Emmanuel Scarpa

batteur / compositeur / improvisateur

BIO

© François Raulin

 

 

Drummer and composer, Emmanuel Scarpa is at the crossroads of contemporary creation. Starting out as a self-taught drummer in a punk-rock band, he went on to study classical composition at the Lyon and Grenoble conservatories, where he won 1st prizes in harmony, counterpoint and fugue, and was awarded a Sacem prize.

At the same time, his fascination for improvisation and his curiosity have led him to multiply his musical and interdisciplinary encounters. Drums, composition and improvisation have become inseparable practices over the past twenty-five years, naturally leading him to initiate his own groups such as Umlaut, Les Métamorphoses, Blue Yonder, Might Brank his solo and more recently Le Quadrivium, which has its roots in 14th-century secular music.

Emmanuel Scarpa is also involved with the groups Marteau-Matraque, SkullTone with Fanny Lasfargues, O.U.R.S (Clément Janinet), Red Desert Orchestra (Eve Risser), Parabolique (Claire Rengade), and the collectives Coax and La Forge.

He has recorded some thirty albums and written the music for three contemporary dance pieces for the Ben Aïm (Paris), Epiderme (Grenoble) and ALS (St Etienne) companies. Some of his compositions have been commissioned by institutions and ensembles such as the Quatuor Béla, Radio France, La Forge, l'Arfi, L'Ensemble Op.Cit and the French Ministry of Culture.

He has performed and/or recorded with Bruno Chevillon, Marc Ducret, Ellery Eskelin, Sylvaine Hélary, Magic Malik, François Raulin, Antonin Rayon, Bruno Ruder, Guillaume Orti, Dominique Pifarely.