Patrick Broguière's biography

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Patrick Broguière's musical career began when he was 15 as he bought his first electric guitar, he was influenced by Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple. After apprenticing with many rock bands and singers, he became guitarist in a new wave band. His band was spotted by a producer in 1986, who commissioned the singer Martin G to record three singles. Patrick Broguière composed the music for two singles, thus making his debut in production. At the same time, he’s pursuing a career as a sound engineer thanks to a diploma he obtained from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre in Paris. He then discovered computer music and became particularly interested in composition and orchestration. This led him to work as sound engineer and arranger on Jean-Philippe Brénot's four albums. At the same time, he continued his training as a composer, studying classical harmony and counterpoint with composer Michel Capelier at the Conservatoire for four years. The story of his first album, "Brocéliande", began in 1990, the year PB composed the music for a rock opera. Based on a libretto by a young writer, Papillon, the project was to tell the Arthurian legends with 10 singers. In the end, the opera was not staged and Patrick Broguière reworked the music, extracting a 50-minute instrumental suite in 1992. The album was signed at the end of 1994 with the support of the Musea label. This first CD was very favourably received by progressive rock and electronic music fanzines. But his music is far from being confined to these musical styles, and it is difficult to define his style.         His second album, 'Icônes', released in 1996, takes us on a journey through the rooms of a strange imaginary museum. Icônes", inspired by Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", is also Patrick Broguière's musical tribute to the work of five artists: Marie Althöfer, Bernard Dutheil, Sabine Massenet, Hervé Thibon and Sarah-Catherine Wolff. In 1998, Patrick Broguière released his third album, "Mont Saint-Michel", on the Italian label Mellow Records. The album features ten pieces of music freely inspired by the legends, architecture and symbolism of Mont Saint-Michel, in a style that evokes Gregorian chant, classical, rock, medieval and Celtic music, and evokes the architectural diversity of the Mont, while the unity of the site is suggested by an omnipresent motif. In the CD booklet, each piece of music is illustrated by a miniature by the painter Hervé Thibon (painted using the "fixé sous verre" technique). The booklet also includes ten texts by the writer Nathalie Hureau with an English translation, given the international vocation of the project. His fourth album, "Châteaux de la Loire", released at the end of 2000, was inspired by seven of the finest Renaissance castles in the Loire Valley: Amboise, Azay-le-Rideau, Blois, Chambord, Chenonceau, Montsoreau and Villandry. The music on the CD blends contemporary sounds with Renaissance dances and turns of phrase: pavane or gaillarde rhythms, ancient instruments and 16th-century harmonic cadences rub shoulders with electric guitars and synthesizers. The original engravings by Hervé Thibon, reproduced in the CD booklet, evoke the elegance of the various châteaux thanks to the finesse of the "fixed under glass" technique. This was followed by a long hiatus during which PB published two books and trained as a magician. Finally, in 2023, PB published both a French reprinting of "Mont Saint-Michel" and a new album, "A Secret World", inspired by the musician's secret garden. Texte © Xavier Delfosse & PB Translation : Jean-Philippe Brénot