Orange Street

Orange Street is a French ska group from Jouy-le-Moutier, active since 1997. The current members listed are Cédric Zaczek and Thierry Arnold. The band develops a sound rooted in ska, with clear links to reggae, rocksteady and dub, and its work also draws on the wider history of Jamaican music.

Formation and early years

The group forms in September 1997 in the Nautilus studios in Jouy-le-Moutier, where five musicians come together to continue composing. By November 1997, the first brass player, a trombonist, joins and helps bring in rocksteady and a new move towards ska. In early 1998, a recent demo places the band among the “Découvertes du Val d’Oise” on the ADIAM 95 compilation Amplitudes 95.

Its first promotional concert takes place in June 1998 at FNAC Cergy, followed by support slots for K2R Riddim on the main stage in Jouy-le-Moutier. Later that year, a trumpet and an alto saxophone/flute player join, and the guitarist changes. The repertoire is reshaped in Neuville-sur-Oise and through concerts in pubs and student events as the band prepares to play for a wider national audience.

First tours and recordings

Orange Street plays its first provincial date in March 1999 at the Rex in Briouze, supporting Western Special and 100 grammes de têtes. During 1999 it increases its concert schedule, completes its first tour across France, and builds enough material to record a first self-produced album.

In February 2000 the band records Step In over three weeks at Cayenne studios in Val-de-Marne. Tripsichord, under licence with Small Axe, distributes the release, which comes out nationally in July 2000. The record sells steadily despite the summer period. In August 2000 the band tours again, from Toulouse to Brest, and in October 2000 it contributes three unreleased tracks to two compilations.

Line-up changes and later albums

At the end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001, the group focuses on renewing its repertoire while trying to professionalise. In April 2001 the singer leaves, followed by the trumpeter, and the band continues in a revised formation. A new trumpet player then joins, and the summer 2001 promotion tour for Cayenne Dub Session, a dub LP derived from Step In and released on 8 June 2001, gives the group fresh momentum.

Between November 2001 and January 2002, the band works on a new demo with many unreleased songs and begins collaborating with Oh Lord productions, which handles its concerts. It records, mixes and masters Shakin' Up at Studio 4 between March and April 2002. The album is released nationally in July 2002 through 2 Good, after a change of distributor.

From May to September 2002, Orange Street tours to promote the album and continues its move towards professional status. Between autumn 2002 and spring 2003, FNAC names the band a “jeune talent”, leading to many showcases across France.

Live work, releases and community projects

In March 2003 the band undertakes a residency at the EMB in Val-d’Oise to prepare a live recording for its first live release. A concert recorded there sells out, and the resulting set is mainly ska, while also including newly written pieces. After another guitarist leaves, a replacement with studio and stage experience joins immediately. The group then tours in Italy, returns to Switzerland, and continues to play across France.

One Live, One Ska ! appears in October 2003 and includes video material from the concert. Around the same period, the band has to move when the Bossut barracks close, eventually organising rehearsals and administration from new premises and later from a rehabilitated hangar in Auvers-sur-Oise, shared with Nordside and Kafassala in summer 2004.

From 2004 onwards, Orange Street develops an ambitious project centred on Jamaican music history. In 2005 it turns this into a pedagogical stage show on Jamaican music, supported by Val-d’Oise and Île-de-France bodies. The project includes recordings for a professional maxi, invited musicians, and later the title Odyssée Jamaïque, which becomes a key part of the band’s live activity. A trombone position and other line-up roles change repeatedly during this period, and the band adds voices and instrumental guests, including members of The Elements and collaborators from K2R Riddim.

Work continues on Pirates & Treasures, a double album concept that spans nearly a century of Jamaican music, from the drum era to electronic styles. The project is built around a pirate-and-ancient-cartography theme and is planned as a multi-disc release with a strong visual format. Orange Street also gives conferences and stripped-down live presentations linked to its educational work, combining performance with explanations of Jamaican music.

Style and approach

The band’s catalogue moves from ska into rocksteady, dub and related Jamaican forms. Over time it keeps expanding its repertoire while shifting between recordings, tours, live films, educational concerts and conference-style presentations. Its work is closely tied to the history of Jamaican music and to the French ska scene.