![](\"https:\/\/www.haru-agency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VaL-15-02-26-export-01-scaled.jpg\" "\\"Val")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Nout'Souk<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nDriven by R\u00e9unionese pianist, singer, and composer Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef, Akoda has been developing a singular identity since 2013, summed up by the expression \u201cMuzik pou lo k\u00e8r\u201d \u2013 music for the heart. With Nout\u2019Souk, the band deepens and amplifies this work around a deeply embodied kreol jazz, where maloya, traditional Creole songs, Afro\u2011Caribbean pulses, and the codes of contemporary jazz intersect. Akoda\u2019s music draws on organic energy and intense, passionate playing, sustaining a constant dialogue between memory, identity, cultural cross\u2011breeding, and modern improvisation, giving rise to a powerful, visceral, and instantly engaging Creole jazz.<\/p>\nIn 2026, the project enters a new chapter with a high\u2011calibre revamped line\u2011up built around Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef. Cuban percussionist Inor Sotolongo, \u201cthe international backbone\u201d, brings experience forged alongside major jazz and world\u2011music figures such as Herbie Hancock, Omar Sosa, Roberto Fonseca, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Mario Canonge.<\/p>\n
Depending on the configuration, the band welcomes a \u201cprestige guest\u201d: either alto saxophonist G\u00e9raldine Laurent, double Victoires du Jazz winner (2008, 2020), Django Reinhardt Prize 2008, saxophonist with Rhoda Scott and award\u2011winner of the Acad\u00e9mie Charles Cros; or harmonica player Laurent Maur, world harmonica champion and internationally renowned artist.<\/p>\n
Alongside them, Thomas Boud\u00e9, \u201cthe groove\u201d, a young multi\u2011instrumentalist bassist from the Compagnie Lubat and already heard with Sylvain Luc, Archie Shepp, and Michel Portal, anchors the project in a rhythm section that is both powerful and supple.<\/p>\n
At the centre, Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef, \u201cthe creator\u201d, signs the compositions and arrangements, asserting her place among the key figures on today\u2019s jazz scene. A graduate of the Bordeaux Conservatory and in musicology, she has collaborated with Mino Cin\u00e9lu, Thierry Fanfant, Omar Lye\u2011Fook, Joby Valente, D\u00e9d\u00e9 Saint\u2011Prix, Awa Ly, Sura Susso, and Lass, encounters that now all feed into Akoda\u2019s aesthetic.<\/p>\n
Akoda\u2019s music has quickly resonated with national and international media. The project has been described as \u201ca signature sound blending jazz and Creole ballads, powerful, visceral, immediate\u201d (Action Jazz, 2025) and as a \u201ckr\u00e9ol jazz that sticks to the skin\u201d (Radio France, 2022). FIP speaks of \u201cmusic for the heart, driven by the punch of an intense, passionate performance\u201d, while foreign press highlights \u201cmusic that is both intimate and universal\u201d (Le Nouvelliste, Haiti, 2026) and \u201ca living bridge between R\u00e9union, Africa, India and contemporary jazz\u201d (The Guide, Mumbai, 2024).<\/p>\n
The Sunday Statesman (Kolkata, 2024) emphasises the immersive dimension of the project, describing \u201can emotional experience\u201d crafted by the band. This second album and the wider project around it have been widely acclaimed by critics, confirming AKODA\u2019s unique place in the worlds of jazz and Creole music.<\/p>\n
With Nout\u2019Souk, Akoda continues to extend its international reach through music that transcends cultural boundaries. The band has performed in Haiti, R\u00e9union, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie\u2011Galante, Madagascar, Benin, mainland France, Saint\u2011Barth\u00e9lemy, the Comoros, and in India (Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore, New Delhi) as well as Kolkata.<\/p>\n
This presence on many stages illustrates the project\u2019s ability to connect with diverse audiences, whether they are familiar with maloya and Creole cultures or more rooted in jazz and improvised\u2011music traditions.<\/p>\n
Nout\u2019Souk is part of an already rich recording history:<\/p>\n
\n- Akoda (EP, 2013); ;<\/li>\n
- Mano a mano (EP, 2014); ;<\/li>\n
- Mariposa (EP, 2015); ;<\/li>\n
- Resonances (EP, 2017).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Muzik pou lo k\u00e8r (album, 2019), widely praised in the media, selected by RFI in March\u2013April 2022, \u201cAlbum of the Week\u201d on FIP, with strong support from France Musique and France Inter.<\/p>\n
The CD\/vinyl release of the project in 2022 marked an important milestone, consolidating AKODA\u2019s sonic signature and positioning Nout\u2019Souk as a natural extension of this journey: increasingly assured writing, a strong Creole foundation, and a constant openness to contemporary jazz.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Nout'Souk<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nDriven by R\u00e9unionese pianist, singer, and composer Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef, Akoda has been developing a singular identity since 2013, summed up by the expression \u201cMuzik pou lo k\u00e8r\u201d \u2013 music for the heart. With Nout\u2019Souk, the band deepens and amplifies this work around a deeply embodied kreol jazz, where maloya, traditional Creole songs, Afro\u2011Caribbean pulses, and the codes of contemporary jazz intersect. Akoda\u2019s music draws on organic energy and intense, passionate playing, sustaining a constant dialogue between memory, identity, cultural cross\u2011breeding, and modern improvisation, giving rise to a powerful, visceral, and instantly engaging Creole jazz.<\/p>\nIn 2026, the project enters a new chapter with a high\u2011calibre revamped line\u2011up built around Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef. Cuban percussionist Inor Sotolongo, \u201cthe international backbone\u201d, brings experience forged alongside major jazz and world\u2011music figures such as Herbie Hancock, Omar Sosa, Roberto Fonseca, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Mario Canonge.<\/p>\n
Depending on the configuration, the band welcomes a \u201cprestige guest\u201d: either alto saxophonist G\u00e9raldine Laurent, double Victoires du Jazz winner (2008, 2020), Django Reinhardt Prize 2008, saxophonist with Rhoda Scott and award\u2011winner of the Acad\u00e9mie Charles Cros; or harmonica player Laurent Maur, world harmonica champion and internationally renowned artist.<\/p>\n
Alongside them, Thomas Boud\u00e9, \u201cthe groove\u201d, a young multi\u2011instrumentalist bassist from the Compagnie Lubat and already heard with Sylvain Luc, Archie Shepp, and Michel Portal, anchors the project in a rhythm section that is both powerful and supple.<\/p>\n
At the centre, Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef, \u201cthe creator\u201d, signs the compositions and arrangements, asserting her place among the key figures on today\u2019s jazz scene. A graduate of the Bordeaux Conservatory and in musicology, she has collaborated with Mino Cin\u00e9lu, Thierry Fanfant, Omar Lye\u2011Fook, Joby Valente, D\u00e9d\u00e9 Saint\u2011Prix, Awa Ly, Sura Susso, and Lass, encounters that now all feed into Akoda\u2019s aesthetic.<\/p>\n
Akoda\u2019s music has quickly resonated with national and international media. The project has been described as \u201ca signature sound blending jazz and Creole ballads, powerful, visceral, immediate\u201d (Action Jazz, 2025) and as a \u201ckr\u00e9ol jazz that sticks to the skin\u201d (Radio France, 2022). FIP speaks of \u201cmusic for the heart, driven by the punch of an intense, passionate performance\u201d, while foreign press highlights \u201cmusic that is both intimate and universal\u201d (Le Nouvelliste, Haiti, 2026) and \u201ca living bridge between R\u00e9union, Africa, India and contemporary jazz\u201d (The Guide, Mumbai, 2024).<\/p>\n
The Sunday Statesman (Kolkata, 2024) emphasises the immersive dimension of the project, describing \u201can emotional experience\u201d crafted by the band. This second album and the wider project around it have been widely acclaimed by critics, confirming AKODA\u2019s unique place in the worlds of jazz and Creole music.<\/p>\n
With Nout\u2019Souk, Akoda continues to extend its international reach through music that transcends cultural boundaries. The band has performed in Haiti, R\u00e9union, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie\u2011Galante, Madagascar, Benin, mainland France, Saint\u2011Barth\u00e9lemy, the Comoros, and in India (Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore, New Delhi) as well as Kolkata.<\/p>\n
This presence on many stages illustrates the project\u2019s ability to connect with diverse audiences, whether they are familiar with maloya and Creole cultures or more rooted in jazz and improvised\u2011music traditions.<\/p>\n
Nout\u2019Souk is part of an already rich recording history:<\/p>\n
\n- Akoda (EP, 2013); ;<\/li>\n
- Mano a mano (EP, 2014); ;<\/li>\n
- Mariposa (EP, 2015); ;<\/li>\n
- Resonances (EP, 2017).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Muzik pou lo k\u00e8r (album, 2019), widely praised in the media, selected by RFI in March\u2013April 2022, \u201cAlbum of the Week\u201d on FIP, with strong support from France Musique and France Inter.<\/p>\n
The CD\/vinyl release of the project in 2022 marked an important milestone, consolidating AKODA\u2019s sonic signature and positioning Nout\u2019Souk as a natural extension of this journey: increasingly assured writing, a strong Creole foundation, and a constant openness to contemporary jazz.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
In 2026, the project enters a new chapter with a high\u2011calibre revamped line\u2011up built around Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef. Cuban percussionist Inor Sotolongo, \u201cthe international backbone\u201d, brings experience forged alongside major jazz and world\u2011music figures such as Herbie Hancock, Omar Sosa, Roberto Fonseca, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Mario Canonge.<\/p>\n
Depending on the configuration, the band welcomes a \u201cprestige guest\u201d: either alto saxophonist G\u00e9raldine Laurent, double Victoires du Jazz winner (2008, 2020), Django Reinhardt Prize 2008, saxophonist with Rhoda Scott and award\u2011winner of the Acad\u00e9mie Charles Cros; or harmonica player Laurent Maur, world harmonica champion and internationally renowned artist.<\/p>\n
Alongside them, Thomas Boud\u00e9, \u201cthe groove\u201d, a young multi\u2011instrumentalist bassist from the Compagnie Lubat and already heard with Sylvain Luc, Archie Shepp, and Michel Portal, anchors the project in a rhythm section that is both powerful and supple.<\/p>\n
At the centre, Val\u00e9rie Chane Tef, \u201cthe creator\u201d, signs the compositions and arrangements, asserting her place among the key figures on today\u2019s jazz scene. A graduate of the Bordeaux Conservatory and in musicology, she has collaborated with Mino Cin\u00e9lu, Thierry Fanfant, Omar Lye\u2011Fook, Joby Valente, D\u00e9d\u00e9 Saint\u2011Prix, Awa Ly, Sura Susso, and Lass, encounters that now all feed into Akoda\u2019s aesthetic.<\/p>\n
Akoda\u2019s music has quickly resonated with national and international media. The project has been described as \u201ca signature sound blending jazz and Creole ballads, powerful, visceral, immediate\u201d (Action Jazz, 2025) and as a \u201ckr\u00e9ol jazz that sticks to the skin\u201d (Radio France, 2022). FIP speaks of \u201cmusic for the heart, driven by the punch of an intense, passionate performance\u201d, while foreign press highlights \u201cmusic that is both intimate and universal\u201d (Le Nouvelliste, Haiti, 2026) and \u201ca living bridge between R\u00e9union, Africa, India and contemporary jazz\u201d (The Guide, Mumbai, 2024).<\/p>\n
The Sunday Statesman (Kolkata, 2024) emphasises the immersive dimension of the project, describing \u201can emotional experience\u201d crafted by the band. This second album and the wider project around it have been widely acclaimed by critics, confirming AKODA\u2019s unique place in the worlds of jazz and Creole music.<\/p>\n
With Nout\u2019Souk, Akoda continues to extend its international reach through music that transcends cultural boundaries. The band has performed in Haiti, R\u00e9union, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie\u2011Galante, Madagascar, Benin, mainland France, Saint\u2011Barth\u00e9lemy, the Comoros, and in India (Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore, New Delhi) as well as Kolkata.<\/p>\n
This presence on many stages illustrates the project\u2019s ability to connect with diverse audiences, whether they are familiar with maloya and Creole cultures or more rooted in jazz and improvised\u2011music traditions.<\/p>\n
Nout\u2019Souk is part of an already rich recording history:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Akoda (EP, 2013); ;<\/li>\n
- Mano a mano (EP, 2014); ;<\/li>\n
- Mariposa (EP, 2015); ;<\/li>\n
- Resonances (EP, 2017).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Muzik pou lo k\u00e8r (album, 2019), widely praised in the media, selected by RFI in March\u2013April 2022, \u201cAlbum of the Week\u201d on FIP, with strong support from France Musique and France Inter.<\/p>\n
The CD\/vinyl release of the project in 2022 marked an important milestone, consolidating AKODA\u2019s sonic signature and positioning Nout\u2019Souk as a natural extension of this journey: increasingly assured writing, a strong Creole foundation, and a constant openness to contemporary jazz.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>