Young French artistes in City of Lakes

Young French artistes in City of Lakes
Bhopal, June 17:
Five young artistes from France are in this City of Lakes to showcase their talent that is inspired by jazz, gypsy and fusion music.
''This is our first international tour. So far the experience has been good. The Mumbai crowd enjoyed thoroughly by dancing to our tunes whereas in Chandigarh people went into a trance,'' Guillaume Marin -- who plays bass in the group named Sam Smala.
Music buffs are in for a treat as the group is to perform later today at the multi-art centre Bharat Bhavan. The concert is being organised by Alliance Francaise de Bhopal and Indo-French Cultural Centre with support from the French Embassy.
''We organise these kind of events often to promote Indo-French culture. People in Bhopal like Jazz and response is generally good.
As far as logistics is concerned, Bharat Bhavan supported us,'' said Rita from Alliance Francaise that also organises exhibitions at least once a month.
Smala is a word that comes from North Africa and means family.
Guitarist Samuel Strouk performed his first solo concert at the Beaux Arts de Lima Auditorium at the age of 26. In 2008, he worked on three albums and along with other musicians composed and recorded musical scores for films and documentaries. He is the composer, arranger and singer of Carhabana -- an amazing fusion of Cuban jazz and Manouche jazz.
Marin studied saxophone and classical music for a decade at the Conservatoire de Montpellier. Later, with the help of the electric bass he explored other musical styles including jazz, funk and flamenco.
Drummer Quentin Braine lives in Paris and plays with various formations.
Mathias Levy, who handles the violin and guitar, was awarded the first prize for violin and Chamber music at the Conservatoire de Raincy in 1999. The musician has performed more than 400 concerts with the group Caravan Quartet and has toured Turkey, Cuba and Pakistan.
Of Indonesian origin, singer Serena Fisseau is a polyglot singer who launched the group Bahasabe that has performed at various places across the globe and also released three albums. The singer teaches music and conducts workshops regularly in France.