WHEN WORLD MUSIC WAS OPENING OUR EARS

Les Negresses Vertes and other fusion music from the 80s are worth a second listen

The 1980s was a period when non-Anglophonic mainstream bands started to make waves at festivals and music stores in Europe. Pioneering festivals like Angouleme in France exposed bands from Africa, Asia, Middle East and the Caribbean to international audiences. This is how the first wave of the boom in so-called “world music” started; these bands then began to release albums, which were often marketed from indie record stores. This is how we found out about Salif Keita, Mory Kante, Cheb Khaled and Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens.

At that time, folk music in Europe was in the doldrums. But there were a number of bands that obviously were inspired by the world music boom but who nonetheless looked to their own roots to create new music. French bands like Mano Negra and Les Negresses Vertes began in the alternative music scene but moved on to join the above artists on festival stages.

I was fortunate to be in Tokyo when these bands began appearing in the late 1970s. For one event, “Paris In Tokyo”, French roots/fusion bands were brought in to show the diversity of music in Paris. Radio France DJ Jean-Jacques Dufayet told me at the time, “[that] there is a new spirit and new mixtures of sounds”.

Manu Negra and Les Negresses Vertes were both created from the experiences of young people growing up as minorities in France. Mano Negra’s leader Manu Chao has Spanish and French ancestry, while the leaders of Les Negresses had French, Italian, Arabic, Romany and Spanish ancestry. Manu Chao went on to enjoy a spectacular solo career as a musician, producer and social activist; he’s always been a favourite at World Beat for his politically charged music that hits all the right places — the head, the heart and the feet. If you’re not sure how good this band was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, check out Mano Negra’s 1991 release King Of Bongo and Mano Chao’s essential albums, Clandestino and a later one, Proxima Estacion: Esperanza. Chao’s production skills can be heard on the award-winning release by Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, Dimanche A Bamako (Because Music/Nonesuch).

I’ve written about Mano Negra and Manu Chao before and their stories are well known. Les Negresses, however, are a different matter. Few people remember them now, despite the fact that surviving members have morphed into a dub lounge band.

But turn the clock back to 1987 when Les Negresses were formed around the talents of singer Helno, guitarist Stefane Mellino and Matthias Canavese on accordion. The band got its strange name from abuse hurled at them at one of their first concerts — the band was criticised for being kitsch. Undeterred, the band went on to record their first album, Mlah in 1988 and this album produced one glorious single, Zobi La Mouche (well worth checking out on the internet).

I was reminded of just how good the band was when I was handed a copy of the band’s 2002 compilation album, Le Grand Deballage ( Warner, France), which contains much of their best work. Stefane Mellino explained that: “We are a bridge between ‘ethnic’ styles and French styles.” Accordion player Mathieu Canavese added: “But we play our songs the French way. We’re a rock’n’roll band.”

Well, the rock’n’roll they played was different. Their quirky, original songs were peppered with Parisian street slang, or parigo, and some songs have a chanson feel that gets tweaked and put through a cultural blender. Sometimes the songs are just so surreal, it leaves you scratching your head (while you dance, as these boys play dance music).

Take Zobi La Mouche, for instance, which is about a man-fly who enters the gaping mouth of a Bible reader. Both these two bands were pioneering in their approach of fusing diverse elements into their music but always remaining rooted to their own traditions.

Current bands like Scotland’s Shooglenifty (acid croft dub music), France’s Camille and many others have been influenced by these bands and perhaps some of Europe’s roots and neo-folk bands (a booming scene at the moment) were inspired by their approach to creating music from their own roots, which is fresh and new.

Sadly, tragedy struck Les Negresses in 1993 when singer Helno lost his struggle with heroin addiction. His death left a vacuum, which the band tried to fill but, for me anyway, the band’s music was not the same. Like Mano Chao in Manu Negra, Helno had that wild punk spirit that made him the focal point of the band’s live performances. Once he was gone, the band was not the same.

I urge readers to check out Les Negresses (and Mano Negra) on YouTube and the like, or get hold of the compilation album. Their music sounds as fresh today as it did all those years ago.

We are a bridge between ‘ethnic’ styles and French styles