The following is our translation of the June 1, 2025 Le Télégramme article by Jérôme Bouin, Un Nouvel album pour les “mauvais bêtes” de Loened Fall. Look for our forthcoming review of Start da lac'ho.
A key band in the Breton scene, Loened Fall, has unveiled Start da lac'ho, their fifth album. This is an opportunity to discuss with singer Marthe Vassallo the genesis of this album, her life as an artist, and the stubborn vitality of Breton culture.
Q: Start da lac'ho is the fifth album by Loened Fall recorded in concert. You're a very well-known band on the Breton scene. Marthe Vassalo, for those who are far removed from it, tell us a little about this band, which will soon be 30 years old.
A: It was in the mid-1990s, in an already thriving Breton music scene. Guitarist Marc Thouénon wanted to start a Fest-Noz band with vocals. What wasn't done was to have an entire kan ha diskan couple, two singers, with instruments as well. Even today, there aren't many of us doing that. Because kan ha diskan, a traditional a cappella form, stands on its own. When you add instruments, the question arises of what these instruments will do. You have to rethink everything.
Q: Start da lac'ho is your fifth album. What does this phrase mean in Breton?
A: One day, I was at the home of Marcel Le Guilloux, the grand master of kan ha diskan singing who had recently passed away, visiting his brother-in-law André and his sister Maria. The two of them had also had a major health scare and had been rushed to the hospital. Another visitor was complimenting them on their return to health. André replied, with a small smile: “Al loened fall zo start da lac’ho”: bad animals are hard to kill.
Q: It came from this…
A: Yes. Our name is Loened Fall. At the time, we wanted a funny name, not too serious in its ambitions. Something not too complicated to read for a non-Breton speaker. Calling someone a ‘Loened Fall’ is most often a joke or even an affectionate thing to do. When I heard André say “Al loened fall zo start da lac’ho”, that stuck in my head, I thought it would make a good album title one of these days (laughs).
Q: Eleven years after the previous album, a lot has happened. What does this tell you?
A: It tells me one of the things we deeply love about this music is the fact that it remains relevant, even over a long period of time. And in life. With its ups and downs, its hard times and its recoveries. In this eleven-year span, a lot of things happened. A long sick leave for one of us, bereavements, births. One of the beauties of this music, and perhaps especially in the kan ha diskan repertoire, is a music where everything has its place. You can come to party and laugh, of course. But you can also come with your sorrow or anger. People who come to a Fest-Noz for the first time are generally struck by two things: the intergenerational participation on the one hand, and, often, the serious expression of the people who dance. That doesn't mean they're not having a great time. Joy can be deeper than that. I went to sing at a fan's funeral. We've sung for birthdays. At least one baby was born to one of our recordings. A woman told me, "My son was born to your kost ar c'hoat." We were on her playlist at the maternity ward! We tried to put that on this album. It's the music of life.
The group currently consists of Marthe Vassallo and Ronan Guéblez on vocals, Marc Thouénon (guitar, bouzouki), Hervé Bertho (violin), and Ronan Le Dissez (bombard). Loened Fall, "Start da lac'ho," released in early June, 2025.
