Ferdinand Richard was a member of Alfred Harth's group Gestalt et Jive in the mid-1980s, and collaborated with Fred Frith in 1989 to record Dropera.
12 Facts About Ferdinand Richard
1.
2.
Herve Richard-Cochet, known under the name Ferdinand Richard, was born in June 1950 in Meknes in Morocco, but spent his childhood between 1951 and 1964 in Saint-Malo in north-western France, from where his family comes.
3.
Ferdinand Richard has lived in southern France and Marseille since 1964.
4.
In 1971 Richard abandoned his studies, adopted the pseudonym "Ferdinand", and played in several local rock groups, covering Cream, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, etc.
5.
Ferdinand Richard tuned his instrument "up a minor third" to better match his partner's alto saxophone.
6.
Ferdinand Richard remained with Etron Fou Leloublan until they broke up 13 years later, during which time they recorded six albums and performed hundreds of concerts in Europe, the Soviet Bloc, and North America.
7.
On En Avant Ferdinand Richard explored his interest in language and culture, and wrote the lyrics for, and sang seven of the eight songs.
8.
In 1984 Ferdinand Richard formed a duo, Bruniferd, with saxophonist Bruno Meillier from Etron Fou Leloublan that was dedicated to "precise and condensed musical poetry".
9.
In 1989, Berliner drummer Peter Hollinger, East German saxophonist Dietmar Diessner and Ferdinand Richard decided to start a power-improvisation trio, "Falaq", which never recorded but delivered several dozen performances in Europe and North America.
10.
In 1989, during one of the first "artists residencies" supported by Marseille Culture Department, Ferdinand Richard created an urban musical concept with Czech violinist Iva Bittova and Czech drummer Pavel Fajt.
11.
In 1993, Ferdinand Richard produced a concept album and performance, Arminius, with Japanese violinist Takumi Fukushima, German violinist Helmut Bieler-Wendt, and Czech bass-player Vladimir Vaclavec based on the work of Roman historian Tacitus.
12.
In 1996, Richard transformed "les Philosophes" into "Ferdinand et les Diplomates", with Marseille drummer Gilles Campaux and turn-tablist DJ Rebel, a cult figure from the French hip hop scene.