NO uses his influences to create his French Pop

Few notes of Blues, a zest of Funk, a tear of Soul...

This formula is still an ongoing process which may never end. A blend of his influences, driven by a smooth guitar. Of course, classic rocks also have a part of responsibility as well as French songs ...

Indeed, NO is a 30 years old French singer/songwriter who has recently moved to Chicago,IL. Growing-up in France, he learnt to give a high level of importance to the lyrics and the songs' stories. However, unconsciously, American music soon played a major role in his life; his mother being an Elvis Presley fan.

Young teenager, he discovered his first inspirations: Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Queen. This slowly led him towards the roots: Blues. The road ended up on Stevie Ray Vaughan who was the perfect mix of bluesy/rocky/funky and sometimes jazzy guitar and rhythms. In high school, he started playing with different bands as lead guitar, but couldn't really go where he wanted to. However, this gave him the opportunity to start arranging covers and playing live. After a while, as they often missed a lead singer, he started taking this role, just because he could sing in tune. This made him realize that the best way to carry on would probably be by playing and singing his original songs...

The next step brought him away from music and bands: he had to focus on college and university which made him enter a vicious professional circle when he started his first job. It also gave him the opportunity to spend a year in Chicago as an exchange student, and come back once again to the roots of music.

If Blues remains his favorite style, his mind reopened soon after to other grooves through Otis Redding and Stevie Wonder.

As new ideas were steaming in his head, he became conscious that he could not stay any longer away from serious music projects. In 2003, he put together a small home studio and went back to composing. This and internet made him realize that independence was a great way to go, but that it needed strong personal efforts and many skills' development. The process was slow but by the end of 2005, he had written new songs, arranged and recorded a demo, created a basic website and played his first solo gigs.

The first half of 2006 allowed him to secure one gig every month in different pubs in Paris, write new songs and test them live (a new song for each new gig was his challenge) and record 5 of them with a sound engineer. As he already knew that he was moving to the US by the end of the year, he couldn't really start a band and recorded by himself all vocals, guitars and bass guitar (drums were BFD samples). He also participated to some songwriters contests and was selected to the semi-finals of one of them, "Vis l'air French songs contest".

Now what's next? NO is in Chicago and has to work the big room again! But he has his 5-tracks album "Laissez-moi passer" (Let me in) as a business card and many great experiences to benefit from.

Stay tune, the show will go on ...!