Quetzal Members, identity and musical world

Christian Laur began playing at the age of 17 and spent nine years performing in several orchestras. During the same period, he wrote and composed for the stage production Walk Over.

He later composed much of the material for the band Gondwana and prepared a vinyl album with a producer, although the project was never released.

Christian also wrote a rock opera about Catharism. Later, as guitarist for Orphée, he signed a first album with Musea and contributed to a second release.

In 2013, he founded Quetzal with drummer Denis Louvel. As guitarist and composer, he remains central to the band’s evolving musical direction. A first Quetzal album was released through Musea Records in 2024, while a second album is currently in progress.

Influences: Antonín Dvořák, J. S. Bach, Genesis, Ange, Mona Lisa, Kansas, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Marillion, IQ and Harmonium.

Also known as Loulou, Denis Louvel has a jazz background and has played in many different musical environments. His experience includes jazz, rock, improvisational and experimental groups, soul and even musette.

As co-founder and drummer of Quetzal, Denis contributes a flexible and highly interactive rhythmic approach. His playing supports the band’s evolving structures while preserving the sense of movement, contrast and collective listening that characterises Quetzal’s compositions.

His rhythmic work helps connect the different sections of the band’s music, from intimate atmospheric passages to more powerful progressive rock developments.

Influences: John Coltrane, Gentle Giant, Yes and Léo Ferré.

A hard rock fan from a very young age, Daniel Borrego was especially influenced by Mötley Crüe and Iron Maiden. He began playing bass at the age of 16 with his first band, Black Hole.

At the age of 26, he returned to the instrument and developed his path through progressive rock, with musical references connected to Dream Theater, Symphonix and Angra.

Within Quetzal, Daniel provides a powerful and precise bass foundation. His playing supports the band’s evolving arrangements and contributes to the balance between rhythmic energy, instrumental depth and melodic development.

Influences: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice in Chains, Primus, Dream Theater, Symphonix and Angra.

Arno Richard started playing piano at an early age before discovering jazz and progressive rock. This encounter with improvisation and progressive composition became an important turning point in his musical development.

He joined Quetzal at the end of 2025, bringing new possibilities to the band’s arrangements through keyboards, synthesizers and Mellotron .

His contribution expands the atmospheric and symphonic dimensions of Quetzal’s music. The use of keyboards, synthesizers and Mellotron gives the band additional depth, colour and a distinctive sense of space.

Arno’s arrival gives him the opportunity to develop his musical identity within a progressive rock project built around collective composition and expressive arrangements.

Influences: Yes, Genesis, Dream Theater, IQ, Mystery, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report and A. C. Jobim.

Passionate about music since the age of ten, Thierry Lenoble listened extensively to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Who, Pink Floyd and Ten Years After.

Self-taught, he began playing guitar at the age of 30 in order to accompany his singing on covers of his favourite bands and on more folk-oriented material from artists such as Eagles, America and CSN&Y.

The three albums that marked him most were Who’s Next, Van Halen I and Dire Straits I. A Queen concert in Paris in 1978 also became a major musical experience. Thierry would later see the band twelve times and took part in the Freddie Mercury tribute at Wembley.

Alongside his acoustic project Acoustic Fire , Thierry joined Quetzal in March 2026 to bring a melodic vocal dimension to the band’s previously instrumental compositions.

Influences: Arena, Mostly Autumn, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Queen, Toto, Boston and Moon Safari.