It’s all a nomadic adventure... 

In our perpetual wanderings across our soundscapes, we seek fate and call it forth in the guise of improvisation… we take the paths, byways, and trails of materials sorted and sifted—and then let them settle, as we mould the materials and determine the elements—one by one—that will crystallize the musical destination we’re seeking. And then we leave it to pass the test of time… Once our work is done, we set out again, without looking back, unless our musical lexicon should happen to point us that way…

The music of TRACES strives for the universal. The musical pasts of the two players are remarkably similar when it comes to sheer stylistic variety, multiplicity, and range of instruments from here and elsewhere. Improvisation sparks awakening and allows inspiration to uncover the message’s fluidity of the message—which ultimately allows musical discoveries filled with liberty and pleasure, and without constraints.

Having performed together for almost 20 years with various ensembles, Guy and Julien have developed a surprising complicity and contagious enthusiasm. Since 1991, they have formed Duo TRACES, with tens of performances and 2 CD recordings, as well as recordings for radio and video. The wide diversity of their projects demonstrates their great flexibility, and amply demonstrates their profound interest in all forms of artistic expression.

The duo has collaborated with painters, choreographers, and musicians from numerous stylistic universes. One of the goals of TRACES is to strengthen ties with other artists, in the musical world (contemporary, traditional world music, jazz…) as with other artistic disciplines (dance, theatre, poetry, plastic arts, cinema/video…) in order to expand mutual horizons—and to drive joint projects with their creativity and energy.

“Our musical history has been nourished by all the musical sources from which we have drunk (more or less avidly, depending on the genre)… and we know that inspiration often arises from meeting similarly minded artists from different landscapes, who look beyond their disciplines to seek the links that will expand horizons… “