EZ3kiel
Ezekiel stylized as EZ3kiel is a French musical group formed in 1993 originating from La Riche, Tours, France. It now consists of three members Joan Guillon (main songwriter and guitarist), Yann Nguema (former bassist in charge of visual and interactive aspect) and Stéphane Babiaud (training percussionist, multi-instrumentalist and arranger). Matthieu Fays (drummer), a founder of EZ3kiel withdrew from the group in May 2012 after twenty years of collaboration. Vocalist Brigitte Amédomé and guitarist Florent Duytschaever participated in the project during its first years of existence (1994-1999). Stéphane Babiaud joined the group in 2007 after recording the album  Naphtaline to which he actively participated. The band has been involved in parallel projects, classical music project Naphtaline Orchestra, exhibitions notably "Les Mécaniques Poétiques d'EZ3kiel", theatrical, poetic and musical collaborations with a great number of independent artists. Career. The group was named Ezekiel in reference to the fake Biblical quote from "Pulp Fiction," directed by Quentin Tarantino but was renamed EZ3kiel. The original line-up founding members in 1993 were Yann Nguema (bass), Florent Duytschaever (guitar) and Matthieu Fays (drums). In 1994, they were joined by Brigitte Amédomé on vocals and Joan Guillon (guitar and keyboards). Joan Guillon was also  responsible for the production side and sampling, whereas Yann Nguema is responsible for the visual aspects of production. Vocalist Brigitte Amédomé and guitarist Florent Duytschaever left the band in 1999. The remaining trio of Yann Nguema, Matthieu Fays and Joan Guillon, released the first EP and maxi single "Equalize It" as EZ3kiel in 1999 as a self-production. The band developed a trip hop oriented dub and jungle music including a strong audio-visual creative look, graphic identity and unique mix of music ambiance, lighting and scenography. 2001 saw the release of the album "Handle with Care" with Jarring Effects  label and Discograph. In 2003, the band released the album "BARB4RY". In 2004, EZ3kiel toured with the Belgian Flemish band DAAU in "Versus Tour". In 2005, they cooperated with Nosfell for presentations at Eurockéennes at Belfort and in 2009 in "Collision Tour" with French rock fusion group Hint. EZ3kiel is well known for having collaborated with a great number of independent artists like Yann Tiersen, Sylvestre from Dit Terzi, Sir Jean from Meï Teï Sho, Angélique Willkie (from Zap Mama), Angelo Moore (from Fishbone), the Belgian Flemish band DAAU, Black Sifichi, Nosfell and Pierre Le Bourgeois, Narrow Terence, Blurum, La  Trabant, Hint etc. The multi-instrumentalist Stéphane Babiaud joined in as an invited musician 2007 and the band released "Naphtaline" as an album and as a DVD release With the album "Battlefield", the follow-up to "Naphtaline", Stéphane Babiaud became a permanent full-time member turning the trio into a 4-member band, playing drums, vibraphone, glockenspiel, keyboards and bass. With Matthieu Fays leaving in 2012, the band is now yet again a trio.