Clément PETIT is, first and foremost, an avid cellist hungry for now sounds and artistic encounters. He is eager for collaborations and new musical contexts, and enjoys mixing things up to throw the listener off-guard with his eclectic creations.
Clement PETIT is, first and foremost, an avid cellist hungry for now sounds and artistic encounters. He is eager for collaborations and new musical contexts, and enjoys mixing things up to throw the listener off-guard with his eclectic creations.
He is one of those musicians constantly seeking to reinvent their instruments by developing techniques, using new musical languages and rewriting the rules.
Raised in a diverse and community-based Parisian banlieu, he would be immersed in a world of Afro-American, Caribbean and electronic music, before throwing himself into contemporary and improvised music.
Petit’s vision of music is very large, he would claim these influences as his own and as such he has his own highly personal sound: he knocks down the walls of genre and allows the many different sounds to mingle and interact freely.
Whether it be as a cellist or as a composer/arranger/producer, it’s within this optic that he undertakes his projects, diversifying formats and experimenting with all sonic aesthetics without discrimination.
Career:
After starting a classical musical education with cellist Roger Loewenguth at the age of five, Clément PETIT would orient towards singing and musical improvisation. Passionate about Afro-American and Carribean song, he would lead his projects, up until 2002, primarily as a singer and composer. Alongside his personal projects he would first enrole at the American School of Modern Music, then transfer to the jazz department of the Conservatoire National De Région (CNR) of Aubervilliers-La Courneuve. He received awards in both institutions respectively in 2004 and 2007.
He underwent a personal adventure in adapting his instrument to music « with a pulse », beginning with jazz and then moving on to the many other genres he loves: funk, afro, afro-cuban, latino, rock, punk and more.
Petit actively seeks collaboration and while the following list is by no means exhaustive, he has in the past worked with artists from all over the musical spectrum, including: Pierre Blanchard, Romane, Richard Bona, Coax, Pierrejean Gaucher, Xavier Phillips and artists from the world of popular music: Aloe Blacc, Ala.ni, Ben l’Oncle Soul, Blick Bassy, Olle Nymann, Blundetto, Nicolas Jules, Blackjoy, Lisa Papineau…
Influences:
Donny Hattaway, Nina Simone, S.Wonder, Gil Scott-Heron, Roy Ayers, J.L.Hooker, D.Gordon, C.Mingus, Coltrane, A.Ayler, O.Coleman, Dave Douglas, Tim Berne, Zorn, D.Holland, Kartet, S.Coleman, Ligeti, Maessian, Dutilleux, S.Reich, Schubert, Pink Floyd, the Velvet, the Clash, Bowie, Talk Talk, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, the Kinks, E.Costello, James Blake, Bon iver, Jazzanova, Danny Krivit, G.Peterson, MAW, Fania (…), Baden Powell, Chico Buarque, Jorge Ben, Fela, A.F.Toure, Bonga, LKJ, Third World, Culture, K.Boothe, B.Marley, Ijahman, d’Angelo, N.e.r.d …
