The Bolero to Bamako

Discover our artists

Mariam

Mariam

Singer, songwriter, writer, and multi-instrumentalist

In a few words

  • Discipline: African and world music
  • Collaborations : Amadou & Mariam, international artists
  • Training: Bamako Institute for Young Blind People
  • Place of birth: Bamako (Mali)
  • Awards: Victoire de la Musique, BBC Awards, Grammy Awards (nominations)

Mini biography

Mariam Doumbia is a world-famous Malian singer, notably with the duo Amadou & Mariam. Her powerful, expressive voice crosses styles, blending African traditions with contemporary sounds. With an international career under her belt, she embodies open, vibrant and deeply human music.
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Lansiné Kouyaté, clash World

Lansiné Kouyaté

Balafon player

In a few words

  • Discipline: traditional Mandingo music
  • Collaborations : Amadou & Mariam, African and international ensembles
  • Training: oral tradition and griot heritage
  • Country of birth: Mali

Mini biography

Lansiné Kouyaté is a balafonist from the Mandingo tradition, where music is handed down from generation to generation. His playing, both rhythmic and melodic, accompanies numerous artists and projects. He brings a rich musical heritage, combining tradition and openness, to international stages.

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Patrick Bebey, Clash World

Patrick Bebey

Singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer

In a few words

  • Discipline: African and world music
  • Collaborations: international projects, Francis Bebey’s legacy
  • Training: family musical training and personal artistic background
  • Place of birth: Paris (France)
  • Awards: recognition on the world music scene

Mini biography

Patrick Bebey is a Franco-Cameroonian artist who explores African music with a modern, inventive approach. Son of musician Francis Bebey, he perpetuates this heritage by blending traditions, atypical instruments and contemporary sounds. On stage, he offers lively performances, between transmission and creation.

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Trans Cover Express

In the great pantheon of music, certain names resonate beyond epochs and genres: Bach, Nirvana, Mozart, Ravel, Radiohead, Vivaldi, Bashung… So many singular, intense universes, sometimes at opposite ends of the spectrum, but carried by the same force: that of raw emotion, the quest for beauty and sonic exploration.

What if these worlds came together? What if we dared to bring them into dialogue beyond styles, labels and habits?

This is the audacious challenge taken up by Trans Cover Express, a project born in Limoges in 2025, the cradle of a thousand-year-old musical tradition profoundly free, between the troubadours of yesterday and the creators of today.

Conceived by musician and composer Nicolas Repac, a singular figure on the French music scene (notably with Arthur H, Mamani Keita and his own solo project), Trans Cover Express is a variable-geometry line-up, bringing together artists from a wide variety of backgrounds: classical music, rock, chanson, world music, electro…

But here, there’s no question of simple repeats. Each work is transformed, like an inspired rewrite. Mozart becomes organic, Nirvana becomes lyrical, Vivaldi is reinvented in tribal pulsations, and the Doors take on baroque accents. You don’t immediately recognize the tracks, and that’s all to the good: you rediscover them in a new light, between nostalgia and surprise.

The arrangements blend the vibrant strings of violin and cello with the raw energy of electric guitar, organic drums and electro-acoustic textures. Each piece is conceived as a sound painting, a moving landscape, an inner journey.

At the heart of this sonic journey:

  • Nicolas Repac, on electric guitar, a discreet but magnetic conductor, sculpts the sound with rare finesse. His playing, nourished by jazz, blues and electronic experimentation, gives color to the ensemble.
  • Mirabelle Gilis, a luminous violinist, crosses paths with classical music, Celtic music and chanson. She infuses lyricism and energy into every musical phrase.
  • Olivier Koundouno, a demanding and adventurous cellist, moves from contemporary repertoire to improvisation with ease. His cello is a voice in its own right, by turns grave, tender and volcanic.
  • Patrick Goraguer, a precise and inventive drummer, weaves rhythms with a rare elegance, between rock pulse, jazzy groove and orchestral delicacy.
  • Ludovic Joyeux, with his electro-acoustic sounds and treatments, works like a painter of textures. He enriches sound space, adding breath, mystery and depth.

Trans Cover Express is a collective adventure, a manifesto for liberated, transgender, living music. A concert like a moving train, taking the audience from one era to another, from one continent to another, from one emotion to another.

Here, everything is transformed, elevated and embraced. A bridge between worlds. An experience to live.

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Nicolas Repac

Electric guitar, vocals and multi-instrumentalist

In a few words

  • Genre: Pop / rock / folk / electronic / world music
  • Collaborations : Arthur H, Mamani Keita
  • Training: Self-taught
  • Passion: music and love
  • Town of birth: Albi
  • Place of residence: Paris
  • Awards: Grand Prix Charles Cros for l”Or Noir

Mini biography

Nicolas Repac, a guitarist, composer, and arranger, moves seamlessly between jazz, electronic music, chanson, and world music. As a collaborator with Arthur H, he has developed a unique sound characterized by samples, hybrid textures, and poetry. Auteur de projets comme Swing Swing, Black Box or Black GoldHe has collaborated with Mamani Keita, Bashung, Miossec, and Dobet Gnahoré, and has composed music for films. Artiste curieux et inclassable, il réinvente sans cesse les frontières musicales.

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Mirabelle Gilis

Multi-instrumentalist violinist and composer

In a few words

  • Genre: Classical, pop/rock/folk/world music
  • Instrument : violon
  • Collaborations: Miossec, Jane Birkin, and The Fernweh
    Education: Toulouse Conservatory, then in Saint Petersburg
  • Place of residence: Paris

Mini biography

Mirabelle Gilis, violinist, multi-instrumentalist and composer, explores a universe blending chamber music, electronic sounds and folk. Trained in Toulouse and Saint Petersburg, she navigates between classical, jazz and world traditions. A collaborator with Miossec, Jane Birkin and The Fernweh, her music is sensitive and full of poetic lyrics written with Miossec or Marcel Kanche, carried by a soft, deep voice.

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Olivier Koundouno

Cellist, arranger and composer

In a few words

  • Genre: Classical, rap, rock / pop / world music / jazz
  • Collaborations : Youssoupha, Emily Loizeau et Dick Annegarn, Cocoon et Stephan Eicher.
    Formation : conservatoire de Boulogne Billancourt
  • City of birth: Paris
  • Place of residence: Geneva

Mini biography

Olivier Koundouno, Franco-Guinean cellist, explores bridges between classical, improvised music and electronic sounds. Trained at the CRR in Paris, he has collaborated with Youssoupha, Emily Loizeau, Nosfell and Luz Casal. Inspired by his African roots, he blends cello, noise and sound narration. His eclectic career, nourished by the jazz, pop and world scenes, has taken him from prestigious venues to the villages of Guinea.

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Patrick Goraguer

Battery and keyboard

In a few words

  • Discipline: jazz, rock, compositions
  • Collaborations: Maxime Leforestier, Alain Chamfort, Arthur H, Salif Keita, Femi Kuti, Tony Allen, Jean-Luc Ponty, Lee Konitz, Richard Bona, Rachid Taha, Keziah Jones, Juliette Greco, Françoise Hardy, and
  • Training: Berklee college of music
  • City of birth and residence: Paris

Mini biography

Musician-composer known as much for his qualities as a drummer as a pianist, he has recorded and accompanied the best musicians in jazz, world music and French chanson. Alongside his career as an instrumentalist, he also writes film scores for cinema and television.