A 4th CD for O'TRIDAL: "Daou Pik Mann," like 2.0 For 10 years, O'TRIDAL has been developing and exploring the different facets of a Breton music that is, resolutely, personal to him. (Paker prod.)
From our window still open to the persistent and summery sunny heat, lifting our eyes from our screen, we had just caught sight of our charming, accomplice, distributor, mail carrier… Béatrice (it's authentic and it rhymes!) who had just dropped off, in the mailbox of the Culture et celtie editorial office, the e-MAGazine, a white envelope that, by the specific and muffled sound of its short fall into the metallic postal receptacle, led us to anticipate the arrival of a new record!
Jaquette du CD d'O'TRIDAL - Daou pik mann Julien TYMENWithout further delay, as our helmeted postwoman, like an astronaut, was already slipping away on her little yellow three-wheeled electric vehicle to continue her rounds, we headed towards our mailbox, now transformed… into a music delivery box!
We extracted from it the padded container stamped with the logo "PAKER Prod," representative of the iconic Concarneau-based record and cultural label that, since 2008, has been supporting its artists from the studio to the stage, defending their musical aesthetics, which are resolutely modern, current, and open to the world, rooted in the popular traditions of Brittany.
Following this identification, quickly recalling the numerous reviews written based on press releases of attractive and excellent recordings produced by this reference label, it goes without saying how eagerly we wanted to swiftly open the envelope.
Having accomplished our prompt action, we were delighted, as the Compact Disc revealed itself, once extracted from its transit protection, bearing the name of the creative and forward-thinking O’TRIDAL, a trio that we have introduced to you on our online pages since the release of their first discographic edition.
“Daou pik mann” - (Like 2.0), is the title of this present and 4th opus created by these three musicians from Quimper, who are of the very first order.
Should we speak of a 4th or a 3rd album?
Dear loyal visitors of Culture et celtie, the e-MAGazine, who were numerous to visit the pages dedicated to this group during their publication on the front page, you indeed remember that O’TRIDAL has concocted 2 original studio albums, “Karrdi Sessions,” released in April 2019 (Our review) , and “Triumvirat,” published in March 2023. (Our review)
Moreover, the band has produced a recording featuring the tracks from these studio albums, this time in a live version, as it was captured in public on August 24, 2024, during the Festival du Roi Arthur in Bréal-sous-Montfort, a town located about ten kilometers southwest of Rennes, a production released in February 2025 (Our review)
So, is it the 3rd or 4th CD? It depends…
In any case, “Daou pik mann” celebrates the 10th anniversary and rise of this "triangular" group that, since late 2015, early 2016, has been developing and exploring the different facets of modern Breton music for both dancers and listeners, embracing world music while firmly rooted, in a way that is resolutely personal, by combining compositions, traditional tunes, and improvised music.
“Daou pik mann” also marks, in addition to the very numerous stage performances given over a decade, the arrival, for its first discographic recording, of flutist Malo CARVOU, replacing Yeltaz GUERNO, who has moved on to music teaching, starting in the 2025 school year.
As we briefly introduced you to the backgrounds of the co-founders of O’TRIDAL in our first column dedicated to “Karrdi Sessions” , which you can refer to, we present to you, albeit summarily, this new member, a well-known musician from the Breton scene.
Like his two recent accomplices from O’TRIDAL, Tibo and Kentin, who passed through the Bagad Penhars of Quimper, Malo began his musical training around the age of seven, learning the bombarde. At the same time, he regularly accompanied his grandfather François MORVAN, an accordionist, with whom he attended dances in the Gourin region. There, he was introduced to the Breton repertoire and also discovered the richness of musette swing.
Then, teaching his approach to the wooden flute, both in classical music conservatories and at the university, as well as in traditional music associations, he gained great recognition for his extraordinary ability to integrate an impressive variety of musical genres. Malo crosses borders, uniting music with his distinct talent for incorporating styles as varied as Irish, Breton… and musette swing.
A founding member, along with Bernard BIZIEN and Armel AN HEJER, of the OZAN Trio (Breton swing), he has, among many others, played with the much-missed virtuoso guitarist of open tuning, Soïg SIBERIL, as well as with Jean-Charles GUICHEN, notably on his album “SPI” (Our column) The great Breton flutist and dancer from Fréhel, Jean-Michel VEILLON, who has been playing the bombarde since the age of eleven and has become a master of the wooden flute, defines Malo CARVOU as follows: “The virtuoso whose fluidity is a delight to the ear”… that says it all! For more information about the artist, visit his official website www.malocarvou.com
Thus, for “Daou pik mann,” we find:
- Thibault NIOBE, on guitars,
- Kentin JUILLARD, on percussion,
- And, therefore… Malo CARVOU, on “fleüt a-dreuz” (transverse flute), “wooden flute” (flute en bois), and “flûte bawu” (free reed flute, made of copper or bronze, like a clarinet, melodica, or harmonica).
The 9 original compositions that make up this program of nearly 45 minutes are the result, as in the world of jazz, of a collective effort of melodic and rhythmic proposals, of assemblies and developments of the many ideas brought by each of the three members, a process that was to lead to the creation of a new common musical language. Regarding Malo's different flute playing, there is a true break in the musical expression of the trio (hence, notably and probably the underlying designation 2.0), the, in a way, new “settings” and new complicities were established during two “closed-door” sessions, organized for the very first step in the artist's studio in Landernau, the Finistère plastic artist, painter, engraver, and friend of the group, Thomas GODIN (See page) But if you know him! He is the one who adorned the “first cover” of the 2nd CD “Triumvirat,” mentioned above, with his three circular engravings in green, red, and yellow on copper plates.
After what could ultimately be described as a “musical meeting,” the second phase took place from September 2025 to June 2026, at Tibo's, with the finalization of certain pieces leading to the release of 3 EPs (April, May, and June 2026) and the creation of the continuation of the program, currently offered in “Daou pik mann.”
The recording and mixing were carried out by Tibo NIOBE at the "Karrdi studio" in Kemper. Knowing that the Breton word "Karrdi" means garage, this naturally reminds us of the first album "Karrdi Sessions" made in this home studio, where the mixes for the albums "Triumvirat" and "Live" were also finalized. The mastering by Ronan FOUQUET adds the finishing touch to this excellent production.
It is also worth noting that the sound capture was done with simultaneous instrumental executive presence from the three musicians, which further enhances the liveliness and collective expressiveness, already largely accumulated through co-writing.
With the arrival of the new flutist, the trio wanted to renew its repertoire, while wishing to maintain, through unprecedented musical explorations, a doubled energy, another instrumental dialogue, even more expressive, transcending it, which defines its specific style and success: the invitation to dance, to trance with intense vibrations serving the most demanding steps of aficionados of festoù noz or deiz… as well as the listening of the most discerning ears!
And believe us, this ambitious artistic journey, rooted in traditional Breton musical foundations and shaped at the crossroads of the structure of ancestral airs, original creations, and improvisations is, here, highly perceptible, leading to a very successful production, both in substance and form.
Let us assure you, all the tracks on this album truly excited us, so rich are they in variations, colors, virtuosity, expressiveness, and energy, and the musicians, through their careful, engaged, inventive playing, push their respective instruments, both in powerful performance and in nuance, subtlety. It is impossible to make a choice, except by our momentary sensitivity, understanding that with each new listen, the allure would shift its attraction to other pieces.
During this initial discovery, we particularly appreciated "Tour Soïg," which pays tribute to the iconic and much-missed guitarist prince of picking and open tuning, Soïg SIBERIL. An alert introduction of Kentin's percussion that immediately invites trance, followed by Malo's haunting flute that seems to confirm the chosen rhythmic option, preceding Tibo's electro-acoustic guitar that beautifully glides within these somewhat African colors, a well-Breton An dro, before electrifying itself, all in a fine crescendo that marks, for a moment, the step to let us hear a vocal punctuation from the three musicians bringing a tribal aspect to this interpretation that alone conveys the artistic angle of the group: Brittany and beyond... The final "guitar-electronic" note reminds us of the bridge to the present times.
Our ears were also caught by "Pilé Bawu," introduced by the flute of the same name that we were trying to define, evoking the sound of the harmonica, when, at the beginning of the column, we listed the stands.
It is in this pseudo-sonority that the piece begins, slowly, like a country-blues lament underscored by Tibo's electro-acoustic sound; 30 seconds that seem to invite us to transition from an American Far West to our Armorican Far West, since, after this brief "entry into dance," Malo quickly imposes the step of this small Breton plié, an ancient branle historically collected in the northeast of Morbihan, danced in a closed chain.
As the piece progresses, the trance intensifies, Tibo's electric guitar unleashes, becomes unraveled, "rocks," and Kentin's percussion marks the transitions; the pilé seems to blend before regaining strength and amplitude.
Listen at a good volume to grasp, in all its layering and instrumental space, the realization of this excellent session.
We cannot overlook the frenzied "This is the hent," where, in a frantic rhythm, the three virtuosos compete in speed.
Certainly, halfway through, the wild dance calms down, just enough time to let a beautiful line of electric guitar from Tibo escape; but already, the wild and electric race resumes, calmed by very beautiful flute spirals, before the final and unleashed reprise of the theme.
Combining English and Breton, "This is the hent," it is the path of O'TRIDAL!... a powerful and telluric music.
"Daou pik mann" is undoubtedly a landmark recording of the Breton musical year 2026. Since the beginning of its adventure, PAKER Prod. has not been mistaken in the support it provides on stage and in the studio to this formation, which is as respectful of its roots as it is inventive.
O'TRIDAL creates with excellent taste a modern Breton music, deeply rooted in its territory, but which does not hesitate to look elsewhere.
It is no surprise that, sometimes drawing inspiration from Irish and African music, the trio, with its unique identity, manages to carry its musical discourse beyond Brittany and the hexagon, notably to Spain, Belgium, Germany, Canada… Ireland.
We take no risk in advising you, imperatively, to purchase this excellent Compact Disc, presented in a triptych-organized cover, whose graphic design, particularly representative of the contemporary musical coloring of the group, was entrusted to Emilie LE COZ, La petite graphiste (See site) with photos taken by Julien TYMEN, treated through a color gradient filtering from purple to gold, passing through a blue-green (Le glaz).
On the internal central panel of the cover, you will not miss distinguishing the two arrows of the Cathedral of Saint-Corentin in Quimper, the home port of the trio.
- TRIDAL = Exult!
- O, in Breton, immediacy, in the moment…
- and the apostrophe, a little nod to identity, Irish music, an important source of inspiration.
So, without further ado, leap for joy with Irish colors, but not only… "Daou pik mann" by O'TRIDAL is in stores and on cultural music sites!
Gérard SIMON
Sound illustration of the page: O'TRIDAL - "Nycthémère TS" - Excerpt from 01:13.
The official website of the group O'TRIDAL: www.otridal.bzh
Other sound excerpts on Culture et celtie, the e-MAGazine (See site)
The tracks of O'TRIDAL's CD - "Daou Pik Mann":
01 - Nycthémère TS - 03:60.
02 - Tour Soïg - 04:57.
03 - Ar Stam Dilezet - 04:44.
04 - Nycthémère TD - 04:31.
05 - Noal - 05:15.
06 - Pilé Bawu - 04:12.
07 - Kaner Sint Niklaas - 05:53.
08 - This Is The Hent - 04:38.
09 - Aiteall - 06:25.
Total duration: 44:35.
All tracks are composed by O'TRIDAL.
CD of O'TRIDAL - "Daou PIK Mann".
Release: October 2, 2026.
Production: Paker prod.: www.pakerprod.bzh
Ref: PAKER Prod. 046.
© Culture et Celtie
