AKODA – French Creole - JAZZ BAND 

FROM – REUNION ISALAND & FRANCE 

LINE UP:

Valérie Chane Tef : Piano, voice & compositions

Franck Leymerégie Percussion & backing vocals

Benjamin pellier Bass & backing vocals

This is "their sound": the one that the three accomplices of AKODA have been refining for a decade, taking us enthusiastically into Creole ballads that make up their identity and their contagious joie de vivre. With their voices leading the way, they sing Reunionese, Guadeloupean, Martiniquean, or invented languages. It is a living tradition that the group reinvents and transmits to us with its jazz signature: beating hearts, dancing bodies, and present emotions.

Valérie Chane Tef : Piano

Pianist-composer from Reunion Island, Valérie Chane Tef started playing classical piano at the age of 7. It is through jazz and Creole music that she develops her career. Inspired by many artists such as Omar Sosa, Alain Jean-Marie, Tânia Maria, Danyèl Waro, Valérie stands out by composing "optimistic" and catchy melodies telling us stories, her story without necessarily putting words to it. We find in her universe all the influences she is nourished with, coupled with a rich cultural heritage. In this new album Nout'Souk, Valerie brings new sounds to the trio by singing in Creole on some tracks.

Benjamin Pellier : Bass

bassist and percussionist who has been very present on the Bordeaux scene for the past 20 years, has developed a truly intuitive way of playing, off the beaten track, a solid groove and a warm sound. Lulled by the Congolese rumba, the calypso of Trinidad and Tobago and also marked by artists like Frank Zappa, it is this mixture of influences that defines his musical personality.

Franck Leymerégie : Percussion

An eclectic and versatile percussionist, Franck Leymerégie became passionate about the music of the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean at a very early age. Through his encounters and rich collaborations with artists from all horizons, he has built his musical universe, at the crossroads of genres, between tradition and modernity. It is with his percussion set that we find him with AKODA, developing an inventive, fiery and intimate game at the same time, bringing an originality and a unique sound to the trio.