elbi

In her short but prolific career Elbi has forged a distinct musical identity at once authentic and instinctive, oscillating between soul, jazz and electronic music. Like a kaleidoscope her universe has been woven by travels, each project being nourished by new sights and sounds of Europe and Australasia. Lucile Bauer aka Elbi, has a vast amount to offer. Ambassadeurs, an established British producer now based in Berlin, proposed a collaboration on their track “Higher Ground”. Released on the EP M.O.P.E. in 2011 (Jalapeños Records), the track later became a hit online. It was however in 2013 when Elbi’s creative output really started to accelerate after a triumphant performance at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh gaining acclamation by the BBC. Upon her return to Paris, Elbi began work on her first EP, "Troublesome Soul". She released it in April 2014, entirely self-produced, leading to her discovery by the Inrocks Lab and Le Mouv’. While gliding across the scene of the capital's ever-booming jam sessions, she met the musicians that she would eventually bring together to form Herd of Soul. Releasing a live EP in February 2015, Herd of Soul’s soul-jazz-hiphop infused beats led them to grace many Paris’ hottest stages and gave her a new audience to that she had as a solo artist. With the collaborative Parisian music scene and the likes of Matthiew Herbert, Black Coffee, MCDE, AtJazz, and Jan Jelinek as her inspiration, she continued to search new depth to her sound. After meeting the group Villanova, Elbi lent her voice to the track “On The Loose”, released in 2015 on their EP MONK (Rebirth). It captured immediate attention, and was soon being hailed by Laurent Garner and Agoria, being remixed by Larry Heard (Mr. Fingers), and front page feature on Beat Port. The next stage was when Elbi met Axel Rigaud, aka Le Tarsier. The duo started performing live together and created the new alias Colourful Shores from Elbi's compositions and their live. Their debut performance was supporting Acid Arab's Guido Miniski in Paris. Colorful Shores' six tracks, coming out with Animal Records in February 2017, unveil a parallel universe of sanctuary and adventure, layered in texture and universality. With its core focused around improvisation, the feel of this record is incredibly spontaneous. The acoustic nuances mesmerize and hypnotize. It dances through the body and reaches out for the other. Together in rhythm beyond the holds of space and time: catharsis. www.elbimusic.com contact@elbimusic.com