Daniel Le Bras, who was born in the 1950’s, soon proved himself to be a talented singer, songwriter and composer. He also made a name for himself as a guitar virtuoso. Daniel got hold of his first guitar on his 13th birthday and promptly set about investigating the world of rock ‘n’ roll, playing along to songs by Cliff Richard and The Shadows. Young Daniel then went on to discover Bob Dylan and became a great fan of the American guitar hero Jimmy Hendrix. Sadly, rock'n'roll was not a popular subject in the Le Bras household - indeed, Daniel's father went so far as to ban his son from pursuing a musical career, packing him off to study catering instead. But the young teenager's passion for music remained the main focus of his life - and it would soon prove to be his destiny as well. In 1967, while on a training course in Benodet (Brittany), Daniel met up with the legendary Breton folk singer Alan Stivell who offered him a job as guitarist. Daniel did not have to think twice. Stivell introduced the young guitarist to Celtic music and Daniel soon developed a veritable passion for the traditional sounds of his homeland and after a hugely successful concert in 1971, the pair set off on an extensive international tour, playing dates in Europe, North America and even Australia.

In 1972 Dan Ar Braz formed his first group, Mor, and started creating his own style of music, fusing traditional Celtic sounds with rock influences (such as the famous American group Crosby Stills et Nash). After recording an album together the members of Mor decided to go their separate ways and Dan Ar Braz went on to perform with the legendary Fairport Convention in 1976. But the following year Dan Ar Braz decided it was time to branch out on his own and went into the studio to record his first solo album. "Douar Nevez" was an interesting and innovative fusion of traditional Celtic music and very modern-sounding guitar rock.

Dan Ar Braz returned to the studio in 1978 to record a second album entitled "Allez dire à la ville", which was closely followed by his third album, "The Earth's Lament" in 1979. Dan Ar Braz then ventured into new musical territory, recording an album of guitar music which was entirely devoted to Irish music. This album, "Kicking Mule", was released on an American label.

Dan Ar Braz embarked on a European tour in 1981 to coincide with the release of his new album, "Acoustic". This time the guitarist chose to tour alone, but shortly afterwards he would hit the road again, performing as part of a blues/rock trio.

Between 1984 and 1987 Dan Ar Braz concentrated on his live career, performing at least a dozen tours in the States. (At this point in his career the French guitarist was still signed to an American label). In 1985 Dan Ar Braz went back into the studio to record a new album entitled "Musique pour les silences à venir" (Music for the Silences To Come). This highly accomplished album, which found the French guitarist at the very height of his talent, was a purely instrumental work - which perhaps explains why several music critics promptly labelled the work as "New Age".  

At this point in his career Dan Ar Braz began spending a great deal of time in the recording studio. 1988 saw the release of a new album "Septembre bleu", followed two years later by "Songs" (an album entirely recorded in English). In 1991 Dan Ar Braz continued his prodigious output, releasing the album "Frontières du sel", followed in 1992 by "les Iles de la mémoire" and the soundtrack of the film "Rêve de Siam".

1992 also proved to be a highly successful year for Dan Ar Braz on the live front. The organiser of the famous Festival de Cornouailles in Quimper (a music festival created in 1948 by the Breton writer Pierre-Jakez Hélias) commissioned the guitarist to create a special show fusing Celtic tradition with modern musical genres. Dan Ar Braz pulled out all the stops on this occasion, getting together a group of 75 musicians from Brittany, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The group, who became known as "L'Héritage des Celtes", performed at Quimper in July 1993, then went on to appear at Rennes the following year.

"L'Héritage des Celtes", who proved hugely successful with the public, went into the studio with Dan Ar Braz in 1994 to begin working on an album together. This album, simply entitled "L'Héritage des Celtes", went on to become an enormous hit, selling over 100,000 copies in more than ten different countries. A live album soon followed and went on to become just as successful, triumphing at the "Victoires de la Musique" awards shortly after its release. The success of these albums catapulted Dan Ar Braz to the forefront of the French music scene and in 1996 the Breton guitarist was invited to represent France at the 41st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1997 Dan Ar Braz recorded a new album entitled "Finisterres" which went on to become a major hit, selling 100,000 copies and earning the Breton star another gold disc. On 20 February 1998 Dan Ar Braz triumphed at the "Victoires de la Musique" a second time, winning Best Traditional Music Album of the Year for his new album "Finisterres". Dan Ar Braz and his group of 70 musicians embarked on a highly successful French tour in the spring of 98, playing to a capacity audience of 3,000 folk fans when they performed at Le Zénith in Paris (16 and 17 March) as part of the Saint Patrick Day's celebrations.

After many long and successful years performing with l'Héritage des Celtes, Dan Ar Braz brought the collaboration to an end in August 2000. Much to the disappointment of hundreds of thousands Celtic music fans world-wide, Dan Ar Braz and l'Héritage des Celtes gave their final concert together at the "Festival Interceltique" in Lorient.

With his exceptional guitar skills and his talent for fusing diverse musical influences Dan Ar Braz has made an important contribution to the French music scene. The Breton musician’s innovative work with "L'Héritage des Celtes" has also successfully promoted the idea of a united musical Europe.

Ending those years of collaboration, Dan Ar Braz moved back to his career as a solo artist and returned to the studio to record a new solo album. Released in January 2001, "La mémoire des volets" is quite a nostalgic piece, evoking the artist’s deceased friends and his childhood. Purely instrumental, it is mostly based on the guitar—the artist’s favourite instrument—accompanied simply by a bass-guitar, drums and a slight saxophone. With this album Dan Ar Braz distanced himself from Celtic music and The Héritage des Celtes, choosing to take his career on a more personal road.

Dan Ar Braz returned to the live scene in March 2002, accompanying Breton folk singer Gilles Servat at a series of mega-shows organised at the Stade de France to celebrate Saint Patrick's day.

The following year saw the release of a compilation of Dan Ar Braz’s recent albums. Then, in the autumn of 2004, the Breton musician got down to work on a new album of original material. When he first started work on the project Dan Ar Braz had intended to make this a purely instrumental album, but he finally came round to the idea of singing on it. The album "A toi et ceux" ended up with eight songs - two written by Clarisse Lavanant, two by Jean-Jacques Goldman and four penned by Dan Ar Braz himself (one of which was adapted in Breton by Loeiz Guillamot). Dan Ar Braz’s album thus became a sort of personal tribute to friends, colleagues and the people he had known, celebrating both the living and the dead.

The album’s release was followed by an extensive international tour on which Dan Ar Braz was accompanied live on stage by a group of six musicians. The tour finished up in July 2005, in Quimper, the musician’s base in Brittany.

March 2006 saw the release of a CD/DVD entitled "Frontières de sel" featuring live extracts from the Quimper concert in July 2005 and part of the famous "Héritage des Celtes" performance at the Paris Zénith in March 1998.

Dan Ar Braz released a new album entitled "Les perches du Nil" in March 2007. This new album found the Breton musician beginning to move away from his Celtic heritage and experiment with African influences after being inspired by Hubert Sauper’s award-winning documentary "Darwin’s Nightmare." Dan Ar Braz composed all the music on this new album himself and recruited the services of songwriter Clarisse Lavanant to pen half of the lyrics, penning the other half himself. Guest stars on this new African-influenced album included Guizmo from the group Tryo ("Pleure") and the Cameroonian singer Sally Nyolo ("Terres vertes unies vertes").

On 24 March 2007, Dan Ar Braz brought the house down performing at the special Saint Patrick’s Night celebrations organised at Bercy stadium in Paris.

July 2007