Etmo

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Web site of French musician Etmo, saxophonist and composer based in London, electronic music, live performance, MP3 & Quicktime videos.

The band: Etmo: soprano, tenor saxes, clarinet, ethnic flutes, laptop & kaos pad. Sio B'baas: laptop + FX. Guest: percussion or Drums.

Etmo is a soprano / tenor saxophonist and composer from Marseilles, based in East London. He started to get into electronic sounds 10 years ago playing live with various DJs. He works with his own laptop based electronic set, writing tracks while exploring eclectic beats and a wide array of sounds and influences from around the globe. From moody breaks to subtle beats, he includes snippets from field recordings and recycled voices of friends and family.

Etmo plays his compositions live with a changing line-up of collaborators. Currently these include DJ Sio B'baas (Lumina Records) on laptop and FX; and various percussionist guest. Using laptop, saxophones and ethnic flutes, Etmo has called his musical exploration ‘From Ka’lei’ (ka’lei, Greek root of the word Kaleidoscope) to summarise his approach to live electronic performance as well as his studio compositions. His first album, released on May 2004 and distributed on line by ID Spiral Music shop, includes a DVD which is an interactive creation between 7 visual artists and himself as a musician / composer. -VJ Stéphane Malenfant mixes visuals from the DVD live. At the same time Etmo also features on various electronic releases and has collaborated with Italian musician Cassavetz (from the Indie band Sunny Day Sets Fire) who did guests in some Etmo’s live performances. Etmo has been playing his own blend of digital jazz-experience and electro-improv since 1998. Since 2007 started to perform with guitar player Franch Alba (also part of the band Piano Magic). They got now a live project called Eyelead which includes also Visuals by Stephane Malenfant (www.myspace.com/eyelead). From 2007 till the present date, Etmo also records and performs with the band Pulsar (www.myspace.com/pulsarcontact).

Background
Etmo first studied classical music at 10 playing clarinet but then discovered jazz and started to play saxophones within an acoustic context, taking part in many bands (big band, quartet, and trio…). He has studied Jazz at the Conservatoire National de Region de Marseilles. He has been composing for and performing with the saxophone quartet Sequoia Blows, in collaboration with French-cameroonese saxophonist Jean-Jacques Elangué. In London, he started producing his own electronic music and has built up his live band. Moving through various electronic atmospheres and acoustic ambiences, his work can only be described as musical hybrid, from moody grooves to subtle breaks, including spoken words and vocals, either sampled or recited. When playing Saxes, his aim is to explore a narrative way of improvising, with a structured yet free spirited attitude. His compositions draw on a massive soundscape, a true melting pot of original sounds and rhythms.

Tours
-Sunkissed Live tour (BBC radio1) in Oslo, Norway (with Niels Petter Molvaer, Frost & Bugge Wesseltoft) Jan 2004
-Arts Council of England tour in London (The Spitz & Notting Hill Arts Club) and Brighton (the Sussex Arts Club) including a film preview of the entire DVD album and a live performance with DJ Sio B’baas featuring Cassavetz May 2004

Other Live Performances
-The Spitz / London with Polar Bear + Quack Quack July 2007
-Art Scene Warehouse, Shanghai, China, June 2007
-The Boileroom (Support of Daedelus / Ninja Tune) February 2007
-Purcell Room – Royal Festival Hall London December 2005
-The Synergy Project Festival at Se One CLUB London March 2006 and November 2005
-London Jazz Festival Nov 2004 and Nov 2005 at The Spitz / London
-Exhibition Road Music Day – Fête de la Musique (Goethe Institut / London) June 2005
-Hippodrome, Marseilles France June 2004
-The halle_02 (Heidelberg) and Weimar, Germany December 2002
-The Nice Jazz -Festival 1999

Releases
- CD / DVD album in May 2004 including videos done by 7 European visuals artists: Rupert Noble, Stephane Malenfant, Sarina Gascon, Pascal Grimaud, Philou Bouriat, Julie-Anne Barbe and Gianluca Liquori.
-Featured on Access 58 Records – Mutant Soul Records releases and Intec Records 2001-2003
-saxophone quartet "Sequoia Blows" CD released in 1999, Co-produced with French-cameroonese saxophonist Jean-Jacques Elangué. This CD featured 7 compositions by Etmo.

Radio
-Etmo’s album played on XFM radio (Flo-motion with Nick Luscombe) Oct 2004 and BBC Radio 3 (Late Junction with Fiona Talkington)
-Etmo broadcasted a live performance on Resonance as part of The Spitz’s radio show in Feb 2004
-Broadcasted an extract from Sunkissed Live in Oslo on BBC Radio1 (One World) with Paul Thomas 2004

2001-2006
Gigs in London at Ocean, Hackney Empire Cafe, The Vibe Bar, Project 142, The Ritzy, 291 Gallery, the Notting Hill Arts Club 2002-2004 (performed several time at One World Live BBC Radio1 Night including support of Nitin Sawhney, Dj Yoda..), the Spitz, 491 Gallery, and The National Theatre (Summer festival - Watch this Space 2003).

1997-1999
At this time Etmo took part in various live performances with DJ Oïl and DJ Rebel from Radio Grenouille (Marseilles/France). He also played the Vienna Jazz Festival (1997) and at the Apt Jazz Festival (1998).