Biography

Mathieu Schneider
flute, alto flute, bass flute, fluteR1, EWI

“Incredible”, “impressive”, “I'm speechless”... Here are some of the many comments left on the YouTube site by Internet users who have watched the “Beatboxing Flutes Loops” videos, published by Mathieu Schneider. On these stunning recordings, we discover the flautist who, using a looper, records himself in real time then replays on his own loops. Layer after layer, it transforms into a set of flutes all on its own. Even an entire orchestra, since with his single flute, he is able to marvelously imitate a bass or a set of percussions.

But as impressive as they are, these videos only represent a tiny part of the talent of the eclectic Mathieu Schneider. High-energy soloist in the electric jazz ensemble Inside Out, mischievous virtuoso in the humorous quartet Les Gais Lutrins or luxury sideman for saxophonist Georges Robert, he has also written and performed the soundtracks for various shows. A recognized and appreciated teacher, he is also a teacher at the Neuchâtel Music Conservatory, classical and jazz section, as well as at the jazz section of the Haute école de musique (HEMU) in Lausanne.

If Mathieu Schneider has a solid classical background, he has transcended it in favor of a resolutely personal and original style. Thanks to very rhythmic playing as well as vocal effects, this outstanding improviser offers a rather "muscular" approach to the instrument, which contrasts with the prettiness often criticized for jazz flautists.

In addition to the traditional C flute, this multi-talented artist also uses the alto and bass flutes. An insatiable experimenter, he was one of the first musicians in Switzerland, in 1988, to adopt the EWI (for Electronic Wind Instrument), a kind of electronic saxophone which allows you to control a synthesizer by blowing. In contrast, without a flute on a beach in Tuscany in August 2011, he cut a piece of reed with a wooden point and obtained an excellent primitive flute which connects him with the material and acoustic reality of prehistory. He shares the organic and captivating sound of this improbable instrument on stage and on the YouTube site. LeH

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“Incredible“, “impressive“, “I am speachless“... These are some of the numerous comments posted of the YouTube users, having viewed the videos “Beatboxing Flutes Loops”, published by Mathieu Schneider. On these sutnning recordings, one discovers the flutist who, with the use of a “looper”, records in real time, and plays on his own loops, layer after layer. In this way, he transforms himself into a flute ensemble. With his flute, he is able to imitate a bass or a set of drums. But these videos represent only a glimpse on Mathieu Schneider’s talent. Soloist of the jazz ensemble “Inside Out”, malicious virtuoso in the humor quartet “Les Gais Lutrins” or de luxe sideman for the saxophonist Georges Robert, he has also written and interpreted the sound tracts of various shows. Recognized and praised pedagog, he is professor at the “Conservatoire de musique neuchâtelois”, in the classical and jazz departments, and in the jazz department of the “Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne” (HEMU). Possessing a solid classical background, Mathieu Schneider and transcended this into a resolutely personal and original style.

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Thanks to a very rhythmic playing and the voice effects, this unparalleled improviser offers an assertive approach of the instrument, contrasting with the “lovely” way of playing often reproached to the jazz. He plays the conventional flute in C, and also alto and bass flutes. As tireless experimentalist, he was among the first musicians in Switzerland, since 1988, to adopt the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), a sort of electronic saxophone that allows to control the breathing by computer. As opposed to this, without a flute on a beach in Tuscany in August 2011, he has made a flute out of a reed, and has obtained an excellent primitive flute, that connects him to a material and acoustic prehistorical reality. He shares his organic and spellbinding sound of this improbable instrument on stage and on youtube. TheH