Cléa Vincent (FR)

From her first album, Retiens mon désir (2016), Cléa Vincent established her irresistible pop duels and succeeded in speaking a universal language in French, a feat she confirmed with Nuits sans sommeil (2019). Tropi-Cléa 3, which completes the triptych of a tropical interlude begun in 2017, is a new and luminous demonstration of this.

A souvenir album from a tour in Central America, it draws from Latin music and the jazz roots in which Cléa Vincent honed her skills. Surrounded by her live musicians, who this time also contributed to the composition of the songs, she immerses us in a French take on exotica, heir to the French Riviera of the sixties. The album also echoes Cléa’s admiration for Nougaro, Sébastien Tellier, Gotan Project, Baden Powell, Tito Puente, and Gilberto Gil.

Like a playful defiance of confinement, Tropi-Cléa 3 opens the doors to a salvational and festive elsewhere.