Sknail - glitch jazz

The Glitch Jazz

Glitch is a style of electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. It has been described as a genre that adheres to an "aesthetic of failure," where the deliberate use of glitch based audio media, and other sonic artifacts, is a central concern. Sources of glitch sound material are usually malfunctioning or abused audio recording devices or digital technology, such as CD skipping, electric hum, digital or analog distorsion, bit rate reduction, hardware noise, computer bugs, crashes, vinyl record hiss or scratches and system errors. Glitch is a sub-genre of electronica, a post-digital aesthetic. (Source Wikipedia)

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in black communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. Its African musical basis is evident in its use of blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation, and the swung note. (Source Wikipedia)

Glitch Jazz. SKNAIL is a Swiss composer and music producer. In collaboration with 6 professional jazz and classical musicians, he has reinvented the jazz band by replacing the drummer with the sighs of broken printers, the creaking of worn out machinery, computer crashes and other sounds generated by mistreated machines. SKNAIL composes and arranges everything, and records the confrontations between musicians and machines. He will let both sides improvise and experiment with the cutting-edge. These unbridled fights, included in the first album, called “glitch jazz”, have lead to totally new and amazing sounds different from what we have heard until now, varying from jazz and free jazz to contemporary and minimal electro to glitch electronica music. All the musicians take part in a duel against a machine without ever meeting one another ! (Source SKNAIL)

The Sknails

SKNAIL

SKNAIL alias Caillet Blaise (1973) – Composition, arrangement, programming, mixing

Jazz guitarist. Vocational studies at the EJMA under Jean-Pierre Pasquier. Collaboration with and guitarist for singer Valérie Lou and double bass player Popol Lavanchy: 2 albums, severals tours in Switzerland and abroad (Canada, Spain, France), participation in several TV and radio broadcasts. Backing for the jazz saxophonist Juliane Rickenmann in various bands, notably with the bass-player Ruggiero Campas Nunès and the drummer Gil Reber.

Also backing for the jazz singer Salvador Escalona. Participation as a guitarist in DJ Chanel's electro-acoustic performances at various nightclubs in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Collaboration, as a guitarist, with Alain Chanel to provide music for the Swatch brand's advertising, reports and trailers and creation of the Stare Case band.

Collaboration in Geneva, as a guitarist, with Mathieu Delieutraz to form the flamenco-jazz band called Polux, numerous concerts and festivals in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and in France. Collaboration as a guitarist and arranger for 2 albums (of which 1 is work in process) by the French rock group Ultra Dieez, numerous concerts in Switzerland and France, participation in various festivals.

Put aside his guitar (apart from still playing with Ultra Dieez) and created the « SKNAIL » project in 2011. His aim is to compose and arrange, alone, an original musical project based on a combination of jazz and minimal electro or “glitch” music. For his compositions, he then records musicians one by one, artists he has selected for their unusual and original approach to music. He then mixed the recordings to create a live ambiance for the 12 tracks on the album, the musicians having never in fact played together. He had the idea for the album cover, which was then designed by Yves Martinet, a graphic artist based in Neuchâtel; the video is the responsibility of the film maker Bastien Bron.

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Alain Dessauges

Dessauges Alain (1962) – Double bass

Studied the piano, changed to electric bass and then double bass.

Participation in numerous revues and plays, backing for several singers: Valérie Lou, Yvonne Taylor, Sam Frank Blunier, Jean-Pierre Huser.

Active in the world of gypsy swing and jazz for about ten years: the Dany Bittel Quartet, the Sinti Swing Quartet (France), Michto Swing. Currently tours with Manouche Tsé-Tsé, Viperswing, 36 rue du Swing.

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Guy-François Leuenberger

Leuenberger Guy-François (1983) – Piano

Musical training under Christian Favre at the HEMU, obtaining a teaching diploma (2004), with honours as well as the Paderewski Prize, and a concert pianist diploma (2007). Training under Gary Magby and Anthony di Giantomasso as an intern in choir conducting at the lyric workshop run by the same institute. M.A. in composition within the Jazz section of the HEMU (2011); awarded the Moser prize. Recipient of the Leenaards 2011 bursary.

Arrangement and composition of various lyric and theatrical productions in Switzerland and France, active in the field of improvisation notably at the Lausanne Improvised Music Festival, backing and choir leader for several productions for the Lausanne Opera and pianist and composer for the Ecole-Atelier Rudra Béjart.

Creations: “Prometheus”, lied for baritone and six instrumentalists, “David et Goliath”, ballet for Rudra Béjart, “T’es pas tout seul”, musical show about Jacques Brel, “Le procès de Don Juan”, operetta based on a book adapted from Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's “La nuit de Valognes”, the triptych “Je confesse … avoir vécu” with the dancer M. Graham Tancredo Tavares. Teaches the piano.

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Yannick Barman

Barman Yannick (1973) – Trumpet

Recipient of a trumpet diploma and awarded the 1st prize for virtuosity in trumpet at the Lausanne Conservatory of Music (1996), 1st prize in trumpet (1997) and excellence award (1998) of the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory (Paris). Went to New York and formed a quintet with which he recorded a CD, Sarah, released in 2001. Back in Switzerland, he did electro-acoustic experiments and formed the KiKu band. Took part in various projects, did several creations and took on composition commissions, which enabled him to go on tour in Switzerland, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Participation in the classical music field: the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Lausanne Sinfonietta Orchestra, the Tibor Varga Festival Orchestra, the Curtis Institute Orchestra of Philadelphia under Kurt Mazur, soloist in the Riga Symphony Orchestra (Latvia).

Collaboration with Léon Francioli, Josh Roseman, Steve Swallow, Rova Saxophone 4tet, Satoko Fujii, Andrea Parkins, Daniel Humaire, Ohad Talmor, Christophe Schweizer, Akira Horikoshi, Natsuki Tamura, Harald Haerter, Les Colifichets, Charles Schneider, Marcel Papaux, Bänz Oester, Dan Weiss, Ben Monder, Miles Okazaki, Marcello Giuliani, Cyril Regamey, KiKu, Eugène Kovax, Malcolm Braff, Hans-Peter Pfamatter, Dominik Burkhalter, Christoph Erb, Piano. Creation of the “Herz aus Glas” show (2011).

Teaches the trumpet at the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music (EJMA) in Lausanne.

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Philippe Ehinger

Ehinger Philippe (1961) – Bass clarinet

Studied the clarinet at the Geneva Conservatory and subsequently at the Geneva Higher Conservatory of Music under Robert Gugloz, obtaining a teaching diploma, then under Thomas Friedli, where he was awarded 2nd prize for virtuosity. Postgraduate studies and certificate at the London Royal College of Music under Colin Courtney and Colin Bradburry. Recipient of a bursary from the Marescotti and Kiefer-Hablitzel Foundations; won 1st prize in the Onze Plus Association's jazz and improvisation competition with the band “Aujourd’hui Madame”.

Musical research and improvisation in the form of performances with Jacques Siron and Manon Hotte. Composition and interpretation of music for theatre for productions directed by Claude Vuillemin, Guillaume Chenevière and Bernard Meister. Concert-performance creation with the video-artist Ulrich Fischer for the De La Bâtie Festival in Geneva. Interpretation of “Centre du Monde, prélude et fugue pour piano programmé” by Sébastien Grosset and Club-des-Arts at the Performing Arts Festival in Nyon and at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Arts in Paris. Collaboration and creation, together with Joy Frempong, of the album “Les voisins ne parlent pas tous la même langue”. Plays in various jazz, improvisation, chamber music, reggae, rock (Abt 409, B. Trontin) and commercial (Sarah Marcuse, Sarcloret) bands.

Trained in ensemble playing on old instruments under Lorenzo Alpert, HEM Geneva. Teaches at the Geneva Higher Conservatory of Music.

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Laurent Waeber

Waeber Laurent (1975) – alto and baritone saxophone

Studied at the EJMA under Charles Schneider, obtained a teaching certificate at the Lausanne Conservatory (1999), and attended Lucian Metianù's contemporary music composition lessons for 4 years at the Ribaupierre Institute.

Compositions for the theatre: “Le papier peint jaune”, “Mme de Staël ou le pouvoir de l'écrit”, directed by Jacques Roman. Has composed music for contemporary dance for several productions choreographed by Cisco Aznar as well as the soundtracks for various movies: “Nico Chaos” by Laurent Veuve, “A corps écrit” by Janine Waeber, “Les enfants de la balle” by Barbara Erni. Collaboration with Léon Francioli and Danel Bourquin, Jacques Roman, Tania de Paola. Played and arranged songs in Alexandre Doublet's show called “Il n’y a que les chansons de variété qui disent la vérité”. Records and plays in concert with bands such as Ortolan, Bébert Arhex, Stacciamutande and Nose for which he has also composed. Plays in concert with Richard Jean, Claude Jordan, Steve Potts, l’Ensemble Rue du Nord, Apollonius Abraham Schwartz, Inentropia.

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Denis Tercier

Tercier Denis (1976) – Bugle

Professional studies and the Montreux Jazz School under Ian Gordon-Lennox, then at the Lausanne Conservatory of Music under Matthieu Michel, obtaining a university diploma in music (2009).

Has played with a huge number of orchestras: jazz quartets, symphony orchestras, funk bands, big band jazz, salsa, etc., and at numerous festivals (Montreux Jazz, Nyon Paléo Festival, Cully Jazz, etc.). Currently on tour with the HEMU (Lausanne Academy of Music) Jazz Orchestra, the Big Band of the Montreux Jazz School, Helmy More Funker’s band (2 albums and one tour in China), CBLN, Funk-it-Up (France).

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Cello on track 9 : Diane Brutsche
Photos : Mathieu Delieutraz

The Sound

The Snail Part 1

  1. play The Snail Part 1
  2. play The Snail Part 2
  3. play The Snail Part 3
  4. play The Way Part 1
  5. The Brick Part 1
  6. The Brick Part 2
  7. The Brick Part 3
  8. The Way Part 2
  9. The Razor Part 1
  10. The Razor Part 2
  11. The Razor Part 3
  12. play The Other Side

The Vision

The Other Side

Produced by Bastien Bron - DAS PLAYGROUND

J'habite une ville fantôme (I live in a ghost town)

Produced by Jean-Baptiste Roumens - RTS
On the basis of Thibaut Derien photographs

The Utilities

Label

Unit Logo

UNIT RECORDS

To order the CD

cede.ch   amazon.de Norman Records

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Press

Album cover (680 Kb)
Photo / Double bass (2.2 Mb) | credits to Mathieu Delieutraz
Photo / Trumpet (2.5 Mb) | credits to Mathieu Delieutraz
Bio (pdf 356 Kb)

Musicians Websites

Yannick Barman
Philippe Ehinger

The Press

Websites/Blogs Reviews

Articles

Radios

TV

The Contact

Blaise Caillet

Avenue d’Echallens 62
1004 Lausanne
Switzerland
Tel. +41 (0)79 357 80 49

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