Okoumé was a Quebec based folk-rock band from 1995 to 2002. The group was formed in 1995 and originally consisted only of founding members Jonathan Painchaud, Éloi Painchaud, Michael Duguay, Hugo Perreault, and Éric Gosselin.
History The group formed in 1995 received the first prize in French Canadian radio station CKOI-FM's "Le concours Pro-Scène" ("Pro-Scene Contest"), which yielded them one hundred hours in a recording studio. They were also the opening act for noted French Canadian singer-songwriter Kevin Parent.
Their eponymous first album was released in 1997. Four tracks from the album ("Dis-moi pas ça", "La lune pleure", "Le bruit des origines", and "La mer à boire") placed in weekly Top Ten rankings, with "Le bruit des origines" ranking at number in CKOI-FM's Top 50 of 1998 and "La mer à boire" ranking at number 24 the following year."Okoumé : On aime ça jouer à Terrebonne!". La Revue, 1 September 2000 The band went on tour to support these releases."Survivre au succès"/ La Press, 05 March 2012. Alexandre Vigneault
Okoumé released their second album, Plan B, in 2000."Okoumé : Le beau risque". Voir, Marsolais Patrick 1 February 2001 The album failed to capture the interest of the public, so the group decided to disband in 2002.
The band reformed for a reunion show in 2014, as part of Montreal's Coup de coeur francophone festival.Painchaud retrouve ses vieux chums". Journal de Montreal. Olivier Boisvert-Magnen / 16 November 2014
Members Michel Duguay - bass Éric Gosselin - drums, percussion Frédéric Lebrasseur - percussion (1995 only) Éloi Painchaud - backing vocals, guitar, harmonica, flute Jonathan Painchaud - lead vocals, acoustic guitar"Northern songbird" . The Nation, by Martin Siberok / on July 2, 2010 Patrice Painchaud - violin, keyboards (occasional appearances only) Hugo Perreault - backing vocals, guitars, dulcimer, lap steel guitar, mandolin
Discography
Okoumé (1997)
1. Le bruit des origines 2. Dis-moi pas ça 3. À l'enfant que j'aurai 4. La mer à boire 5. La lune pleure 6. Europe 7. Mes idées courent 8. Mr. Bigshot 9. Reste 10. La belle et l'Anglais 11. Assassin 12. Nostradamus
Plan B (2000)
1. Irresponsable 2. Descendons tous à la rue 3. Son rire 4. Cheval de fer 5. (www.groupeokoume.com) 6. De la terre à la lune 7. Expert canin 8. Western spaghetti 9. Un homme de mon temps 10. Sans pardon 11. La pluie qui tombe 12. Les magiciens 13. Rien me tracasse
References
External links Quebec Info Musique: