RFI Musique: As the music world prepares to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Celtic harp revival, you've just brought out Au-delà des mots – your 21^st album to date – which is entirely given over to the instrument. Why this sudden urge to delve back into your ancestral "sources" at the dawn of the 21^st century?

Alan Stivell: Well, apart from the fact that in Breton my name actually means "source", I felt I just had to pay tribute to the Celtic harp – an instrument which, as you said, will be celebrating the 50^th anniversary of its current revival in a few weeks' time! My father, who was an instrument-maker, made me a prototype of the Celtic harp – which had totally died out by the end of the Middle Ages - back in 1953. I was 9 years old at the time and in the immediate post-war period in France there was a real need to resurrect Breton culture. The revival really began with the bagadous, the traditional ensembles of Breton bagpipes and bombardes. And my father's approach was very much in the same spirit really - although maybe he was interested in a slightly more classical aspect of Celtic music. I think there's always been a sort of romantic dream attached to the Celtic harp somewhere.

RFI Musique: You use six different harps on your new album. What differentiates them?

Alan Stivell: Well, basically what I'm trying to do is carry out the same kind of musical experimentation with the harp as other musicians have done with the guitar or keyboards. Take the guitar, for instance, you'd never dream of comparing a nylon-stringed acoustic guitar with the electric model played by Jimi Hendrix. It's clear that they're two very different instruments. And it's the same with keyboards – the harpsichord, the church organ, the piano and the synthesiser are all radically different from one another. And what I'm trying to prove is that, to a certain extent, you can pinpoint the same differences with harps. On my new album I play everything from a classical harp and a harp strung with catgut to an electric harp with metal strings that doesn't have a soundbox… At the end of the day the strings are everything! The type of strings you use has an enormous influence on the sound you get from a harp and the way you play it.

RFI Musique: You've been militating for Celtic music for over forty years now –your first single actually dates back to 1959! So, in a sense, you're both an heir to the Celtic music tradition and responsible for passing it on to future generations. One might say Celtic culture's your real vocation in life…

Alan Stivell: For me, "Celtitude"is a passion which has infused and inspired me from an early age. I had a sort of revelation, a moment of real epiphany, in childhood, you know. When I picked up the Celtic harp for the first time and played my very first note I was totally overcome, I felt like I was being swept along on this great tide of music. And I instantly wanted to find out everything I could about this new world. You have to realise that back in those days that world was more or less a forbidden one, too. Delving into Celtic cultures was something you had to do in secret because they'd been very much hidden under a bushel. Honestly, when I began to take an interest in Celtic music as a kid things were completely different in France. It was like people could barely bring themselves to admit that the Celts and their culture had ever existed, as if ever since Roman times anything to do with the Celtic world was seen as a threat or a menace!

I always felt a bit rejected by other people because of my Breton-ness, in fact. Even at school we were instilled with this weird image of Celtic civilisation, as if no-one had ever really tried to get to the bottom of it at all. But little by little the general mentality started to change and these days people have come to take a real pride in their ancestral cultures, be it in Brittany, Ireland or Wales. As far as my own musical mission in life goes, I feel my role is to promote our culture across the world so that with every day that passes it becomes a little better known.

RFI Musique: Well, you've certainly managed to do that. You've become a regular fixture on the international scene these days, playing concerts as far afield as the United States, Canada or Australia. How do you explain the fact that you've been so successful outside traditional Celtic territory?

Alan Stivell: Well, I think it's all down to the original sound of my music. That's what really makes people sit up and take notice! For a lot of audiences seeing a musician up on stage – and a Western musician at that! - playing this ancestral instrument completely solo is a very novel experience. And people generally have a surprising connection to Celtic music, you know. Take an American who's got Irish ancestors in his family, for instance, the sound of Celtic melodies really stirs something within him and puts him in touch with his origins. And Asians, Madagascans and people who've grown up with Berber culture will also pick up on something familiar in my music. It's funny, but the universal nature of Celtic music never ceases to amaze me! I see myself as one of the 'spokespeople' of defenders of this incredibly rich and fascinating culture and I'd say my international success is very much based on that.

RFI Musique: Throughout your career you've been a fervent campaigner for Brittany maintaining its regional identity. Do you think it's possible to support regionalism without falling into the trap of becoming insular and inward-looking?

Alan Stivell: The idea of regionalism being insular and inward-looking is such a cliché! It's such a complete fantasy! Let me tell you, apart from a handful of extremists, Breton 'nationalism' simply doesn't exist. People who defend Breton culture are all broad-minded people who've always been open to others. Just look at the geographical situation of Brittany for a moment. The region lies on the ocean which means it's naturally open to the rest of the world! I think it's time people stopped spouting such clichés!

As far as regionalism is concerned, I think it's simply a question of striking the right balance between affirming our cultural identity and integrating influences from the outside world. Personally, my own musical approach has always been based on a healthy form of curiosity in other cultures. Just listen to my albums or look at the different people I've worked with over the years – my music's always tried to turn round a complete 360° angle!

RFI Musique: But you are in favour of Brittany becoming a completely autonomous region with its own local government and Breton being taught in schools…

Alan Stivell: It's all a question of wording – and that, by the way, is exactly why I chose to call my new album Au-delà des mots (Beyond Words). What some people call autonomy, others call regionalism! What I'm talking about is a certain type of regional government which already exists elsewhere – in Germany you've got the "Lander", for instance, in Switzerland you've got the "cantons" and in Spain you've got separate provinces. You've got to have the maximum amount of power at each level for regional autonomy to function properly.

As for teaching Breton in schools, that's basically a question of terminology too. I'm not saying that learning our language in schools should be obligatory, because that's like rapping someone across the knuckles and saying "You'll do exactly as I say!"… On the other hand, I do think that teaching our culture in schools requires a minimum knowledge of the Breton language.

RFI Musique: You seem to have survived all kinds of musical evolutions, passing from your folk period in the 70s to integrating rock, electronic and symphonic influences into your work. What's the secret of your on-going success?

Alan Stivell: I've honestly no idea. The way I see it, music is a journey through time and space, it's a constant process of new experiences and discovery. Using Celtic culture as a base, I've tried to bring together very different worlds in my work such as 'scholarly' music and popular folk sounds, rural and urban cultures and in a way the past and the future too. In other words I've always sought to break down barriers, playing my own original kind of music which is intended to be timeless. Maybe that's why I've managed to survive! (Laughs)

RFI Musique: The public have shown a keen interest in Celtic music in recent years, but it's rarely given any kind of serious coverage in the national media. Is that a problem of Celtic sounds not being recognised in national music quotas on French radio?

Alan Stivell: I think there's a lot of ambiguity surrounding the subject – and I have to say I'm appalled! We're capable of packing out the Stade de France or a huge Parisian venue like Bercy and we sell literally millions of records, but we're still given a ludicrously small amount of airtime on mainstream radio or TV. I think there's a particularly big problem with radio programmers in France, too. They really need to review their professional code of ethics!

You know, it's estimated that there are 6 million people in France today who are of Breton origin. And yet this substantial proportion of the French population are denied the right to time or space on the national airwaves to enjoy their culture. I think that's an absolute disgrace!

Album: Au-delà des mots (Dreyfus/Sony Music)