| 1 CD |
|
Notify when available |
| Label Ronin Rhythm Records |
UPC 0610098168669 |
Catalogue number RON 048 |
Release date 01 May 2026 |
ARBRE is a collective consisting of three focused musicians: Mélusine Chappuis sings and plays keyboards, Paul Butscher sings, plays flugelhorn and keys, and Xavier Almeida plays drums. The three are constantly evolving, both individually and as a band, as their album history already documents. Their clear and airy sound is underpinned by clever grooves and compact interplay. Despite its lightness, the music becomes dense, raw, intricate and touching. The fragility of the tracks and songs is given solid roots, anchored in the depths of the sea: they form a mysterious and precise ecosystem of sound and groove.
The instrumentation carefully balances analogue and electronic elements. The vocals alternate between English and French, coming from two different places, both stylistically and emotionally. ARBRE's rhythms are multi-layered, and the melodies are clear and purposeful, with an indie pop flair.
There is much to discover on ARBRE's third album, ‘Wrap a Tear in Cellophane’, its cosmos being carefully developed by the band over a long period of time. Despite all its energy, the music addresses human fragility and develops a precise yet relaxed, instinctive power. ARBRE does not present its musical language as art for art's sake, but rather to convey a message: community and compassion are essential for coexistence on the planet. ARBRE works explicitly as a collective, in which all decisions, whether artistic or otherwise, are made jointly by all members. The decision to think and act together is an essential and consequential value that the three musicians consciously cultivate, demonstrating that making music together clearly transcends the individual and can unleash a greater power.
ARBRE is a collective of three gentle spirits in perpetual motion, and so is their spacious yet compact sound: dense – raw – intertwined, almost unsettling in the way it merges inner fragility with deep and solid roots, “underwater roots”, anchored in the core of a sonic ecosystem that is mysterious and exceedingly precise.
The band has been active since 2021 with the release of several albums (Lunaires, 2022, Unit Records; Mes épaules seront rivières, 2023, Neuklang, Wrap a tear in cellophane, 2026, Ronin Rhythm Records) and more than sixty concerts throughout Switzerland and Europe (Cully Jazz Fest, Jazznojazz Fest., JazzOnze Fest, Moods, bee-flat, etc.). ARBRE is the winner of the renowned ZKB Jazzpreis 2023 and has been selected for the concert tour Suisse Diagonales Jazz 2024.