Iwan B

Who is Iwan B?

Iwan Benead or Iwan B is a French-born musician with Breton roots. Born in Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, France on the 2 October 1984, the son of a professional musician, he began to study piano and music theory at the age of 5. At the age of 9 he joined the Academy of Music in Paris.

Benead graduated with a degree from the Paris Atla School of Music in 2004. In 2007, he gained his '3rd cycle' diploma at the Academy. He has toured with singers and played in concert halls such as the “7 Lézards,” “Le Baiser Salé” and “New Morning”. His family is originally from Brittany, and so in 2003, he began to learn Breton, soon becoming fluent in the language. He quickly came to like the musical qualities of his new language and began to compose songs in Breton, taking inspiration from modern genres such as Pop, Rap and Reggae.

He is currently working on his first album under the name of Iwan B, although still studying at the Academy. On the 31 May 2007 in Rennes, Brittany he won the third "Future of the Breton Language" award, in the "private individual" category. Two days later he won the first musical "springboard" award in Karaez on devezh ar brezhoneg.