This is a group that did not exist a few months ago. On Saturday, however, he could be appointed to represent France at Eurovision, the final of which will take place in Turin (Italy) on May 14.
On March 5, the Alvan and Ahez quartet will be part of the 12 candidate groups for the French selection. Broadcast live on France 2, the program Eurovision France, you decide will allow the public and the jury to vote for the successor to Barbara Pravi, who finished second last year and reconciled the country of Marie Myriam with the European singing competition. In the middle of the heterogeneous selection, the Bretons of Alvan and Ahez look like a UFO with their piece Fulenn. Sung in Breton by the female trio Ahez, this title which means “Spark” was put through the mill by the machines of Alvan, an electro artist from Rennes.
Like many good (and not so good) ideas from Rennes, this one was born at the counter of a bar in Place Sainte-Anne. “I met Marine (Lavigne, the lyricist) one evening at l’Artiste Assoiffé and she told me about her musical project in Breton. This idea had been floating around in my head for a long time. I even had a production in my computer”, says Alexis Morvan Rosius, alias Alvan.
The one who performed on the Trans Musicales stage a few months ago admits “not speaking a word of Breton”. Before crossing paths with Ahez, he had even considered sampling the voice of his great-grandmother. It was finally with a much younger female trio that he threw himself into this somewhat crazy adventure. “We didn’t think we were a candidate for Eurovision at all. It was my manager who had seen an advertisement for the competition who told us about it. We thought why not, but we didn’t think we’d be selected at all, ”admits Alvan.
A song chosen from 3,000 candidates
Fulenn was able to stand out among the 3,000 pieces sent to production. By its energy, its mixture of genres and its feminist text, the title clashes, disconcerts, sometimes disturbs.
“We do not claim to embody traditional Breton music. For me, tradition is the opposite of purism. It is more the transmission of knowledge, a past that must be anchored in the present. Otherwise, tradition ends up in the museum and dies,” assumes Marine Lavigne.
The young woman now living in Rennes met the two Sterenn (Diridollou and Le Guillou) at Diwan middle school and high school in Carhaix. United by their common passion for kan ha diskan, the three women have never stopped singing in their regional language, which they sometimes associate with jazz, classical or folk music with their band Eben. Without ever denying its origins. “I’ve always liked singing to dance, it gives off an amazing energy with the public. There is a trance side, an intoxicating thing that can be found in electro”, explains the young singer.
An assumed feminist bias
In a week, the quartet will come on stage without the marinière but in a new “surprise” outfit honoring Brittany and its language which has suffered so much. With their song, Alvan and Ahez also intend to make women’s voices heard. ” Fulenn, in Breton, it means spark but also pretty girl. This song is the symbol of a woman who goes dancing at nightfall and who does what she pleases, sending slanderous glances flying. It’s a feminist text, which talks about the emancipation of women, ”says Marine.
Saturday evening, she and her three partners will step onto the stage without complex. With the simple desire to “let themselves go” and see where their energy will take them. “We completely accept the idea that our music will not appeal to everyone. Eurovision remains an entertainment, there will be something for everyone, ”warns Alvan. In May, Turin could well vibrate to the rhythm of a language that has just 200,000 speakers. The revenge of a people who have too often been forbidden to speak “e brezhoneg”.