INTERVIEW : THE JOUBY'S
Interview by : Sébastien Jobart
Pictures by : DR
on Friday, March 05th 2010 - 7 446 views
One guitar, three voices, and harmony as the leitmotif: The Jouby's have adopted a Jamaican speciality, itself inspired by the great American soul groups.
To our knowledge, they are today the only French vocal trio.
Their first album, "London Busking", which has just come out, punctuates five years of gigs. They also accompanied the Wailers on tour at the end of February. We meet Jonathan, Guillaume and Quentin.
Reggaefrance / The Jouby's have existed for five years. How did the adventure start?
The Jouby's / Quentin: All three of us joined a contemporary music school in Bordeaux, the SIAM, on the vocal course. We were funded by the mission locale. We ended up as five singers (two girls, three boys) and we became mates before even imagining we could work together. In the dynamic of the school, we tried to harmonise to enrich what we were asked to do. It's the harmony that really brought us together, this idea of enriching a melody with harmony. One day, we formed the band, and we started by covering the great standards, as a trio.
Jonathan: Rocksteady standards, so often soul standards already covered by the Jamaicans. We also did rocksteady covers of certain tracks, soul of course, but also Keziah Jones for example. The idea was to build up a repertoire quickly. Because we got offers before we'd really rehearsed. They were vocal open stages, every week in Bordeaux.
The album is clearly vintage (sound, sleeve, costumes). Is it the music you like or the music you grew up with?
Guillaume: It's the sound we like, the warm sound of the 60s and 70s.
Quentin: It's something we wanted to put forward on the album. We recorded in analogue, on tape, like back then. It gives a vintage colour. Back then, lots of groups like the Temptations, the Four Tops or the Pioneers were formations built around the voice and had incredible outfits.
We imagine the studio equipment was old-school too.
Quentin: We recorded at the La Trappe studio in Toulouse. It's as if “Vintage” were written on the door. There are only microphones from the 1940s, Melodium ribbons... It has an incredible colour.
Jonathan: It's a more dynamic, warmer sound.
Guillaume: And all the instruments are one-shot.
 Un jour, on a monté le groupe, et on a commencé par reprendre les grands standards... 
Why London Busking (singing in the street, Ed.)?
Jonathan: Because we're quite drawn to that side of the Channel. We all listened to Aswad, Steel Pulse or the Beatles... The song on the album is inspired by a trip to London where I myself tried to sing in the street, which was a resounding failure. In London there isn't really a street culture, people don't give. You need a licence, a permit to play in the street, like at Covent Garden, and you're paid, you don't play for coins. We wanted to give the album that name because we wanted to get closer to all those English references. There's also that idea in the artwork.
You sing in English on a good part of the tracks; does that come from there too?
Quentin: There's a cultural side: 90% of the music we've listened to and hummed is songs in English. When we compose, English comes naturally, it's more natural.
Did you force yourselves a bit to do it in French?
Quentin: Not forced, no, but it's true that it's rarer. It's often the melody that determines the language, and so the colour. But English is our musical culture.
Guillaume: And it's what works between us. At the start that's how we began, with covers. Even though we don't master it that well, we sing it better than French for now, I think.
Quentin: It's easier to make it groove, too.
How has your music evolved?
Quentin: It changed with composing. Before, we did lots of covers. But neither Guillaume nor I have a very reggae background. I come from soul and blues, he has more of a rock background. And it's the mix of all that which gives it a punchier, more dynamic side.
A word on the Jamaican scene?
Jonathan: We really liked Rootz Underground. The guys really write beautiful songs, it's reminiscent of Steel Pulse.
Guillaume: Let's say the dancehall phenomenon is a bit hard to stomach.
Jonathan: Today, what I like is Bitty McLean, Christopher Ellis...
Which artists would you like to sing with?
Guillaume: We wanted Christopher Ellis, precisely, but he was on tour. A big dream would be Ken Boothe.
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