Gaspar Claus

I spent 15 years on the concert road with my father, Pedro Soler. I like to imagine that, since he is no longer here, perhaps he is still dreaming. And that perhaps we have become his dream — so many strange thoughts come to us when we are faced with death. So I will play for him. For the dream he may still be dreaming.

Gaspar Claus is a French cellist and composer, born in Céret in 1983. Trained at the Perpignan Conservatory and later in philosophy at the Sorbonne, he quickly developed an approach to the cello freed from the strict classical repertoire, combining improvisation, composition, sound research and electroacoustic devices. His work moves across contemporary music, song, cinema, stage performance and sound experimentation. He has collaborated with many artists, including Bryce Dessner, Sufjan Stevens, Rone, Jim O’Rourke, Clara Ysé, Joëlle Léandre and Keiji Haino, and for many years performed as a duo with his father, flamenco guitarist Pedro Soler. Founder of the trio VACARME and the label Les Disques du Festival Permanent, he now pursues research focused on the transformation of instrumental sound. Following his first solo album, Tancade, released in 2021, he continues with CELLS, a project dedicated to the cello transformed in real time.