Biography
Tom Frager, a French singer and songwriter whose sound draws from reggae, reached widespread audiences in 2009 when the single “Lady Melody” ascended to the top of the French charts. He entered the world on July 1, 1977, in Dakar, Senegal, and spent his formative years in Guadeloupe, where he developed exceptional surfing skills that earned him multiple championship titles and carried him across continents. His musical inspirations span reggae figures such as Bob Marley, alternative rock acts including Sublime, and pop artists like Jason Mraz. In 2002 he assembled the group Gwayav’, whose lineup featured Henry Daurel and Thomas Renwick on guitar, Lionel Dubourdieu on bass, Stephane Garcia Tudela on drums, Jerome Gron on keyboards, Marc Closier on saxophone, Jane Terhoff and Carolina Carmona providing backup vocals, and Frager himself handling vocals and guitar. The ensemble issued its first album, Bloom Inside, as an independent release in 2006 under the name Gwayav’, yet the record attracted scant attention at the time. Two years later the project returned with Better Days, now credited to Tom Frager & Gwayav’ and issued through Gwayav’ Records in partnership with Universal Music. Although its ascent was gradual, “Lady Melody” claimed the summit of the French singles chart for three consecutive weeks in September 2009 and also registered strongly in Switzerland and Belgium, while the parent album Better Days climbed into the Top Five of the French albums ranking.
Singles
