drums / percussion and sound art
because he’s curious and eclectic, Nicolas is in high demand: from songwriting to street theater, from jazz to experimental music, and even film concerts.
as a child, he got his start in his bedroom by banging on a plastic basin, then marched with the marching band in his small town in Normandy (France). From Napoleonic marches, he naturally moved on to studying the drums. At the public library, he borrowed an album by art blackey and the jazz messengers somewhat on a whim and was completely captivated by the sound of jazz drums and the art of improvisation. Later, he began learning classical percussion instruments (timpani, marimba, vibraphone, xylophone…). As a teenager at the turn of the last century, he was also deeply influenced by the industrial rock of einstürzende neubauten.
fFinally opening himself up to the world, he studied Iranian percussion under one of its greatest masters, Madjid Khaladj and deepened his understanding of jazz drumming under the renowned educator and researcher Georges Paczynski.
Since then, drawing on this training and as a true “noiseologist,” he plays percussion, of course, but also the Indian harmonium, pebbles, water, flowerpots, pianos and keyboards, electronic instruments, and even a bit of guitar. In fact, anything that can be used to create “a soundscape”!
In collaboration with other musicians, as well as dancers, actors, visual artists, writers, and poets, he has participated in numerous projects. He has performed from New York to Singapore, including St. Petersburg and all over France – in concert halls and at festivals, as well as in schools, prisons, hospitals, and on the streets – always driven by a desire to share with people
He never forgets that it all began with a plastic basin – purple in color – even though today nicolas lelièvre is “the percussionist in whose hands any object becomes a percussion instrument,”, according to a quote published in the newspaper libération.
He has appeared on numerous recordings, including a live concert album produced by france musique.
He is the artistic director of the cie des amis de fantomus (film-concerts) and is an associate artist with projects by the spark cie (theater and music), the cie ne dites pas non vous avez souri (jazz and free music), the Astragale Coopérative (spoken word and sound arts), as well as Piednu (new and experimental music).
He is also active in the band Quattrophage a leading group in « out of the box » music since the release of an album on the legendary Sordide Sentimental label in the mid-1990s.
Under the name drøm he leads a solo project that blends field recordings made during his travels with music that oscillates between avant-pop and imagined folklore.