Biography
Born in Benin, the west African nation, singer-songwriter, novelist and poet Julien Jacob spent his formative years in the south of France. In the late 70s and early 80s he performed with the local pop rock band Anaphase, then settled in Nice and began carving out a reputation as a poet and novelist. Music remained part of his life; after time spent in Paris he relocated to rural Brittany, where he honed both his literary output and his songwriting. A series of literary works appeared in the mid-90s, after which he signed with Warner France and cut the album Shanti toward the close of the decade. Issued in 2000, the record gained visibility through warmly received festival performances across Europe and North America. His next project, Cotonou, emerged in 2005 on the London, England-based imprint Wrasse Records; for it Jacob deployed an invented jazz tongue rooted in the timbre and vibration of words. Blending rock, folk and Arab sources, he and his band constructed otherworldly sonic layers that framed the singer’s hypnotic vocals, allowing the lyrics to move beyond ordinary meaning and become an essential element of the album’s overall texture.
Albums
