07/15/2023
‘Ndiaz/La Brune/L’Usinerie/2023
Personnel:
Youn Kamm: trumpet, biniou
Timothée Le Bour: saxophone
Yann Le Corre: accordion, Roland synth accordion
Jérôme Kerihuel: drums
‘Ndiaz is one of the flagship groups of the new scene in Brittany, which their production house L’Usinerie describes as “unique musical and sound writing, at the confluence of improvisation and popular music from around the world. Their universes are characteristic of an interconnected creative bubbling open to the world, which Brittany embraces. Beyond a claim to local identity, far from a globalized aesthetic defined by the era, their approaches recompose fascinating personal geographies. With a view to development, L’Usinerie works to give voice to these demanding and committed artistic paths.”
The Breton quartet serves up a cocktail of influences ranging from 70s american jazz to euro-beats and various electronic musical genres. New to the band this time around are synthesizer sounds drawn from what looks like a Roland electronic synthesizer accordion, placed on a stool next to Le Corre as he stands wearing his regular instrument. Kerihuel has moved from playing mixed percussion to playing a drum kit, which sounds great.
The slow progression between day and night, of which Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) writes, in his poem “The evening twilight” from the collection Les Fleurs du mal, is the claimed source of inspiration for ‘La Brune’. “The brunette” is this crepuscular in-between, “too light to be night and too dark to be day“, as the group defines it – a suspended moment where the limits are blurred, a moment which sounds the death knell of the past day.
The album ‘La Brune’ is also an opportunity for ‘Ndiaz to collaborate, for a song, with the Chilean composer and performer Paz Court. In the track “Primera Estrella”, the singer’s voice rises and falls through a dreamlike soundscape.
So that’s great and all, but does it work? Well, sort of… It’s both HIT and MISS… intriguing but flawed.
I reviewed their first album HERE. I never reviewed the second recording, ’Son’Rod’, because, while it had a few really fantastically strong tracks, it also had a bunch of weaker ones and represented more of a lateral move than the sophomore-effort development I was wishing for. So here is the third disc and it definitely shows a developmental path. The description from L’Usinerie sounds like a slam-dunk for success – inspired mixture of Breton roots with heady influences from around the world – so what’s not to love?
THE MISS: To boil it down to a point, I think the problem here is too much euro-club and 70s jazz influence and not enough Breton music. Without the roots the branches can only grow so far before breaking off, to beat the metaphor to death. The result, while it has some incredible playing and some really great moments, particularly in the first few tracks, ends up ultimately being neither fish nor fowl. For all its strengths, ‘La Brune’ doesn’t produce much in the way of memorable melodies. While it’s produced by guys from Brittany, it doesn’t sound particularly like Breton music. It falls into the trap that others before it have, of ending up dangerously close to amorphous, euro-world music with amazingly skilled performances of… ultimately forgettable material. Another miss: Paz Court. Yeah, of course she can sing but I just don’t get it. Meh. It reminds me vaguely of some world music or such from the 80s or 90s. The vibe is definitely not a Breton vibe… I don’t know who it’s supposed to appeal to – lovers of soft jazz? Another miss: the artwork by Raphaël Decoster. An abstract piece that tries hard and sadly fails hard to be a visual reflection of the verbiage spun out by L’Usinerie in the first paragraph above. Instead it’s kind of “Huh?” – some sort of faded-out blob of color. Perhaps a visual reflection of this recording’s failings?
…these talented guys are pursuing a singular vision with intense creativity and for that, you have to applaud.
THE HIT: Perhaps the previous paragraph is far too unkind. Notice the mention of amazing performances. Those first three tracks or so: pretty awesome! These guys can really, really play. I cannot emphasize enough the imagination and skill put to work here. Intriguing riffs and arrangements abound. One also has to point out the obvious standout voice on this recording: the saxophone of Timothy Le Bour. Le Bour has become an almost ubiquitous presence in many of the more forward-thinking Breton recordings and for good reason. His playing is interesting and powerful and his tone is great; neither crude nor overly polite. I think he’s hit a high point on this recording and that alone makes it worth a careful listen. This guy is just so good. He has a great sound, plays great lines and he is beautifully recorded here. I think to myself “Eh, this album is just so-so, it is no more Breton than Daft Punk” but then end up listening to it again and again.
For me, as a listener and as a musician, the concept of putting wings on this genre of music and really expanding its complexity and expressive palette is incredibly appealing. It’s what I work to do and I am keenly fascinated by others who work in even a vaguely similar direction, which would include groups such as ’ndiaz, Fleuves, Wipidoup, and even Dibenn from the 90s. After an incredibly promising debut, ’Ndiaz hasn’t managed to really fully deliver since for my very particular taste, but the journey that they are on is nonetheless a really fascinating one. Which makes ‘La Brune’ worth listening to, for all it flaws, for this group of musicians is most definitely not phoning it in. They are, in the words of the immortal Lou Reed, “Doin’ the things that they want to.” Succeed or fail, these talented guys are pursuing a singular vision with intense creativity and for that, you have to applaud.
-Fañch
