Titi Robin
Together they develop a repertoire enlisting quarter-tones modes, Eastern modal improvisation based on taqsîm, and Gwerz, the ancient monophonic lamentation which the singer along with Yann fanch Kemener is at the time one of the heirs.
Ocora Radio France commissioned a recording - "An Henchou Treuz" (1990) - which won the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros, a fitting beginning of the collaboration of the two duos that will eventually form the "Trio Erik Marchand", most of the repertoire composed and arranged by Titi Robin.
This out of the ordinary formation - a Brittany singer, an Arabic lute player and an Indian tablâ specialist (for the record, it is their photography that illustrates the first article on "world music" in the Encyclopedia Universalis) - will travel internationally: from the Womad festivals to stages specialized in contemporary music, passing by the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Quartz in Brest, not to mention the jazz venues who acclaim their innovative approach to improvisation.
A disc released in January 1993 greatly clarified the world of the musician of the buzuq and guitar: The artist dedicates "Gitans" in homage to the Romani community from whom he learned so much.
It is a mosaic of encounters between Titi Robin's favourite artists, who represent different branches of the family, from North India to Andalusia, and to the Balkans, from which he draws his personal musical vision.
At the beginning of 1996, this group in a collective adventure, makes a radical thrust, coming out with an introspective instrumental recording, "Le Regard Nu" based on modal improvisation, as a result of a year of experimental research.
The voices are those of Saadna brothers from the "Rumberos Catalans" living in the district Saint Jacques (San Jaume) in Perpignan and Andalusian flamenco singer Paco el Lobo.
In parallel, Titi Robin wants to find a way of forging links with contemporary Western popular music, which leads to a new formation, orchestrating the saxophone, drums and bass.
Fifteen musicians are invited such as Farid "Roberto" Saadna, Gulabi Sapera, Keyvan Chemirani, François Laizeau, Renaud Pion, Negrito Trasante, Francis-Alfred Moerman.
In 2002, they released an album co-signed Rakhî dedicated to the marriage of their respective universe, based on songs from the Kalbeliya’s caste or the Marwari repertoire from the Thar desert.
In 2004, to celebrate his 20 years of career, the anthology Alezane was released as a double disc with a rich booklet designed by painter and graphic artist Eric Roux-Fontaine.
That same year, the formation "En famille" appeared, gathering around Gulabi Sapera and Titi Robin a new generation: Maria, Colombe “La Coque” and Dino Banjara.
In 2005, Titi Robin composed (assisted by Silvio Soave who is his sound engineer since the early 1990s) the soundtrack of Florence Quentin’s film OLE!(Naïve).
At the invitation of Philippe Conrath for the Africolor festival, Titi Robin and the Reunion poet-singer Danyèl Waro, emblematic figure of the Maloya, conceived a program reuniting their two artistic universes.
This concert called Michto Maloya was to be unique but responding to many request from organizers, took the road from the winter of 2006 to the summer of 2007 for three big tours: Transmusicales of Rennes, Sakifo festival in Reunion through "Jazz sous les pommiers" in Coutances, theater Bouffes du Nord in Paris...
In March 2007, the new CD from the "La Reine des Gitans" Esma Redzepova, the voice of the Roma in the Balkans, comes out with the participation of Titi Robin (Accords Croisés).
Melodic and rhythmical motifs follow on from one another, answer each other and expound on each other, united by the free inspiration of music which abolishes any distance between improvisation and the written tradition, individual expression and collective dynamics, the fervour of dance and meditative introspection, a commitment to the real world and the aspiration of dreams.
As ever in Titi Robin’s music, these motifs weave the outline of a story, in which it is Kali Sultana (the “Black Queen”), who this time takes the pride of place.
During the summer, at the initiative of Brahim El Mazned and Patrice Bulting, he met Moroccan gumbri player, Majid Bekkas with whom he put on an original show for the two festivals of Agadir and Saint-Nazaire.
The Malian style of string playing seems close to the musician's own universe (it still captures the musical continuity from the Arab Andalusia to Mauritania and Mali) and he had already composed for the album Kali Gadji a tribute to singer Oumou Sangare.
From late 2009 to 2011, Titi Robin worked on his triptych Les Rives, a long-term project that is close to his heart: producing a recording in each of these three countries, India, Turkey and Morocco, around his repertoire with local musicians.
Nominated for the "Victoires de la Musique" in 2012 in the category "World Music", he seized the opportunity to publish a very critical stand on such a media event: «...In my career, I have carefully avoided any competition.
The aesthetic quest is the only motive...»The release of the compilation Les Rives at a concert at the Arab World Institute in Paris in November 2011, brought together a new formation with Murad Ali Khan (sarangi), Sinan Çelik (kaval), El Mehdi Nassouli (guembri, vocals), Ze Luis Nascimento (drums) and Francis Varis (accordion).
In July 2011, he presented in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi a quartet composed around him, Murad Ali Khan (sarangi), Vinay Mishra (harmonium) and Ninayat Netke (tabla) for the release of his Indian record Laal Asmaan.
