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LO'JO
Au Cabaret Sauvage World Village 468007
This is the strongest set yet from Lo'Jo. An album that sounds so right that, the first time I heard it I wanted to jump up and tell those around me just how wonderful it was. As I was on a crowded rush-hour train at the time, I was forced to exercise some restraint. That was my fellow passenger's loss though.
For their third album, France's premier roots music collective have honed their sound to as close to perfection as these things get. Denis Pean's voice exudes even more smoky cool than ever and the Nid El Mourid sister's soulful harmonies make for the ideal contrast to Monsieur Pean's Gaelic Tom Waits stylings. Instrumentally they offer up a surprising barrage of sounds. Richard Bourreau's violin playing is the definition of fieriness (and his kora on Les Humains is pretty impressive too), Sami Ben Said provides the requisite wheezing, wailing accordeon. Add to this some dubby bass, circus organ, bits of brass, melodica and all kinds of strange percussion and you'll start to get an idea of this beautifully layered and unique sound, which takes in Africa (North and West), the Caribbean, the sleazier, more interesting bits of France and who knows where else (often all in the one song). Bogness from Tuareg blues giants Tinariwen lends some sand-blasted guitar to Le Petit Homme, while band-mate Mohamed 'Japonais' Ag Illale crops up on Le Poème De Japonais. Reinforcing the links between the two groups which stretch back a good few years now.
There really isn't a filler amongst the 12 tracks here and you can grab yourself a copy, safe in the knowledge that this music is even capable of transforming a hellish commute across London into a joyous experience. Jamie Renton
Buy the CD at cdRoots
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Article is copright 2002 Southern Rag/fROOTS, and is used by permission
No reproduction is allowed wiothout the specific permission of the publishers.
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