Au Cabaret Sauvage

Amazon.com
Lo'Jo are a band with a penchant for the music of wanderers, be they Gypsies, circus performers, or the Tuareg, the nomads that roam the deserts of northern Niger. On their third CD, Au Cabaret Sauvage, Lo'Jo take these peripatetic styles and skillfully blend them with French chanson, West African harmonies, and the occasional electronic rhythm track. Denis Péan, who sings in a dusty, road-weary growl, shares the vocals with Nadia and Yamina Nid El Mourid, a pair of French Algerian sisters who have a way bending notes in harmony that's absolutely thrilling. The instrumentation includes French café favorites, like the accordion and the violin, which is played with a Gypsy's élan by Richard Bourreau; West African instruments, like the kora and balafon; and Indian instruments, like the sarangi and harmonium. From the title track, with its haunting, slightly sinister circus ambience, to the moaning melodies of "Memoire d'Homme," Lo Jo have created a perfect soundtrack for those who wander the world's less-traveled byways. --Michael Simmons

Tracks:

Memory Of Man
One Of Hers
Small Man
In The 'Arena Of The Bold'
The Humans
Five Ochre Cowries
In The Wild Cabaret
Tangito
Rambling Talk
Japonnais' Poem
Armanguie
Bougnoule

Amazon.com

Lo'Jo are a band with a penchant for the music of wanderers, be they Gypsies, circus performers, or the Tuareg, the nomads that roam the deserts of northern Niger. On their third CD, Au Cabaret Sauvage, Lo'Jo take these peripatetic styles and skillfully blend them with French chanson, West African harmonies, and the occasional electronic rhythm track. Denis Péan, who sings in a dusty, road-weary growl, shares the vocals with Nadia and Yamina Nid El Mourid, a pair of French Algerian sisters who have a way bending notes in harmony that's absolutely thrilling. The instrumentation includes French café favorites, like the accordion and the violin, which is played with a Gypsy's élan by Richard Bourreau; West African instruments, like the kora and balafon; and Indian instruments, like the sarangi and harmonium. From the title track, with its haunting, slightly sinister circus ambience, to the moaning melodies of "Memoire d'Homme," Lo Jo have created a perfect soundtrack for those who wander the world's less-traveled byways. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews:

Everybody loves a cabaret.......2006-06-12

As usual,Lo'Jo albums are my impulse purchases.Not that I'd regret them.Strangely,I got this one when anti-Gallic feelings ran high.Should politics be a factor when the music is so good?

Highlights-
1)L'une de siens (track 2)A diversity of styles make this a perfect,spicy mix.
2)A l'arene des audicieux (track 4)Brilliantly rhythmic.It sounds almost like reggae.
3)Cinq causis (track 6)Unusual instrumentation,quite glorious.
4)Tangito-Lo'Jo is always good with the tango.

While this album does not have MANY highlights,it works as a whole.Even when it is put on shuffle.

Gypsy-Arab fusion featuring B-52 sound-alikes, rasta rhythm.......2006-03-23

My introduction to the group. Great fun, a renewal of rock that honors the B-52s while swinging out to a gypsy-Arabic fusion with rasta rhythms. If you don't like a song, wait for the next-they're all different. More of a collage than a hybrid of different styles. French boulevardier crossed with North African. But a consistency emerges, recalling the LaFlammes of It's a Beautiful Day. Fluid gypsy-Arab violin, north African percussion, gruff baritone, pop girl chorus, wrapped around tasty songs with lots of add-ons. More pop than Peter Gabriel's north African excursions. Spoken lyrics that offer fairly serious, thoughtful material. In French; in English, this might be hard to take. [45:37]