CHASSOL - FUNNy HOW? - Ludi Magister/Creature

Christophe Chassol is a French composer, director and musician with unique composition methods. He is the creator of unclassifiable albums/films/performances, which he calls "Ultrascores" — musical trips to the United States with Nola Chérie, to India with Indiamore, to Martinique with Big Sun and to Japan, and his latest film to date, Ludi, freely inspired by the novel the Glass Bead Game written by Hermann Hesse. Over the years, Chassol has also collaborated with a wide variety of international artists, including Frank Ocean, Solange, Jon Batiste, and the band Phoenix among others.

Funny How? is Christophe Chassol’s fifth album. While it builds directly on his work on “Ultrascores,” it also marks a turning point: a more contemporary sound, richer songwriting, and more explicitly political and social themes make Funny How? his most accomplished album to date. It’s also his most accessible: inspired by American stand-up comedy, Funny How? sounds like a joyful mix of all the musical styles that inspire the artist: soul, jazz, rap, musicals…

Thus, throughout the album, major stand-up figures such as Dave Chappelle, Marina Franklin, Dulcé Sloan, and Tiny Thickemz appear alongside emerging comedians filmed in smaller comedy clubs, composing a moving portrait of the new American scene. Drawing on archival footage and sequences shot for the project in New York and Chicago, and true to his principle of harmonizing reality, Chassol reveals its hidden score, replaying and developing it throughout a captivating approach. A major work, a choral, political, and deeply musical narrative emerges in the process.

When it comes to music, it was only natural that he turned to African-American artists from the Chicago scene: Vic Mensa, a cult rapper and activist with two million followers on Instagram (on the almost punk-inspired Stand-Up Like Richard, a tribute to the legendary Richard Pryor); D-Composed, a string quartet which actively promotes Black musicians in the world of classical music; and a choir led by the jazz artist Angel Bat Dawid, whom Chassol asked to improvise on two skits, resulting in the deeply moving Killed By Police. 

Live, the work unfolds majestically through a hybrid performance where music and images respond to and converse with one another. The sold-out premiere of Funny How? took place on April 17 and 18, 2026, at La Philharmonie in Paris.