Charles Berbérian

Charles Berberian was born in Baghdad in the late 1950s. He studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, and it was during this period that his first comic strips were published in fanzines. Later, in 1983, his meeting with illustrator Philippe Dupuy marked the beginning of a long collaboration. It was crowned in 2008 by the Grand Prix de la Ville d'Angoulême, now known as the Fauve d'Or, for the fourth volume of Monsieur Jean (Dupuis).

But Charles Berberian's talents extend beyond drawing. Together with Jean-Claude Denis, he has released two albums as a duo. First Night Buzz in 2000, then The Spell in 2005. In 2004, he also published a graphic novel, Playlist, in which he shares part of his record collection through drawings. In 2015, Helium published the beautiful book La Française pop, the result of his unique encounter with the great specialist in French pop, Christophe Conte.

He illustrated the diary of the recording of Bastien Lallemant's album La maison Haute, Vacances à Vega, and of course, he participated alongside him in the Concerts Dessinés and numerous Siestes Acoustiques.

“In 2010, Bastien Lallemant invited me to join the Siestes Acoustiques team. The first song I suggested was ”I'll Be Back," which is easy, with just one chord, so everyone can blend in and improvise. It was always a big deal to suggest a song for a Sieste, because the response from the other musicians was basically a validation, at least when everyone wanted to play it. If we couldn't get it right, it meant it was flawed, not ready yet, or good for the trash. The four other songs that will be tested during the Siestes are “Nightride,” “C'est La Vie,” “Tout Pour Le Mieux,” and “Plus Haut.” I tried “The Last Depression” once, but the structure wasn't quite right yet, I mangled a verse, and everyone looked at each other wondering what the hell I was doing. I almost disappeared forever into a swamp of rough chords, my hands are still shaking. But the most beautiful thing about music, you see, is that others are there to keep you from sinking.

Sébastien Zamora, a fan of Siestes and a courageous producer, once offered to record “C'est La Vie.” I thought about it for a nanosecond, then accepted the invitation. I took the opportunity to politely ask him if I could record a dozen other tracks while I was at it, just to make an album. “Okay,” he replied, “and how do you plan to do that?”

“Ah,” I said, “do you know a certain Mr. Giuliani?”

I met Marcello Giuliani a few years earlier in Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines, at Rodolphe Burger's recording studio, where Jacques Higelin was working on his album “Coup de Foudre.” I was there to doodle a few sketches during the recording sessions, and Marcello was playing bass in the band formed for the occasion by Rodolphe, the album's producer, and the eminent Mahut, a long-time collaborator of Maître Jacques. Marcello and I became friends, then we started making music together, as we were both fans of Appalachian bluegrass and Delta blues. “Underestimate” is one of the first songs we played together.

So I asked Marcello to produce the album. He rounded up his friends, we immersed ourselves in the studio, and that's the whole story."

In Une éducation orientale (An Eastern Education), Charles Berberian recounts his childhood in Lebanon, where he grew up until the age of 10.

Through his own memories and the reconstruction of his family history, Charles Berberian invites us to share his return to his roots in this book, which stands out as the most intimate and universal of his works. It is a humanist plea for dialogue between cultures, generously illustrated with images.

Literature is not only read... it is also listened to and viewed. Charles Berberian will present his work in a different way, accompanied by music.