In a few words

Myalmé is a six-piece band from Nantes, France that forges a distinctive musical identity, showcasing pop- and soul-infused vocals, funky brass, powerful grooves, and innovative style-blending arrangements inspired by jazz, hip-hop, funk, and afrobeat. Influences ranges from Vulfpeck to Tom Misch or Ezra Collective.

After two intense seasons and dozens of concerts, the band settled into Le Batiskaf studio (Hocus Pocus, Malted Milk, C2C) in the winter of 2023 to bring a new four-track EP to life.

 

IN a few years

Myalmé is the new musical project from the duo formed on the school benches in 2014 by guitarist Antoine Tourasse and bassist Emmanuel Peteuil. Benches that they left  the following year to move to London and learn from the best local musicians. This led to their first EP, "Interconnection", on which they laid the foundations of Myalmé’s sound: pop vocals, a funky horn section, an emphasis on grooves and arrangements at the crossroads of nu funk, neo soul, pop and jazz. "Interconnection" symbolizes the intense and enriching interweaving of human bonds they forged with their fellow students at the London Centre of Creative Media, many of whom appear on the 4 tracks recorded in the Centre's studio. The duo then took the name "Salt Peanuts", in homage not to the jazz standard, but to the initials of Snarky Puppy, who were revolutionizing modern jazz and their own musical experience.

It was in 2017 that their love of disco, funk and soul (then reborn as nu funk and neo soul with bands like Vulfpeck, Hiatus Kayote and Tom Misch) brought the pair together again, this time in Paris, around a new team. The project, still called Salt Peanuts, recorded two new EPs: 'Le Son du Graphite' and 'Bloom'. On the first, the band goes deeper in the hip hop vibe with MC and poet Temo, taking inspiration from icons like Gaël Faye or Hocus Pocus. Their cover of Strasbourg St Denis by Roy Hargrove remains their most listened-to track to date. On the following 'Bloom', the emphasis is put on intense grooves, punchy and funky horns led by Italian saxophonist Mattia Feliciani and soulful melodies from singer Nadia El Kihal.  The band have been busy playing Paris venues such as Les Disquaires, Bus Palladium and Alimentation Générale.

During the pandemic, the duo felt the need for a change of scenery and decided to move west to Nantes. Surrounded by a new group of musicians, they crafted a repertoire alternating between their original compositions and covers reinterpreted in the style of Scary Pockets. This new balance enabled them to alternate between different types of event: festivals such as Loire's Ondes 2023, theatres such as the Théâtre de l’Avant-Scène in Trélazé, or bars and guinguettes in Nantes, as well as corporate parties, weddings, etc. In the winter of 2023, after two full seasons and several dozen concerts, the group moved into the Batiskaf studio (Hocus Pocus, Malted Milk, C2C) under the guidance of Lionel Rigaudy (Pony Pony Run Run) to record a new EP to be released this autumn under their new name Myalmé. The name, rediscovered from a teenage notebook, symbolizes not just a rebirth, but also a new artistic direction and a more mature sound.