Sinsemilia (whose name comes from the type of Cannabis) has been around since 1992. Made up initially of three childhood friends in Grenoble and the surrounding area, the group found itself complete when several friends joined the ranks of the richly coloured combo. Hailing from several immigrant communities in France, the members form an exemplary melting pot. There is: Mike on vocals, Rike on vocals and guitar, Natty on bass, Ivan on drums, Zaz on keyboards, Roukin on percussion and flute, Karine and Luck on saxophone, Fafa on trumpet and Rachid doing sound.

If the band took its first steps by doing Bob Marley classics in the bedroom of one of its members, Sinsemilia quickly found itself playing on different stages where their training would scour their native region. After this breaking-in period, the band felt that it was time to record an album.

It was done in '96 with "Première récolte", a self-produced opus that Sinsemilia handled themselves from its recording to its final distribution to record shops. The songs which were all in English didn't prevent it from selling 40,000 copies throughout France. Well-received by the public, it also helped them to gain ground, little by little, outside their native region. They then played at Summum, the biggest venue in Grenoble in March of the same year. We could no longer count the number of concerts they did across France. Sinsemilia gathered a lot of young people around their fighting and militant spirit against intolerance, selfishness, social inequality or the rise of certain political movements like the extreme right.

The group played to a sold out audience at the Bataclan in Paris in June '97. They also played at the Eurockéennes in Belfort a short time later. Sinsemilia left the independent circuit and signed a record contract with Double T music in '98. The group went to the studio in January of that year to record a new album "Résistances" which came out in May. This time the lyrics were in French which allowed the group to make themselves understood better by their public. Notably "La flamme" an anti-National Front song, which had difficulty being aired on the radio because it was judged too political, as well as "la Mauvaise réputation" a cover of the George Brassens song which denounces intolerance in all forms.

Sinsemilia's strength comes from the stage. The group played all over France and showed what they knew how to do-live. On June 27, 1998, they played at Paris' Bercy pavillion with the cream of International Reggae, from Ziggy Marley to Third World. "Résistances" sold more than 120,000 copies thus rivalling the French rappers on the battlefield.

Sinsémilia spent most of '99 on the road, touring non-stop until the end of the year and bringing the house down wherever they played. In between concerts the group concentrated their efforts on songwriting, penning a series of songs for their new album. Sinsémilia ended up producing their new album, "Tout c'qu'on a", themselves and it finally hit the shops in June 2000. The lyrics on the album marked a new-found maturity in the group's style - a few years back, for instance, it would have been inconceivable for the group to write "Histoire de ganja", a song about the negative effects of smoking too much cannabis! However, "Tout c'qu'on a" also proved Sinsémilia had lost none of their hard-hitting militancy, tackling sensitive and highly topical subjects that more commercial groups steer clear of.

Maintaining their reputation for being a group with a message, Sinsémilia also showed they were a group who liked to party - especially on stage at their vibrant live shows! Following the release of the album "Tout c'qu'on a" in France, Sinsémilia began looking further afield, taking their hot French reggae mix to other European countries.

Sinsémilia hit the road again in France in March 2001, kicking off a new 40-date tour in their hometown, Grenoble. But, unfortunately, the group's tour came to an abrupt halt when one of the guitarists broke his hand. After a brief convalescence, he picked up his instrument again and Sinsémilia began touring again in July.

At the end of February 2002 the group's long-awaited live album finally arrived in record stores. Recorded in the group's home studio in Grenoble on the anniversary of their tenth year in the music business, the album "Sinsemilia part en live" features thirteen of the French reggae crew's most popular songs.

Following the release of this ‘anniversary’ album, Sinsemilia took a short break from their hectic recording and touring schedule. Riké took advantage of the pause to release a solo album, "Air Frais" (Fresh Air), in 2003.

Resuming their songwriting and recording activities a few months later, Sinsemilia went back into the studio in Grenoble to begin work on a new album. "Debout, les yeux ouverts" was finally released in October 2004. The album featured a slight change of tone. Instead of yelling their heads off about issues that scandalised them and venting their fury at the top of their voices, Sinsemilia decided to tackle their subjects with a healthy dose of irony. Despite this new angle in their songwriting approach, Sinsemilia lost none of their hard-hitting protest quality. Political and social issues remained firmly at the heart of their work on songs such as "Bienvenue en Chiraquie", "Plus de flics" and "Simple d'esprit." A few changes had been introduced on a musical level, too. Fafa had abandoned his trumpet in favour of guitar and, at times, keyboards. And Oliver, a local musician from Grenoble, had been enlisted to swell the ranks of the brass section.

In November 2004, Sinsemilia hit the road again, embarking upon an extensive national tour.

November 2004