Fred Guichen

Born in Quimper in 1972, Fred Guichen established himself early on in the Breton scene as a diatonic accordionist, first within the fest-noz framework and then in projects more open to crossroads between Breton music, Celtic repertoires and contemporary folk. A founding member of Ar Re Yaouank in 1986 with his brother Jean-Charles Guichen, Fred Guichen contributed to the group's rise in the 1990s by developing a rhythmic, direct playing style that marked the accompaniment of Breton dance. After the group ended in 1998, he pursued a path between solo work, duos and expanded formations, with the album La Lune Noire in 1998, then within the Frères Guichen, whose albums Mémoire Vive (2002), Frères (2004), Dreams of Brittany (2007) and Brozher’s (2011) extend this approach where the energy of fest-noz meets Irish colors and more melodic arrangements. Fred Guichen also collaborated with Jacques Pellen, Alan Stivell, Red Cardell, Dan Ar Braz and Denez Prigent. As a solo artist, he published Le Voyage Astral in 2013 and Dor An Enez in 2018. His recent career sees him evolve in more transversal formats, such as the trio with Sylvain Barou and Erwan Moal or the Denez Teknoz Projekt, where his accordion dialogues with acoustic, amplified and electronic aesthetics.