Sébastien Schuller

About

Sébastien Schuller is incontestably an artist who takes you by surprise. Sébastien Schuller is a classically trained percussionist who became an accomplished and eclectic multi-instrumentalist over the years, composing and interpreting his own work, backed by a few hand picked friends, including Paul Hanford (Brothers in Sound, Sancho). A thirtysomething from Les Yvelines in the Parisian suburbs, Sébastien Schuller thrives on enhancing sounds of acoustic and natural resonance with touches of electronica. Throughout the album, which balances tantric instrumentals with tinges of pop you can almost dance to, a thread of tortuous and contrasting emotions is unravelled. The mood is predominantly melancholic, but, as in life, there is a constant undercurrent of hope. Dreams can sometimes become reality, even though ghosts of the past inevitably haunt the present. The more you listen to "Happiness", the further you will be drawn into its playful secrets : the vocals tease the listener with a game of hide and seek, first concealing themselves behind the filters of machines, then suddenly being revealed, raw and bare, before retreating again to let the atmospheric music speak for itself. In short, there is one theme which perseveres throughout the album which is as rich as it is diverse: that of a love for the sounds and melodies so strong it's almost tangible. Or maybe it is just the constant strive for perfectionism and the pursuit of happiness which is a never-ending quest.