Yves-Marie Berthou

French drummer and percussionist Born in 1975, he began to learn music at the age of seven, first the guitar and then the drums, which he went on to study at the Conservatoire de Brest. Next he learned to play oriental and Indian drums with Khalid Kouhen, and began to perform with various bands specialising in popular music from Maghreb and Eastern Europe. In 2004, after a journey and musical encounters in the Balkans, he started to play the « tapan » – a double-headed bass drum. Very soon he found himself attracted/fascinated both by its power of expression and by its rich repertoire, He travellled fequently to the Mediterranean region – Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria -in order to learn from great musicians and teachers and thus develop/work on/improve his skill with this instrument. At the same time he also became more proficient with other percussion instruments such as the derbuka, the daff, the riqq and various kinds of drums. As he found more opportunities to meet and exchange with musicians, he took part in a great number of projects of varied artistic nature: traditional music, contemporary music, jazz and improvisation, and he regularly collaborated in other art forms: dance, circus performance, theatre and film. Being a musician who is also a listener, his compositions are full of sensitivity – and without borders – nourished and enriched by all manner of experiences. Some references: Slonovski Bal (France/Serbia), Bratsch, Gypsy Burek (Breton/Macedonian creation), Dengekan (Kurdistani/Breton creation), Kazut de Tyr (Breton and oriental music), Lakhdar Hanou Ensemble (oriental music of Arabian/Andalusian inspiration), Mazad Café (contemporary music of popular inspiration), Le Bal des chevaux(equestrian circus performance), Cie les Cambrioleurs (Theatre), Cie A/Corps (dance).