For our October issue of 2016 we featured an interview with a Celtic band from France. Some of their music is available to be streamed from our Free Music tab.
OUBERET by James A. McQuiston FSA Scot, USA EDITOR’S NOTE: In this issue we take a look at a wild band out of France that focuses on Celtic music with a twist. Even their clothing says “unconventional.” A couple of their songs are posted on our free music tab at celticguide.com. This makes the seventeenth country to participate in our e-magazine, and all we can say is, “Viva La France!” CG: Welcome to the pages of Celtic Guide. We just love your sound and it has such an old world, almost mysterious flavor. Can you tell us a little about your background – where you are from, your instrumentation, and why you chose to focus on Celtic music? Oubéret: Hello Jim! We are Oubéret, a French Celtic band from around Clermont-Ferrand, a town in the center mountains of France. We are five musicians: Jocelyn, whistles, bagpipes and singing; Sylvain, accordion; Thomas, guitars, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals; Maya, bass; Nicolas, drums and backing vocals. Jocelyn created Oubéret in 2006 to share his love of Celtic music and dance. The project was very interesting, so we decided to join him. CG: Who are your greatest Celtic musical influences? Oubéret: Not so many, for most of us are not coming from the Celtic scene (this is probably why our music sounds different). But, to name a few bands we listen to, I would say Tri Yann, Yogan, Kan, Flook, Lunasa, Solas, Manran, Carlos Nunez, Dan Ar Braz, Treacherous Orchestra and Sharon Shannon. CG: Is the Celtic culture strong in France? Oubéret: Yes it is! Especially the Britanic culture. But you can find Celtic festivals all around the country almost any time of the year. The French also love anything that sounds like Irish music. CG: Where are some of the more exciting places your live performances have taken you? Oubéret: Any festival with many people. Or small venues, but crowded... CG: What is the craziest thing you’ve done as a band? Oubéret: Decide to become professional? CG: We love to ask this next question of musicians. Some of the answers are very surprising. Your instrumentation is very precise and excellent in quality. Do you ever find your minds drifting off to some other place as you’re performing, or are you concentrating completely on the performance? Oubéret: No, we definitely drift off regurlarly. Staying concentrated for two hours is not possible. We check the audience, think of what we could improve in the show, listen to the music and try new things, or even think of things that have nothing to do we the gig! CG: Do you have song downloads available, or performance dates coming up that you’d like our readers to know about? Oubéret: You can find all of our albums on iTunes or any site where you can legally download music. You can also find stuff on our youtube channel. Concerning our next shows, they are all to take place in France, so probably nothing available for your readers. CG: How can your fans keep in touch with you online Oubéret: Facebook. Definitely Facebook! Or our website... https://www.ouberet.fr CG: What is the one thing you’d like our Celtic Guide readers to know about Oubéret? Oubéret: I’d say the unique way we create our music. I’ve heard no band playing traditional music the way we do, turning it into non-traditional music... and our visual universe as well! CG: Thank you, so much for participating in this issue of the Celtic Guide. Oubéret: Thank you James, it’s a real pleasure for us to be in your awesome magazine, and it’s fun to answer an interview in English. We can do it again whenever you want! |
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