Fm Laeti
Laetitia, was born in the Guadeloupean town of Les Abymes. Like her island, which she likes to call Karukera meaning “island of beautiful waters” in Arawak, the original language, she has a solar personality and a diverse culture.
Laetitia Bourgeois grew up around the love of music. Her father was the first drummer for the band Kassav’ and her mother participated in the creation of a music school in Point-à-Pître. Early on, Laetitia was initiated to Caribbean rhythms, biguine and Gwo Ka (all typical styles from Guadeloupe) and to being near the stage.
When she was seven years old, her parents divorced and two years later, she made the big move to Canada with her mother, stepfather and younger sister. After a short period in Vancouver, the family settles in Manitoba. The little Caribbean princess will learn to conquer the cold. Music is always present seeing as her canadian stepfather is a classical pianist. In their home; Mozart, Bartok, Messiaen, Miles Davis but also Salif Keita, Mory Kanté, Michael Jackson and the Beatles can be heard.
Eventually Laeti joins the choir at the local conservatory. It’s obvious: her voice is her instrument. She takes vocal jazz classes and also dances twenty hours a week. She dreams of being a singer but also a prima ballerina.
At seventeen, she joins Knox College near Chicago, Illinois. She studies art and theatre and also starts to write lyrics. In 2002, diploma in hand, she leaves for Paris and all its lights, a dream of hers. While working as a costume designer, stylist or doing English voice-overs, she also gains stage experience with several jazz ensembles as did her father. It’s on this course that she’ll make a life-changing encounter. In 2009, as a guest on Radio Campus, Laeti meets singer- songwriter, François-Marie Dru. In less than an hour, their complicity becomes obvious. They have worked together ever since. François-Marie is also influenced by the mixture of black and white music and by the unruly children of Chuck Berry, Ray Charles and B.B. King such as the Beatles, the Stones, Clapton or J.J. Cale.
Between the two of them, Laetitia and François-Marie create FM LAETI. After a few months of composing their first songs, the duo grows and is joined by Pierre-Marie Dru, brother of the composer and both producer and creator of Pigalle Production.
In Summer 2010, they record their first album with Yann Arnaud at Studio de la Frette. They are joined by Christophe Minck, Steve Argüelles, Laurian Daire, Ludovic Bruni, Fatoumata Diawara and many other musicians. The album will be mixed by the talented Stéphane Briat. In May 2011, the single Rise in the Sun comes out, followed by the album It Will All Come Around in October. A two year tour ensues.
End of 2012, Laeti, FM and PM retreat to a house in Provence and begin to write the first songs that will become their second album, For The Music. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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