Biography
DobaCaracol’s sound draws from Afro-beat, reggae, and folk traditions, which obscures the ensemble’s Québecois roots. Lead vocalists Doriane Fabreg and Carole Facal first connected at a rave in Montreal through their common interest in percussion-centered music. They launched DobaCaracol in 1998 and took the group name from their personal nicknames. For the subsequent five years the pair worked strictly as a duo, assembling a body of traditional songs and chants gathered from many parts of the world. Their first album, Le Calme Son, appeared in 2001 and was promoted through tours reaching from the U.S. to Egypt. In 2003 the project expanded to a sextet with the arrival of guitarist David Laflèche, bassist Maxime Lepage, keyboardist Martin Lizotte, and percussionist Mohammed Coulibaly. After signing to the Indica label, the new configuration delivered its breakthrough album Soley in 2004, then performed the following year on the Toronto stage of the global Live 8 concert.