Rendezvous with Robi
Robi and Valentin Durup on guitar.
Qui est "Robi"?
Type Robi into any image search engine and you could be forgiven for thinking that we had entered into some sort of weird sponsorship deal with a Bangladeshi Telecom's providor or a Japanese robotics company, also called Robi.
The Robi we're concerned with (Chloé Robineau) is indeed elusive. Born in Nice, she grew up in Nigeria, Senegal, Madagascar and La Réunion. At 18, she settled in Paris and began studying theatre. You can sort of tell when you listen to the music she has released in recent years. Her voice is like a prism which, when held to the light, reveals a whole spectrum of drama. Passionate about writing, she encountered the musician David Tétard and later the American musician Jeff Hallam whose distinctive bass guitar anchors a lot of the music and is reminiscent of British bands such as Joy Division and The Cure.
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From their collaboration, in 2011, an EP of 6 titles emerged - Robi. The group was nominated and reached the finals of the inRocKs lab competition in September of the same year.
In March 2012, Jean-Louis Murat invited her to perform the support slot for three dates at La Boule Noire in Paris, and at the end of 2012, Dominique A, Arno invited her in turn to play several dates in France.
In 2013, Robi released her first autoproduced album L'hiver et la Joie, featuring a duet with Dominique A. She went on to perform at the Printemps de Bourges and in 2014 received the Georges Moustaki prize.
In 2015, she released her second album La Cavale.
On her tour in London, she was accompanied by fellow musician Valentin Durup.
Lyrics: Nuit de fête
Lyrics: On ne meurt plus d'amour
Lyrics: Ma Route
Photo taken by Damien Rayuela on Saturday 17th June, as part of the 'Music Rendezvous' series at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni.
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