Aïda (pronounced Eye-Da) was born in the beautiful Ivory Coast. Singing and dancing was so much a part of her rich African tradition and every activity was dressed with a ritual within the living of everyday life. At age six Aïda was making a name for herself as a dance troupe leader, offering lessons in choreography when she was not even old enough to know what the word meant. One grandmother was a professional dancer while the other a professional singer. Aïda 's mother has always been her main inspiration, her coach, and her rock when times were challenging. In here teens, Aïda moved between the Ivory Coast and Grenoble in France, then entered University in Toulouse to study Social and Economic Administration. Through this period, much of the rich dance and music culture of her childhood was left behind for a more academic outlook. Then after turning 20, she took additional training, qualified as a gym instructor, moved from there back into dance. Traditional dancing from West Africa, modern jazz dance and salsa were perfected to the highest standard and Aïda began to make a good living as a professional dance performer. Two years later came the return to singing, and the cabaret market offered the opportunity to travel through France. With many good gigs in Toulouse it seemed like a nice place to settle for a little while.
Skully had his first gig as a DJ at age fourteen. His father was a showband man performing on the big stage so to Skully music was the family way of life. The Showband scene was not for the new generation so Skully followed the electronic path, partnering with many colleagues over the years to deliver their latest brew. Skully earned himself the name "Professor Skully" as testimony to his mastery of the new electronic music art form. Then came a band called "Chapterhouse" which reached the top of the ladder in terms of success picking up all the highest awards in Ireland. But this was not enough for the "Professor" and in frustration at not breaking the world market he took a seven-year retreat from the music business he so dearly loved. He moved to Toulouse, France where he became a teacher of the English language.
Métisse Form In 1997 : Skully knew that something was missing in his music. Coincidentally, many people were talking about this girl with an extraordinary voice that sang at a Cabaret in Toulouse. Skully followed the posters and went to hear Aïda sing. Blown away by her voice, he went away from that gig to write music that he later presented to her. Seriously impressed by what she heard, Aïda agreed to take the time to record a few songs...a mixture of true Celtic electronic wizardry and the beauty of all that is African. There and then they decided to work together and called themselves Métisse...meaning mixture... mixture of black and white, of African and European, of electronic and soul.
Next came the sending of demo tapes to all those record companies who had rejected previous efforts. But this time the answer was yes...and another yes..and another..and another. Every record company now wanted this incredible new cocktail of perfection. With many offers on the table Métisse's first step was to sign with Sony Music Publishing who were so impressed by the music that they offered a worldwide publishing deal to a band who as yet did not have a record deal. Up until now this was unheard of in the industry. Trevor Horn, the famous producer (Seal, "Video KIlled The Radio Star"), suggested that there was no point in tampering with Skully's work in a studio, as it was already perfect coming out of his own home studio and did not need re-mixing.
Then came the "big" deal with Telstar Records which was what Métisse had been holding out for. Next came the big money, the great video shoots, the great market exposure, the exotic locations, limousines, champagne etc. It all seemed so good until it came to a point where the music was becoming the least sacred aspect in a business that was market driven. Telstar were professional and genuinely considered to be one of the best in the music business. Anyway, debate arose over how best to "market" Métisse. Telstar and Métisse parted. Métisse bought their album back from Telstar...a rather gutsy move, and a gamble, but one that has proven to be inspirational, and the beginning of more success.
Soon after came one lucky break after another. Firstly, Madonna picked a Métisse song as title track to her movie "The Next Best Thing". Then came a list of successive licenses for high profile advertising campaigns, chart success, TV shows, the Olympic Games etc etc. Métisse themselves took on licensing their first album "My Fault" territory by territory around the world...an ambitious undertaking but again one which worked out very well. (Elsewhere on this site you will see listings of the great chart success which Métisse have enjoyed) Compilation album producers simply love the music of Métisse and the listing on the "compilations" page of this site is testimony to some of the success in this area.
So, where do Métisse go from here? The important thing for Skully and Aïda is always to do what they do best..make beautiful, intelligent and modern music that comes from the heart. They have achieved success on a risky venture but they have now proven just how "marketable" they are. The standard marketing formula did not apply but then it rarely does to products that are exceptional, no matter what industry you care to review. Things are going very well at present, who knows what the future holds. Skully and Aïda love what they do and hope they can inspire others or simply brighten up the day with their music.

Sara Rénélik, Montreal-born singer-dancer-choreographer of Haitian origin is a unique and versatile artist recognized for a constant quest of originality and depth. Dance and Music have always been her principal inspirations and her best and only possible ways of communication.
First driven by dance at an early age, she creates and performs this medium through most of her teens as choreographer and dancer for Cirque du Soleil, Celine Dion, Cinoque Films, Summit of Americas 2001 etc. It is through her many travels and encounters that she discovers her voice. Performing as a back up singer or lead vocalist, she participates to many large-scale Canadian projects (Yaya Diallo, Rude Luck, Eval Manigat & Tchaka, Harold Faustin, Joël H. Ferron & Yves Décary..).
Today it is her own musical atmosphere that she wishes to share. She has taken the stage since 1999 as lead singer touring Canada, Germany and US in different projects. Her music is a blend of African and French Caribbean world beat, with forays into pop, folk-rock and soul as well. Sara..s message and musical universe transcends passion for life with an emotional rush of dance and imagery. She now performs with Line 1, troup directed by Emmy Award winner and Cirque du Soleil's choreographer, Debra Brown. They toured in California and presented excerpts at the prestigious Canada..s Walk of Fame and Governor General Awards.
She also appeared on Télé-Québec's TV shows, Belle & Bum, Le plaisir croît avec l'usage and on Radio-Canada's, Les Beaux Dimanches, Musique du monde d'ici with Dan Bigras. She was invited at the prestigious Montreal's Jazz Festival with Harold faustin Septet (Haitian Jazz Racine) in 2001 and with Yakengue (Racine) in 2003. She recently received the MAESTRA SOCAN/SODRAC grant for her composition Laisser Aller. She will be the spokesperson for both Le Mois du Créole and the Toussaint Louverture's Monument fundraising campaign. Her first album, Aube has just been released in Spring 2006. Discover her flame, her passion, her pulse. Discover Sara.

welcome to the doba tribe." 

Montréal. Dobacaracol a lancé une nouvelle version de la chanson «Hold On» de John Lennon pour Amnistie internationale. L'objectif de Make some Noise, un projet unique endossé par Yoko Ono, est d'inspirer une nouvelle génération à célébrer et appuyer les droits humains via les œuvres de John Lennon. "C'est un immense honneur pour nous de reprendre la chanson "Hold On" de John Lennon. Lors de l'enregistrement studio, nos pensées étaient dirigées vers l'oeuvre de John et vers son merveilleux message de paix. Notre volonté est qu'Amnistie Internationale, grâce à ce projet, puisse répandre ce message partout dans le monde, en touchant des millions de gens et peut-être, en les motivant à agir pour changer les choses sur cette planète. Nous aimerions dédier notre version de Hold On à tous les gens qui vivent dans la souffrance actuellement au Darfour, que la musique puisse leur donner un peu de force pour tenir, et pour construire un futur sans violence pour leur pays."

Plusieurs chansons de Lennon ont déjà été lancées sur un site web multilingue basé à Londres dont «Jealous Guy» refait par le rappeur torontois k-os. Parmi les autres artistes canadiens-anglais ayant enregistré des chansons, on retrouve Billy Talent, Waking Eyes, Finger Eleven, et David Usher. Leurs chansons, ainsi que celles de leurs collègues québécois Les Trois Accords et Audrey de Montigny, seront lancées graduellement durant les prochains mois. Tous les profits iront directement à Amnisty international. «On pense qu'on peut faire passer des messages par la musique. Ça fait l'unanimité dans le groupe. C'est peut-être même plus efficace parce que ça s'adresse aux émotions.» - Carole Facal et Doriane Fabreg, Dobacaracol.

Pour souligner le lancement de «Hold On», Dobacaracol interprétera la chanson en direct lors de l'émission «Belle et Bum» sur les ondes de Télé-Québec, le 9 décembre, la veille de la Journée internationale des droits de l'homme. Make Some Noise est le résultat du don généreux de Yoko Ono à Amnistie internationale des droits d'auteur de toutes les œuvres solo de John Lennon. «C'est merveilleux que via cette campagne, cette musique, si bien connue des gens de mon époque, touche maintenant une toute nouvelle génération, dit Yoko Ono. Par sa musique, John voulait inspirer le changement. Tout comme Make Some Noise. En défendant les droits humains, nous pouvons faire ensemble un meilleur monde.»

Récipiendaire du Prix Nobel de la Paix en 1977, Amnistie internationale est la plus importante organisation de promotion et de défense des droits humains, avec presque deux millions de membres. La section canadienne francophone compte quelques 15 000 membres, et ses bureaux sont situés sur la rue Monk à Montréal (quartier Ville-Émard). Pour maintenir son impartialité et son indépendance, Amnistie n'accepte aucun soutien gouvernemental, et dépend donc des dons individuels pour son existence.