Alain Genty is an extraordinary and innovative bass player who has played with some of the best Breton bands including Gwerz, Den and Barzaz. He is a skilled musician, arranger and composer.
Even though he is identified with the Breton music scene, Genty was not born in Brittany. He was born on September 22, 1958 in Nogent-sur-Seine, in Champagne and moved to Brittany in the 1980s. Genty lived there for several years, studying Breton music and playing with local musicians. During his early years he player progressive rock and later he drifted towards Celtic influenced music Genty lives in Paris nowadays, but he travels to Brittany frequently to play with his old friends.
His current music style combines Breton and Scottish music with jazz and rock elements. Genty’s bands have have included prominent Breton musicians such as Jackie Molard (violin), Patrick Molard (bagpipes) and Jean-Michel Veillon (flutes) as well as guitarist Tony McManus, from Scotland. His masterpiece is the 5 piece bagad (bagpipe band) that he includes in his major festival shows.
In 2017, Genty released Eternal Tides, along with Scottish singer and lyricist Joanne McIver. Eternal Tides features various high profile guests such as Patrick Molard on biniou, Jean-Michel Veillon on bombard, Nicolas Giraud on trumpet, Christophe Saunière on harp, and Thierry Garcia on guitar.
Eternal Tides is inspired by the departure for distant fishing. The ocean: light and space, in all its immensity, its dangers; The nostalgia of the sweet childhood summers on the beach; The call of the native island; The songs of work on the port, and also the history of Scotland (on the title “Culloden”), relative to the ultimate battle against the English.
Discography
Barzaz, Ec’honder, with Barzaz (Escalibur, 1989)
Barzaz, An den Kozh Dall, with Barzaz (Keltia Musique, 1992)
Gwerz, Live (Gwerz Pladenn, 1993)
La Couleur du Milieu (Gwerz Pladenn, 1994)
Le Grand Encrier (Keltia Musique, 1998)
Barzaz (Keltia Musique, 2003)
Une Petite lanterne (Keltia Musique, 2004)
Toud’Sames, Toud’Sames (2004)
To the Bobs, with Patrick Molard (Keltia Musique, 2004)
Singing Sands, with Tony McManus (Greentrax Recordings, 2005)
Eternal Tides, with Joanne McIver (Buda Musique, 2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.