In March 2020, the multi-instrumentalist Adrian Soleiman gathers around his saxophone musicians (Anaïs Aghayan, Djivan Abkarian, Adrian Edeline, Maxime Daoud, Arnaud Biscay) to play and transmit Armenian music to as many people as possible. Hey Jan was born. The sextet covers with emotion classics from the popular repertoire where love and sorrow share the same destiny. Music that speaks directly to the soul.
Watch Siretsi Yars Daran (Live Version) music video
Then we will receive JP Bimeni & the Black Belts in the #Live session for the release of the 2nd album Give Me Hope see the clip.
Survivor of the darkest days of Bujumbura in Burundi in the early 90s, an apostle of soul, rhythm & blues and the god Otis Redding, J.P. Bimeni returns with a second album Give Me Hope bursting with optimism and infectious energy.
give me hope sounds and grooves like the 60’s classics from Stax and Motown, between soul, psychedelia and afro-funk.
Also inspired by great leaders like Martin Luther King and James Stern (whose name is given to a powerfully funky track on the album) or by the wisdom of the most prolific creators like Lee Scratch Perry.
Between influences and tributes, Bimeni has traced his own path towards a rebirth and a personal development to both heal from the pains of the past and learn all the lessons to give himself hope.
Descended by his mother from the royal family of Burundi, Bimeni fled his country at the age of 15 during the civil war and the genocide of 1993. After having escaped certain death several times, he obtained refugee status in the Wales. Holder of a United Nations scholarship, he studied at Trinity College, an establishment reserved for children who had escaped armed conflict. It is there that he buys his first albums, those of Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and above all, the one who will mark him for life, Otis Redding.
Music was his escape, his therapy. But while his first album Free Mesuper funky and cheerful, Give Me Hope is deeper and more contemplative, carrying messages and resonating with what we are currently experiencing.
Surrounded by The Black Bellshis loyal band of six Spanish gunslingers, Bimeni has all the comfort and confidence to express whatever he wants to express.