Belgian guitarist Julien Tassin builds a prolific and expressive oeuvre around constant exploration and idiosyncratic originality. With a deep devotion to crafting strong, lyrical melodies and cinematic themes, he has carved out a distinctive musical landscape that draws inspiration from diverse genres including blues, free improvisation, rock, folk and jazz. Julien’s exploration of the instrument is equally distinctive: he uses often uncommon tunings to create a musical language that defies convention and prepares the instrument with objects like pens and strings to broaden its expressive range. Through his compositions and improvisations, the inexhaustible urge to push boundaries and a search for the essence is the common thread.
“Julien breaks through the musical boundaries of jazz, rock and classical music. He brings his own story, averse to frills and of a serene but direct authenticity.” – Jazz & Mo’
In December of 2024, Julien Tassin released his fourth solo album, “Wild Around”. This album follows the thematic footsteps of his previous solo venture, “primitiv” (2022) delving deeper a raw unique approach of the guitar. “Wild Around” focuses on the inner shadows and doubts that haunt humanity, reflecting both the doubts that people harbor about themselves and Julien’s personal uncertainties about the state of the world we inhabit.
Since the onset of the Covid pandemic, Julien has keenly observed the prevalence of mental struggles in the world around him. These observations have profoundly impacted his music, resulting in emotionally charged compositions infused with rhythm and rawness. This new album brings together melody and radicality, beauty and roughness, mirroring Julien’s perception of living as a human being in modern times. “Wild Around” is an ode to life in our tumultuous world at this particular moment.
Wild Around was released on December 6 by Challenge Records. In the first months of 2025, Julien toured extensively throughout Flanders and Brussels in collaboration with Jazzlab. Now, he continues to tour with the new album.