Tom Frager
Encyclopedia
Tom Frager is a French songwriter and performer in the group Gwayav' and is ten times a surfer winner in Guadeloupe
. He is primarily known for his French hit "Lady Melody
", which was number-one for four weeks.
. He joined the team of France and, with his guitar, wrote songs during his travels around the world for competitions.
In 2002, he formed the group Gwayav' with four of his friends, musicians and surfers. Their debut album Bloom Inside sold nearly 5,000 copies. Tom Frager mixed pop, rock, reggae
, ska
and jazz
with original melodies and broken rhythm. His influences range from reggae by Bob Marley
to rock by Sublime and pop soul by Jason Mraz
.
Frager co-wrote with other artists, like Tom Curren
and Keziah Jones' guitarist Amen Viana. He was on stage alongside Alpha Blondy
, Toots & the Maytals, Patrice, Groundation, Sizzla, Sublime Tribute, the People of the Grass and performed on major festivals such as French Francofolies
of La Rochelle
or the Extravagance of Biarritz. Tom Frager & Gwayav' gave almost 400 concerts in a period of seven years.
Frager achieved national notability in September 2009 with his song "Lady Melody", which entered the French singles chart at number-one and stayed there for four weeks. The song was also number-one on the French digital chart. After the success of this first single from the album Better Days, a new single, "Give Me That Love", was scheduled to be released. The album had a peak at number five in August 2009.
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Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
. He is primarily known for his French hit "Lady Melody
Lady Melody (song)
"Lady Melody" is a 2009 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Tom Frager with his group Gwayav'. It is his debut single from his 2008 album Better Days...
", which was number-one for four weeks.
Biography
Born in Senegal, Tom Frager grew in Guadeloupe where he became the most successful local surfer of his generation. He moved to metropolitan France in 2000 and lived in BordeauxBordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. He joined the team of France and, with his guitar, wrote songs during his travels around the world for competitions.
In 2002, he formed the group Gwayav' with four of his friends, musicians and surfers. Their debut album Bloom Inside sold nearly 5,000 copies. Tom Frager mixed pop, rock, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
with original melodies and broken rhythm. His influences range from reggae by Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
to rock by Sublime and pop soul by Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
.
Frager co-wrote with other artists, like Tom Curren
Tom Curren
Tom Curren Tom Curren Tom Curren (born July 3, 1964, in Santa Barbara, California is an American surfer. He was born to father Pat (big-wave legend and shaper) and mother Jeanine. His brother Joe is also a professional surfer and popular photographer and he also has a sister, Anna....
and Keziah Jones' guitarist Amen Viana. He was on stage alongside Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy is a reggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew...
, Toots & the Maytals, Patrice, Groundation, Sizzla, Sublime Tribute, the People of the Grass and performed on major festivals such as French Francofolies
Francofolies
Francofolies, common name of various music festivals including:* Les FrancoFolies de Montréal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada* Les Francofolies de La Rochelle, in La Rochelle, France* Les Francofolies de Spa in Spa, Belgium...
of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
or the Extravagance of Biarritz. Tom Frager & Gwayav' gave almost 400 concerts in a period of seven years.
Frager achieved national notability in September 2009 with his song "Lady Melody", which entered the French singles chart at number-one and stayed there for four weeks. The song was also number-one on the French digital chart. After the success of this first single from the album Better Days, a new single, "Give Me That Love", was scheduled to be released. The album had a peak at number five in August 2009.
Members of the group Gwayav'
- Tom Frager : vocals, guitar
- Henry Daurel : guitar
- Janine Terhoff : chorus
- Carolina Carmona : chorus
- Stephane Garcia Tudela : drum kit
- Jerome Gron : piano
- Lionel Dubourdieu : bass
- Marc Closier : saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Thomas Renwick : guitar
- Fabrice Lefèvre : sound engineer
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | FR (DD)1 | BEL (WA) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
SWI | ||
| 2006 | Bloom Inside | ||||
| 2009 | Better Days |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | FR (DD)1 | BEL (WA) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
SWI | |||
| 2009 | "Lady Melody Lady Melody (song) "Lady Melody" is a 2009 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Tom Frager with his group Gwayav'. It is his debut single from his 2008 album Better Days... " (Tom Frager & Gwayav') |
Better Days | ||||
| 2010 | "Give Me That Love" (Tom Frager & Gwayav') |
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| "Home" | ||||||
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