Lazuli

Lazuli is a French progressive rock band from Deaux, France, active since 1998. The group’s sound is described as progressive rock and avant-garde rock, and its line-up includes Claude Leonetti, Dominique Leonetti, Gédéric Byar, Vincent Barnavol, Romain Thorel and Arnaud Beyney.

History

The band forms in 1998 and releases its first self-titled album, Lazuli, in 1999. That debut reaches only a limited audience. Its second album, Amnésie, follows in 2004 after the band signs with the Night & Day distribution group.

In 2005 Lazuli appears at the Montreux Jazz Festival and receives an award for “Under the Sky.” The band also plays the Baja Prog Mexicali Festival twice, which helps increase its profile. In 2007 it releases En Avant Doute..., issued through Musea Records and including a bonus DVD with a live recording of a concert in Nîmes from some years earlier.

Lazuli releases Réponse incongrue à l'inéluctable in 2009. Later that year, Sylvain Bayol, Frédéric Juan and Yohan Simeon leave the band to form a new project. Dominique Leonetti, Claude Leonetti and Gédéric Byar continue the group, and Romain Thorel and Vincent Barnavol join in December 2009. The new line-up performs live for the first time in May 2010.

Albums

The band’s discography includes Lazuli (1999), Amnésie (2004), En Avant Doute... (2007), Réponse incongrue à l'inéluctable (2009), 4603 Battements (2011), Dénudé (2011), Tant que l'herbe est grasse (2014), Nos âmes saoules (2016), Saison 8 (2018), Le Fantastique Envol de Dieter Böhm (2020) and 11 (2024).

Personnel

Claude Leonetti plays the Léode, an instrument he develops after injuring his hand in an accident. Other members include Dominique Leonetti on vocals and guitar, Gédéric Byar on guitar, Romain Thorel on keyboards and French horn, Vincent Barnavol on drums and percussion, and Arnaud Beyney.