Bohemian Soul Songs

1. Life
2. If I Could Change the World
3. How Long
4. Almost There
5. Era Nova
6. Waiting My Life
7. On My Own
8. Without Love
9. Save Me
10. Wanna Live

Released in 2006, Jehro's first album, recorded "with three francs six cents in a small village in Provence with a computer and a compressor" turned out to be a surprise success. Thanks to the radio hit, Everything, album sales reached 150,000 copies. At that time, its formula, between pop and world music, took as much from Caribbean music (reggae, calypso, morna, mento, rumba) as it did from flamenco, the cha-cha-cha, soul, funk and electro. Five years later, Cantina Paradise took this unique mixture further, in which the beautiful veiled tone of the singer was accompanied by a nylon string guitar and a collection of percussion instruments. In 2012, the record was awarded a Victoire de la Musique in the category of world music.

In 2015, Jehro is back with Bohemian Soul Songs. A disc recorded in Los Angeles, under the guidance of the producer Mitchell Froom. "I was especially familiar with the work he had done for Suzanne Vega, and his productions with Chad Blake for a large number of artists from the independent scene," explains Jehro. From Crowded House to Los Lobos, Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson and Randy Newman, the Californian has lent his talent for sound to a number of classics from the 1980s to 2000.

"Mitchell is a lover of music with a very broad culture," says the singer, who spent many hours talking to his company before starting work on his songs. "There was something a bit like sympathetic resonance. " These two fans of organic sounds came together to make their first joint project something simple and beautiful. After hearing the first versions recorded by Jehro in his home studio, the American suggested building the track around his guitar, his voice and his lyrics. Assisted by David Boucher for the sound, Froom assembled a group of hand-picked musicians: Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello, David Crosby, Buddy Guy) on bass, Michael Urbano (John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, Willy DeVille) on drums, Val McCallum (Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt) on electric guitar, and the legendary Alex Acuna on percussion.

The album was recorded in the producer's personal studio in just six weeks. The string and brass elements were produced in the legendary Sunset Sound Studio. Between Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood, Jehro found the perfect landscape for his music. The songs seem to be drenched by the light that permeates the city, revealing the calm that you feel in this city where music flows so naturally. It's as if Jehro had taken the laid-back feel that reigns over California's finest musical achievements as his own.

For the self-taught Jehro, this American experience was highly educational. "Mitchell has done everything he could to make this little French guy feel at home. "It's the first time I've worked so comfortably with a completely new team," he explains. The track has been constructed from a simple and refined frame, with touches of impressionist arrangements. The Calder Quartet played strings on several titles, emphasising the soul element of the track Jehro's voice has never sounded better, sometimes taking on inflections worthy of Marvin Gaye. On keyboard, Froom knew just how to dress up certain parts while respecting the silence of the performer. "Much of what he suggested resonated with me. »

Full of an unprecedented sensitivity, the compositions on the album alternate between introspective themes and broader questions. "I followed the theme of the songs that came to me, in, what has to be said, was a very specific context," admits Jehro, explaining that, on a personal level, the last two years of his life have been pretty full-on. "I have a rather mysterious relationship with music: it is like a protective breath of inspiration that comes to help me in my most difficult moments"

From this personal re-assessment, Jehro has taken the most beautiful songs of his career, letting himself be guided by his own intuition. "Each time something happened, music came to me one way or another, like a kind of filter that enabled me to mitigate their impact, giving me a broader perspective at the same time. " Full of humanism, the lyrics co-written by the American Paul Breslin (collaborator of Manset) create a mood which is both more atmospheric and more intimate. A discreet and modest man, the author likes to leave the listener the work of deciphering.
From Life, the ingredients at work since Everything, the singer's first record, are in place, magnified by the fluidity of the interpretation and production. With its Utopian message, If I Could Change The World gives us the soundtrack of an ideal life, where kindness and tenderness triumph over the trials of life. Almost There speaks of the illegal immigrants from Africa who attempt to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe illegally on makeshift boats - a topic that is tragically current ... Waiting my life focuses on the destruction of forests in Asia for the business of palm trees, through the eyes of a peasant resigned to taking money wherever he can.

Nova Era, sung an English and Portuguese, comes from the desire to put a revolutionary song to upbeat music. Despite these rather serious lyrics addressing social themes, dancing is strongly encouraged. Navigating between realism and utopia, Jehro remains an eternal optimist. "The next three years will be marked by huge changes to our civilisation. I hope this will take place with discussion and in peace". With clear influences from the soundtrack to the 70s blaxploitation film, How Long is directed at manipulators of the masses. "I believe in the evolution of the collective consciousness, not in politicians" reflects Jehro, lucid when it comes to the context, but also full of compassion. As for Wanna Live, it resonates - in Wolof - like an encouragement for community spirit and determination.

A great singer and a true showman, Jehro will now take this album to stages all around the world, with the soft fervour that is his trademark. His Bohemian Soul Songs have all the virtues of a soothing balm, to be applied lavishly.