The one with many names
Music has always been an integral component of my life, even if I spent years avoiding framing music-making as a potential career path as I was raised in a cultural and social space where music was mostly considered an idle pursuit, a hobby which could be tokenized to assert the family’s social status but nothing more. I have created and performed music under a variety of names over the past 34 years. The list includes but is not limited to:
Swaz, Swazmelody, Ilean and for the past 17 years Dieezah
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First ever official release as a solo artist, An ja lévé is now available at United Masters, on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook (for use in your shorts/reels) so feel free to check it out… Since its initial release May 17th 2023, it has been made available on more platforms, like the subsequent releases.
More tracks are on their way to the public. The unusual thing is that… Nah… To know about that, follow me on Instagram or Tiktok. That’s where I will spill the tea.
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About Don Julio
DonJulio is a mixed media artist who also happens to be a composer, singer-songriter. You can have a look at some of his graphic creations by clicking the white button with the cartoon character.
Born in Madagascar and raised in continental France, he plays several instruments, infusing each performance with a unique touch and contagious high energy. Based in Martinique for a while, he was the vocalist of several bands (at once, as unbelievable as it may seem) including the Fetish Heads and Orwell Jones.
He has since found a new home in a French village called Sauve so if you happen to be visiting, you might just be lucky enough to see him perform live. To know his next dates, follow him on Facebook!
Fun Facts
Because there was a life before the social media era
- In the mid 90s, aged 15 and already tired after several failed attemps at either joining or founding bands, I seized a couple of opportunities like singing live during a radio broadcast by a Famous Martinican DJ, experimenting in a studio with a couple of friends (who would end-up founding their own band called Hileaf) or jumping in during a sound system (dancehall scene).
- Was picked to be on a local television channel called CTV (Contact Télévision). A daily rotation for two weeks with a short acapella performance of my original song “I promise” in 1996
- Appeared as a guest vocalist on an indie track, Mal d’être, by Parisian Duo Escudos in the early 2000s
- Appeared on the indie mixtape Missile Sud 2 as a featured vocalist, background vocalist and lyricist in the early 2000s
- Former member of a band initially nameless that went on to be known as SYOL before it was dissolved, resurfacing later (minus a few members, me included) as a new entity with a brand new style and structure known as IBKS. While SYOL, founded by Maurice Mian was primarily a cover band, I contributed to the creation of two original songs that we got to perform live just once.
A labor of love from my student days
While I mostly provided background vocals and hooks for the songs I worked on, I also wrote a few lines for some. This mixtape was primarily sold in the parisian region.
Songs I contributed to include:
Seul et libre
Feel it
Le Monde Change
SYOL
Joining the budding band without a name in 2006 was something unexpected. It was a happy accident that allowed a common acquaintance to introducte me to band leader Maurice. During the short lifespan of the band, we rehearsed cover versions of local and international hits and I wrote two original songs for the band inspired by our improv sessions.
We did perform all of these songs together at a private event before the band ceased to exist.
Jam Sessions
In a spirit similar to what had led me to the sound system scene during my teenage years, after leaving Europe once more, I got involved in the jam session scene of Fort-de-France for a short while. The Nectar, The Vieux Foyal, Un Oeuf were some of the spots where you might have heard me live.
Queen of Improv
One can think I have my teenage hip-hop phase to thank for that while others will credit my neurodivergent brain but I seem to have developped a knack for improvising. From jumping in live as a backup vocalist on a song I don’t know, riding a track I never heard on air while adapting my own song or someone else’s to it to inventing a whole nursery rhyme on the spot to amuse my toddler, over the past 34 years I’ve done it all. It’s only in recent years that it hit me that not everyone does this.
Check out my music portfolio
