Teacher Jekyll was originally an experimental studio project launched by Olivier Corre, a producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ from Nantes who wanted to mix Latin and tropical musics with electronic sounds and more urban rhythms (hip hop, dubstep, kuduro…). The aim was to give a fresher sound and more energy to traditional forms without changing their musical core…After the releasing of the first album Otro Sonido, Olivier Corre decided to play it on stage. He first set up a trio : he was at the keyboards and machines, Charlotte Meas played the saxophone and the flute and Etienne Daunay aka Dj Don‘s did the scratching. The singer Monica Pereira quickly joined them and they gave many concerts in Nantes and around. By word of mouth they were encouraged to give more and more live performances which strengthened their energy on stage and their ability to move crowds only too happy to dance and sway on this warm world-fusion music.
When on stage, the band likes inviting different artists for wild jam sessions. Olivier Corre did the same when he started to record the second album Mercado. Teacher Jekyll wants to be both cosmopolitan and intergenerational therefore you can hear on that record Marcia Maria, the great Brazilian singer who invented the samba funk style, the American musician Mellow Man Ace, brother of Sen Dog from Cypress Hill who is called ‘godfather of latin rap’…
That album was heard by Claude Lebourgeois who is the musical programmer of Colmar Wine Fair festival. He then invited the band to play the first part of Manu Chao‘s concert in 2016… It was a great concert in front of 10000 people and even Claude was surprised by their performance : « It’s the first time I’ve ever seen in my whole career a first part set the stage on fire with such energy and passion !… »
The following year, the band was invited to play in several festivals.
Monica Pereira chose then to leave the band to boost her own solo career, she was replaced by the great Cuban singer Anais Ramos who quickly took in the musical universe while retaining her strong personality and passionate nature.
It’s now time for the band to take a break for their third album. On this record, they welcome new artists they met on stage like the Portuguese Maxito or Cape Verdean Jowest… However, in keeping with the idea to mix generations, they also recorded Sam Alpha, a Martinican, well-known for his French creole version of Georges Brassens’s songs and Flaco Nunez, founding member of the band Orishas.
This album follows the original spirit of Teacher Jekyll and mixes tradition and modern sounds. It a generous, festive yet profound record which was inspired by Cape Verdean musical styles (funana, morna…) as well as Brazilian (bossa nova, sambal) or Cuban ones…
A modern tropical music without borders !
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INFORMATION
Facebook: teacherjekyll
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/veev-com/sets/teacher-jekyll-ondas
Live videos:
@ Colmar (opening act of Manu Chao)
@ Les Tropicantes
