07/27/2018
Fleuves/fleuves/Coop Breizh/2017
Personnel:
Samson DAYOU / Guitare basse
Romain DUBOIS / Programmation , Fender Rhodes
Emilien ROBIC / Clarinette
Invités:
Youenn Le Cam / Trompette
Antonin VOLSON / Batterie
Loeiza Beauvir / Chant
Youenn Lange / Chant
“Tout en construisant entièrement son répertoire sur le respect de la danse traditionnelle, Fleuves amène une musique particulièrement originale, électrique, électronique, fractale…dans le monde du Fest Noz.”
Here’s a recording that I actually passed on when it first came out, despite being fascinated by the sound of clarinettist Emilien Robic. I first heard Robic as part of the clarinet/accordeon duo Robic/Guillarme and then also in the group Kentañ on the recording ‘Son al leur’. On that recording there was far too little of him featured as it’s a large ensemble. Robic’s clarinet is truly evocative and true to the traditional treujenn gaol style but with remarkable technical fluency – what a great clarinet sound he has! I longed to hear more from this musician.
Well, here came this recording on the Coop Breizh website and I eagerly looked at the instrumentation. He was accompanied by bass and then… Fender Rhodes piano? Hmm, that sounded like an odd combination; hard pass. Fast forward several months later and a video came up of this band as I was desultorily surfing the web one evening. I thought, what the heck I’ll give it a listen… WOW.
I could not have been more wrong about this group. What a fantastic sound: rich, dense, cohesive, complex, driving, beautifully performed. Gorgeous melodies and arrangements. Not a whiff of cheesiness. Incredible. Fleuves has a sound that is simultaneously ultra-modern, deeply traditional and also infused with some retro-sixties qualities courtesy of the exquisite keyboard work of Romain Dubois. Samson Dayou on bass pumps out dense bass lines that sinuously wrap all around melody and keyboard parts alike. This is really impressive and beyond any doubt the best Breton recording of the year (2017) and perhaps for several years. A gigantic and completely innovative recording.
The basic trio is supported by a few invités, most notably Youenn Le Cam (Alambig Elecktrik, n’diaz) on trumpet, who sounds so great on this recording that he really should just join the band. Like n’diaz, this group also contains significant jazz elements but unlike n’diaz it is much more firmly married to traditional Breton music. Antonin Volson’s drums fit perfectly into the sound; he should also be a regular member as well as far as I’m concerned.
There are two gwerziou vocal tracks on the CD, featuring Loeiza BEAUVIR and Youenn LANGE. These are beautifully done and appropriately moody and melancholic pieces. I must admit, however, that I tend to skip over them to hear more of that engrossing, mesmerizing, fluid, detailed, crazy instrumental sound that the group produces on the rest of the disc.
There is not much more to say about fleuves. This is a highly recommended recording.
- Fañch
