Arnaud Quevedo is a French artist who has been teaching music at the conservatory since 2007., After creating several cover bands with his students, offering the music of Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Magma and Gong, from 2020 he started creating music with his first name. The sound new album “Roan” was released digitally in August 2021, and on CD in April 2022, containing 12 tracks. Roan (‘s journey) is an album that tells the story of a person’s journey through his unconscious imagination, following the inability to face the world around him. Numerous artists collaborate on the album with a wide range of instruments, allowing for many sound solutions. “Aube” is a short-lived intro with a background of keyboards and refined guitar textures, which takes us to the following “Prologue.” An accelerated and intricate rhythmic session, to which are added some valuable guitar work and the vocal in French, creating a very elaborate sound. A complex track, full of tempo changes that mixes Prog sounds with references to the music of bands such as Magma with valuable vocal and instrumental experiments and the guitar in evidence. “Découverte” begins with the sounds of bells and dreamy flute melodies, which create a long intro of about 2 minutes, and then evolve and increase in intensity. With the entry of the rhythm session the track develops with excellent textures of winds, keyboards and guitar on which a warm and expressive vocal is inserted. Enriched by tempo changes and violin inserts, the track shows a more Symphonic Prog facet and Arnaud’s sound, where there is no shortage of intricate passages. The horns are predominant in “Curiosité,” a short 2-minute interlude with Jazzy overtones, which softens the atmosphere and gently guides us to the next track. Always with the winds in evidence in the “Féerie” melodies that develops a theme with a circus atmosphere, cheerful and engaging, with a pleasant intertwining of male and female voices in French. “Dépassement” follows the sounds of the previous one, with an intertwining of male and female voices and with an interweaving of the instruments with valuable keyboard solos. An intricate track that enhances both the compositional and executive techniques of the artists involved, recalling the more experimental bands of French Prog. Focused entirely on electronic keyboard sounds, reminiscent of German Cosmic music “Nostalgie” is another short 1:56 minute interlude. Linking to the ending of the previous “Ryoko” it continues on more Space sounds in the intro, with deep and load-bearing bass lines, with an excellent intertwining of oboe and keyboards. The drumming is intricate and constantly evolving, while the long instrumental sections enhance the individual technique of the artists involved. The mix between Symphonic and more Experimental features is excellent with pompous choral vocals and intertwining strings that give a baroque touch to the sound. In the finale, guitar and oboe intertwine in a prolonged and very intense solo with tempo changes and emotional accelerations. “Fardeau” is a short but intense track, with deep sounds and bass virtuosity that blend with the keyboards with a Jazzy touch. The flute opens “Chrysalide” a track with dreamy atmospheres that develop with a very intense musical crescendo and the winds that duet. The rhythmic session is solid and the sound mixes Classical and Rock music, a passage of the album full of emotions. “Métamorphose” is perhaps the most intricate and experimental track of the whole album, with the guitar taking center stage with technical and virtuoso inserts and solos. In the central part the violin is added which duets in a brilliant way with the guitar, to conclude the track with the addition of the flute. Closes the album “Epilogue” which opens with the orchestrations that join the male and female choral voices on a dizzying rhythmic session. Jazz passages wisely mixed with the personal traits of the band, with extensive use of 70s-style winds and keyboards and refined drumming, an intense and very technical closure for this record. A very intense listening, with quality ideas composed and excellently executed, enhancing the individual and choral technique of the artists involved. The Jazz and Experimental sounds blend with the Prog and Arnaud’s personal traits, with that French touch that is inspired by the masters of the genre. A listening to all lovers of Prog and Experimental sounds, attributable to the bands of the French scene of the 70s, such as Magma. The artist is able to bring those atmospheres to the present day and propose them with his own personal and modern touch, giving new life to the genre, a masterpiece.
Tracklist
01. Aube (01:33)
02. Prologue (04:33)
03. Découverte (08:48)
04. Curiosité (02:26)
05. Féerie (03:22)
06. Dépassement (03:17)
07. Nostalgie (01:56)
08. Ryoko (12:33)
09. Fardeau (01:51)
10. Chrysalide (04:41)
11. Métamorphose 05:50
12. Epilogue 03:30
Lineup
Arnaud Quevedo / Guitar, Vocals and Synthetizer
Anthony Raynal / Drums
Noé Russeil / Bass
Marin Michelat / Keyboard
Eva Tribolles / Double bass
Tifenn Trévinal / Cello
Axelle Blondel / Violin
Manuella Perissutti / Flute
Olivia Gray / Oboe
Louis Théveniau / Clarinet
Julien Gomila / Saxophones
Florent Hervier / Trombone
Emeline Merlande / Vocals