Jean-Louis Murat

The poet laureate of contemporary French rock, Jean-Louis Murat is an enigmatic and reclusive figure who communicates with the world at large almost exclusively via his poignant and deeply elegiac songs. Born Jean-Louis Bergheaud, he spent the majority of his childhood at his grandparents' farm in remote Murat-le-Quaire; not only would the village's name later double as his creative alias, but its rural austerity would deeply influence his songwriting as well. Murat took to music early, often sitting in on tenor saxophone and cornet with his father's band. As a teen he consumed the literature of André Gide and D.H. Lawrence, eventually discovering American jazz and R&B. ~ Jason Ankeny