SOLEIL (vinyl)

Description

Between a Japanese archipelago and an injunction to love in Italian, we still do not know the true origin of the Geneva trio’s name... The same goes for their music: unclassifiable. Between dance hall, afro pop, guayla, dub reminiscence and Middle Eastern sounds, AMAMI carves out a unique path in the musical landscape of Geneva, Switzerland and beyond. Founded by keyboardist and bassist Inès Mouzoune, Raphaël Anker (Imperial Tiger Orchestra) on EVI, percussion and drum machine, and Gabriel Ghebrezghi on vocals and casiotone, AMAMI is above all a space for meeting and experimentation. Between several origins, Eritrean for Gabriel Ghebrezghi, Italian and Swiss for Raphaël Anker, Bulgarian and Moroccan for Inès Manzoune, their sound also fuses different musical sensibilities: electronic, traditional music, dub and experimental. With Giant, an EP released in September 2019, AMAMI laid the foundations of a borderless universe that unashamedly fuses dance hall, tropical rhythms and intoxicated dub. After a few promising dates, including a notable appearance at the Transmusicales de Rennes, the trio was slowed in its momentum by the situation we all know... It took more than that to stop them! In just a few weeks, the band composed and recorded their first album, Soleil. A studio session with the feel of a retreat, far from the gloomy atmosphere of empty and silent stages. Their album Soleil is a raw gem, a pop, street and terribly modern soundtrack led by a band on fire. Furious claps, hypnotic rhythms, deep bass, sharp synths and vocals with soul and pop accents create a strange cocktail, a frenzied post-modern dance. In The City, Soleil, with its relentless beats, best embody the band’s urban sound, where dance hall, pop choruses and electrified shouts intertwine. On Highway Dehli and Atlas, the band’s musical roots come through: North African rhythms, verses in Trigrinia and those synth and EVI leads that recall the flights of Oumar Souleyman, Mammane Sani or Hailu Mergia. Fresh and its refrain worthy of Sade Adu, the airy Mystery and the furious Sempre Tu sung in Italian lean into a strange mellow and pop languor, yet always terribly bouncy and exciting. In this unstoppable construction, Dangerous Flower and its Scientist-style mix provide the dub touch that completes the work. Definitely, Soleil stands out as the soundtrack to a dance floor that is just waiting for its finest dance moves!