Tryo () is a French-language 'unplugged' ska acoustic band, popular in Europe and Quebec, with three French guitarists, a percussionist, and a producer: Guizmo, Christophe Mali, Manu Eveno, Daniel "Danielito" Bravo and Bibou. Tryo are popular in France partly due to their politically charged lyrics, whilst also showing a fun side with a range of humorous songs, especially in live performances. They take a left wing stance, criticising various French politicians such as

Charles Pasqua Charles Victor Pasqua (18 April 192729 June 2015) was a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was Interior Minister from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac's ''cohabitation'' government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government ...

(named in corruption scandals concerning suburban low cost housing or

HLM An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies. HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France.Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

and world leaders (

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, for example) in their music. The band has a "tolerant" view on

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

, demonstrated by "La Main Verte" from the ''

Mamagubida Tryo () is a French-language 'unplugged' ska acoustic band, popular in Europe and Quebec, with three French guitarists, a percussionist, and a producer: Guizmo, Christophe Mali, Manu Eveno, Daniel "Danielito" Bravo and Bibou. Tryo are popular ...

'' album. Drug references are reduced in their later albums. They have sold 900,000 albums. They had their 10-year anniversary in 2005, followed by a nationwide tour. Tryo have four studio albums, a double CD live album and two live DVDs. Band members were also active in independent work. Christophe Mali released a solo album ''Je vous emmène'' in April 2006. Guitarist and songwriter Guizmo was part of the band Pause. In August 2012 they released new album called ''Ladilafé'', a tribute to Patricia Bonnetaud who died in February 2012. This is the first album featuring DJ Catman.

Members

*Guizmo – real name Cyril Célestin – singer, composer, musician (guitar) – Refer to separate section below *Mali – real name Christophe Petit – singer, composer, musician (guitar, accordion, piano, melodica) – Refer to separate section below *Manu – real name Manu Eveno – singer, musician (guitar, bass, oud, flute, clarinet, tablas) *Danielito – real name

Daniel Bravo Daniel Bravo (born 9 February 1963) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. With the exception of a stint at Serie A's Parma, he spent all of his career in his native France, playing 217 matches for Paris Saint-Ge ...

– musician (drums,

djembé A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

darbouka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-shaped body. It is ...

, congas, guiro,

cajón A cajón ( ; "box, crate, drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or st ...

bendir The bendir (, ; : , ) is a wooden-framed frame drum of North Africa and West Asia, Southwest Asia. The bendir is a traditional instrument that is played throughout North Africa, as well as in Sufism, Sufi ceremonies; it was played, too, in Ancie ...

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

, violin) *Bibou – real name Sébastien Pujol – manager, sound engineer

Side projects

Guizmo

Guizmo, real name Cyril Célestin, born in the 14e arrondissement in Paris on 11 April 1972, singer, composer, and guitarist for Tryo, has had a prosperous solo career on his own. He grew up in

Cachan Cachan () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The prestigious École Spéciale des Travaux Publics is located there. Name During the Middle Ages, Cachan was referred to in Medieval ...

in an

HLM An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies. HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France.Abdallah Oumbadougou. Desert Rebel made a tour of Niger. Other projects Guizmo was involved him included the band Pause contributing as singer, songwriter and composer. The band was made up of Guizmo (vocals), Negoos (vocals), Daniel Jamet and Olivier Mizrachi (guitars), Thomas Loyer (keyboards), Julien Bonvoisin (bass) and Sébastien Le Bon (Zeb) (drums). In spring 2012, he took part in the music collective On y pense. That collective was formed by initiative of the duo from Le Pied de la Pompe, in addition to Zeitoun (from La rue kétanou) and by Alee.

Mali

Christophe Mali known as Mali, singer, composer, musician (guitar, accordion, piano, melodica) for Tryo, real name Christophe Petit, was born in

Antony, Hauts-de-Seine Antony () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Antony is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and the seat of the arrondissement o ...

on 25 August 1976. He was named Mali by Slavic fellow actors he worked with at the beginning of his career as Petit, his family name translates to 'Mali' in Serbo-Croat languages. As a young kid, he was passionate about theatre, and improvisation in particular. He became part of the Antony-based theatre group Firmin Gémier, and later in theatre group Zarina Khan where he notably played Raskolnikov in a French adaptation of ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.

'' (in French ''Crime et Châtiment'' written by

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

. Christophe Mali himself wrote a number of theatre pieces and 'mis en scène' of musical comedies, in which he would also act and play music for. He studied for a bachelor's degree (licence) in Philosophy and Sociology, but cut short his education to concentrate in acting and music. He co-wrote the musical comedy ''Histoire de piano'' with Maïa Rubinstein. He offered roles for Emmanuel "Manu" Eveno and for Cyril Célestin (Guizmo) to act in it. This was the beginning for the eventual formation of Tryo in 1995, a 5-piece band that included Mali, Manu and Guizmo in addition to Daniel Bravo (Danielito) and Sebastien Pujol (Bibou). Mali was a singer, guitar, accordion and piano player for Tryo. Christophe Mali has also developed since 2004 a solo musical career and was involved in several projects. Influenced by Thomas Fersen,

Jacques Higelin Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin (; 18 October 1940 – 6 April 2018) was a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early life Higelin was born on 18 October 1940. His father, Paul, a railway worker and musician of Alsatian de ...

and others, he wrote about more intimate and profound subject as different from the reggae and festive air of Tryo materials. He also wrote for other artists like Jean Guidoni, Olivia Ruiz, Marina (of

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

) and

Lambert Wilson Lambert Nicolas Wilson (; né Willson, 3 August 1958) is a French actor and theatre director. He is a seven-time Cesar Award nominee, four for César Award for Best Actor, Best Actor and three for César Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Sup ...

amongst others. He also cooperated for a show with Gérald Dahan. He has also been a music consultant for

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 ...

. In 2011, he engaged in ''mise en scène'' in a show at Boulevard des Airs.

Christophe Mali solo discography

;Studio albums *2006: ''Je vous emmène'' (FR: #54)

Manu

Manu Eveno real name Emmanuel Eveno, also known as Numa, born 7 May 1971 is a guitarist for Tryo. He is a vocalist in addition to playing guitar, bass, oud, flute, clarinet and

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

s. Manu started in 1988 with the band M'Panada that also included eventual tryo vocalist Guizmo. He was also involved in a few other bands. He met Christophe Mali for a show co-written by the latter called ''Histoire de piano'' and the three became founding members of Tryo after the musical comedy. He has also taken part in various materials for the band Pause. Manu also plays

s for Tryo as he learned playing the instrument in India.

Danielito

Danielito, real name Daniel Bravo, also known as Ito, is the band's percussionist of Chilean origin. He studied playing percussion instruments at the music conservatory at 16, and has been in a dozen formations before joining Tryo. He plays drums,

, bongos,

darbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-shaped body. It is ...

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

güiro The güiro () is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound. The güiro is commonly ...

tambourin The tambourin () is a low-pitched tenor drum of the French region of Provence, which has also lent its name to a Provençal dance accompanied by lively duple meter music. The dance is so named because the music imitates the drum (''tambour'' bei ...

udu The ''kim-kim'' or Udu is a plosive aerophone (in this case implosive) and an idiophone of the Igbo people, Igbo of Nigeria. In the Igbo language, ''ùdù'' means 'vessel' or 'pot'. This is a hand percussion instrument and it is one of the mos ...

as well as batajon, krakebs, timbao etc. He has also taken part in the band Pause with Guzimo, another Tryo member.

Bibou

Sébastien Pujol known as Bibou, is the manager and producer for the group Tryo. He self-produced the debut album of the band ''

'' in 1998 reportedly selling 15 thousand copies of the album. He remains the director of the band (including productions, editions, shows). He also manages the reggae band Sunshiners that is made up of ex-members of Mister Gang. Members are mainly from

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

. Some members of Mister Gang were recording with Tryo and that's where they met Bibou, who convinced them to launch Sunshiners. The new formation was made up of vocalist Gero Iaviniau, John Kapala, Jake Moses and Ben Siro as well as musicians Arthur Romijn (guitar), Chewinoo (drums), Toko (bass), Capt'n (keyboards), Feal Le Rouzic (saxophone), Mols (trumpet) and Thomas (trombone), Sunshiners had their debut album in June 2006, composed of reggae remakes of 1980s songs including hits by

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

and others.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

Box albums

*2005: ''Mamagubida / Grain de sable'' (FR: #144) *2008: ''Ce que l'on sème / Mamagubida'' (FR: #153)

Singles

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Featured in

DVDs

* 2002: ''Tryo et les Arrosés: Reggae à coups d'cirque'' * 2005: ''Tryo au cabaret sauvage'' * 2006: ''Tryo fête ses 10 ans...'' * 2009: ''Sous les étoiles''

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control French reggae musical groups Musical groups established in 1995