Bluesmen's World(Music)

“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)

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