Five New Voices for Summer: Ino Casablanca, Asfar Shamsi and Aupinard in Focus

Paris – 12 July 2026: Anyone who has not yet found a song for summer – one that attaches itself to a train journey, a seaside promenade or the first evening without a jacket – now has five suggestions from contemporary French music. The selection introduces young artists whose tracks can be heard in a good quarter of an hour – short enough to spark curiosity, long enough for a small adventure in discovery.

At the center is Ino Casablanca, who has made a name for himself with a remarkably open blend of French and Spanish rap, rai, Caribbean rhythms and Latin American influences. The Spain-born musician of Moroccan descent writes, produces and arranges his own tracks. His project “EXTASIA” has further sharpened this signature: digital textures meet melodic lines that never seek to sound folkloric, but rather like passing memories.

The fact that this music now reaches far beyond the relevant scenes is demonstrated by this summer’s festival appearances. Ino Casablanca performed at the Jazzablanca Festival in Casablanca on 8 July; before that, he appeared with Asfar Shamsi at the Nuits de Fourviere in Lyon. His songs rely less on demonstrative force than on agility. The beat is allowed to dance, while the voice often remains strikingly calm – as though it has no need to validate its origins or modernity.

Asfar Shamsi brings a different, more angular energy to this musical neighborhood. The singer and rapper from Strasbourg combines precise, at times sharply placed lyrics with a versatile soundscape. Her EP “cuicui”, released in February, could also be heard during her Fourviere performance. Her music contains a subtle resistance to anything overly polished: melodies are allowed to warp, words are allowed to stumble, and it is precisely from this that a distinctive pull emerges.

Aupinard, meanwhile, shifts the mood toward melancholic elegance. The musician from Bordeaux has made a name for himself with songs between bossa nova, RnB, pop, funk and jazz. His debut album “Spleen Social Club” follows the art of not turning heartbreak into a spectacle, but giving it a soft groove. Following sold-out evenings at the Olympia and the Salle Pleyel, a concert at Zenith Paris – La Villette has been announced for 2 April 2027.

The five recommendations share no single style, but they do share an attitude: they trust in permeability. Family musical histories, internet culture, club rhythms and the age-old desire to capture a feeling in three minutes of sound all meet here. Perhaps that is precisely the most pleasant summer companion: music that does not claim to explain the season, but gives it a little more color.