Aldebert

by Evan C. GutierrezKnown to fans as Aldebert, Guillaume Aldebert was born in Paris on July 7, 1973. A short time later he moved with his family to Besancon, where he went to school and has continued to live. Aldebert grew up in a musical family, surrounded by the sounds of the French chanteurs like Brel, Brassens, Barbara, and Gainsbourg. He took his first steps toward music in college, collaborating with friends and forming small rock groups. Only experiencing limited success through these channels, Aldebert struck out on his own in 1999 with the recording of his first album, Plateau Tele. In a style emulating chanson but with a rock edge, Aldebert won a regional fan base thanks to persistent touring. Between 2000 and 2003, he performed nearly 200 concerts, both solo and accompanied by bandmembers Christophe Darlot, Fran?ois Grimm, Stephan Metin, Julien Woittequand, and Thomas Nicol. In March of 2003, Aldebert released his second album, Sur Place ou a Emporter, winning the Trophee Radio France award that year. L'Annee du Singe followed a year later, as Aldebert's lighthearted, nostalgia-tinged music won an ever-growing grassroots fan base. A more personal look came in 2006 with the release of Les Paradis, his most successful record to date, which peaked at number seven on the French charts.