Cesar Precio: the name could be that of a hero from a comic strip from your childhood. It could be the name of a forgotten soul singer you picked up in a vinyl bin. It could be a password. A riddle. Or none of the above. Or all of the above.

Cesar Precio is the new project of Parisian musician and composer Brice Lenoble, which he has brought to life with the release of his debut album, La suite logique des choses. Ten pop and orchestral songs, revealing a rich palette of sounds: brass, strings, keyboards, backing vocals, percussion and even ondes Martenot. Ten songs in French, dealing with our contemporary societies with finesse, depth and sometimes humour, like a panorama of the times.

Cesar Precio draws his musical influences from the 60s and 70s, from Curtis Mayfield and Ennio Morricone to Gil Scott-Heron and Shuggie Otis, but his issues are very much of our time.

From chosen solitudes to imposed social relationships, from self-presentation to letting go, from individualism to fusion love, his songs poetically question the way we live in the modern world. “I seek the eternal and the ephemeral at the same time”, said Georges Perec. This could also be Cesar Precio’s motto.

To make this first album, Brice Lenoble chose to take his time, against the current of flashing social networks and frenetic singles releases. Time to compose, arrange and refine a sound all his own. Time, too, to surround himself with the right people: among the thirty or so musicians who collaborated on the album are some established names – Alexia Gredy, Émile Sornin (Forever Pavot), and Pierrick Pedron (winner of the 2021 and 2023 jazz awards). The album was recorded and produced by Robin Leduc (Halo Maud, Julien Gasc, Gauvain Sers), and mastered by Philip Shaw Bova (Feist, Timber Timbre, Andy Shauf). Exchange, reflection and attention to detail are at the heart of Cesar Precio’s approach, which is both an intimate and collective project.

Now that you know who Cesar Precio is, all you have to do is get to know him. After all, it’s the next logical step.