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Le
Maximum Kouette. Lundi, je m'y mets...
©2000, Sixty-Nine/LiFe liVe/Tripsichord
distribution
This independent offering by the still
somewhat underground LMK rocks and amuses at the same time. With
a reggae/ska back-beat and a lyrical sarcasm that mocks as hard
as it rocks, LMK hit hard.
The mood is fun, beginning with their ode
to procrastination, "Lundi, je m'y mets..." And it only
gets better. In cuts like "Koi faire," LMK lay down cynical
and slightly dark lyrics over an undeniably upbeat and happy track
with magical effect. Mix in a bit of dub-play and you have a winner.
Le Maximum Kouette -- their fresh style
occasionally reminiscent of early Les Rita Mitsuko -- is a welcome
voice on the French music scene. "Lundi, je m'y mets..."
is highly recommended.
Les Militants
compilation.
© 2000 Funky Buddah Productions
This compilation of politically conscious
French rap is a cut above much of what has come out lately -- both
musically and lyrically. The producers have brought some of the
strongest rappers on the scene -- Assassin, Mystik, Arsenik -- together
with new young voices to create a musical document that reflects
the reality as seen by so many of the youth in the cités.
Over a sane and sober musical mix, the
words testify to the failures of a system and the hopelessness that
remains. This disc challenges listeners to act.
The rappers who participated in this project
deserve high marks for their knowledge of history and level of political
engagement. A musical consistency across the disk makes it easy
to put this album on and listen straight through over and over.
Les Militants offer an insight into a side
of France you will never see from a tour bus. Best appreciated by
listeners with an excellent understanding of French and the current
street slang.
French
Dub Connection, Vol. 2, compilation
© 2000 Echo Beach
Outstanding techno-dub compilation hi-lighting
the French scene, issued by German independent label Echo Beach.
The folks at Echobeach put together a sampler that presents the
French scene in all its diversity -- trip-hop, breakbeat, afro,
club, drum`n`bass, roots -- while maintaining a coherent musical
experience. Superb beats with some innovative dubs. Look for Djins',
"Reflexion" which artfully samples Public Enemy's "Don't
Believe the Hype, and Aleem's amusing "Yoga Dub" on a
dancefloor in Paris, or bring it home on this disc...
KDD. Une
Couleur de Plus au Drapeau.
©2000 Sony Music France
More rappers on the political trip... And
definitely worth the listen. This third album by the crew from Toulouse
is the best yet. The title track, with its refrain that plays off
the Marseillaise, is amazing. KDD (Kartel Double Detente) turns
around some key lines of the French national anthem and points a
critical eye on the nation...
The rest of the disc lives up to the promise
of "Une couleur de plus au drapeau." KDD kicks it hard.
This is strong rap in the best forceful tradition.
They have a cool
website too (but ya gotta have flash)...
Digital Bled. Caravana.
© Sony Music France
Digital Bled unites musicians from the
Parisian scene, including Youssef Boukella of ONB, on this musical
journey through the ambience inspired by the vastness of the Sahara.
This intriguing album offers listeners a mix inspired by music of
the middle east, but electronic and western in execution. Caravana,
is rich with the sounds of the south laid over a slow drum and bass
beat that ties it all together. Trip-hop ambience to chill out at
the modern oasis.
Le Flow,
the French Hip-Hop Avant Garde compilation.
© 2000 Delabel
The disc from Delabel, the home of the
best in French hip-hop, is subtitled "The French hip-hop avant-garde"
and the producers have brought together a selection of groups that
reflect the new rhyming styles coming from the various French regions.
Think of the Paris/Marseilles axis as the nerve center.
This compilation celebrates the evolution
of the french hip-hop movement into a viable scene with its own
stars, styles, and subjects. Ironically, it does so with a number
of tracks that highlight french hip-hop stars rhyming with major
players from the American scene.
Still, a must-have for anyone who enjoys
the word play The whole range of styles: hardcore rap, gangsta,
politically conscious and dancehall, with tracks by the names we
know and a few we don't.
Siesta
Party! #01, Radio Nova compilation.
© 2000, Nova records
A mellow mix of tunes inspired by a generation
of "elevator music" A cool concept with some excellent
tracks, but taken all at once, a bit too close to the real thing.
Give it a listen
chez Nova...
From Radio
Nova. Test Two compilation.
© 2000 Nova Records
This compilation put together by the creators
of Nova's radio show "Test," which airs Monday thru Friday
from 7:30 to 10pm, sounds really familiar. The music of summer.
A little too smooth and way too mellow. Disappointing disc from
one of our favorite radio stations. By the way, whatever happened
to the regulation requiring French radio stations to air a certain
percentage of French music? The only français on this CD
is in the liner notes.
Check it out at Nova...
Orchestre
National de Barbès. Poulina.
© 1999 ONB/Virgin France
Nice second album from ONB. These guys
keep up the party with their upbeat danceable ethnic pop music that
mixes the sounds of several nations. Youssef Boukella explains their
sound best in his poetic treatise on the ONB Groove, written for
the "Poulina" liner notes, as "...a joyous fanfare
of the genres that it unites : rai, rock, ragga, reggae, chaabi,
jazz and alaoui..."
For those who don't know them, ONB hails
from Barbès, in the 18th arrondisement of Paris, where immigrants
from all over North Africa come together in a lively setting that
encourages exchange. The members of ONB each came to the group from
a different musical tradition, and playing for fun they developed
a melange reflective of the energy of the 18th. With the release
of their first album in 1997, their sound took off.
Though not as sharp as their first effort,
"Poulina" shows ONB taking their musical oddessy a bit
further.
If you liked the first album, definitely
check this one out. If you are new to ONB, you may find the first,
self-titled, album more accessible.
Tryo.
Mamagubida.
1998 Yelen/Colombia
"L'hyme de nos campagnes," the
first cut on this debut album, can easily become the anthem of all
those who are fed up with cement and pollution. And it just gets
better.
Tryo, the group, is actually five guys
who play an acoustic reggae with socially engaged lyrics that touch
on issues as varied as immigration, globalization, and the environment.
But if you think that might get preachy
or dull, you just have to listen to the album "Mamagubida."
Their politics is a return to roots advocating
a saner lifestyle less fast-paced. Their point, relax and
enjoy life if you don't want to die by the age of 35.
Even if the songs are "engagées,"
Tryo's goal is less political than it is to have fun. Still, Tryo
admits that they find it satisfying to hear people singing songs
like "la misère d'en face" (a song that speaks
about immigration and the inequalities in the world).
Listen to the music
on Tryo's site...
Les Negresses
Vertes. Trabendo.
1999 Virgin France Delabel
The new album is a great surprise. Always
fun, the Negresses Vertes, have moved towards a melange of their
traditional rock-musette instrumentation with the electronica bass
and drum sounds -- yeah, it really works!
For those who don't know, the Negresses
Vertes were originally formed by a group of long-standing friends,
relatives and romantic partners, in Paris during the Autumn of 1987.
Many of them had never even played any instruments before starting
the band. They were an instant success -- one of very few French
groups to attract a fairly large audience in the US. Then at the
height of their popularity, tragedy struck...when Helno died in
December 1992.
Trabendo has been five long years in the
making but it is a welcome reaffirmation that the Negresses Vertes
have survived.
This album explores new horizons of sound
without disavowing the style that gave the band their strong identity.
Every track is super! Hard to pick favorites.
Just loop the whole thing and listen to it all day!
Youssou
N'Dour. Joko: From Village to Town.
2000 Sony Music
The new one from Youssou is a wideranging
CD with musical exploration in a number of directions. An all-star
list of guest musicians includes: Sting, Peter Gabriel and Wyclef
Jean (of Fugees fame).
One of the most respected African musicians,
Youssou
N'Dour's music is a mixture of Cuban rhythms, jazz and soul flavours,
all African in origin.
Joko is a message of hope which in Wolof
means the link between two worlds, two people... The connection
between an African village and the West.
Youssou wanted Joko to be a meeting place
for several voices with different tonalities and impulses. It is
also a mixture of traditional and urban sounds -- of the old and
the new Africa. Each track is a story.
There is something for every taste, and
still the signature sound of Youssou. My personal favorite is "How
Come?" deut featuring Wyclef... the music is strong and the
message is on target.
Sawt el Atlas. Donia
1999 Sony Music.
A nice mix of rai and such, with a particularly
radio-friendly sound. Sawt el Atlas take us on a musical trip from
Paris to Morocco with a sidetrip to the spanish sounds of "Andalucia."
Their name means the "the voice of
the Atlas" (mountain range in north africa), and the group
combines brothers from two immigrant families -- Mirghani and El
Habchi -- who try to tell their own story through music.
Growing away from typical rai sounds, their
music is the expression of the struggle to keep their identity while
integrating the best of what France has to offer. The sound is influenced
by a mixture of funk, reggae, and Moroccan variety.
Best cuts: "Ne me jugez pas,"
"Donia" and "Andalucia."
Check them out live or check them out online:
Sawt el Atlas
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