Outlines

www.myspace.com/outlinesparis

Outlines are long-time friends Jerome, Irfane and Jay1. Although the paths of life led the three members to interact – Jerome and Irfane went to high-school together – it is hip-hop culture that is responsible for their union. Indeed, while, in the early nineties, Jerome was breakdancing, both Irfane and Jay1 were writing graffiti. Since the late eighties, Jay1 has established himself as one of the finest French writers, collaborating with fashion designers (agnes b., 55 DSL, Maharishi, Takeo Kikuchi) and exhibiting in galleries from Berlin and Tokyo to London and NYC, either alone or with his crew, BadBC (Skki, Ash).

After several unpleasant experiences with police authorities, Irfane decided to trade-in his spray cans for records, and explored another one of hip-hop branches, dee-jaying. This eventually led him into musical production. When they were still in their late teens, Jerome and Irfane linked up with New York MCs Shabazz the Disciple and the Arsonists. The two schoolmates organized a European tour for the acts, and soon found themselves doing studio sessions with them and a few other European bands. After working for two years with Daft Punk’s management, Jerome eventually got into executive production (Blue Note Revisited, RZA, French Connection…) while Irfane continued to make beats (Shabazz the Disciple, Shurik’n, Afrob, Gentleman…).

Today, the trio is ready to release its first LP for Berlin-based label Sonar Kollektiv. The band gained critical acclaim with its first single, “Just a lil’ lovin’”, which has been played and playlisted by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Mr. Scruff, King Britt, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Peter Kruder, Pedro Winter, Laurent Garnier and Josh Wink – a little name-dropping can’t hurt… The follow up to this tune, “Listen to the Drums”, was immediately playlisted by alternative trendsetter Radio Nova in France, and the Outlines’ recently released remix of DJ Mehdi’s “Lucky Boy” is rapidly gaining critical acclaim. Outlines’ album, “Our Lives Are Too Short”, is a fusion of jazz and pop through samplers and keyboards with soulful vocals. But the backbone of the music remains hip-hop, in the beat, in the attitude. Not the hip-hop you hear on the radio nowadays, but rather the bold hip-hop from latter days, when musical boundaries were often broken to create this fabulous mélange of genres. Collaborations with artists like Beat Assailant, RZA and French MC Abd al Malik spice up this gourmet menu… Jerome and Irfane still find time to spin records in clubs around the world, from your local hip-hop pit-stop to high-end clubs like Cain in NYC, neo(club) in Paris and The Cuckoo Club in London. On stage, Outlines is joined by a quartet (bass, drums, keyboards, guitar), adding the “jam element” to their complex programming. The crew has recently collaborated with director Thibaut de Longeville to create the soundtrack for his documentary on the sneaker culture, “Just for Kicks”, which was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival. Currently, Outlines is working on the musical content for Mathieu Kassovitz’s next blockbuster, “Babylon AD”, starring Hollywood hitman Vin Diesel.