He’s been called “a revelation” by Rolling Stone. Woody Allen recruited him to score the theme for last year’s smash film Midnight in Paris, and he performed his original song “Bistro Fada” live during last night’s Academy Awards ceremony. Check out his red carpet interview with Oscars.com.
To say that French-born guitarist/composer Stephane Wrembel—who learned his craft among the Gypsies at campsites in the French countryside of Fontainebleau—has already had a remarkable career would be an understatement. But this virtuoso, who is now Brooklyn-based, has truly just begun to make his mark as one of the most original guitar voices in contemporary music.
On May 15, 2012, Stephane Wrembel delivers Origins, his fifth and most highly anticipated release yet.
Presciently titled, the album, which Wrembel recorded with his band—bassist Dave Speranza, rhythm guitarist Roy Williams, drummer Nick Anderson and percussionist David Langlois—finds the multi-faceted musician corralling all of his myriad influences into a hybrid that simultaneously reflects where he’s been and points to where he’s headed. Although he built his reputation as a stylist in the mode of the iconic French Sinti guitarist Django Reinhardt, Wrembel now revels in transcending and expanding. “I’m digging deeper and deeper into my roots,” he says about the album.
Although Wrembel certainly loves paying homage to his roots—hence the titleOrigins—and was happy to oblige when Allen’s producer requested “a work that would remind of the magic of Paris” for the Oscar-nominated Midnight in Paris, he is in no way bound to his own past. Origins touches upon everything from blues to flamenco to rock; all of these influences come together as something identifiable only as Stephane Wrembel.
“I just play my own music,” he says. “I like to believe that it is beyond any one genre and that there is something in it for everyone. It’s not only for the rock music lover, or for the Django lover; it’s not only for the jazz lover, or for just young people or old people. It’s for the music lover.” Indeed, Origins is the most sophisticated representation to date of Wrembel’s superior compositional skills. Fleshed out by the superb musicians in his band, Wrembel’s melodies burst with panoply of textures and colors, moods and emotions.
“It’s a different state of mind altogether,” adds Wrembel, talking about Origins. “I always compose with a picture in mind. That Impressionism approach is the main thing that I’ve carried with me from Fontainebleau.”
Upcoming tour dates for Stephane Wrembel and his Band include:
Friday, March 16 Memorial Art Gallery Rochester NY
Sunday, March 18 Lee’s Palace Toronto ON
Wednesday, March 21 Union College Barbouville KY
Thursday, March 22 Barking Leg Theater Chattanooga TN
Friday, March 23 The Blue Wisp Cincinnati OH
Thursday, April 26 Music on Main Street Woodbridge NJ
Thursday, June 21 – Saturday, June 23 Wanderlust Festival Bondville VT
Thursday, July 5 – Saturday, July 7 Wanderlust Festival Colorado Copper Mountain CO
Thursday, July 26 – Saturday, July 28 Wanderlust Festival Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe CA
Additional dates to be announced. For tickets and information visit www.stephanewrembel.com
