11/11/2025
Erik Marchand has passed away.
We pass along this recent email from the President of Dastum, Ronan Guéblez, who also sings for the group Loened Fall, concerning the passing of the influential figure Erik Marchand. How sad it is to see so many of the major figures in Breton music pass away recently. The translation is ours.
In Caransebes, Romania, where he had friends of over thirty years, Erik Marchand died last Thursday.
In 1985, Dastum produced the first album by the group Gwerz (ed: pronounced ‘gwairss”), and Erik's voice on that album launched the musical wave that swept through Brittany until the year 2000: the voice of a singer born in Paris but who had learned kan-ha-diskan (call and response singing) on the job from the 1970s, working on the farm of Manu Kerjean, whose great disciple he became, and then singing at fest-noz (traditional Breton dance parties) with Yann-Fañch Kemener in particular.
He had not, however, abandoned the Gallo-speaking region where he had family roots in Quelneuc (Morbihan) and whose repertoire he sang with, among others, Gilbert Bourdin and Christian Dautel.
He hadn't limited himself to singing either, and had also participated in the adventure of the PDG (Paotred an Dreujenn Gaol) and the Festival international de la clarinette populaire.
Erik's musical experiences continued and diversified after the release of his album An henchou treuz in 1990: alongside the Angers-based oud virtuoso Thierry Robin or the Alsatian guitarist Rodolphe Burger, and from the Carpathians – beginning with the Caransebes taraf in 1994 – to Sardinia, Erik explored and savored all facets of traditional European music, that of before Bach, to paraphrase him, immersing himself in this community of musicians from the people, who utilize every nuance the human ear can perceive.
This prolific career should not be seen as a vain or—worse—commercial pursuit, but rather as the product of a broad vision, a spirit of synthesis that clearly understood the commonalities between all traditional cultures and could also dissect the details that characterize each of them.
This same spirit of synthesis led him to give traditional music its rightful place, both by creating Drom and the Kreiz Breizh Akademi and by actively participating in the discussions that culminated in the 2016 law recognizing amateur artistic practices. This may seem counterintuitive coming from a long-serving professional artist and duly unionized musician, but I can personally attest, having shared these discussions with him, as can Charles Quimbert, director of Bretagne Culture Diversité at the time, to the consistency of his commitment.
We still hear, and will always hear, that timbre sometimes described as timeless, which recent health problems had barely, if at all, altered. They had no more influence over the relevance and clarity of Erik's analyses; the most recent example was his brilliant remote contribution to the roundtable discussion organized last September for the publication of the "Malrieu catalog." Moreover, the space that Patrick Malrieu, co-founder and long-time president of Dastum, devoted to Erik's career in his thesis speaks volumes about the mutual respect that bound them.
A collector and one of Dastum's earliest contributors, Erik had been a respected board member of our association for many years. We had decided to dedicate the second volume of our « Passeurs » collection to him, a decision he appreciated, and had begun working on this project a few months prior. It is now up to us to bring it to fruition.
A little late to wish you Glück auf, Erik, although… you remain so present in our thoughts!
Ronan Guéblez, President of Dastum
Erik Marchand at the festival des Vieilles Charrues in July 2011 (photo Myriam Jégat).
Erik Marchand performing with his early mentor Manu Kerjean.
Marchand performing with Jacques Pellen’s ‘Celtic Procession’ in 2007. Photo: Claude Joannis
