Despite his family's rich musical heritage, Arthur Izhlen (better known as Arthur H) quickly freed himself from the label "Son of Famous Parents".
Arthur Asch managed to achieve success in many musical directions. His repertoire and his shows are notable for their poetics, storytelling and humor.
Childhood and youth of Arthur Izhlen
Arthur Asch is the son of musicians Jacques Izhlin and Nicole Courtois.
The boy was born on March 27, 1966 in Paris. Being a very lonely teenager, he had difficulty learning the educational material. Leaving high school at the age of 16, he left for three months to swim in the Antilles.
Then his parents sent him to Boston (United States). Arthur Asch studied music for a year and a half at university, but without significant interest.
Returning to Paris, he assembled several groups with whom he experimented with his first compositions.
But after a catastrophic "failure" during the first participation in the Bourges festival, the singer revised and changed his attitude to music.
The musician for a very long time rushed between countless musical currents, among which were jazz, blues and tango. Then Arthur Asch gradually created his own single musical "Universe".
Together with the English double bass player Brad Scott, he organized the show. The show was scheduled for three nights at the small 60-seat Vieille Grille in Paris in December 1988. The success was so significant that the guys performed there for a month.
The audience was quickly inspired by this young performer, who combined humor, music and poetry. Two months later, it was in Sentier des Halles that the duo, who also found drummer Paul Joti, prepared 30 different performances.
Debut album of the artist and Japan
In February, Arthur Asch recorded his first album. This was achieved in collaboration with his two partners: Paul Jyoti and Brad Scott. The trio then performed at the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris.
The performances were one after another, and already on July 18 the young singer was present at the Francofoli de La Rochelle festival (France). Arthur H is the debut album which was released on September 3rd. Thanks to touring and free press advertising, the record sold well. 13 tracks are different little musical stories.
At the beginning of 1990, at the height of the Gulf War, Arthur Ash this time took the stage at Pigalle Square. His success spread beyond France. At the end of February, the singer flew to Japan, where the public greeted him enthusiastically. A year later, Arthur Ash has already entered the stage of Olympia, surrounded by 8 musicians.
On the occasion of the radio broadcast, the artist went up to the Olympia stage on April 25, 1991. With his trio and four brass players. The rest of the year was mostly spent on tour in France, ending in Japan.
In April 1992, the second album, Bachibouzouk, was released with regular musicians who have always included: Paul Jyoti, Brad Scott and John Handelsman of the brass band.
A little later, Brazilian percussionist Edmundo Carneiro joined the band, accompanying the singer on performances in Paris and during his tour in 1992.
"Magic Mirrors" by Arthur Asch
Between January and February 1993, Arthur Asch visited Magic Mirrors, a magnificent tent built in Belgium in the 1920s, in which the singer created a funny and gentle musical show. The performances were very similar to the circus atmosphere.
Shortly thereafter, he received the "Musical Revelation of the Year" award. The singer continued to tour around the world, including Africa, Quebec and Japan.
In October, an album was released, recorded during concerts at Magic Mirrors. On this occasion Arthur Asch gave two concerts at Olympia. The trio continued to tour cities with the Magic Mirrors program in 1994. In March, Ken made a 26-minute film about his brother.
From 1989 to 1994 Arthur Asch gave more than 700 concerts and sold about 150 thousand albums. He is an artist absolutely indispensable in the French musical repertoire. His music, rich in surprises and magic, continues to excite a significant number of listeners.
1996: album Trouble-Fête
1995 was a year of rest from the stage. This was partly due to the fact that Arthur Asch became a father.
He returned to work in September 1996 with his third album, Trouble-fête. This allegorical work reflected the unity and poetry of his music. From October to December, the artist toured again, and from January 8 to 18, 1997, he presented his new show in Paris.
The performances are filled with magic and magic, show the audience new styles - a combination of jazz, swing, tango, African, oriental music, and even gypsy.
This show led to the writing of the album Fête Trouble, which was released in 1997. Some of the songs were recorded in Benin and Togo during an African tour in February and March 1997.
After Africa and a few concerts in France in the late winter of 1998, Arthur Asch performed a series of concerts in North America. The biggest stage of that period was a concert at Luna Park, in Los Angeles.
That evening, at the end of the concert, in front of an astonished audience, Arthur Ash proposed to his girlfriend Alexandra Mikhalkova. And this happened in front of a justice of the peace, specially invited for this occasion.
2000: album Pour Madame X
In the late summer of 2000, Arthur Asch released his fourth album, Pour Madame X. With his trio (guitarist Nicholas Repak, double bassist Brad Scott and drummer Laurent Robin), the singer recorded his album in a medieval castle, away from the classic commercial studios from which he left.
New songs, as always, turned out to be filled with certain musical and textual meanings. 11 tracks, including the 8-minute rap composition Haka dada, despite the differences in genre, fit together in meaning. In general, the album turned out to be more sentimental than the previous one.
Grand tour of Europe
The new tour started in November. But a few days earlier, Arthur Asch had unveiled soundtracks for a silent film by Tod Browning, a 1930s filmmaker. The release took place not just anywhere, but at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
The musician performed several more times in Paris, then sang a duet with the Italian musician Gianmaria Testa in Italy, and a little later pleased his fans from Laos and Thailand.
In 2001, the tour extended until mid-summer as Arthur Asch visited Quebec in July (Festival d'été de Québec, Francofolies de Montréal) and Usest in August with his father for the show "Père / fils" ("Father / son").
Arthur Asch quietly continued his musical path, singing and playing with some friends such as Brigitte Fontaine (for the March 14, 2002 show at the Grand Rex in Paris) or accordionist Marc Perrone.
In June 2002 he released a new CD Piano solo.
On this occasion, he again revised and re-recorded his repertoire, mostly using the piano as an accompanying instrument.
He also recorded two beautiful new songs Nue au soleil and The Man I love. Both compositions were created by women. Arthur Asch gave an exceptionally chic concert on June 26 at the Bataclan in Paris.
2003: Négresse Blanche album
In early October, Arthur Asch started writing songs again. His assistants Nicholas Repack and Brad Scott returned to work with him.
The singer's new recording was made in Montmartre. Mixing took place in New York. Thus, on May 13, 2003, an album was released - these are 16 songs in which famous women were often mentioned. The general rhythm of the album is very slow, between electro and pop music.
Artur Asch resumed his performances in June with a series of concerts accompanied by only three musicians. From 2 to 13 July he performed at the Bouffay du Nord in Paris and later at several festivals such as the Vieilles Charrues. On August 1, he performed in Montreal at the Francofoli de Montreal festival.
A tour of China was scheduled from November 4 to 14, 2004. The singer was especially expected in Beijing and Shanghai, but the authorities refused to issue a permit. The tour has been cancelled. Therefore, 2004 was the "Canadian" year for the singer, who gave a number of concerts there.
2005: Adieu Tristesse album
While in Canada, he took the opportunity to record his fifth studio album, Adieu Tristesse, which was released in September 2005. 13 songs from this album, most accurately describing his repertoire, were a significant success.
The opus contained three duets. Song Est-ce que tu aimes? the singer was originally supposed to perform with the young singer Camille, but for some reason the girl refused. In her place, Arthur Asch took -M-. Thanks to the video clip for the song, the singer received the Victoire de la Musique award in the category "Clip of the Year" in 2005.
Arthur Ash performed the second duet Chanson de Satie with the Canadian singer Feist. Jacques joined his son on Le Destin du Voyageur.
From September to December 2005, Arthur Asch toured all over France, especially in Paris. He also took part in Printemps de Bourges, Paléo Festival de Nyon in Switzerland and Francofoli de La Rochelle before visiting Canada, Poland and Lebanon.
Arthur Asch gave a concert on his birthday
On March 27, 2006, he celebrated his 40th birthday by performing at the Olympia with his father, English friend Brad Scott and half-sister Maya Barsoni.
Since May, the singer has started a new tour in France, with several concerts abroad, including Lebanon and Canada.
On the occasion of the 2006 Music Festival, he performed at the Cour d'Honneur at the Palais des Reigns in Paris before heading back to the Furia Sound and Francofolies de La Rochelle festivals. The tour ended in New York, much to the delight of the singer, who adored the city.
On November 13, 2006, the Polydor label released the Showtime album. This is a live album and DVD summarizing all the months that the artist and his band spent on stage to present Adieu Tristesse to the general public. Between the episodes filmed at the Olympia in Paris and the Spectrum in Montreal (on the occasion of Francofoli 2006), many duets can be heard: Est-ce que tu aimes? with -M-, Le Destin du Voyageur with his father Jacques, Une Sorcière bleue with Maya Barsoni, Sous le Soleil de Miami with Pauline Croze and On Rit Encore with Lhasa.
2008: album L'Homme du Monde
In June 2008, the seventh album L was released.'Homme du monde produced by Jean Massicott.
This last opus, with a slight amount of rock and jazz, did not have the piano to make room for the guitar.
Arthur Asch's music - usually melancholic and almost sad - was more danceable, more catchy and groovy on this album. This turn seems to be partly due to the birth of his son in 2007 and the harmony finally found in his relationship with his father.
The album was released accompanied by a film that more specifically illustrated the message of the work. The film was directed by American director Joseph Cahill.
Before embarking on tour in October, the singer performed once again at the Francofoli de La Rochelle festival in July.
2010: album Mystic Rumba
2009 got off to a good start with Arthur Ash winning the Victory of the Pop/Rock award for L'Homme du monde in February. For the recording of the next disc, he left to isolate himself in the Fabrique studios, in the countryside of Saint-Remy-de-Provence.
He sat down at the piano and started recording 20 minimalist songs.
This solo work led to the recording of Mystic Rumba, a double album released in March 2010.
The improved style made it possible to rediscover various aspects of the singer's velvety voice and above all his lyrics with their strange poetics. The Mystic Rumba tour started in February.
In one of the French theaters, Arthur Ash read the poetry of some black poets. This experience made him embark on an unusual journey. Together with his friend and musician Nicholas Repak, he presented a performance dedicated to Afro-Caribbean literary works. The theatrical performance of L'Or Noir was created in July 2011. Subsequently, this show was held several times.
In 2011 Arthur Asch was working on a new album.
2011: album Baba Love
On October 17, 2011 Arthur Asch released the album Baba Love. For this opus, he created his own publishing company. He also separated from the musicians he had worked with and assembled a new team: Joseph Chedid and Alexander Angelov from the bands Aufgan and Cassius.
On October 27, the singer returned to the stage to give a concert at the Cent Quatre cultural center in Paris. In November, Arthur Asch began a new tour of France, which also took place in New York, then in Montreal and Quebec.
L'Or Noir, a show dedicated to Caribbean writers created with his friend Nicolas Repack, was the subject of a new musical release in March 2012. Thus, the album opened the Poétika Musika collection, dedicated to the texts of various poets.
From January 15 to February 3, both artists presented the musical show L'Or Noir at the Rond-Point theater in Paris, and then in many other French cities.
The second part of this series was released in March 2014 under the title L'Or d'Eros. This time Arthur Asch and Nicholas Repak were interested in XNUMXth century erotic poetry, using the words of Georges Bataille, James Joyce, André Breton and Paul Eluard.
These two musical creations L'Or Noir and L'Or d'Eros were presented to the public during several concerts, in particular at the Cent Quatre cultural center in Paris.
2014: album Soleil Dedans
For the recording of the new album Soleil Dansans, the musician expanded his horizons and drew inspiration from the fresh air in Quebec and the American west.
The album was awarded the Académie Charles-Cros Award in November in the Best Song category.
2018: Amour Chien Fou album
The eclectic double album consisted of 18 songs, some of them 8 to 10 minutes long, definitely unlike any other work of the musician. There are romantic and atmospheric ballads, as well as more rhythmic dance music.
Critics praise this album, so it did not take long to wait. Performances began on March 31, 2018. On 4 April Arthur Asch performed at the Trianon in Paris.
On April 6, the singer lost his father, Jacques, who died at the age of 77. A few days later at the Printemps de Bourges festival, the son paid tribute to his father with his performance.
