EBEN

​ From “New Leurenn #3” to EBEN

On August 10, 2018, the Celtic festival of Lorient presented the third edition of the creation New Leurenn, “new scene”, where young talents and experienced musicians build together a repertoire of current traditional music.
 
This creation is sponsored by Jonathan DOUR (Denez, Dour/Le Pottier 4tet...), who takes under his wing the trio of young singers An Teir (Enora JEGOU, Marine LAVIGNE and Sterenn LE GUILLOU). The three young women were trained by Louise EBREL when they were only schoolchildren, and with her precious advice, they perform in the fest-noz of Finistère. At the end of 2017, Marine writes “Betek an Trec’h!”, the anthem of the Redadeg 2018, which markes for her the beginning of writing in the Breton language, which she pursues within New Leurenn #3.
 
In order to complete the group, Jonathan has surrounded himself with two renowned musicians: his long-time friend Antoine LAHAY on 12-string and electric guitars (Denez, Dièse 3...) and his friend Julien STÉVENIN on double bass (Startijenn, Istan Trio...).
 
After the success of the creation at the premiere, the artists and the FIL decide to perpetuate the group: EBEN was born!

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Scottish journey (2019 - 2020)

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The strings and voices of the sextet then resonate in Brittany, even beyond, and reach the ears of Fiona DALGETTY, director of the Fèis Rois festival, a must in the Gaelic musical landscape. She then proposed to the Interceltic Festival a creation between six Scottish artists and the members of EBEN.
 
It was in May 2019, during the Fèis Rois festival in Ullapool, that the Breton band met the trio of singers SIAN (Eilidh CORMACK, Ceitlin LILIDH, Ellen MACDONALD) who interpret Gaelic songs written by women, and three musicians whose reputation is well established: Duncan CHISHOLM (violin), Jarlath HENDERSON (flute, uillean pipe) and James ROSS (keyboards).
 
The first performance took place in August of the same year on a stormy evening in Lorient, where magic worked between the twelve artists. Scottish meets gavotte, Penn-sardine workers unite with those of Skye, Breton dialogues passionately with Scottish Gaelic, all carried by the friction of the ropes and the upheaval of the winds.
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Everything comes in threes, EBEN embarks again for Scotland in January 2020 for a third and final stage of creation which ends in style with a concert at City Hall in Glasgow, during Celtic Connections.
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In the meantime, the sextet recorded its first album at Antonin VOLSON's studio in Langoëlan and released it on November 23, 2019 during the Yaouank festival at the Parc Expo in Rennes.

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A new start (2020 - now)

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Inspired by their experience with their Scottish friends, EBEN widens its horizons and takes a new direction. First notable change, the arrival of Sterenn DIRIDOLLOU, star of the Plinn country and former disciple of Marcel GUILLOUX, who came to replace Enora during 2020. Between two lockdowns, the sextet explores new musical horizons, offers new ways of making Breton rhythms sound and works on a concert formula. EBEN also joins the Naïades Productions team, which enables them to reach different audiences in Brittany and elsewhere (Eurofonik, Les Traversées de Tatihou, Folk Nacht Ettlingen, etc.).
 
From February to August 2021, Marthe VASSALLO accompanied the vocal trio, then the entire group to prepare them for this new configuration.
 
Thanks to this new experience, the singers acquired new knowledge of traditional singing, new keys to understanding the vocal apparatus and to experiment with another way of listening. The musicians have found a space to develop finer playing and arrangements than in fest-noz.
 
After a start to the year 2022 marked by the participation of Sterenn, Marine and Sterenn (also members of AHEZ) at the Eurovision Song Contest with ALVAN on the feminist anthem "Fulenn", EBEN presents a brand new and original creation on the theme of emancipation, “DINASKAÑ”, in co-production with Naïade and Amzer Nevez.