Artist page

Charles Duvelle was a French composer, pianist, and musicologist, renowned for his extensive career in traditional music recording that spanned forty years. Born on 28 March 1937 in Paris, he spent his childhood in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia before studying piano and music at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1959, Duvelle joined the Société de radiodiffusion de la France d'outremer (SORAFOM), a public broadcasting service, where he produced radio programs focused on African music. The organization was later renamed Office de coopération radiophonique in 1962. Duvelle traveled extensively across many African countries as a special advisor, recording traditional musicians with the support of local broadcasters and providing them copies of their performances. In 1962, he founded the Ocora label, which grew to become one of the most significant catalogues of recorded traditional music. In 1974, he moved to the USA to compose music for films and collaborate with synthesizer manufacturers. He returned in the 1990s with the Ocora Series, which was licensed to release remastered versions of the back catalogue along with new exclusive material. Duvelle passed away on 30 November 2017 in Paris, France.

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