Ferdinand Richard
| Ferdinand Richard | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Hervé Richard |
| Born |
25 June 1950 Meknes, Morocco |
| Genres | Avant-rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1973–1999 |
| Labels | Celluloid, RecRec |
| Associated acts | Etron Fou Leloublan, Gestalt et Jive, Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar, Ferdinand et les Philosophes, Fred Frith |
Hervé Richard (born 25 June 1950), better known as Ferdinand Richard, is a French avant-rock bass guitarist and composer.
Richard was a founding member of the French avant-rock group Etron Fou Leloublan in 1973, and remained with them until they broke up in 1986. He was also a member of Alfred Harth's group Gestalt et Jive in the mid-1980s, and collaborated with Fred Frith in 1989 to record Dropera (1991). Richard also formed his own group, Ferdinand et les Philosophes in 1990, and recorded two solo albums, En Forme!! (1981) and En Avant (1983).
Hervé Richard was born in 1950 in Meknes in Morocco, but spent his childhood between 1951 and 1964 in Saint-Malo in north-western France. From 1969 to 1973 he studied Medieval Literature and Law at Grenoble in south-eastern France, then attended a bass course at the Conservatoire Régional de Musique de Grenoble. In 1973 Richard abandoned his studies, adopted the pseudonym "Ferdinand", and joined a local rock group called Etron Fou Leloublan, playing bass guitar, singing and composing.
Etron Fou Leloublan, French for (roughly) "Crazy Shit, the White Wolf" or "Mad Shit, the White Wolf" were a "nonconformist"avant-rock group that produced a blend of punk rock, jazz, French music hall, comedy satire and "avant-garde mayhem". Their music was a "viable [...] alternative to both French rock'n'roll and French free jazz", which had stagnated at the time. Richard played his bass guitar in ways that went beyond its traditional "metronomic role" – he used "double stops, chords, harmonics and onomatopoeic sound effects" to add melody to the group's songs. He also tuned his instrument "up minor third" to match his voice. Richard remained with Etron Fou Leloublan until they broke up 13 years later, during which time they recorded six albums and performed at concerts in Europe and North America.
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