10/28/2011
Kafe Koefet/Trouz Ba’n Davarn/November 2010
Personnel:
Cyril GUIGUIAN : guitare
Erwan QUINTIN : violon
Ludovic RIO : accordéon chromatique
Invités :
Dimitri ALEXALINE : bugle
Lucien BÉGO : binioù koz
Yannick DABO : chant
France DARMOIS : chant
Thomas FORTIN : bombarde
Raphaël GOUTHIÈRE : soubassophone
Anthony QUILLIVIC : guitare
Wow. Right from the opening notes of the Paris-based group Kafe Koefet’s first CD Trouz Ba’n Davarn (Noise in the Tavern), the listener knows they are in for something really special. While it sometimes seems that all too often a famous act promises greatness but disappoints by delivering stilted results in the interest of doing something novel or different, a relative unknown like Kafe Koefet (which means ‘coffee cocktail’ in Breton) can come along and save the day with a delightful, fresh blast of Breton music.
‘Pariz’, as it is known in Breton, is rather far from Brittany in many ways and the casual listener might well be surprised to learn that this CD is Parisian in origin. Like other great cities around the globe Paris has been collecting immigrants from far-off regions for some time and it has boasted a substantial Breton community for more than a century, now estimated at 1 million.
At its core Kafe Koefet is a trio with accordion, guitar, and violin. They also perform as a quartet with Thomas Fortin on bombard. Fortin appears frequently on this recording and his playing is a delight that simply bursts with energy. Ludovic Rio’s chromatic button accordion playing and superior arrangements of the material are truly remarkable. By turns deeply melancholy, tender, swinging or intensely rhythmic, the sound he draws out of his accordion in this recording is unmistakably like no other: masterful, complex and powerful. Cyril Guignan’s tasty guitar meshes perfectly with the accordion and provides a rhythmic and melodic counterpoint that always fits the mood regardless of whether the track is a high-intensity dance-floor burner or a more reflective piece. The third member of the group, Erwan Quintin, is another musician with a unique sound. His playing can be aggressive to the point of ferocity, at times threatening to come apart under the intense, raspy attack of bow on strings. At other times, he provides soaring counter-melodies that wind themselves vibrantly around the lines coming out of the accordion. I would love to hear more from this man in a studio setting, where the control over the sound might soften some of the edginess of his live playing that emerges when he is really and truly belting it out.
Besides Fortin’s bombard, an array of guest artists flavor the core sound on a few tracks without overwhelming it. Most noticeable are two vocalists, Yannick Dabo and France Darmois, singing in Breton and Gallo. Both have infectious voices that make their appearances here a treat. The vocal tracks are part of a perfectly varied program that really make this disc shine under repeat listens. There is so much of interest going on sonically, and the shift from wild intensity to dark, rich moodiness creates an incredibly rich palate for the listener that leaves you wanting much more. If you have only a few recordings of Breton music, I encourage the reader to purchase this one as it is truly and uniquely engaging, worthy of being filed in a special category with just a few others as a masterpiece of Breton culture.
Translation from an interview with Erwan Quintin by Stéphane Julou, on tamm-kreiz.com
Q: Coming from Paris, is it a handicap to find dates in Brittany? Is it difficult to exist as a Fest Noz group in the area of Paris?
A: A handicap already exists inside Brittany when a group wants to play outside of their own area. Paris is a little further off, so it’s probably a little more difficult. But I also feel that the Breton public is curious about what a Fest Noz group from Paris is able to produce.
As for the Paris region, there are a million Bretons there and the cultural world is dynamic. Apart from holiday periods or long weekends (during which Bretons come home to visit), there are Fest Noz every weekend. It often happens that there are 2 or 3 on the same night. And there are also many Fest Deiz as well. So there are many opportunities to perform in the region.
- Fañch
