Tunisian born Jean-Pierre Smadja, or 'Smadj', was influenced from an early age by an eclectic mix of Oriental and Brazilian music, jazz, funk and Soul. As a guitarist, Smadj toured the jazz clubs of Paris with a variety of groups for 10 years. When he later began to fuse this jazz sound with the Eastern, African and Latin grooves from his youth, Paris audiences were captivated. He called this new sound "Tatoum". After collaborating live with groups such as French band Faudel and Fela Kuti's drummer Tony Allen