Lara Humbert is a French pianist and composer based in Brussels. She formed her first quartet in 2021, bringing together European musicians with a strong presence on the Brussels experimental scene. She is also leader of the ‘I’m Not Done Cooking’ Octet. The quartet released its first album, Pinède, in March 2024. They are currently presenting a new repertoire, ‘Le Village’, featuring singer and writer Ma Clément.
Their music is born of an infinite search for balance between written material and free improvisation. The meeting of piano, violin, electric guitar, drums and voice creates a joyful interplay in search of textures and sounds, both in the free interpretation of themes and in improvisation. Blending different musical influences, whether jazz, pop or classical music, the narrative is guided by long melodies laid down in layers, at times oscillating between tonal and atonal music. The fine, fascinating complexity of the pieces finds its way through, as fluid as it is hypnotic. A warm, contemplative energy emerges, enveloping you and inviting you to travel.
The quartet’s new repertoire, ‘Village’, recounts the life of a country village, setting to music the elements that describe it, including songs such as ‘La Maison’, ‘La Ferme’, ‘La Forêt’… Under the wonderful pen and voice of singer and writer Ma Clément. It’s a very unique and personal repertoire that questions memory, as seen through the eyes of two different experiences that come together, Ma and Lara, to create a shared memory that everyone can relate to.
Album : pinède (03.2024, Autoproduction)