ARTICLE IN THE AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Acclaimed French-Algerian guitarist to tour Australia
By Cathy Alexander
CANBERRA, March 19 AAP -

Pierre Bensusan plays three instruments. His voice, his guitar. Then there's his voice and guitar together, which he says make a sound all their own. The acclaimed French folk singer, who is touring Australia for the first time in April, believes communication knows no linguistic or geographic boundaries. "The idea is to find yourself on the same chord of resonance with the audience, that way you can communicate with anyone," Bensusan says from his home in the countryside near Paris. He'll play the National Folk Festival in Canberra as well as gigs in Sydney, Melbourne, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. One thing you won't hear the brilliant Algerian-born guitarist do is sing in English. That's French only. But he's promising to explain his songs in English for his Australian audiences. "They're often stories of voyages, of absences, of love, of people who I miss and regret. "But there's no sadness; the music is luminous. There's nostalgia, often melancholy, but a lot of light. "When I tell a story, I want the audience to be completely taken in by the story, and I want to be taken in by it myself." Bensusan's tunes have a strong world music flavour, and range in style from jazz and folk to beautiful acoustic guitar solos. He claims it's a mix of Chinese music and country and western which - from a French-Algerian musician - is certainly quite a blend. He's an improviser who doesn't play the same tune twice and finds it hard to stop playing. "Sometimes in music there is no later - it's here and now, that's helped me to change my music." Bensusan has toured extensively in the northern hemisphere but Australia is a new frontier. He knows about Crocodile Dundee, kangaroos and Aboriginal land rights. He knows it's a large country with few people in it. He is startled to hear it might be cold when he plays the largely outdoor National Folk Festival in Canberra over Easter. "What do you mean? Snow?" he asks. But he's relieved to hear there won't be any mosquitoes and he's looking forward to some good Australian wine. So any smitten guitar-lovers should wander up after his concerts - he never drinks beforehand - and offer him a glass.