CELLS Gaspar Claus

• 1 Claus: World of Idols 06:14
• 2 Claus: Désir des astres 04:12
• 3 Claus: Amour constrictor (Fugue) 05:12
• 4 Claus: Cells 02:33
• 5 Claus: Chrysalis 05:18
• 6 Claus: Cupidon 04:22
• 7 Claus: Die Wahl der Vögel 03:59
• 8 Claus: Ecstasy 04:15
• 9 Claus: Colaïdo 02:02
• 10 Claus: El Paradís Són Els Altres 07:09
• Total Runtime 45:16

Info zu CELLS

Five years after Tancade, a debut album praised by critics for its singularity, and several years rich in collaborations, cellist and composer Gaspar Claus will release his new album CELLS on September 25.

Conceived in a custom-built studio alongside producer Basile3, CELLS is an album shaped by friction and breath, moving between intimate memory, desire, and vital energy. Driven by a fertile tension between the cello and its digital transformation, the record unfolds a shifting sonic landscape where organic fervor meets electronic metamorphosis.

Relentlessly exploring deeply moving sonic territories, Gaspar Claus — cellist, composer, and producer — has followed a highly stimulating path since the early 2010s. From one creation to the next, he has forged a singular, primarily instrumental language at the crossroads of multiple worlds and artistic encounters: his father, flamenco guitarist Pedro Soler; international indie rock figures such as Bryce Dessner (The National), Casper Clausen (Efterklang), and Sufjan Stevens; Japanese noise icon Keiji Haino; or closer to him, French electronic producer Rone; or songwriter Malik Djoudi, to name but a few.

The album bears a very short title, leaving — like its musical content — maximum space for the listener’s imagination. In English, the term evokes a fundamental biological unit, a place of meditation or confinement, a computing unit, a component of a social organism, as well as the three letters that form the name of his instrument of choice: the cello.

“I like the idea that each track is a musical cell, both autonomous and connected to the others. However, the album is not based on any particular concept. Music, especially instrumental music, doesn’t necessarily need a narrative or discourse imposed on it.”

Gaspar’s music takes the form of contemporary chamber music, deeply marked by the American minimalist wave and threaded with subtle echoes of traditional music from the Mediterranean basin, as well as the laboratory-like experimentation of modern electronic music. Fully unfolding in the silent folds of the night, it exudes a rare emotional density driven by intellectual rigor, without ever slipping into ostentation.

“I had my dream studio built in Banyuls-sur-Mer, where I live part of the year, because I couldn’t manage to work in Paris,” the musician explains. “I spent about a year and a half there working on Cells. The creative process was complicated. The album resisted a lot before taking shape. I went through doubts and questioning, even moments where I considered giving up.”

Clear and direct, with no audible trace of that difficult gestation, the final result — seemingly flowing effortlessly — appears all the more striking. To overcome this long period of inner turbulence, Gaspar Claus relied on a steadfast credo: “It’s simply precious to make music.”

Mixed by his long-time artistic partner David Chalmin, Gaspar also benefited from the production work of Basile3, a leading figure in playful yet avant-garde electronics and the artist behind the 2024 debut album 43°C on InFiné. Having toured together following Tancade, Basile accompanied Gaspar Claus throughout the entire creation of CELLS.

“There is a form of liberation in going toward others, listening to them, taking care of them,” comments Gaspar Claus. “I believe we would be better off lifting our eyes from our own navels and no longer being afraid of others. As for the end of the track, it is a kind of metaphor for our world, which is threatening to disappear but still resists.”

Intimately connected, all carrying the conviction that music plays a fundamental role in our lives, the ten tracks of CELLS form a perfectly coherent whole — deeply organic, offering a powerful balm in the face of the violence of the present time.

Gaspar Claus, cello
Guest:
Matt Elliott, guitar, vocals (track 6)

Recorded Winter-Spring 2025 at Al Viento Studio in Banyuls Sur Mer (South of France)
Mixed by David Chalmin at La Fabrique des Ondes (French Basque Country, France)
Mastered by Alexis Bardinet at Globe Audio Mastering (Bordeaux, France)

Gaspar Claus
is a French cellist with purely musical academic background, who has developed a mastery of his instrument by working with musicians from different scenes: Alternative (Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner/the National, Jim O’Rourke, Matt Elliott/Third Eye Foundation, Casper Clausen/Efterklang, Serge Teyssot Gay/Noir Désir…), World Music (Pedro Soler, Ines Bacan…), Experimental (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Keiji Haino…) Modern Classical (Vacarme), Chanson Francaise (Barbara Carlotti, Flavien Berger…) and Electronic. He runs the label Festival Permanent, which reflects his encounters, stage collaborations and search for genre-defying compositions.

With InFiné, Gaspar first performed with his father, Pedro Soler, during the InFiné workshops in Poitiers in 2008. The label went on to release two albums by the duo ‘Barlande in 2011 and ‘Al Viento’ in 2016. He has also been credited on albums by Rone (Tohu Bohu, Creatures, Mirapolis…) and more recently Arandel (InBach 1&2).

Gaspar has also written several film scores and documentaries with Vincent Moon or Colin Solal. « Makala » by Emmanuel Gras won the critics’ award at the Cannes Film Festival. More recently, InFiné has released « Adrienne » on June 4th, 2021 – a four track EP for the short film series « Hobbies » broadcasted on the French network Canal+.

His latest album Tancade, was called “nothing short of breathtaking” by Gold Flake Paint, “a collection of exceptional cinematic mood pieces, guided by a visionary cellist” by Bleep, and supported by BBC, BBC3, BBC6, Radio Eins, KEXP, and many more. His new record scaphandre will be released on InFiné and Les Disques du Festival Permanent.

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet