Renaud Garcia-Fons

Garcia-Fons was born in the Paris region in 1962 into an artistic household. Yet being of Catalonian origin, Garcia-Fons' affinity for Spanish and oriental culture is understandable. In the early 80s he enrolled at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Paris, where he studied with Jean-Pierre Logerrot. From 1987 to 1993 he was part of the unique French all-bass ensemble L'Orchestre de Contrebasses before starting his journey as a soloist that led to his instrument's full emancipation. "I have developed a new language for it," says Garcia-Fons, "so it appears to be a Spanish guitar by imitating the rasgueado in one moment, then sounding like the guembri, the bass instrument of the Berbers, or again it can sing like a viola or a Persian violin."