actuum

© Do Hamot
Benjamin Dousteyssier
saxophone.
Louis Laurain
trumpet.
Ronan Courty
double-bass.
drums, percussions.
Julien Loutelier
2012
2012
presentation
kit
bio
« ACTUUM
is distopia.
A chaotic soundscape loosely organized by
unstable laws, we exist in
a permanent climate of INSECURITY.
Fierce
attacks/blitzkrieg govern our sound-politico structures, where
sonic alliances soon disintegrate into betrayal but reverse once again.
With
this,
our
MUSIC
commands
a
heightened
state
of
action/reaction, compelling listeners towards a rare sense of purpose,
direction, and
feeling. »
ACTUUM belongs to COAX collective.
ACTUUM is supported by the 2012’s edition of Jazz Migration
(AFIJMA).
ACTUUM won the European Keep an Eye Jazz Award 2010 (« best
band & best composition»).
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
musiciens
BENJAMIN DOUSTEYSSIER : Saxophones
Benjamin starts at the conservatory of
Toulouse where he studies jazz, classical
saxophone,
and
electroacoustic
composition.
In 2005 he moves to the
Superior Conservatory in Paris
to study jazz and improvisation
with Riccardo Del Fra, Glenn
Ferris and Francois Théberge.
Besides
his
instrumental
activities he writes music for
different bands (from trio to
symphonic orchestra). His approach is
influenced by contemporary music, jazz
and electric music (pop, rock, metal).
He plays with different bands in france
such as Trio DDJ, Benjamin Dousteyssier
septet, Nux, Apax, Paul Lay « into the
lines » trio, « Au cœur », Benjamin
Dousteyssier quartet, Actuum.
He received many prizes as a
saxophone player and composer :
« La Défense jazz competition » with
DDJ and Paul Lay trio, « the keep an
eye jazz award » in Amserdam with
Actuum and a 4th soloist prize at the
international competition in Friburg .
More infos on :
www.myspace.com/benjamindousteyssier
JULIEN LOUTELIER : Drums
Obsession with manner of playing music,
craving for sounds, search for instantaneity
and movement lead Julien Loutelier to
embrace all genres and aesthetics, with an
open mind.
Contemporary
music,
jazz,
rock,
free
improvisation deeply colored his way of
playing the drums. He can be found both
in the
french
and
american
jazz
scene
(Riccardo Del Fra, Glenn
Ferris, Jim Mc Neely) and
in
free
improvisation
(Dousteyssier / Loutelier
duo, Kris Davis, Benjamin
Duboc), in organised free
jazz
(COAX
collective,
Actuum,
Osmauve,
Khoom), in revisited contemporary music
(Cabaret contemporain, Tierkreis project
(Stockhausen), Vingt Regards autour d’Olivier
Messiaen) or alternativ rock (Burno, Loreleï,
AUM grand-ensemble, Léanne)... In constant
personal research, he is particularly interested
in acoustic and electronic "filtering" and also
likes to meet aesthetics and modes of
genres in his projects and compositions
(symphonic piece Axeleration - 2010).
Since 2007, he has confronted himself with
other forms of arts in their process of
creation, such as dance, or visual arts that he
has been practising since 2009 (performances
in Paris Museum of Modern Art, the Louvre
gallery Artegalore, La Defense), but also in
cinema (ciné-concerts Federico Fellini, Charlie
Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Mervyn Leroy) or video
(Zeitlinie, Innovatoires 2011) ...
Julian has already played in many
festivals, clubs and places in France
(Europa Jazz Festival, La Villette
Jazz Festival, Cité de la Musique,
Théâtre National du Chatelet, la
Grande
Halle,
Centre
Georges
Pompidou,
le
Louvre,
Sunset/Sunside, Musée d'Orsay)
and also in Europe (Belgium : Jazz
Station,
Sounds,
Music
Village,
MIM
; Germany (Spizz) ; Sweden : Fylkingen,
Glenn Miller Café) ; Netherlands) and in
International (Panama (Théâtre national,
ATLAPA)) ...
More infos on :
www.julienloutelier.com
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
LOUIS LAURAIN : Trumpet
Born in 1984, he taught himself to play
the trumpet and then studied jazz and
improvisation
at
the
conservatories of Lyon (CNR)
and Paris (CNSMDP). While
developing his own personal and
original
language
on
his
instrument,
he
researched,
through different collaborations,
an intuitive and spontaneous
approach to music. His interest
is essentially in different forms
of improvised music for various
formations,ranging from solo to
orchestral.
and sound effects in relation to the space
in which they are produced. Secondly
work on the amplification of
instruments (“close miking”) with
the aim of creating the illusion of
an electric or electronic “machine
instrument”.
He played in Paris, Los Angeles,
Stockholm, Berlin, London, Lisboa,
St Petersburg, San Fransisco,
Geneva, Mali, Marocco, Poland...
More infos on
http://louislaurain.blogspot.com
His work is focussed principally on two
topics. Firstly an accoustic approach to
instruments through research on sounds
RONAN COURTY : Double-bass
Ronan starts his musical studies at
the national conservatory in
Nantes where he received four
first prizes in piano, analysis,
composition and conducting. In
the same time he is playing in
jazz band as a double-bass
player.
In 2004, he enters the jazz
program
at
the
Paris
Conservatory where he starts to
develop a personal language on his
instrument. He is currently working
with different projects including jazz
(Chloé Cailleton trio,Fiona Monbet
quartet), free jazz (Actuum),
rock
(Pipeline,
Vérupan,
Lunamaze) and contemporary
music (Jukebox).
He played in several festivals
such
as
« Montreux
Jazz
Festival», « Les rendez-vous de
l’Erdre », « Jazz in Marciac »...
He is also teaching at the
National
Conservatory
in
Nantes.
More infos on :
www.myspace.com/ronancourty
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
photos
© Rémi Angeli
© Rémi Angeli
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
© Rémi Angeli
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
press
Irish Times – 19/02/2012 – Concert in
Porto, Casa da Musica
« French band Actuum rarely break into
anything other than a riot. The band set out
their stall early, big sudden muscular jazz,
Ronan Courty abusing his double bass from
the get go, barely breaking for a groove that
lasts more than a few bars while Louis
Laurain on trumpet and Benjamin
Dousteyssier on saxophone snarl and snap
their way above the furious kit of Julien
Loutelier, that reels and jabs in space he
somehow manages to carve out of the
musical madness. The band seem to
embody a particular band of French malady
in jazz (fellow Parisians Metal-o-phone also
have a heavy dose and both bands work
within the Coax collective) where the only
option is to play the entire set at the
absolute limits of your abilities. It’s a set of
extraordinary power and attack, with leaps
into the unknown that teeters on the edge of
total chaos and instability without ever
slipping, retaining its musical identity amid
the fury and flooring a venue with some
very stylish and very challenging musical
violence. »
Laurence Mackin
Jazz Magazine – 04/02/2012 – Concert in Toulouse, Espace Croix Baragnon
[...] « Affirmons-le tout net : les deux concerts d’Actuum ont tout simplement été
enthousiasmants. Ces musiciens-là ne font jamais semblant. Ils donnent le maximum, mais sans
jamais tomber dans la frénésie, démontrant beaucoup d’intelligence, de goût et de raffinement.
On ne peut guère demander plus. La musique qu’ils pratiquent s’apparente à du « free organisé
» (selon le programme des concerts). Formule joliment trouvée, car il est vrai que si l’on
rencontre des gestes très caractéristiques de la free music, ils ne se laissent en rien emporter par
la seule inspiration du moment. Ils usent ainsi de thèmes virtuoses, de séquences soit conduites
« au signe », soit méticuleusement organisées. C’est pourquoi telle partie dédiée à
l’improvisation pourra par exemple se rapprocher d’une sorte de jeu de rôle : la trompette et la
batterie contre la contrebasse et l’alto ; tout à coup, un appel rallie tout le quartette ; ensuite, ils
se relaient, se séparent, se rejoignent, se désunissent, etc. Ce qui impressionne vraiment, et ce
qui fait toute la valeur d’Actuum, c’est l’alliance d’une discipline rigoureuse qui ne sclérose
pas les propositions de chacun. On peut dire en quelque sorte que leur exigence change sans
cesse de camps. Mais au-delà de l’aspect technique – ici très superficiellement rendu –, c’est
tout de même bien cette authentique flamme qui touche le public. De façon un peu curieuse,
c’est d’abord à des groupes d’altistes qu’on pense à les rapprocher, ceux d’Ornette, de Braxton
ou de Zorn notamment. Cela sans doute à cause de leur écriture. Car même les compositions de
Louis Laurain s’inspirent d’un Braxton par exemple. Il faudrait s’arrêter sur chacun des
interprètes du groupe pour signaler au mieux leurs qualités individuelles. Mais pour qu’un blog
soit efficace, il ne faut pas faire trop long dit-on. Alors je m’arrête ici. « La suite au prochain
numéro » comme on l’écrit souvent, car je retournerai les voir. » [...]
Ludovic Florin
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
contacts
Louis Laurain
Julien Loutelier
06 81 90 76 91
06 33 69 12 35
6 place de Valois
75001 – Paris
[email protected]
11 allée des Eiders
75019 – Paris
[email protected]
More infos (gigs calendar, photos, etc...) on our website :
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum
technical rider
Instruments :
bass amp, model Gallien Krueger 750MB / Acoustic-image
hi-stool for the bass player
2 percussion tables or little tables
full drum kit, model SONOR Hi-Lite, with white heads on the top (REMO Ambassador), new
or in a very good condition.
BD 18' closed.
AT : 12’
FT : 14’
3 cymbals stands
Drums throne
Hi-hat stand with tilter
Bass drum pedal
Wooden snare drum
Monitors :
The band rather play acoustic on stage and without monitors. However, if the general volume
is very loud in the PA, some monitors could be useful (one for the trumpet, one for the
saxophone, one for the double bass, one for the drums with independants mixs).
Stage plan :
www.collectifcoax.com/actuum