SALT, also known as The Salt Collective, is a French-American band that was formed in 2016 by songwriter Stéphane Schück (guitar), producer Ken Stringfellow (guitar), and Anton Barbeau (keyboards, lead vocals). Joined by bassist Fred Quentin and drummer Benoit Lautridou, they released their first album in 2019.
After reducing their lineup in 2022 to the Paris-based core of Schück, Lautridou, and Quentin, SALT collaborated with producer Chris Stamey and numerous guest musicians, releasing the 2023 album Life under the name The Salt Collective.
Contents
History
Founding and early years
Schück, Quentin, and Lautridou became friends during their high school years in Caen, Normandy, bonding around a shared enthusiasm for what Lautridou described as post-punk pop of the 80s and 90s. Lautridou recalled that they exchanged cassettes and vinyl of favorite artists such as The Clash. Lautridou was also very enthusiastic about Game Theory, and Schück about the dB's, while Quintin favored The Specials, XTC, and Madness.
As university students, the trio formed a band and continued to play together periodically while pursuing professional careers in medicine (Schück and Quentin) and education (Lautridou). By the 2000s, Schück had become a successful Paris-based physician specializing in public health and epidemiology. He recruited one of his musical idols, Scott Miller of Game Theory, to produce a demo recording for his band with Quentin and Lautridou, which was then called Swan Plastic Swan. Schück continued a friendship with Miller, and the two had co-written four songs together by the time of Miller's death in 2013.