Bonbon Flamme’s name captures the imaginary
cocktail of delicate lyricism and high energy:
the French word bonbon means dessert, while
flamme stands for flame. In the music of
Calaveras y Boom Boom Chupitos, the avantgarde,
noisy sound of their first album has
been toned down to allow a more polished,
yet extremely spicy and intense musical world
come to the fore, inspired by Valentin Ceccaldi’s
experiences in Mexico.
“Humans are full of paradoxes and opposing forces.
They demonstrate, for better or for worse, limitless
creativity. This is what fascinates me in life, and it is
the starting point for the music that I imagine with
Bonbon Flamme”, says Valentin Ceccaldi, founder
of the band. In January 2024, Ceccaldi returned
home from Mexico full of inspiring experiences: the
vibrant colours of nature and streets, the acidity
of lemon, the sweetness of avocado, the fire of
chilli pepper, the omnipresent violence and death,
the relationship with ancestors and with religion…
These experiences are captured in the compositions
for Bonbon Flamme’s second album, elaborated
together with his bandmates. Childish melodies
and rhythms burst into a jungle of sounds, then
giving way to almost meditative, eerily beautiful
moments. Bonbon Flamme’s first album, released on
Clean Feed Records, was one uninterrupted flow of
improvisational music. This time, they have chosen
a slightly different approach: the avant-garde,
noisy sound has been toned down to allow a more
polished, yet extremely spicy and intense musical
world to come to the fore. The members of the band,
all of whom also lead their own ensembles, come
from different musical worlds but share openly with
each other who they are. In their hyper-colourful,
handcrafted collage, freedom, tenderness and wild
beauty come together in an experience that is at once
sour, sweet and spicy.
Bonbon Flamme’s founder, cellist Valentin Ceccaldi,
has long been considered one of the leading figures
on the French jazz scene, but in recent years he has
been gaining recognition across Europe with a growing
number of French and international bands, including
Kutu. He was a member of qÖÖlp and the Théo
Ceccaldi Trio, which he co-founded with his brother,
and was part of the first line-up of L’Arbre Rouge as
well. Most recently, their duo album with Leïla Martial
has won numerous awards and they were invited to
the jazzahead! showcase. After qÖÖlp, L’Arbre Rouge
and the Martial–Ceccaldi duo, this release by Bonbon
Flamme is the fourth BMC Records album he appears
on. Among his fellow musicians, Portuguese Luís Lopez
is the restless guitarist of the Lisbon Berlin Trio and
the Guillotine trio, keyboardist Fulco Ottervanger is a
stalwart of the Ghent jazz scene and De Beren Gieren,
while drummer Étienne Ziemniak knows the Ceccaldi
brothers from the Freaks and is active mainly in
French bands.