Exclusive Jericho and The Eburneans interview!

Jericho is a reggae musician I had the chance to meet in Paris last February by total coincidence. His music is rich of spiritual life values and reflects positive views on life.
He is the leader of a group called the Eburneans.
Rhythmic, dynamic, enthusiastic, Jericho and the Eburneans spread hope around the world with their reggae sounding rhythms.

More info about the gifted Parisian musicians can be found here.

1. What motivated you to get started in the music industry?

- Since my youngest age, I dreamt about expressing the richness and the values of African culture

2. What is the story behind your group’s name? What does Eburneans
exactly mean?

-Jericho is the name my grandmother gave me. It has a meaning of hope.
Eburnea is Ivory Coast’s ancient name (it recalls the whiteness of elephants’ ivory).
The Eburneans are the inhabitants of the Ivory Coast.

3. Who is your biggest musical source of inspiration?

-My biggest musical source of inspiration comes from the black diaspora

4. Which artists have you collaborated with already?

-I played in the first part of President Brown, a Jamaican artist at New Morning in Paris.

5. Define your music within a few words…

-My music is a mixture of African, Jamaican and Afro-European influences.

6. Could you give us a short presentation about your group?

My group is composed of five musicians:
*Jericho/ leader/ singer of the group, from Ivory Coast
*Jiré/ guitar and vocals/ from Ivory Coast
*Don Marques/ guitar bass, from Trinidad and Tobacco
*Djazz: keyboard and back up vocals, from Martinique
*Mister Jean, drums and back up vocals, from Haiti

7. A few words about your upcoming concert, on April the 26th, that will
take place in Paris?
Jéricho and the Eburnéans are due to perform on April the 26 th at Belleville, Paris, 35
bd de la Villette and afterwards on September the 19th, at l’Inattendu, 20 rue du Pré St Gervais.

8. What is the biggest challenge you had to face since you started making music?

The Eburneans were to perform at the Fête de l’Humanité in front of a huge public. It was very emotional for all of us.

9. Which artist (dead or alive, mainstream or underground) has earned your respect and why?

- The artist I respect very much is Alpha Blondy. He represents Africa with much dignity.

10. What are your songs about?

-My music tells about the history of Africa and contemporary political/ social issues.

11.How do you compose your music? what comes first: lyrics, instrumentals or beats?

-I first compose the lyrics with Jire, then comes the melody. We go on with the whole composition work afterwards and we put everything in place.

12. Besides reggae music, what kind of music do you listen to?

- I’m very fond of Jimi Hendrix’ pop music, James Brown’s soul music and Fela’s Afro Beat.

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