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French world-music band Lo’Jo’s seventh studio album is a sea voyage across time and space. Cosmophono opens with a brief invocation from singer Nadia Nid el Mourid, then a loping drumbeat and simplest of phrases on piano hoist the rhythmic mast of “Petit Courage”, so that lead singer and keyboardist Denis Péan can sail from the bordellos of Marseille to tropical bars.
Lo’Jo fuses language and sound into a savvy synthesis of cultural influences from Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Caribbean. Péan’s throaty voice recalls the rougher French chansonniers of the ’50s and ’60s. His lyrics, however, suggest the earlier influence of the legendary poet Arthur Rimbaud. Péan weaves rich, at times surrealistic images and the band creates soundscapes full of colour, emotion, light and shadows. The songs, all credited to Péan and Lo’Jo, draw on cabaret, circus, rock, and folk traditions. Listening to Lo’Jo is like being in Rimbaud’s drunken boat, riding the ocean swell after one more slug of absinthe.
Tony Montague
01. Petit courage
02. Je prends la nuit
03. Sur des carnets nus
04. Pays natal
05. Café de la Marine
06. Dresseur de hasards
07. Slam
08. Sur l'Océan
09. La nuit de temps
10. Yalaki
11. Rue de la Solitude
12. La liberté
Denis Péan: vocals, Indian harmonium, piano, sampler, little bells, basin, baskets.
Richard Bourreau: violin, imzad, kora, kamel n’goni.
Nadia Nid El Mourid: vocals, bamboo, bells.
Yamina Nid El Mourid: vocals, kamel n’goni, soprano saxophone, bells, triangle.
Kham Meslien: bass guitar, double bass, sanza.
Franck Vailllant: hand drums and cymbals.
Link
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This is the "acoustic Malicorne" recording of 1973, for some reason put under just the Yacoub name, but featuring all the major players from the band. Among the many 'classic; recordings made by the band, this one is probably the most sought after.
Gabriel Yacoub was one of the spearheads of the folk revival that swept through France. The founder and leader of influential French trad rock band Malicorne during the 1970s and early '80s, Yacoub has continued to explore the full spectrum of French music as a soloist. According to Vanity Fair, Yacoub's "voice is liquid and ready, his guitar work brilliant: rich contrapuntal lines and classical technique which, sounded on steel strings, gives his instrument the fullness of a harpsichord." Initially inspired by the songs of American singer/songwriters, especially Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, Yacoub was introduced to traditional French music as backup guitarist and singer for innovative Breton harp player Alan Stivell. Taking the lessons that he learned from Stivell, he formed Malicorne in 1973 in an attempt to bring traditional music up to contemporary standards. One of the earliest world music groups, Malicorne combined Western instruments, such as guitar and electric bass, with traditional instruments, including krumhorns, bagpipes, and hurdy-gurdies. Together for a decade, Yacoub and Malicorne recorded three albums that achieved gold record status and received a prestigious gold prix de L'Academie du Disque Francais.
01. Chant De L'alouette
02. Suite Scottishe
03. Long De La Mer Jolie
04. Quand J'étais Fille Á Marier
05. Je Suis Trop Jeunette
06. Pierre De Grenoble
07. Prince D'orange
08. Bransles De Bourgogne
09. Rossignolet Du Bois
10. Andro
11. Pension
12. Fleur De Lys
Marie: vocals, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, tampura
Gabriel: vocals, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, banjo, bowed psaltery
Dan Ar Braz: electric guitar
Marc Rapillard: violin, viola, banjo
Alan Kloatr: vocals, bombarde, crumhorn, tampura
Dominique Paris: bagpipes (biniou coz, scottish highland pipes)
Gérard Lavigne: bass
Gérard Lhomme: harmonium, bohdran, percussion
Christian Gour'han: vielle a roue
Link
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Live recording of the music of the “Gitans” show.
“The music of the world is fused into the playing of virtuoso guitarist Thierry Robin. In addition to performing as a soloist, Robin has collaborated with Rajistani percussionist Hameed Khan, Breton guitarist Eric Merchand, Indian singer/dancer Gulabi Sepera, Yiddish accordionist Eddie Schaff, and Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. Forming an 11-piece band, Nao, with Moroccan, Kurdish, and Indian musicians in 1985, he composed music for French/North African fusion band Jonny Michto, two years later. He formed a trio with Merchand and Khan that combined Breton and northern Indian influences in 1989 and a Turkish/Kurdish/Breton fusion group that he shared with Merchand and Temiz in 1993. Robin, who launched his career in the mid-'70s by playing traditional music in western France, has remained eclectic on his own albums. He recorded the Gypsy-influenced album Gitans in 1993, with a ten-piece group that combined Indian, Arabic, Flamenco, and French folk influences. While he recorded Le Regard Nu (the Naked Look) as an improvising soloist responding to nude models in the studio, Payo Michto was recorded live during a tour of France. Kali Gadji, released in 1998, features a heavy brass sound and combines influences of Arabic, Flamenco, and the Wassoulou music of Mali.
Craig Harris, AMG
“This native of Angers is a brilliant guitar and Arabic oud player. His group is more than ever a family, a tribe.”
Télérama
01. Mehdi
02. Patchiv
03. Que Tu Amor
04. L'exil
05. Katchur Khan
06. Payo Michto
07. Cuivre
08. Variations Sur Indifférence
09. Tona Del Lobo
10. Los Tanguillos
11. La Petite Mer
12. Rumba Do Vesou No. 11
Thierry "Titi" Robin: guitar, oud, bouzouki
Gulabi Sapera: vocals
Paco el Lobo: vocals, palmas
Joseph "Mambo" Saadna: vocals, guitar, palmas
Amar "Bruno" Saadna: vocals, guitar, palmas
Francis Varis: accordion
Bernard Subert: clarinet, bagpipes
Abdelkrim Sami "Diabolo": bendir tehti, darbouka
Link
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Eccentric French ensemble play a mutant fusion of jewish, arabian and gypsy folk music with shed-loads of energy and humour. The musicianship is amazing, especially the relentless thumping piano, played as a percussive backdrop to the fiddles, the woodwind and the brass. Joyous, danceable, atmospheric - a highly addictive mix!
01. Yé ké ké
02. Qua les cerveaux croassent
03. Sugar Breizi love
04. Sova
05. Yddish roumain
06. Thé ő lek
07. Les eaux d' Armor
08. Franch Liche
09. La kajazazeu
10. Budala
11. Ne ké short
12. Gara tagül
Accordion, Vocals - Erik-Raoul Goellaén
Percussion - Dominque Molard
Piano, Keyboards, Vocals - J.P Le Cornoux
Saxophone - Jeanno Jory
Trumpet, Bugle, Vocals - Gabriel Kerdoncuff
Violin - Sylvain Larriere
Link
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Right from their first record this group has been outstanding in their presentation of French and Breton shanties and sea songs. The group, formed from a co-operative known as Chasse-Maree, consisted at the time of Arnaud Maissonneuve, Benoit Chantran, Bernard Subert, Christian Desnos and the group's leader and driving force, Michel Colleu, who has collected the majority of the material used. songs and tunes from the rich maritime heritage extant around the coast of Britanny. Fiddle, flute, concertina and guitar along with a melodeon (in this case, Christian uses an almost straight tuning to great effect) are often used as accompaniment, and all are excellent musicians as well as fine singers. Bombardes and hurdy-gurdies are unlikely instruments to hear
backing sea songs, but in the hands of the French they blend perfectly with their style of singing. and what a style! Whatever Cabestan do, the maxim seems to be that effort and a feeling for the material are essential. Their precision and spirited renderings make them a joyful listening experience, even if you can’t understand French, because you can feel the 'working power' of the songs.
The French, unlike the English, do not have as great a store of shanties, but they make up for this with a fine collection of shore based songs.
01. Faut avoir du courage
02. Tempete pour sortir
03. Reels quebecois
04. Le 15 avril
05. Le capitaine de Saint-Malo
06. Le Pont de Morlaix
07. A Baton Rouge sont arrives
08. La Danae
09. Le depart de Ti-Louis
10. Les filles a cinq deniers
11. Naviguant dans le port de Nantes
12. Trois matelots de Port St-Jacques
13. Mond da bellvro
Christian Desnos : accordéon diatonique, mélodéon, harmonica, chant
Jean-Luc Creac'h : guitare, guitare basse, chant
Thierry Moreau : Veuze, violon, violoncelle, chant
Bernard Subert : clarinette, flute, chant
Thierry Decloux : guitare, bouzouki, chant
Link
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Erik Marchand, formerly of the group Gwerz, is a powerful singer of Breton songs. His trio came into being when accompanist Thierry Robin discovered that the oud, or Middle Eastern lute, could reproduce the unusual intervals of traditional Breton vocal music. Soon, the duo had recruited Hameed Khan, a tabla player, to round out their Breton-Arabic fusion.
01. Az Zoudar Maleurus
02. Ar C'hont Gwilhou
03. Eur Suivezh A Viz Mae
04. Jean-Louis Ha Marivon
05. Heuliad Fised (Trad.)
06. Bolom Kozh
07. Iwan Gamus
08. Son Ar Vot
09. Heuliad Plinn
10. Ar Graouenn Muskades
Link
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Composed of four female singers and a percussionist, the group interprets traditional songs from many countries. Chet Nuneta picks up songs thanks to people they meet, or journeys they make.
The musical research is based on vocal techniques from various people of the world.
The arrangements are inspired by the original versions while developing their singular universe. By composing harmonies and rhythms, by knitting " sound dressings ", the group takes the songs towards one somewhere else.
It is not only a matter of restoring traditional songs but also to play with sounds and imagination, to express musically and on stage what every song evokes. Of this " burst of sounds " will appear in 2008 the album "Ailleurs" produced by the Mon Slip label.
Repertoire: songs of Madagascar, Finland, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Russia, Mexico, Macedonia, Cape Verde, Hebrew, Arabic, Gypsy.
01.A Vus Basin
02.Ayazin
03.More Sokol Pie
04.Llorona
05.Erev Shel Shoshanim
06.Khot Ti Shla
07.Malka Moma Dvori Mete
08.Ya Man Laebat
09.Kharmayn Khagd
10.Capelli
11.Miinan Laulu
12.Sedyankata
13.Simsambeba
14.Lomalelale
Daphné Clouzeau: voix, arc, tammora, bodhran, petites percussions
Valérie Gardou: voix, arc
Juliette Roussille: voix, guitare, accordéon, tammora, bodhran, petites percussions
Lilia Ruocco: voix, tammora, petites percussions
Beatriz Salmeron-Martin(en alternance avec Daphné Clouzeau): voix, arc, tammora, bodhran, petites percussions
Michaël Fernandez: percussions
Link
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Malicorne was founded by Gabriel Yacoub and Marie Yacoub in 1974. It is also the name of a French town, famous for its porcelain and faience. Since several of their albums are called simply Malicorne it had become the custom to refer to them by number, even though no number appears on the cover. Malicorne 1 consisted of the Yacoubs, Laurent Vercambre and Hughes de Courson. The combination of electric guitar, violin, dulcimer, bouzouki and female vocalist immediately brings to mind Steeleye Span, their English equivalent, thus placing them squarely in the electric folk genre. The four of them were masters of twelve instruments. Their first four albums consisted of mostly traditional French folk songs, with one or two songs by Gabriel Yacoub and one or two instrumentals per album. Again like Steeleye Span, they occasionally sang group harmonies a cappella.
Malicorne's second album was and might even be the best in a series of powerful studio albums. Stylistically similar to the first album but infinitely more mature, the quartet was already moving in a more compositionally interesting direction by infusing the traditionals with multi-instrumental arrangements of great thought. The use of the crumhorn in the classic "Le Mariage Anglais" brings the music closer to what Gryphon was creating across the channel, a similarity solidified when Brian Gulland later joined the group. The diversity here is exquisite, including a somber ballad ("La Fille aux Chansons"), an a capella piece ("Marion les Roses"), a lively instrumental ("J'ai Vu le Loup, le Renard et la Belette") and much more. Already, Malicorne were starting to incorporate electric instruments into the mix to good effect, pushing this, their second album, even closer to progressive areas. The arrangements, tracking choice and sheer musical quality makes this one of the best folk albums of the 70s.
"Simply put, this is one of the best recordings of French medieval music. If you like medieval music get this disk without delay! It is obvious that Gabriel Yacoub and company love this music and play it with such tender passion it is almost as if they were making love to their instruments.
For those not familiar with Malicorne, they are a bit like Pentangle without the jazz and blues influence. Traditional instruments, along with guitar and tasteful percussion transport the listener to a magical sanctuary where one may meet the Ancestors of the Foretime. The singing of Gabriel and his wife are perfect beyond description. This is timeless stuff and sings directly to the human soul whether or not one speaks French.
Get this cd and Colin, which are Malicornes' firt two recordings and their most traditional. You really cannot go wrong with this disk. Vive Malicorne!"
01. Le Mariage Anglais
02. Le Garçon Jardinierme Lombarde
03. La Fille Aux Chansons ( Marion S'y Promène )
04. J'ai Vu Le Loup, Le Renard Et La Belette
05. Cortège De Noce
06. Branle La Peronelle
07. Le Galant Indiscret
08. Marions Les Roses
09. Suite Bourrée, Scottish-Valse
10. Le Bouvier
Gabriel Yacoub (acoustic and electric guitar, epinette de Vosges, vocals)
Marie Yacoub (electric dulcimer, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, vocals)
Laurent Vercambre (violin, bouzouki, psaltery, harmonium, mandolin, vocals)
Hughes de Courson (electric guitar, bass, crumhorn, percussion, vocals)
Link
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Thierry "Titi" Robin is a self-taught musician born at the end of the 1950s in the West of France. He built his personal musical universe by borrowing instinctively from various musical sources, his two main sources of influence being the Gypsy and silk-road cultures. These two communities welcomed him warmly, the French mainstream music world not understanding his approach at the time.
Community celebrations were a way for him to test the validity of his original approach of music, taking his inspiration from these strong traditions without ever simply copying them. His two main masters at the time were flamenco cantaor Camaron de la Isla and Iraqi 'ud master Munir Bachir.
Thierry "Titi" Robin is a special artist. "World music" is a category he does not accept. Combining music from different parts of the world has no value in itself, but represents a reality, his reality. The main point is to find the best way to translate the feeling at the heart of creation and the artistic form that can express it, be it in a purely traditional style or by transforming established codes. Thierry "Titi" Robin chose to follow his own personal road, with a constant sincerity and authenticity.
This CD is one of the finest musical pieces one can find,if one is interested in spanish,middle eastern and indian music.Robin Tierry is joined on this musical beauty by a number of very talented musicians from Spain and Iran.It sounds very contemporary,even though most of the music is traditional and very classical in it's roots.Improvisations are some of the most beautifull you will ever hear.This CD is a real treasure to have!
01.Priere Gitane
02.Fandangos Maures
03.Ma Gavali (rumba)
04.La Rose De Jaipur
05.Casablanca
06.Le Marche Aux Musiciens
07.Petite-Mere Sultane
08.An Sumia
09.Fatsa
10.En Aqueste Casa
11.La Course De L'Alezan
12.La Terre Noire
13.Por Primera Vez
14.Django A Bagdad
15.Ayrildim
16.Ma Gavali (bolero)
17.L'Amour S'Envole
Thierry "Titi" Robin (chant, guitar, bouzouki, oud);
Farid "Roberto" Saadna (chant, guitar);
Abdelkrim Sami (chant, percussion);
Gulabi Sapera, Hacer Toruk (chant);
Francs-Alfred Moerman (guitar);
Renaud Pion clarinet, saxophone);
Gabriel Levasseur, Francis Varis (accordion);
Pascal "Kalou" Stalin (bass);
Francois Laizea (drums);
Jorge "Negrito" Trasant (cajon)
Link
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Since the Eighties, five men and two women from the northern French town of Angers have gelled together into a music community with an invented name, Lo’Jo. This group brings together sounds culled during their endless globe-trotting performances. Reggae, Arabic dance, French folk music and Paris trance all fuse to bring a deeply political message of multi-cultural tolerance and curiosity best enjoyed live.
"I've loved the sound of Lo'Jo from the first time I laid ears on them. They're funky and danceable, though ominous clouds always lurk on their horizon. Their music blends the circus and the city, North Africa and Europe, village and nightclub. This generous 26-song best-of compilation includes cuts from last year's Bazar Savant all the way back to 1993's Fils de Zamal. Even if you can't tell what they're singing, you can appreciate Denis Péan's dark growl, the unique vocal harmonies of sisters Yamina and Nadia Nid El Mourid, and the tight sound of Lo'Jo collective of musicians. Among the tracks are some of our favorites -- including "Senor Calice" and "Sin Acabar" -- along with some songs new to us, such as the reggae-tinged "Woman Intuition," which appeared on the 1994 Lo'Jo EP G7 of Destruction and Artisans of Peace. If you don't know Lo'Jo, this compilation will remedy that in short order. If you do, it's still a worthwhile addition to your collection. Get it direct from France if you have to, but by all means support this wonderful collective of musicians and the conscious global music they're creating!"
01. Bernardo
02. Brian Gun
03. Mandeed Soul
04. A L'Ar Des Audacieux
05. Le Piano
06. Dobosz
07. Moon P
08. Senor Calice
09. Un Grand Voyage
10. Une Petite Chanson
11. C'Est La Vie
12. Sin Acabar
13. Magdalena
14. Fils De Zamal
15. Mojo
16. Woman Intuition
17. Au Cabaret Sauvage
18. Be North
19. Siempre
20. La Danseuse
21. Mandeed
22. Rwandamnation
23. Si Jamais Si
24. Dans La Poussi Du Temps
25. YKi
26. Bra Me
Renaud Pion - Clarinet (Bass), Flute (Bass), Saxophone, Turkish Clarinet
Peter Deimel - Keyboards
Pascal Monjanel - Keyboards
Jacquie Turner - Keyboards
Charles Vander Elst - Keyboards
Mephisto - Sax (Tenor)
Dierdre Dubois - Chant
Mehdi Haddab - Oud
René Lacaille - Accordion
Denis Péan - Flute, Clavier, Sampling, Chant, Percussion
Richard Zenou - Contrabass
Richard Bourreau - Kora, Imzad, Clavier, Sanza, Violone
Nicolas Gallard - Percussion, Guimbri, Clavier, Drums
Pascal Garnon - Keyboards
Jean Paul Romann - Keyboards, Mastering
Peter Kendall - Keyboards
Sami Ben Said - Accordion
Eric Aubry - Basse
David Husser - Keyboards
Rafik Ahmed - Sarangui
Benoît Avihoue - Percussion, Rap, Brass, Arranger
Yuki Okazaki - Clarinet, Voices
Iain Burgess - Keyboards
Link
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Les Hurlements D'Leo is a human adventure which has travelled the world: Eastern Europe, Germany, Hungary, Russia, Japan, Australia, USA, Canada.
Their music is a mixture of Java, acoustic rock and Eastern European sounds and is played on various instruments. On stage the guitar, violin, accordion, double bass, trombone, drums, trumpet, saxophone and piano join together for a most enjoyable sound.
"Gypsy, jazz, chanson and more blend with punk energy in this disc...its hard to describe with French vocals over acoustic guitars, pianos, upright bass, brass, fiddle, accordian and more sound when combined...Fans of music in general will like this..."
01 - Lame Soueur
02 - La Chambre
03 - Harley Davidson
04 - La Racheteur D'ardoises
05 - La Laisse
06 - Kaleidoscope
07 - Mon Cul!
08 - Simon Simone
09 - Ethnique Ta Mere
10 - Le D'amelie
11 - La Laisskwing
12 - Ouest Terne
13 - Roi Des Villes Roi Des Champs
14 - La Piave
Les Hurlements d’Léo are:
Laulo: Singer, guitar
Remy: Drums, Derbouka
Pepito: trompet
Zeb: Violin, guitar
Jojo: accordeon, trombon
Benbziz: saxo
Dawed: contrabass
R1: Singer, guitar
Link
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"Erik Marchand has been travelling the colourful routes of world music for several decades now. The singer and clarinet player has done as much as anyone to popularise music from his native southern Brittany, in particular the gwerz. Born in Paris, Marchand settled in his parents’ province of origin in 1975 and plunged into the traditional gwerziou chanting and a repertory that was on the verge of extinction. The creation of his Gwerz band in the early 80s signalled a revival that has shown no sign of abating. Yet his passion for music from other horizons has also led to some of France’s most innovative exchanges with world music.
The collaboration between Erik Marchand and the Romanian Gypsy Taraf (Ensemble) de Caransebes is renewed in this cd of considerable invoice, where the vocality of Erik is united to the resonance of the east in really magical manner; without fear of to exaggerate, we would define this work like what much more door to completion the collaboration between these coming artists from distant reality geographically and culturally. Attractive also the preparation and the conception graphic that show the musicians advance with their tools in a landscape transformed."
01. Milin Turki
02. Ton Moldav
03. Tamm Kreix If Menez
04. Toniou Hir Da Filie Dragomir
05. Purtata Bretoneasca
06. Pardon Klegereg
07. Gwellan Amzer
08. Ar Verrbadenn
09. Hora De Saint Vincent
10. Doina Haiducilor
11. Vino Mindro Sa Te Joc
12. Galvadenn Bugel
13. Kanenn Ma Mestrezed
14. Ar Spilhou
15. Ar Doina Lui Gaby
Link
“Lo’Jo, led by a smoky-voiced chanteur named Denis Pean, sounds like an itinerant cabaret band that has wandered a long way from the boulevards, hearing griot tunes and tangos and Tom Waits but not forgetting its accordion”
"Guided by a man compared to a barefoot and be-hatted Serge Gainsbourg, and with a history colored by circus artists, actors, pyrotechnicians, street performers, painters, acrobats, festivals, and cabarets, Lo’Jo, the band of French global troubadours, releases their first live CD, Ce Soir Lá, on October 12, 2004 on World Village.
Read the reviews of French band Lo’Jo and you’ll hear descriptions of a veritable where’s-where of world music: Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, North African, West African, English, Gypsy, Caribbean, and of course French. These diverse origins are united seamlessly by the gravelly voice of lead singer Denis Péan, the genetically synchronized tones of singing sisters Nadia and Yamina, and the legacy of the band’s quirky origins of street performance. Operating communally from a house in Angers, France, Lo’Jo’s success has largely resulted from constant worldwide touring and a do-it-yourself mentality that is paying off twenty years after the band’s founding.
Ce Soir Lá was recorded on tour in France and features both well-loved favorites and as-yet unreleased material. The CD harnesses the dynamic stage presence of the group that has captivated audiences across the globe. The live compilation showcases the husky lyrics of founder Denis Péan mingled with instrumentation that ranges from the violin and piano to the bassoon, harmonium, Turkish clarinet, imzad (a one-stringed fiddle from the Sahara) and kamel n’goni (a West African lute similar to the kora). Selections hearken back to many of Lo’Jo’s previously released albums, including Fils de Amal (1993), Sin Acabar (1996), Mojo Radio (1998), Boheme de Cristal (2000), and Au Cabaret Sauvage (2002), the latter three released in the USA by World Village.
A highlight of the CD is a memorable performance with Benin’s Gangbé Brass Band on the cut “Senor Calice.” The journey also reflects some new material like the album’s opening track “Invitation” and the deeper “Cada Hombre” (“Every Man”), in which Niviera Tejera’s lyrics speak of “a window that opens never again.”
In homage to Lo’Jo’s origins in street theater, Ce Soir Lá includes an enhanced CD-ROM track, “Tangito ‘In Pictures,’” which offers film footage of the acrobatic rope duo Les Sélene swinging and twirling in mesmerizing arcs high above the concert stage. “Music makes you dance, and it’s music that makes us climb,” pronounce these lyrics by Berber sisters Nadia and Yamina Nid el Mourid, and Les Sélene’s dance on air takes us to those heights."
01 Invitation
02 Bra Me [Burned the Fuse]
03 Mon Amour [My Love]
04 Cinq Cauris Ocre [Five Ochre Cowrie Sells]
05 Piano [The Piano]
06 Magdalena ParlMagdalena Spoken]
07 l'Ar des Audacieux [In the Arena of the Bold]
08 Cada Hombre [Every Man]
09 Fils de Zamal [Son of Zamal]
10 Petit Homme [Small Man]
11 SeCalice
12 Chaque Humain [Each Human Being]
13 Tiene la Bandera [Take the Flag]
14 Dobosz
15 Sin Acabar [Without Stopping]
16 Bougnoule [Wog]
17 Tangito
18 Tangito In Pictures (Video)
Link
"Americans who are finally getting used to the idea of their own country as multicultural are often surprised to find that France is undergoing the same stresses and gaining the same musical benefits. Les Negresses Vertes is a magnificent example of the latter. This group's cultural roots are partly in Paris, partly in Algeria and Spain, with healthy amounts of influence from Nashville and urban America. To all these should be added the theatricality of circus music three of the original members had worked in the Zingaro Horse Circus in Southern France, while a fourth was a professional clown. The combination of all these influences is jazzy, street-smart, and very danceable. While some members of the band were less than virtuosos on their instruments, they made up for this deficiency by laying down a boisterous party groove backed by a propulsive brass section. The alternation between Noel Rota's fast and furious solo vocals and the ragged choruses provided by the rest of the band adds to the complex dynamic of the group. Add to this the fact that Rota had a real gift as a songwriter and arranger, and you have a hit machine in the making. Mlah got an excellent reception from critics in Britain and the U.S., and several tracks even managed to get airplay despite the American tendency to ignore anything not sung in English. It was a great start for the band, though it is arguable that they never again approached this level of entertainment."
"Les Negresses Vertes' frantic swirling melange of European and African musical traditions provides as good a place as any to enter the swing doors accessing the cross-connecting corridors of World Music, the enjoyment of which need not be the preserve of balding ethnomusicologists with metaphorical butterfly nets. Their first album, from 1989, is a shuffling alphabet soup of sound which bulldozes across musical barriers with feckless abandon - serving up the overlapping sounds of rai, flamenco, ska and the crooning chansons to a divertingly dizzy effect."
01. La Valse
02. Zobi La Mouche
03. C'est Pas La Mer A Boire
04. Voila I'ete
05. Orane
06. La Faim Des Haricots
07. Les Yeux De Ton Pere
08. Il
09. L'homme Des Marais
10. Les Rablablas Les Roubliblis
11. Marcelle Ratafia
12. La Danse Des Negresses Vertes
13. Hey Maria
14. Les Pere Magloire
Helno (vocals); Mellino (vocals, guitar); Mathieu Canavese (guitar, accordion, background vocals); Paulo (guitar, bass, background vocals); Abraham Sirinix (harmonica, trombone, percussion, background vocals); Twist (trumpet, percussion); L'Ami Ro (piano, percussion, background vocals); Gaby (drums, percussion); Iza, Juanita, Julo, Nono (background vocals)
Link
"Balval is an astonishingly modern take on the musical language of the gypsies. Balval, a youthful and fiery quartet, co-opts the traditional melodies of Eastern Europe and the Balkans and swirls them with jazz, blues, rock and folk. The result is a multicultural, multilingual world music that begs to be heard. In fact, no one makes music quite like Balval. In an ideal world, the quartet will do for Eastern European music what the Buena Vista Social Club has done for Cuba, or what Tinariwen has done for music of the Sahara.
It doesn't take long to hear how the sounds from different modern genres exert themselves on Blizzard Boheme. Eastern European and gypsy traditions quickly morph into something fresh and fun, as on "Tango," which becomes a coy frolic thanks to Awena Burgess' tart singing. The brooding "Keren, Chavorale, Drom" is sultry, very bluesy and a little playful. "Blues" is almost Chet Baker-esque in its languorous sweetness. "Liza" sounds like Leonard Cohen as filtered through the eyes of a Romanian gypsy.
There are experimental overtones here as well, with hints of Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet and other adventurous artists. It's a credit to Balval that they can conjure up the spirit of those souls while at the same time remaining grounded in their unique neo-gypsy niche. Nothing is sacred. Everything is fair game when playing by their rules, which is basically not following any rules at all. The musical freedom is liberating.
In perpetrating this gorgeous chaos, Burgess is accompanied by violinist Rosalie Hartog, guitarist Daniel Mizrahi, bassist Benjamin Body, and percussionist Bachar Khalife. Together, the noise is brisk and blissful, crisp in performance and full of energy. The songs are sung in a variety of languages, from the Roma language, which is a beautiful mix of eastern chant and western vernacular, to Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Serbian. In fact, you can find Balval's Blizzard Boheme at the crossroads of all these marvelous and colorful cultures. "Balval" means "the Wind."
01.Ado Chavo [Hungary]
02.Dumbala Dumba [Romania]
03.Aman Lelo [Bulgaria/Azerbaijan]
04.Tango [Moldavian Hora]
05.Sude Phabaj [Hungary/Romania]
06.Liza [Hungary]
07.Jekha Chaja [Serbia]
08.Keren, Chavorale, Drom [Hungary]
09.Corro Som [Transylvanian Plain]
10.Cirikli [Albania]
11.Smelka [Russia]
12.Blues [Hungary]
13.An La Devla [Balkans]
14.Loli Rokla [Czech Republic]
Awena Burgess (vocals)
Daniel Mizrahi (guitar)
Rosalie Hartog (violin)
Benjamin Body (double bass)
Guest:
Bachar Khalife (percussions)
Link
pass: bluesmen-worldmusic.blogspot.com
