Joris Clerté has been the mastermind behind Prudence since 1995.
Joris began recording in the suburbs of Poitiers, surrounding himself with several musicians who played drums, oboe, trumpet, violin, cello, etc., in order to create the musical arrangements he required for his songs .
In 1995, Prudence produced its first 4 tracks entitled, La Bonne Humeur, which presented its listeners with songs that oscillated between precious pop and emphatic folk. Prudence went on to sign a contract with music producer "Small," and to bring on board song-writer Emmanuel Enault.
In June 1998 the Prudence released their first, self-titled album – Prudence.
After performing a few concerts, Prudence found a new musical voice and began incorporating machines into the music, while maintaining a love for acoustic instruments. In 2003, Prudence (Joris Clerté, Emmanuel Enault, and Tantely Zafimehy) began their latest hi-fi adventures under the independent label “Téléscopic.” The second album, mumsmums, was structured around warm electronic instrumentals, and short songs featuring various singers (Armelle Pioline of Holden, Ed Combes, Bettina Kee and Joris Clerté) and influences (including Simon Jeffes, Mike Oldfield, Tortoise, Jim O' Rourke, To rococorot, Jacques Demy, Pascal Comelade and the trumpet of Herr Alpert).
Joris Clerté and animator Philippe Massonnet co-directed the music video of the song, “A tort ou à raison.” To this day, this video continues to be enormously successful when it is shown in festivals all around the world (it has received no less than 50 selections and 5 awards).
In December 2004, Prudence toured Chile along with the band Icalma.
Since 2005, Prudence has been working on a new album entitled Café Jambe.
Like the preceding album, Mumsmums, Café Jambe combines inventive instrumentals and sensational song-writing. The music uses South American landscapes as a starting point, and from there creates what Prudence calls a “Western spaghetti chilli sauce.” The songs deal with serious themes such as the settling of scores, lynchings, tarring-and-feathering, cold-hearted revenge, executions, racism, anachronisms, to which can be added non-sense and bad faith masquerading as the truth. The musical interpretation and the overall sound reinforce all the dark themes which are being addressed in the album. Hopefully, some careful listeners will come to realise how they can attain empathy and practise the love of one’s neighbour.
Café Jambe is expected to be released at the beginning of 2009.
Joris Clerté has completed a music video for the track Les Grands Chevaux, an imaginary animated Western in which Walter, a bandit, tries to escape his pursuer – a child pursuing justice on horseback. The film is full of exchanges between these characters, the child discovering Walter’s tricks always a little too late … until they reach an inescapable encounter.
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La bonne humeur |
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Objets fragiles |
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Prudence |
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Mums Mums |
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Café jambe |