Scherzoo - 04 (2018)

Scherzoo is a band founded in 2005 by the composer and multi-instrumentalist François Thollot. After the early years marked by a high instability, the line-up of the band is fixed in 2011 with the arrival of NI's François Mignot (guitar) and Anthony Béart (bass guitar), Jeremy Van Quackebeke (piano), Guillaume Lagache (sax), and with F.Thollot taking the drum seat. This line-up has recorded the two first albums of Scherzoo, entitled 01 (2011) and 02 (2012). In 2013, F.Thollot is the new bassist, and hires Clement Curaudeau (drums , also played in Sulphat' Kétamine), Maxime Mantovani (guitar) and Renaud Vernet (sax). This new formula of the band then records the 03 album in 2014 and performs in a few festivals, including Freakshow (Wurzburg-Ger) and Soleil Zeuhl (Paris - Fra), sharing the bill with Guillaume Perret, Jean Louis or Wobbler. A new sonic orientation is then adopted, without sax but with a dual-keyboards formula and a whole new repertoire. Scherzoo's music is entirely instrumental and combines many influences from the various styles of progressive rock (Canterbury, Zeuhl, RIO, Jazz Fusion, Symphonic), but also in jazz and classical/contemporary music. Tightly written, it is characterized by a profusion of ideas that flow effortlessly, and favors a collective approach in its interpretation, far from any technical demonstration. Featuring a great melodic and rhythmic density, it can sometimes reach a form of dissonance. The compositions, through kaleidoscopic and unpredictable structures, seek to bring the listener into a narrative flow, which can be epic, melancholic or visceral, but remains always surprising. This unstoppable chain of ideas and the alliance of contrasts are what give Scherzoo's music all its personality and coherence.