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PRODUCER/ARTIST/REMIXOLOGIST/DJ: Jephte's
solo career
was launched in 1994, with the release of his first hit single
"One
Respe". His next hit single, "The
Prayer (Priye- a)", found its way into DJ rotations around
the world, emerging
from New York clubs like Body & Soul, "Little" Louie Vega's
Dance Ritual,
The Shelter and Brooklyn's Bang the Party as an instant
underground success.
This success was cemented with a stunning performance by Jephte
Guillaume and
the Tet
Kale Orkestra at Body & Soul's Central Park Summerstage
celebration
in the summer of 1999. His critically acclaimed self-produced
debut album "Voyage
of Dreams" was released to universal praise and astonishment
in 1998, following
the international success of several 12" singles for Spiritual
Life Music, which
helped to establish the label as a global musical force to be
reckoned with.
And his work has already appeared on a host of compilations on
labels such as
Nuphonic, Island/Hannibal, React, JVC Japan, Wave (Body and Soul
compilation
Volume 1 & 2), Sony/Rhythmix France (Trip do Brasil I &
II) , Avex,
Polygram/Motor, Chrysalis France, Life Line Japan and Flower
Japan.
The many releases of Jephte (including "Love
Light" and "Rhythm
of the Rain") are filled with substantial themes of struggle
and liberation,
but driven by the elements that make us dance: drums loaded
tracks, and lots
of live bass. Enticing keyboard melodies, seamless flute riffs,
supernatural
vocals, and the occasional flamenco-like guitar seem to emerge
naturally from
his festive rhythms. The result is a new sound - one that
integrates a revolutionary
Haitian spirit with an electronic groove for the technologically
astute.
Jephte has spent the last few years on the
club circuit,
making his mark on the deep house movement. A sought-after
bassist and multi-instrumentalist
who has played with a wide range of major artists, from the Soul
Legend, Billy
Preston, to R&B (Destiny's Child, Groove Theory) to nu-soul
(Mary
J. Blige) to Hip-Hop ( Refugee All-Stars Band, Slick Rick)
to Acid Jazz
(Abstract Truth), to Pop (98 degrees, No Mercy & Sting) to
Haitian Raggamuffin
(Papa Jube) to French Reggae (Tonton David) to French Hip-Hop
Reggae ( Real
Kila) and Gospel artist, Reverend Timothy Wright, The Daughtry Singers of
the House of
the Lord from Brooklyn) he is obviously serious when he says,
"Wherever there
is great music, I am there."
Born in Haiti, but uprooted to Brooklyn
with his family
during the Duvalier regime, Jephte Guillaume is a unique
addition to the trajectory
of Haitian musicians such as Boukman
Eksperyans, whose music transforms Vodun spirituality and
African ancestry
into something universally understood. "Everywhere I go, people
ask me about
the spirituality in my music - they may not know Kreyol, but
they sing along."
True to his roots, Jephte's lyrics come from Haitian folk and
devotional chants,
offering praise to the ancestors and calling for the listeners
to get up and
connect to their spiritual homes. Like Nigeria's Fela Kuti, and
Cameroon's Manu
Dibango, Jephte Guillaume builds a bridge between American Soul,
Jazz, and music
traditions that come directly from the Haitian experience. "The
Haitian drums
are everywhere, just like the Spirits themselves," he says. It
is these Spirits
who pervade the Tet Kale sound. The infectious mixture of
diverse elements in
Jephte Guillaume's music comes as no surprise, when one looks at
his eclectic
career. He is known within the Haitian community as a former
founding member
of the renowned roots-rock band Rara Machine, which toured
worldwide. While
in the U.S., he has developed a committed international dance
audience, releasing
his own vibrant recordings as well as producing successful
remixes for a diverse
collection of artists, including Amel
Larrieux , Clara
Moreno, Pushim,
Toni Braxton,
WildMagnolias, Tokyo
SkaParadise Orchestra,Calyn and Glen Scott.
Jephte Guillaume, NYC based DJ/Producer,
has garnered
mass appeal from his dance-floor audiences. Bringing the same
grace and precision
to handling the decks, as he does in the recording studio, he is
well-established
for his rich sets where he mixes Soulful Dance and Spiritual
House grooves with
traditional Afro-Cuban, Afro-Haitian and Brazilian rhythms.
Known as the creator
of 'Vodou House' for some of his well-loved hits (such as: "The
Prayer (Priye- a)," "Ibo Le Le," "Lakou-a," "Al Di Yo," just
to name a few
hits from his double-CD "Voyage
of Dreams") he is firmly established as an international
DJ/Producer/Remixer.
Jephte scored a subtantial portion of the soundtrack and is
being featured on
the film documentary Maestro...the most realistic and in-depth
motion picture
ever made on dance culture.
Having spent the last few years in the
studio in full-time
production, he has stolen time to spin in the following venues,
often making
return appearances: 2001: Boston: Blue Cat Cafe NYC: Ashford
& Simpsons
Sugar Bar NYC: Club Sugar NYC: Konbit NYC: Chateau Noir NYC:
Guernica 2002:
Ottowa, Canada: Una Mas Montreal: Bang the Party Toronto: Solid
Garage Montreal:
Therapy Montreal: Salon Daome Haiti: Club Sky NYC: Nell's NYC:
Idylwild NYC:
Sugar Bar 2003: NYC: SOB's Puerto Rico: Oleo NYC: Soulsa Puerto
Rico: Candela
Bar NYC: Madiba NYC: Cafe Belmondo NYC: Firehouse NYC: Au Bar
NYC: Together
In Spirit NYC: Bar 169 NYC: Lush NYC: Duplexx NYC: Joes Pub
2004: Tokyo: Loop
Tokyo: Ball NYC: The Cellar Bar at the Bryant Park Hotel NYC:
Club Satalla NYC:
The Coral Room NYC: Club Demarara NYC: SOBS (New York Citys
leading world music
spot) Miami: The Clevelander Hotel (Winter Music Conference)
Miami: Club Honey
( Roots Disco Live party at the WMC) NYC: Club Spirit (formely
known as Twilo)
NYC: Club Mission Bologna, Italy: Link, Kinki NYC: Rhone - Soul
Remedy Party
Puerto Rico: Oleo; Rhumba; El Museo del Arte de PR Paris: Wagg
NYC: SOBs - Mondo
Mundo Party Brooklyn: Brooklyn Museum of Art 2005: NYC: Creole
Cafe NYC: Baggot
Inn NYC: Fire House NYC: Bembe Miami: Marlin Hotel Paris: Djoon
{Dance Culture}
Paris: Carmen Cafe Los Angeles: Inspiration NEW Tet Kale Records:
One Respe (Honor
- Respect) - in stores Artist: Jephte Guillaume; catalog number:
tk2006 Soundmen
on Wax: Set Them Free - in stores Artist: Kenny Bobien; Jephte
Guillaume Remix,
written by Sting Gotsoul Records: Piri Wango Iya - in stores
Artist: Geoffrey
Oryema; (Jephte Guillaumes Remix) catalog number GS008 Upcoming
Releases: Tet
Kale Records: Revelation Artist: eddie-f Tet Kale Records: Jou
Sa Artist: Jephte
Guillaume and Rufus. Out now on Tet Kale Records: Artist:
Jephte Guillaume
Presents Erol Josue ..Tiltle: Papa Loko and Wiltrud Weber
....Title: Blue and
Deep
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SUBMANTRA - FASHION (DJ Umbi RMX) out with JAZZ HOUSE INDEPENDENT 6th
