guillaume linay
BIOGRAPHY
As a child of the blues, jazz is a powerful musical and rhythmic place in the mind - that’s how Guillaume Linay sees the music that he loves so much. Seeing his father perform on stage, he knew that he wanted to be a musician. When he was a child, Guillaume developed a taste for music first with the accordion and then the drums. As a youngster, he already knew that rhythm was what really excited him. When he was a teenager, playing in bands and learning from various teachers, he learnt the importance of expanding his musical horizons. Rock, reggae, jazz... there are countless influences that can be identified in his playing and expression. Learning from Stéphane Stanger at the Rennes music school, that’s when the doors of rhythmic expression really opened up for him.
For Guillaume Linay, playing music is everything. “Music is what makes me feel alive.”
INTERVIEW
When did you first know that you wanted to be a musician?
​
“Something that left a mark on me when I was little was that my dad was a drummer. That’s an important factor, I think. My dad played in a few rock bands as a hobby, playing 70s covers. And actually, we had a drum kit at home.
​
As a young child, I really loved watching my father play gigs with his friends.
​
But even though we had a drum kit at home, I wanted to learn to play the accordion. One of my dad’s friends was an accordionist, and he was so good that I wanted to be able to play it too.
​
Unfortunately, the accordion that I had really wasn’t very good quality and it had a really unpleasant sound. So, I gave it up.”
Why did you choose the drums next?
​
At some point, I noticed that I had a knack for rhythm, even as a child. So, after considering the djembe, I turned to the drums.
​
I started taking drum lessons, first in Rennes and then in Montreuil-sur-Ille, and that’s when I really fell in love with music and the drums. I was lucky enough to have two very good teachers, Diego Guyard and Fabien Joly.
​
Alongside those classes I had as a teenager, I formed some bands at school with some friends, mainly playing rock covers. And the music school in Montreuil also suggested working on a set during the school holidays to then play some concerts.
​
At high school, I had a reggae band, but that stopped when my friend, Vincent, the guitarist, went to the Paris Conservatory.”
Did you already want to be a musician at that point?
​
At some point, my desire to play music became much stronger than anything else.
​
I went to Jean Macé Middle School in Rennes, although I thought about going to Bréquigny to study music. When I finished high school, I wanted to be a drummer, and after I finished my baccalaureate, I went to the Rennes Faculty of Music.
​
In the faculty, I started some groups with my friends, like the spicy jazz band, which later became Khéta. At that point, I was taking jazz lessons with Cédric Biffot at the Bréquigny Youth and Culture Centre.
​
I learnt a lot by playing with other musicians at jam sessions in Rennes.
​
Then, I joined the Rennes music school, where I learnt even more, particularly from Stéphane Stanger.
​
I remember very clearly having this dilemma that I had to choose between a “safe” job or my passion, and I very quickly decided on music.
​
Music is what makes me feel alive.”
