"Musique pour Herbes Folles" - Cycling across France with an acoustic piano on a trailer

Björn Gottschall, pianist and composer, brings his piano beyond traditional concert halls, creating immersive performances in breathtaking outdoor settings — by the sea, mountains and forests. With each location, he seeks to connect his music with the natural surroundings, crafting a unique blend of sound, atmosphere, and ambiance, where audiences experience a profound harmony between music and nature.

In the summer of 2024, Björn embarked on a somewhat crazy project: cycling across France from Rennes to Marseille with his piano. He was driven by a dual purpose: to share his musical world and to draw inspiration from the journey to create an album. Along the way, he met with locals, crafting moments of poetry in unexpected places.

Each concert became a unique sonic experience, shaped by the nuances of the location, the weather, and the emotions of the moment. This music seamlessly blended with the atmosphere around it.

"Musique pour Herbes Folles" unfolded as a modern musical adventure, rich in facets and an artistic exploration that transcended the traditional boundaries of musical performance.

In numbers:

1400 km by bicycle with his piano
Over 3.5 million plays on music platforms (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.)
Over 10,000 followers on social media (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook)
Over 100,000 views on YouTube
An average of 2,000 views per "Reel" post on Instagram

Video diary

The journey

This unprecedented journey began in Rennes (the city where he lives), crossed the Loire Valley, the Berry Canal, and followed the Rhône River, eventually ending in Marseille. Over the course of 28 days, Björn offered a variety of concerts, whether in the open air, urban settings, or in the heart of nature. The goal was to present his music always in harmony with the environment, allowing the music to adapt and live flexibly, grounded in the present moment.

The piano

Björn set off with his piano, modified in his own unique way. He had never liked the glossy black finish of traditional pianos or the addition of white plastic on the keys. To him, these elements symbolized the elitist conventions of classical music, conventions he refused to conform to.

By altering his piano unconventionally, removing all non-essential parts in an absolutely minimalist approach, he expressed his own sense of creative and intellectual freedom.

The music

Björn envisions his music as a fluid, ever-moving substance. Each performance is unique, adapting to the specific context and moment. He seeks patterns, formulas, and methods that allow him to improvise within carefully chosen frameworks, aiming to achieve freedom through structure and constraints. With these tools, he embarks on a journey to create and record an album he considers "sound snapshots" of lived experiences.

Björn studied at the jazz conservatory in Toulon, where he deepened his theoretical knowledge of harmony, immersing himself in the music of Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans. Drawn to jazz chord combinations and the sound of classical music, he freely blends influences from both genres.

Later, Björn turns toward minimalist music, exploring the works of Philip Glass and Steve Reich, which he finds to be a language better suited to expressing his own artistic ideas.