Like many Mauritian artists, two of the Clarisse sisters, Annick and Véronique, began their singing careers in hotels around the island. In 1991, while performing at the St Géran Hotel, the twins were approached by the singer of the group Erasure, Andy Bell, who was on holiday in Mauritius. In March of the following year, the twins embarked on a world tour with the British synth-pop band, then at the peak of its career.
In London, the two 24 year old Mauritians found themselves preparing a huge show that would tour for 10 months throughout Europe and North America. Playing the keyboard, Vince Clarke, that the fans of electronic music of the early 80's will know as leader and composer of the beginnings of Depeche Mode ("I just can't get enough" is from him), then in another popular duet of the British "new wave" scene: Yazoo with the talented Alison Moyet as singer.
The jump, rather brisk, from the small stage of the St Géran to the 3000-seat halls of the Hammersmith Odeon in London is a massive plunge into the international music industry for the two sisters. The whole thing was topped by the almost surreal experience of an appearance on the BBC set at the end of March 1992, in the popular show "Top of the Pops", when Erasure's single "Abbesque" was number 1 in the charts. Before going on stage that day, Annick and Véronique chatted with Lionel Richie, then met Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow from Take that. It is fair to say they were on another planet.
The phenomenal success of this tour is the beginning of a long career as backup singers on the British pop scene. In March 1994, they returned to London for a second world tour, this time with the singer Basia. Their collaboration lasted 21 years, until the very last concert at the Cape Town Jazz Festival, in March 2015. In the meantime, Annick and Véronique worked in the studio or on stage with Billie Ray Martin, China Black, Howard Jones and of course Incognito, the group founded by another Mauritian, Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick.
At the same time, Dominique, the older sister, who also started her career on the St Géran stage, was invited to sing with Chris de Burgh, the Irish star of "Lady in Red" in St Tropez. The highlight of her career at the St Géran is sharing the stage with Whitney Houston herself on the iconic song "I will always love you”! This will be the culmination of many performances with popular artists staying at the St Géran: Boy George, Johnny Halliday...
Thursday, December 22nd, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. is not just a concert date for the Beau Bassin Rose Hill singing trio. It is the cherry on top of an exceptional year for their group. Indeed, this show promises to celebrate the sophisticated world of The Clarisse Sisters, in style. A group of 6 musicians, the best of the Mauritian jazz scene. Two surprise guests will also be on stage for the finale, including a talented young British trumpet player, who was part of the "BBC Youth Orchestra", the group formed by the best young instrumentalists of the United Kingdom, playing every year at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Annick, Dominique and Véronique have a few surprises in store for the attendees... including the presence of backup singers for the very first time, a first for the Clarisse sisters who have mastered this role for so many years.
The 18 songs that will be played that evening will also include covers of great pop-jazz-soul classics reorchestrated by the Clarisse Sisters' Musical Director, the very talented jazz pianist Jean-René Bastien.
But the heart of the concert will be the "TCS" repertoire, with the group's flagship tracks, including a few excerpts, not to be missed from their first album, Kaleidoscope! released in 2015. This show will obviously feature the new album. The singles "Fire & Ice," "Gravity" and "Butterflies in June" will be featured. The audience will also be able to discover the other key tracks of this album which has been a great success in Europe (especially in Poland and the United Kingdom), then in the United States since March 2022.
Lovers of Acid Jazz, Neo Soul, or refined pop, book your tickets to discover these uniquely talented singers, whose past year was an absolute success with an album praised by critics in Europe and the USA.
