In a city where jazz gigs are a rarity, music aficionados are in for a treat, as on Sunday night, French jazz band EYM, is all set to perform at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan.
“When you say EYM, it sounds a lot like ‘aime’, French for love. EYM is an acronym from the members in the band –Elie Dufour, Yann Phayphet and Marc Michel,” says Elie in an e-mail interview.
The band was formed in 2010 in Lyon, France, when the trio, all students of music, decided to start one. Their first performance was at the Lyon Opera House in 2011. The recital was well received and they were soon performing across Europe. “We played in all kinds of venues, small jazz clubs, pubs, theatres, festivals…wherever we could play. I think it was a good way to begin our career.”
The trio who grew up on the music of Joe Henderson, Christian McBride, Julien Lourau and so on says their love for jazz stems from the fact that the genre is versatile.
“Jazz is a demanding style of music that’s based on improvisation. You have to be creative. However, our music is not just jazz. In our compositions, there are influences from all parts of the world – the Balkins, North Africa, the Orient… The mix of all these genres creates a burst of colours.
“We often come up with asymmetric rhythms. In fact, the reason we formed EYM was to perform our kind of music. Some of the pieces are my compositions and others by Marc. We arrange the music together. As the three of us have different tastes in music, our personal tastes pop up in the pieces we play. For instance, Marc likes be-bop and pop-rock music, while Yann enjoys groove and hip-hop. I like jazz. We occasionally play covers, but it kind of becomes our own as we arrange the music around a lot. We have played songs by Duke Ellington, Michel Petrucciani and Radiohead. Music, I feel, is a great way to communicate with people. It’s also fun, travelling with your music and sharing it with people.”
Although, it’s not the kind of music most people would tune in to, jazz is rather popular in France, according to Elie. “There a lot of jazz musicians in France and we showcase our music on stages, festivals, radio shows…”
Genesi, their first album was released in 2013. “It is 90 per cent music. You can hear us humming in the background in some songs; like in ‘Break Astral’ for instance,” says Elie, who adds that they have just recorded a new album called Khamsin.
“We have two guest artistes performing in the album. Mohamed Abozekry from Cairo plays the oud and Marian Badoi from Romania plays the accordion. The album will be in the market in October.”
Apart from music, the trio bind over food, sports and partying. The fact that they share the same political and spiritual views helps too. An open communication helps them clear any misunderstandings. “The only time tensions mount is when we lack sleep.”
The band, which is holding its first tour outside of Europe is looking forward to their tour of India. Thiruvananthapuram will be their first gig in the country. “We will be playing the music from our albums and will try to embellish with some Indian flavours. In Ahmedabad, we will be arranging some Indian songs. Kathak dancers will be performing to the tunes. As music is universal, we are sure the audience will appreciate our music.”
EYM will be performing on July 17 at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan at 6.30 p.m.
