Zenzile’s five founding members hooked up together in Angers in 1996 and the band’s original line-up featured Javier "Jaja" Maillet (on guitar), Matthieu Bablée (on bass), Vincent "Vince" Erdeven (on keyboards), Jean-Christophe "Werner" Wauthier (on drums) and Erick "Raggy" Sevret (on saxophone and percussion). The band members, all aged between 20 and 25, knew one another from school or from playing with various other groups, some of which had experimented with more of a rock or rap vibe. But "Jaja", Bablée, "Vince", "Werner" and "Raggy" eventually came together to form their own band, united by a collective passion for dub.

Dub (a sub-genre of reggae which originally appeared on B-sides of Jamaican singles) tends to be a purely instrumental sound revolving around remixes made in the studio by sound engineers. But the five young innovators in Zenzile took a radically different approach to dub, treating it not as a studio offshoot but as a primary raw material in its own right which they aimed to create directly with their own instruments.

A number of singers were involved in Zenzile’s first rehearsals together, but the band were not happy with the instrumental/vocal mix and decided to do without their own vocalists for the time being. Instead, the fivesome decided to integrate a series of vocal samples over their own original compositions, ‘borrowing’ from various existing works. It was thus that they came to sample the voice of the South African political activist/poet Zenzile (living in exile in the U.S.) who inspired the band’s name. Zenzile’s inspirational mix of instruments and vocal samples proved to be a successful mix both live and in the studio.

In 1998, Zenzile financed the production of their first 4-track CD "Dub Promozione" themselves and went on to hone their live sound at 55 concert dates. Their songs also appeared on two leading French compilations: "Créatures des Abysses" and "Nova Future Dub." Between July and December of that year the band worked intensively in the studio, recording their debut album, "Sachem In Salem", released in March 1999. Their sound caused an instant stir on the French music scene because no other group before them had managed to get as close, in terms of sound and playing style, to the traditional dub exemplified by the likes of Jamaican legends Dub Syndicate.

Inevitably, Zenzile soon began to make a name for themselves abroad. In July 1999, the French fivesome were invited to perform two concerts in the UK. At one of these concerts, organised at The Fridge, in Brixton, London, the band improvised live on stage with Jamika Ajalon (an American female dub poet based in the UK). Zenzile had originally been rather reticent about the project but their on-stage collaboration proved to be such a success that Zenzile invited Jamika into the studio with them the following month. A 6-track CD, entitled "Zenzile Meets Jamika" (the first instalment of their "5 + 1" series) hit record stores in the spring of 2000. Zenzile and their special guest collaborator went on to perform a mini-tour together which included an appearance at the Printemps de Bourges festival that spring.

Meanwhile, Zenzile featured on "Shoki Shoki remixed", an album featuring remixes of songs by the Nigerian star Femi Kuti, to which they contributed their own special dub version of "Scatta Head." In June 2000, Zenzile hit the road again, playing with four Malian musicians they had met in November 1999 at the Théâtre des Réalités festival staged in Bamako.

At the end of 2000, Zenzile went back into the studio again, Scott having replaced Jaja on guitar. The American dub poetess Jamika collaborated with the band once again, appearing on four tracks on their new album, and Jean Gomis (lead singer of Meï Teï Shô) also provided guest vocals on two tracks. A host of guest musicians also joined Zenzile in the studio, adding percussion and brass reinforcements. Zenzile’s second album, “Sound Patrol”, hit record stores in March 2001 and the band immediately hit the road for a tour that continued throughout the summer of  that year and included appearances at the Vieilles Charrues festival in France, as well as dates in Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and a set at the Sziget Festival in Hungary.

Proving that their musical and songwriting creativity was as strong as ever, Zenzile put out a new instalment of their "5 + 1" series in 2002. The album, entitled "Zenzile Meets Sir Jean", featured a collaboration with Jean Gomis. The fivesome also released a new album, "Totem", later that same year, breaking out of strictly dub territory to experiment with more of a rock vibe. This time round, Zenzile had had more time to work on their songs before recording and, according to their own admission, had adopted a "more democratic" way of functioning as a team. Meanwhile, the group continued to assure a hectic concert schedule, performing in the Austrian capital, Vienna, for the ‘Fête de la musique’ and also putting in appearances at the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Summer Festival in Quebec.

Zenzile went on to embark upon another musical collaboration, adding their vibrant reggae beats to Irie Ites, a sound system based in Le Mans. A number of Jamaican singers were also involved in the project, laying their vocals over the group’s dub base. A first maxi single was released in 2003 and it was followed by a second three years later (featuring vocals by the likes of Chedizek, Lutan Fyah and Turbulence).

Zenzile, who had been independent from the outset of their career, continued to finance their own productions which allowed them a certain freedom when it came to honing their sound and choosing who they worked with. The fivesome embarked upon another collaboration in 2004, working with the French cellist Vincent Ségal (renowned as an excellent sideman and one half of the French duo Bumcello). The album "Zenzile Meets Cello" was released later that year.

After performing in Belgium at the end of July, Zenzile flew out to La Réunion to take part in the first edition of the Sakifo festival. The group’s trip to the Indian Ocean island proved to be highly inspirational, providing the basis for "Mafate", a song which appeared on the group’s 2005 album "Modus Vivendi." Jaja, one of the group’s original founding members, was called back to mix the album. Meanwhile, Zenzile assumed other significant changes in their line-up, guitarist Scott having left the group and been replaced by a new recruit, Alexandre Raux. Vince also picked up his guitar on this occasion, playing on eight of the album’s sixteen tracks. There were no surprises on the guest vocals front, Jamika and Jean Gomis joining the group in the studio once again for the making of "Modus Vivendi."

Following two well-received concerts at La Maroquinerie, in Paris, in May 2005, Zenzile kicked off another major national tour. In November of that year, the fivesome hit the road again for a mini-series of nine dates with the Lyons-based dub group High Tone. The “Highzentour” included two packed-out performances at La Cigale, in Paris.

After flying out to the U.S. to appear at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2006, the group hit record stores once again in May. This time round their new album, "Meta Meta" (put out under a new name, Zenzile Sound System) found the fivesome experimenting with more of an electro-dub sound.

During the summer of 2006, Zenzile headed off to Switzerland to perform at the Paleo Festival, then performed a series of concerts in Belgium. A new album "Zentone", subtitled "Zenzile Meets High Tone" (the offshoot of their tour with the Lyons dub group High Tone the previous year) was released at the end of August. Each track on the album was mixed by both groups, one version featuring on the CD, the other on the LP released at the same time.

In October 2006, Zenzile reverted to their old sound system ways, setting out on the road with a mix of instruments and machines, for a national tour in collaboration with Zong, an electro-dub group from La Réunion.

After performing at a number of leading music festivals in the summer of 2007 (including Solidays and Les Francofolies), Zenzile made a comeback on the recording front in September with a new album entitled "Living In Monochrome." This album found the group branching out in another new and unexpected direction. Zenzile declared that, this time round, dub had only been a "production tool" on their new album which was almost entirely rock-based. The group’s working methods had radically altered, too, the fivesome spending a lot of time working on their material beforehand then recording in short bursts using analogue equipment or live conditions. Many of the tracks on Zenzile’s new album were actually songs which marked a first in the group’s career. Guest vocalists included the Dominican star Paul St Hilaire, British trip hop maestro Tricky and another British singer, David Alderman. Zenzile hit the road again shortly after the release of "Living In Monochrome", taking their new songs out on the road for a series of thirty concerts scheduled throughout the winter of 2007.

October 2007