Born in
Lome, capital of Togo, a beautiful country in West Africa where there’s no
boundaries with regards to musical influences, I grew up listening to a
broad range of music including Jazz, Soul, Salsa, African Rumba, Zouk,
High-Life, Calypso, Soca, Gospel, Classical etc. Today, my way of life is
deeply inspired by music!
As
for Latin music, Cuban is the closest to my roots, however, great artists
such as Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, Celia Cruz, Fania All Stars, Eddie
Palmieri, Roberto Torres, to name but a few, have played an important part
in the music scene around Togo.
Blessed
with an ear for good sound, I was ready to study musical theories, but never
had the opportunity of any instrumental tuition until my father returned
home one day with an organ, part of the prize for winning the National
Ballroom Dance Championship. Instantly seduced, I started flirting with it,
developing self-taught skills by listening to records and reproducing them
on the keyboard. Later on I played the piano in Jazz Clubs, Piano bars and
with different bands until I moved to France where I created my own band.
That natural connection with music allows me to better understand its
various genres, thus interpreting them through my Djing.
In
1999, I got involved in Salsa in the UK, having primarily moved from Paris
to London working for a Financial Software Company. As my interest in the
dancing grew, I realized my Salsa music collection was fast increasing. With
a considerable bunch of ‘kicking’ CD’s, I wanted to share that great sound
with other fellow salseros.
During 2000/01, I played as a guest DJ in local Clubs in and around outer
London together with R’n’B, Jazz-Fusion and Zouk parties.
In
July 2002, the opportunity occurred for me to DJ with Salsa-UK at Bar Lorca
in Brixton, then as part of their resident DJ’s team playing regularly at
The Finca on Thursdays.
Shortly
after, in September, I was asked to play as an extra DJ at the first UK
International Salsa Congress. It was a great opportunity to portray my music
selection to a crowd from a diverse salsa style and background!
My Take on Salsa Djing.
Every
single gig I play must be unique! No crowd and atmosphere are the same,
hence my selection of tunes are always based on a deep observation of the
individuals present. This way I better feel the kind of infectious tracks
that would create maximum fun on the dance floor. I want people to say:
‘Mmmm… I like this one, let’s Dance!’
My
playlist tends to hold a well-balanced variety of styles in Salsa & Mambo
music with a rich blend of vocals and quality orchestration (e.g. Edwin
Bonilla, Tito Puente, Jimmy Bosch, Mamborama, Cal Tjader, Joe Arroyo, Grupo
Caribe, Mongo Santamaria, Africando, Manolito, Los Van Van, etc) and even
some old skool but timeless grooves which the following maestros and Bands
know the secret of: Johnny Colon, Tipica 73, Ray Barretto, La Sonora Poncena,
Louie Ramirez, Fania All Stars... They all share, primarily, a solid
danceable rhythm, nice melody lines, and are dance floor friendly.
