Albin de la Simone was born in Amiens, in the Picardy region, on December 1970. He owes his interesting surname to his native region (La Simone being a local river there). Music played a major role in Albin's life from an early age. His father was a jazz clarinettist and, under his guiding influence, young Albin began practising his scales and mastering the rudiments of this highly technical style. Growing up with his sister in the family home in Montigny sur L'Hallue, Albin developed promising musical talent as a pianist and he went on to study the instrument at home over the next three years.

Meanwhile, Albin's mother also exerted an artistic influence on her son, handing on her taste for art and literature. Between piano lessons, Albin was often to be found tucked away in a corner devouring books by Boris Vian. Albin displayed a real talent for drawing in his early teens and went on to study at an art school in Belgium. By the age of 17, he had graduated from the school with a degree. After this, he decided it was time to move to Paris and turn his attention to his first love, music. He enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire, for a course in "Orchestras and Arrangements", and spent the next few years honing his talent alongside singers who had trained at the "Studio des Variétés."

Albin began accompanying a young singer by the name of Clara Finster while at the Conservatoire. And the pair's collaboration would last a further six years (even though at the outset it had been planned as a temporary arrangement for sixty concert dates). In those days, Albin had one single goal in life: he had his sights firmly set on becoming a jazz musician. But in 1998, Albin met the musician and arranger Jérôme Goldet who introduced him to several leading pop singers of his generation including the two Matthieus: Matthieu Chédid (aka "M") and Matthieu Boogaerts. These encounters acted as a veritable catalyst on Albin, who found himself wondering why he should persist in trying to break through in the hermetically closed jazz world when there were so many other exciting musical horizons to explore.

Albin finally decided to cut his ties with the jazz world and try his hand at something new. And he soon found himself inundated with offers of work. Female vocalist Nina Morato was the first artist to call upon his services, and she was soon followed by a number of other leading singers such as Matthieu Boogaerts, Jean-Louis Aubert, Alain Chamfort, Angélique Kidjo, Adamo and Arthur H. Malian star Salif Keita went even further, engaging Albin to accompany him on an extensive world tour!

Encouraged by the reaction of his peers, Albin received a further boost in self-confidence when Alain Souchon, one of his music heroes from the older generation, invited Albin to support him at a series of concerts in 2003. Albin took to the stage with his piano and played a series of acoustic sets, presenting compositions that would later appear on his debut album. These received such an enthusiastic response from audiences that Albin eventually quit his concert dates with Souchon to go into the studio and put the finishing touches to his album.

Albin de la Simone's eponymous album was finally released on 16 September 2003. And the singer-pianist paid tribute to Souchon, inviting his former music idol into the studio to sing with him on one track. Souchon (whom Albin affectionately describes as a "hundred-year-old dandy" on his song "Patricia") appeared to have had some influence on the album, especially where the songwriting was concerned. Albin's lyrics were infused with the same quirky humour as Souchon's and set to finely crafted melodies which showed considerable musical maturity for a debut. Other guest artists on the album "Albin de la Simone" included the singer Feist (who provided vocals on "Elle aime") and Albin's old friend, M (curiously equipped with a banjo on "Ton pommier.") Overall artistic coherence was assured by producer Renaud Letang (renowned for his work with the likes of Alain Souchon and Manu Chao).

Albin hit the live circuit shortly after the release of his album, initially as a support act to the singer Cali. He then went on to make appearances in his own name at the Francofolies music festival in 2003, both the one staged in Montreal and the one staged in France at La Rochelle. One of the highlights of his performance in La Rochelle was a duo with Jeanne Cherhal. Indeed, the pair brought the house down with their version of "Ces mots stupides", the adaptation of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's "Somethin' Stupid", revived on the soundtrack of "Moulin Rouge" the previous year by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman. (Incidentally, Sacha Distel had already scored a hit in the French charts with the French adaptation). Albin and Jeanne's collaboration proved such a success that the pair decided to record the duo together and it featured on Albin's second album "Je vais changer."

One might think that bringing out an album entitled "I'm Going to Change" implied a certain change of musical direction, but Albin de la Simone subverted everyone's expectations. The album, released on 3 May 2005, featured a dozen new songs (including a cover of the Edith Piaf classic "Elle fréquentait la rue Pigalle") that stuck to the quirky offbeat style he had made his own. The only real evolution in musical terms was the presence of guitars, which had barely featured at all on his debut album. A few new sounds also crept in on songs such as "Avril 4000", "Demonia" and "Notre homme." If Albin had changed at all, the changes were definitely for the better.

Meanwhile, as his own solo career continued to go from strength to strength, Albin continued to step in and help out many of his old friends as a keyboard-player. He joined Raphaël in the studio for "Caravane" (an album that went on to become one of the best-sellers of 2005) and also featured on Matthieu Boogaerts's "Michel." Albin provided keyboards on Monsieur Clément's debut eponymous album and also accompanied Jipé Nataf on the "Oh ! Hé ! Hein ! Bon !" compilation (released as a tribute to Nino Ferrer). In the summer of 2005, Albin resumed his concerts on the festival circuit, appearing as one of the headlining acts at the Francofolies in Montreal in July.

Other highlights amongst Albin's collaborations since 2000 include guest appearances on albums by Myrtille ("Murmures") and Jipé Nataf ("Plus de sucre"), Jean Louis Aubert's compilation "Comme on a dit" and the latest offerings by Adamo ("Zanzibar") and Alain Chamfort ("Le plaisir.")

Albin de la Simone kicked off an extensive French tour in the autumn of 2005. Tour dates included a gig at the Parisian venue La Cigale (10 November). 

In 2006, Albin de la Simone stepped behind the studio controls once again to produce Jeanne Cherhal’s album "l'Eau" (released in October of that year). In November 2006, the pianist got involved in Louis Chédid’s album and stage musical "Le Soldat rose," joining a host of music stars and musician friends (including M and Vanessa Paradis) live on stage at Le Grand Rex, in Paris. Albin de la Simone played the role of Cousin Puzzle in this fantasy tale set in a children’s toy shop. In 2007, Albin de la Simone teamed up with Vanessa Paradis once again, contributing a number of arrangements to her new album, "Divinidylle", and accompanying the French pop diva on tour.

Meanwhile, Albin de la Simone also found time to work on his own personal projects. In July 2007, Albin finally went into the studio to record his third album, "Bungalow!", so called because previously he had jetted off to spend a month alone on the Indonesian island of Bali, shutting himself away in a bungalow to write lyrics, work on arrangements – and even record the high-pitched backing vocals used on the final mix of his album!

By the time he returned to France, Albin had already completed 80% of his material. All he had to do now was hone his songs to perfection with his bunch of loyal musician friends: bassist Pascal Colomb, drummer Philippe Etressangle, guitarist François Lasserre and percussionist Fabrice Colombani.

"Bungalow!", which finally arrived in record stores on 14 April 2008, revolved around simple, pared-back production and tongue-in-cheek lyrics (which were deliberately less downbeat and autobiographical than on his more melancholy-sounding previous albums).

A week before the official release of “Bungalow!” fans got to hear Albin de la Simone on a collective concept album, “I Want You” by “The Wantones” (which also featured contributions from Jipé Nataf and Philippe Etressangle). The album, released on the French label Tôt ou Tard, revolved around different versions of "I Want You" recorded by everyone from Bob Dylan to Dean Martin and the heavy-metal band Kiss.

April 2008