THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Tchenbé! is the new therapeutic album from Dowdelin. This deeply introspective new opus tackles the personal and emotional challenges we all face at some point in our lives. Dowdelin explore themes of depression, life’s ups and downs and resilience, served up by Caribbean sounds and lyrics in Creole, French and English, at the confluence of jazz, electronic music and even the most percussive soul.
The title of Dowdelin’s third album translates as ‘Hold On!’ in West Indian Creole. Fittingly, on the collage cover by Judith Saurel, hands reach out… To ask for help, to offer support. To show the way, to read the future, in an armwrestling match, a sensual embrace… “We all regularly come across friends, family members or strangers who are not doing well, for whom life has become too difficult to live,” the Lyon bandmembers say. “Moments like these happen to most of us in the course of our lives. An accident, a separation, an illness, a geopolitical conflict and everything stops, our lives change radically.”
On Tchenbé!, Dowdelin offer a sincere look at existential sorrows such as bereavement, separations and personal difficulties. Having explored the theme of love on their previous album Lanmou Lanmou, the band focus here on the need to first find love for oneself before being able to offer genuine love to others. The album aims to offer support and strength to listeners facing trials.
The album is also a message of support to Olivya, the band’s singer, who went through a difficult period during the composition of Tchenbé! Although this was done almost unconsciously, the band members found resonances between their creations and her personal situation. “We always start by writing the melodies for the vocals before writing the lyrics, being as faithful as possible to the onomatopoeia of the witnesses that work best,” they say. “This allows us to put words to certain passages before filling in the gaps with words that make sense. It was at the end of the record that we realized the coherence, the overall theme of the album.”
Tchenbé! stands out for its warm, organic approach, marking a turning point in Dowdelin’s discography. For the first time, the band abandon beatmaking in favour of beats written and played live, recorded on analog tape with vintage machines. This technical choice gives the album a more electric sound, while retaining the crossover and universal singularity that characterizes the band.”
