Claire Bousquel, an artist from South Aveyron between passion and musical creation

Claire Bousquel sort son premier album. Midi libre – Michel Durand

Inspirée par la chanson française, la musicienne installée en Sud-Aveyron a composé et enregistré dix chansons. Son premier album est sorti le 14 décembre.

Musical life abounds in the South Aveyron, as evidenced by the presence of many groups of amateur musicians. Claire Bousquel is fully part of this dynamic where amateurism rhymes with demand and the simple pleasure of music. Recently, she has enriched her career by launching into songwriting.

Originally from Seine-et-Marne, Claire claims a deep attachment to the Rougier region, where she now lives and has started a family. Her passion for music dates back to her childhood: at the age of 8, her godfather gave her her first guitar. The lessons she took at the music school allowed her to acquire the necessary foundations. However, it was only in high school that she truly discovered “the pleasure of playing by improvising chords”.

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A trigger at 20 years old

Another milestone in her life as a musician occurred at the age of 20, when she attended a Véronique Sanson concert. She was “blown away by the singer's voice, chords, and emotion”. This moment reinforced her desire to explore new horizons, and the piano took a more important place in her musical practice. The artist draws her inspiration mainly from French songs. She cites artists such as Cabrel, Jonas, Bashung, Brassens, and Michel Berger… Véronique Sanson, however, occupies a special place in her influences. English pop is also a component of her musical culture, even “if the language barrier is a hindrance”.

She defines a song as “an emotion born from the synergy between the text and the music”, and insists on “the importance of words that swing, resonate and give meaning to songs, while giving everyone the freedom to interpret them in their own way”. After playing solo for a long time, she joined several local groups. Six years ago, she wrote her first finished song, without considering creating an album at the time.

With Véronique Sanson's bassist

This summer, with bassist Frédéric Schneider and drummer Tony Payet, Claire performed her compositions in public. Her two accomplices encouraged her to record these pieces. Everything happened quickly, the recordings took place in Frédéric Schneider's studio in Viala-du-Tarn, where he also provided the arrangements. The trio was joined by Tony Margalejo (guitar), Mathilde Comoy (cello), Marion Lepelletier (violin) and Dominique Bertram. The latter is Véronique Sanson's bassist, invited to enrich certain tracks. The result is a CD entitled La crise de rien, released on December 14. Composed of ten songs, the album addresses several themes with tributes to loved ones and to Véronique Sanson, a nod to David Bowie, as well as universal subjects such as freedom… For the moment, the CD stamped “Fait en Aveyron” is available in the newsagents of Camarès, Lacaune, and Saint-Affrique, as well as streaming on YouTube.