LES GRANULES  (DEROME / LUSSIER)
Genres: Jazz Related Improv, Composition • Canada

Les Granules (the Kernels) was the duo project of guitarist René Lussier and saxophonist/flutist Jean Derome, active from the early '80s to the late '90s. Considered by many as embodying the esthetic of early Ambiances Magnétiques music, the unit played a crucial role in the popular conception of what musique actuelle is (or at least used to be at the time): creative, resourceful, funny music drawing from many backgrounds including rock, jazz, contemporary music, and Quebec folk. Lussier and Derome met in the late '70s and started to work together in 1978, mostly on film soundtracks. By 1982, they had developed a duo concert, Ambiances Magnétiques; this title became the name of the artists collective and record label they co-founded a year later. The performance already included voices, acoustic and electric instruments, together with tape collages, home-made instruments, and an array of small objects. In the next few years, the two read more...