Louis Aguilar, a 19-year-old French musician who composes mellow, minimalistic folk songs, has already made a name for himself by opening and performing with artists like Moriarty, Micah P. Hinson and Devendra Banhart, among others.

One of Aguilar's newest songs, "Six Feet Under," from his latest LP, Old Man Poems (released by Noize Maker Records), is a nearly eight minute long track that will get stuck in your head for a very long time. Aguilar also provided us with another song, "Sailor Jerry," from his latest LP, available for purchase from Amazon.

Aguilar started playing music when he was merely seven years old, picked up the guitar at 11, and wrote, recorded and produced his first album, Hairly Tales, at the age of 16. He quickly gained an underground following throughout France, which paved the way for appearances with established artists.

While admittedly lofty comparisons, Aguilar's music has been likened to Townes Van Zandt and Bob Dylan by the French music webzine La Blogotheque. We were immediately struck at how mature Aguilar's voice sounds - far beyond his years - and couldn't help but to hear a likeness to M. Ward in his singing, with a sensibility similar to singer-songwriters like Nick Drake and the late Vic Chesnutt (RIP; look out for a special dedication to Chesnutt in the next few days). Aguilar told IRC: "I was a big fan of Vic Chesnutt. I am still really upset by his death."


Currently, Aguilar is majoring in Art at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, with the goal of becoming a tattoo artist; however, we hope he does not abandon his career as a musician. Thankfully, he plans to return to France and go back on tour after completing his schooling in Missouri.

He has recently begun writing new music, he told IRC. In response to a question about how he approaches his writing, Aguilar said: "I don't really have a songwriting process. It just kinda happens, you know. It sometimes comes from the melody, and most of the time from the story."

Aguilar's previous recordings before Old Man Poems were all released via Ohayo Records: Hairy Tales (2007), Green, Green is the Live (2008), Cloud Blowin' Child (2008).

"Six Feet Under" - Louis Aguilar from Old Man Poems (2009)*

"Sailor Jerry" - Louis Aguilar from Old Man Poems (2009)

Watch the YouTube video for "Short Stories"

Watch the Vimeo video for "Everlasting Sunshine and Queen Butterfly"

Louis Aguilar on MySpace
Aguilar's Homeless Heroes blog
Bad Panda Website

*Track is provided under Creative Commons licensing.

Labels: French Artists, Louis Aguilar, Singers and Songwriters