Tété

Tété, a leading French rock and R&B artist, entered the world on July 25, 1975, in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, his father’s native country. After his parents separated, he accompanied his mother to northeastern France and settled in the town of St. Dizier. As a teenager he drew creative fuel from the prevailing pop and rock sounds of the era. With a guitar supplied by his mother he formed small groups alongside friends and started writing songs, chiefly in English.

In 1998 he relocated to Paris, where he performed in cafés and played on the streets before assembling a successful trio with drummer Alberto Malo and bassist Evy Moon. Their distinctive style and fortunate timing earned them an immediate contract with Sony/Epic, which issued the debut album L'Air de Rien in 2001. While completing that project Tété kept up a demanding solo schedule, steadily enlarging his audience through regular appearances in intimate Paris clubs and cafés. The refined and magnetic quality of those performances was preserved on the 2003 release Par Monts et Vallons, assembled from three separate concerts.

The following year brought his second studio album, À la Faveur de l'Automne, which produced radio favorites such as “Emma Stanton” and the title track. Arena concerts and international touring the next summer moved Tété from underground venues into the commercial mainstream. His 2006 album Le Sacre des Lemmings et Autres Contes de la Lisiere examined a range of social topics, constituting his first explicitly political work.