician

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a Breton people, 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 (specif ...

had him play on his album ''Explore'', which released in 2006. O'May also participated in "Brittany celebrates St. Patrick's day" at

Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Accor Arena (originally known as the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy), also known as Bercy Arena, is an indoor sports arena and List of concert halls, concert hall in the neighbourhood of Bercy, on the Boulevard de Bercy, in the 12th arrondisse ...

, and played as a guest musician on

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

's "Flashback Tour". In 2007, he signed with

Milan Music Milan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan has an electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases. In July 2 ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

label for his fifth studio album, ''Omega''. It was released on 8 July, and he played at the "Festival des Terre Neuvas" in France in front of 47,000 people. In 2008, O'May toured in France and Europe. Alan Simon invited O'May to participate in the rock opera ''

''. O'May also participated in Simon's second project, ''

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

'', a Celtic rock opera. Excalibur toured in Germany and Switzerland in 2010. O'May released his sixth album, ''In Live We Trust'', with ten tracks and a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...

. His concert producer describes his style as "exploring new territory with an original blend of his own well-known guitar approach and world music elements using among others

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

sounds". He participated in the 2010 Bercy for

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

, and recorded for ''Excalibur III'', which was the third album from the Excalibur rock opera. He continued touring for both of Simon's projects through 2011 and 2012, visiting Switzerland, France, and Germany. He developed a friendship with

, and later toured with him in October 2011. In 2012, Barre invited him to join his new group for several tours in Britain, Germany, Italy, USA. O'May appeared in 2012 as guest on Alan Stivell concerts, in earlier parts of several concerts of

Uli Jon Roth Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also founder of the Sky Ac ...

(ex-

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

guitarist) and played in Nancy Zénith including Scorpions, Pat McManus,

Gamma Ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from high energy interactions like the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei or astronomical events like solar flares. It consists o ...

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

and Koritni. O'May released his seventh album, ''Celtic Wings'', drawing for writing it in his musical (metal), genetic (Ireland) and emotional (Brittany) roots. It gives rise to a

Celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundation of the ...

and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

album, between new compositions and covers (Alan Stivell medley, '' Over the Hills and Far Away'', ''

Whiskey in the Jar "Whiskey in the Jar" ( Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee (highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, is ...

''), with the participation of Martin Barre, Alan Stivell,

Jonathan Noyce Jonathan Mark Thomas Noyce (born 15 July 1971) is an English musician. He is primarily a bass guitar player. Noyce is known for being a member of British rock group Jethro Tull for 12 years, and also for his collaborations with guitarist Gary M ...

(

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

(

Clannad Clannad () were an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal, by siblings , and (Moya) (in English, Brennan) and their twin uncles Noel and (Duggan). They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history. Beginn ...

), James Wood, Christophe Peloil (

Tri Yann Tri Yann () is a French band from Nantes who play medieval folk rock music drawing on traditional Breton folk ballads. The band was founded in 1969 by Jean Chocun, Jean-Paul Corbineau and Jean-Louis Jossic – all of whom remained members – ...

). The album, which he began writing six months before the release in November, is recorded in Britain, Ireland, England and mastered at the famous

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in London.

Discography

* ''Bob Up'' (WMD, 1994) * ''Kids & the War'' (Wagram, 1996) * ''Breizh-Amerika'' (Coop Breizh, 1999) * ''Anacoustik'' (Prod'ig, 2002) * ''Pat O'May Omega'' (Milan Music, 2007) * ''In Live We Trust'' ( Keltia Musique, 2010) * ''Celtic Wings'' (Keltia Musique, 2012) * ''Behind The Pics'' (Keltia Musique, 2014) * ''Keltia Symphopnia'' (Keltia Musique, 2016) * ''One Night In Breizh land '' (Coop Breizh, 2018) * ''Welcome To A New World'' (Artdisto, 2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omay, Pat French musicians 1961 births Living people French rock guitarists French male guitarists