Inui (FRANCE)

Since 2019, INUI has strived not to reinvent anything but to reinvent themselves in everything.

Valeria Vitrano – Voice
Clémence Lagier – Voice
Maya Cros – Keyboards
Dimitri Kogane – Drums

What resonates, first and foremost, are the voices. Modern and alive. They tremble, sometimes with rebellion and torment, and at other times with warmth and lyrical flights. What we hear is volcanic, liquid, and airy matter. Full of vertigo.

The two vocalists express the breadth of the natural world from gentle images of birds hidden in forests, to the harshness of sea-pounded rocks. Maya Cros on keyboards and Dimitri Kogane on drums drive things forward with psychedelic ostinatos and a rock-tinged rhythmic engine.

Inspired by Inuit and African hunter-gatherer songs, the voices are constantly reinvented and recomposed. Duel and vocal fusions, imperturbable synthetic bass, drums raising its ostinatos. The quartet sets fire with Incendie, takes some fresh air with Aria and shamanizes with Primitives.

Inui "Primitives" Live at La Dynamo de Banlieues Bleues, Paris, 2023

Infused with frenzied rhythms, flirting with jazz and the trance of electronic music, INUI's music is multifaceted with the audacity of primal arts. Care for detail and choice of movement inhabit it. Square like an experimental pop machinery, committed like a rock thrust, the music of the quartet is stunning, stubborn and persistent, multiple and unanimous. The quartet ignites with "Incendie", takes a long breath with "Aria", and engages in shamanic rituals with "Primitives".

In the continuum of this exploration of sound and musicality, the two voices pursue and find each other, playfully jostle and merge. Clémence Lagier's voice explores and seeks to express the gentleness and harshness of an imagination woven with forests, migratory birds, and surreal reverie. Valeria Vitrano's voice, powerful and mellow, carries the sounds of a Sicily where volcanoes rumble, where waves crash against rocks with passionate fury. Supporting and enveloping the two voices are the bass and percussion, fluidly, tirelessly, and powerfully. Maya Cros holds the bass in one hand and the ostinatos and psychedelia in the other. Dimitri Kogane strikes the drums as naturally as others breathe.

INUI released their very first EP "Murmuration" in early 2023 under the Bordeaux label Mazeto Square. In August 2022 the group won first prize in the Crest Jazz Festival international vocal jazz competition. In 2023, INUI was also the winner of the Occijazz and Transes Cévenoles creative residencies. In 2021 the group participated in the European MP3 exchange project which allowed them to play as the opening act for jazz saxophonist Stefano di Battista and was selected in 2020 by the “Sur mesure” support program in partnership with Le Metronum, Music'Halle and the Direction des Musiques de la ville de Toulouse.

Inui perform at 12 Points 2024 on September 25th at 20:15. Click here for tickets!

Inui are supported by Jazz Migration at 12 Points 2024