GRANDVAL
A ciel ouvert... (Open Sky...)
GRANDVAL was born in Périgueux in 2015, from the mind of Henri Vaugrand. Back in Auvergne the following year, the author-composer records his first album, A ciel ouvert… with the Auvergne drummer Martial Semonsut and the support of famous guitarists like Jean Pierre Louveton, Steph Honde, Kevin Serra, and Colin Tench. Evoking the landscapes of its adopted region as well as stories between melancholy and poetry, GRANDVAL distills a progressive rock tinged with various influences from rock, pop, new wave, without forgetting the great names of French song. A first album with spontaneous charm…
Descendu sur Terre (Down to Earth)
GRANDVAL then attempts to form a stage group on several occasions in order to meet its audience. If the various formations fail, Henri Vaugrand maintains the course and works on the preparation of a second album. The meeting with keyboardist Olivier Bonneau will be the event that will allow GRANDVAL‘s music to take on new colors. With the drummer Jean-Baptiste Itier(Nemo), the guitars and the production of Jean Pierre Louveton(JPL, Nemo), and again several guest guitarists, Descendu sur Terre was released in 2020 and received excellent critical feedback, with Christian Décamps(Ange) describing the album as“the masterly work of a Great Chief”. But the album was released in the middle of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic…
eau | feu (water | fire)
However, a new band was soon formed, preparing concerts that would not come and working on a new album. Alas, the conditions of existence of the group become too complicated and it is with two thatOlivier Bonneau and Henri Vaugrand will record the third part of the “trilogy of the elements”, with again the percussions of Jean-Baptiste Itier and some additional guitars and the production of Jean Pierre Louveton. The rest of the guitars is this time assumed from beginning to end by Henri and Olivier, for an album closer to the progressive pop without denying its crossover prog origins. The album eau | feu was released on February 25th, 2022. In the meantime, the duo will also have recorded and directed a video clip on a cover of a song by Christophe, “J’aime l’ennui” (“I Like Boredom”)…
