DAJLA
Born in France of a Tunisian dad and a French mother, Dajla begins playing piano at the age of 7, inspired by her parents’ Soul, Jazz, Reggae, and Blues record collection. She first trains in classical and jazz, before teaching herself the bass age 16. In the summer of 1992 she meets California band Fishbone’s lead singer, Angelo Moore. The encounter will be highly influential in the young artist’s journey. Age 18, armed with bass and keys, she settles in London and makes her way through the ska, indie and cross-over music scenes, before moving back to France.
In 2004 she meets producer-musician Benjamin “Benji” Bouton, a key player in the French acoustic Hip-hop scene. Their partnership will be successful : together they write and produce Dajla’s first LP, “Soul Poetry”, voted “Best Album of the Year” by Groove Magazine. Her single ‘Remember Me” brings her to the French iTunes Top 5 position, right next to Mary J. Blige. That same year, she is voted “Revelation of the Year” at several major festivals and “Remember Me” is synced to an international Dove Chocolate Commercial. This marks the start of her international career with tours and festivals around the world, sharing the stage with internationally acclaimed artists such as Manu Dibango, De La Soul, the Brand New Heavies, Amp Fiddler, Joy Denalane, Nneka, Omar…
Meanwhile Dajla collaborates with other artists as a songwriter and a vocalist. She co-writes the Gold-certified single “Move On” by Hocus Pocus. In 2007, French -Gabonese dance director Herwann Asseh invites her to Libreville, Gabon, to write the music of his show, “99”. This journey back to Africa will give birth to her 2nd record, “The Motherland”, followed by another album, “The Meaning of Life” , a blend of urban soul, afro-funk and hip-hop that she calls “Afrodelic” Soul. Angelo Moore (from Fishbone) performs with her on the single titled “Consequences”.
Dajla’s life takes a new turn in 2014 : she is then living in London, working on her 3rd album while hanging and performing in the jazz scene, when she decides to cross the Atlantic Ocean after meeting producer-engineer “Comissioner” Gordon Williams. Gordon Williams has won 7 Grammy Awards including for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” and Santana’s “Supernatural”. Additional credits include Joss Stone‘s multi-platinum “Mind, Body & Soul” , Damian Marley’s “Welcome To Jamrock”, and Amy Winehouse’s platinum debut album “Frank”.
Gordon and Dajla meet in New York City and through their work, initially around her new album and as a writing-production team, they found the White Tiger Society, an international art collective. While in the US, Dajla collaborates and performs with legendary artists such as Harry Belafonte, Stephen Marley and Ky-Mani Marley, Aston Barrett Jr. from The Wailers, The Skatalites, Morgan Heritage, Blinky Bill and Sauti Sol from Kenya.
After 7 years working in NYC, Dajla now resides in France and through her own production company, Lalia Music, is setting up a team of partners for her new album, working on a new documentary about her epic musical journey, entitled “My Dream”.
Lastly, while in New York, Dajla founded and implemented a bilingual music education program to work with the youth. First as a Manhattan-based piano, voice and songwriting instructor she has since developed her program in France and internationally, and today is running workshops and collaborating with international schools, as well as further developing her own music school and non-profit association, Heaven Citizen.
Comissioner Gordon Williams’ impact on popular music is undeniable. Dubbed the “Comissioner” (yes, just one “m”) by rapper KRS-One, he experienced the creation of Hip-Hop up close in the Bronx and began DJing & producing. Throughout his career, he has won multiple Grammy Awards including Album of the Year wins for The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill and Santana’s Supernatural. Additional credits include Joss Stone‘s multi-platinum Mind Body & Soul, Damian Marley’s Grammy-award winning Welcome to Jamrock, and Amy Winehouse’s debut album Frank.
