Albin de la Simone (born in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, Picardy, France on 14 December 1970) is a French singer-songwriter. He has released five albums since 2003, being nominated to the 2018 Victoires de la Musique in the ''Best Song Album (Meilleur album de chansons)'' category and in 2014 in the ''Best Live Newcomers (Révélation scène)'' category. He has been working in music since the mid-1990s as a keyboardist, bassist, arranger, and director for a large number of artists, including

Miossec Christophe Miossec (born 24 December 1964 in Brest, Brittany, France) is a French singer and songwriter. Beginnings Christophe Miossec was not new to the world of music when he met his first success. Between 14 and 17, he was in a teenage ban ...

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Arthur H Arthur Higelin (born 27 March 1966), better known under his stage name Arthur H (), is a French singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known in France for his live performances—four of his albums were recorded live. Life and career He is t ...

Alain Souchon Alain Souchon (; born Alain Édouard Kienast ; 27 May 1944) is a French singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and has played roles in seven films. Profile Alain Souchon was born in Casablanca, Morocco. His family on his moth ...

Raphaël Haroche Raphaël Haroche (born 7 November 1975), professionally known under his mononym Raphael, is a French singer–songwriter and actor. Personal and media life Raphael was born as Raphaël Haroche on 7 November 1975 in Paris, France, and was rai ...

Mathieu Boogaerts Mathieu Boogaerts (born 1970) is a French singer-songwriter. Biography The son of a pharmacist mother and antiquarian father, Mathieu was born in Fontenay-sous-Bois, where he spent his early childhood before acquainting himself with the piano. ...

Jean-Louis Aubert Jean-Louis Aubert (, born 12 April 1955) is a French singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer. He went on a solo career after the split of the rock band Téléphone that he co-founded. Early life Born in Nantua, Ain, France in 195 ...

, and

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village of Djolib ...

, among others (complete discography below). As an artist, his musical works are exhibited at

Les Francofolies de La Rochelle Les Francofolies () is the annual music festival founded in 1985 in La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes, France as an initiative of Jean-Louis Foulquier. It is usually held annually in July and aims at promoting French-language music. Number of tho ...

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, and many other galleries and festivals. He is also associated with the

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Career

Startings

After studying art at the

Institut Saint-Luc The Institut Saint-Luc () is an arts school in Brussels, Belgium. It consists of six departments, with a total of 2,200 students and 430 employees, spread over five locations in Ixelles and Saint-Gilles, Belgium, Saint-Gilles. History The school ...

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(Belgium) and arrangement and orchestration at the (CIM) in Paris, Albin L'Eleu de la Simone started his career as composer and jazz pianist (his father being a New Orleans Jazz clarinetist) as a member of the band "The Barbecues." In 1995, he and his quintet were finalists in . Between 1995 and 2000, he toured in Africa with

and

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960) is a Beninese- French singer-songwriter, actress and activist noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Kidjo has won five Grammy A ...

, and he began to feature on other French singers' tracks. Parallelly, de la Simone met the new singers of his generation (

Matthieu Chedid Matthieu Chedid (born 21 December 1971) is a French multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. Chedid began his career as a session musician playing both acoustic and electric guitar. In the late 1990s, he rose to fame as a singer-songwriter ...

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...) and found his calling. He wrote his first songs towards the end of the 1990s.

2003–2004: First album

In 2003, de la Simone performed his first concerts as singer in Japan, opening for Mathieu Boogaerts. In September, he released ''Albin de la Simone,'' his first album, on the label

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, co-directed with Renaud Letang. Of the album, "Elle aime''"'', sung as a duet with Feist, and "Patricia," with Alain Souchon, became hits. He composed in part the soundtrack of the film ''

Tiresia ''Tiresia'' is a 2003 French film directed by Bertrand Bonello and written by Bonello and Luca Fazzi. Based on the legend of Tiresias, it tells of a Trans woman, transgender woman who is kidnapped by a man and left to die in the woods. She is the ...

'', directed by

Bertrand Bonello Bertrand Bonello (; born 11 September 1968) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer, composer and actor. His work has been associated with the New French Extremity. He wrote and directed ''Something Organic'' (1998), '' The Pornographe ...

Discography

Albums

Decorations

* Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (2015)

References

External links

Official website
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Simone, Albin de la 1979 births Living people French male singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters People from Amiens Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 21st-century French singers