2016
Country: FR
BANDCAMP

The solitary project of Thomas Bonvalet initially focused on the nylon string guitar, taking short, dynamic and abrupt forms and limiting itself exclusively to the acoustic possibilities of the instrument. A radical posture, it constantly threatened to put itself at an impasse, or being forced into metamorphosis and movement. Bonvalet’s guitar thus became less and less identifiable. At the periphery it absorbed the sound of objects (metronome, tuning forks…) deviating from their common usage, integrating and splitting up their breath and sounds to reveal a new fleeting form. Amplification has also progressively become essential in this new instrumentarium/organism. However, the same undercurrent remains – the consideration of detail and tension, the search for possible sudden revelation.

Thomas Bonvalet, (born October, 1977) lives in Alpedrete, Spain. Guitar player of the band Cheval de frise between 1998 and 2004, he held his first solo show under the name of l’Ocelle Mare in September 2005. He has since released three other solo albums, ending with Serpentement in 2012. He has toured Europe, Scandinavia, Israel, USA and China.

Bonvalet’s instruments are: mechanical metronome with bell, harmonica reeds, six string banjo, amps, microphones, feet tapping, hand clapping, six string ukulele, tuning forks, timer, mouth organ, harmonicas, concertina, dry poppy pods, whistling …

Download a press photo here. (Credit: Susana Velasco)

 

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Past events

This artist participated in the SHAPE platform which concluded in 2022. The current version of the project is SHAPE+. Like its predecessor, it is co-funded by the European Union.