Rodolphe Burger

Based between Alsace and Paris, guitarist, singer and composer Rodolphe Burger has, since the 1980s, developed a career that intersects rock, blues, French chanson and more experimental explorations. Born in 1957 in Colmar, he first became known with the Strasbourg band Kat Onoma, active on French and European stages, where he was the singer and principal songwriter before embarking on a more visible solo career from the 1990s. Burger’s music is characterised by a strong use of the French language, a careful attention to lyrics and a particular concern for sonic atmospheres, combining electric guitars, slow tempos and repetitive motifs nourished by Anglo‑Saxon references. Alongside his own projects, he collaborates with artists from rock, jazz, chanson and traditional music—among them Alain Bashung, Erik Marchand and James Blood Ulmer—and regularly works with writers such as Olivier Cadiot. Founder of the Dernière Bande label and initiator of the C’est dans la vallée festival in Sainte‑Marie‑aux‑Mines, Burger also composes for theatre, cinema and various multidisciplinary creations, situating his discography within a broader network of collaborations and collective projects.