Just as I was wondering how to round of the year with this column – I made the mistake of cramming big stuff like the French elections and the Paris Olympic Games into the previous one – I put on tQ’s Low Culture podcast, in which editors Luke Turner and John Doran opened by discussing the mighty hurdy-gurdy, bass and drums trio France. Of course, it had to be France! The last time I wrote about them was back in 2021 so I don’t think it’s too soon for another appraisal.
France were in the UK for their first-ever tour here. In addition to dates in Bristol and Todmorden they played two shows in London – one an official date at Rich Mix in Shoreditch and the other, a more discreet performance-cum-recording session, in the live room of distributor and label The state51 Conspiracy.
For those who don’t know yet, a France show – and indeed a France release – features the band ploughing a single furrow for as long as time allows (and sometimes longer): one rhythm on the drums with very occasional embellishment, a barely evolving one-or-two-note bassline and Yann Gourdon’s screeching, squalling, grinding hurdy-gurdy. Gourdon and bassist Jérémie Sauvage are the group’s mainstays, while they have had several drummers over the years. Currently the man with the sticks is Swiss drummer and percussionist Cyril Bondi, also of Cyril Cyril and La Tène. A week before the France shows, La Tène played their own time-warping show at Cafe OTO, also with Jérémie Sauvage on bass: another live highlight of 2024.
John and Luke saw France in different locations (John in Bristol, Luke at Rich Mix) and had rather contrasting reactions. I think anyone can relate to Luke’s experience of not being in quite the right frame of mind for a gig because of factors that are completely external to the performance; I’ve been there on numerous occasions, knowing that I should be enjoying the show, that I would be enjoying it if I was in a different headspace. And with France you really do need to be completely engaged for the duration.
Not unrelated were Luke’s comments about the lack of theatricality at Rich Mix, partly because Yann and Jérémie were stationed on the floor in front of the stage, out of view for a lot of the audience. John’s theatrical comparison, to late-period Beckett – a drama of small but significant gestures in the sparsest of settings – is a great one, and I would add that the whole France concept (including the name) is a sort of grand, theatrical gesture in itself. But perhaps more than theatricality, it’s best to think of France in terms of rituality. (This, as much as the presence of a hurdy-gurdy, is where their connection with folk lies, harking back to music’s role as, in the words of theorist Jacques Attali, “an attribute of the sacrificial ceremony” and a channeler of “essential violence”.) A ritual is both a singular performance and a return of the same; to function, it also requires your full participation and belief.
It’s worth picking up on comparisons with Sun O))) here (not coincidentally, France have supported Sun O))) on a French tour). I do think they are a great band, but I was just a little disappointed when I finally saw them live; with France I had already experienced the sensations I was told Sun O))) would induce. It feels like a slightly absurd thing to say but with Sun O))) there were too many changes, too much release, whereas France are simultaneously all tension and all flow. I also found Sun O))) to be a little too explicit, maybe even a bit panto, in their evocation of rituality (although only by comparison, and I do really like a bit of panto).
We did get a bit of rock & roll theatre at state51 where, if I recall correctly, Bondi played the lumbering ‘boom-boom-boom-chak’ beat. It was much easier to get a view of the trio and, over the course of the show, Yann proceeded to down a bottle of something that looked like gin but may have been pastis, reeling around the floor until he eventually yanked his cable from the amp socket. But at Rich Mix (where we got the boom-chak-boom-chak that you hear on the Occitanie album, in a bigger room and without that focal point, it was more about getting lost in the expanded aperture of now, in the star trails and ringing overtones. France absolutely engage the body – plenty of intense nodding and swaying was in evidence from the audience – but the spectacle is one for your mind, especially as you start to wonder how much of what you’re hearing is really there (a friend told me he was getting Spacemen 3 riffs, which made a lot of sense). Having seen them five times now, there’s a particular excitement that kicks in as the machine starts up, an almost-Pavlovian response to hearing the first groans from the hurdy-gurdy. It’s at that moment I know for sure that I’m ready and willing to take the ride again.In case there was any doubt, the Rich Mix show was undoubtedly my gig of the year (as has been the case for any previous years in which I’ve seen France live). That was an easy pick. Choosing my favourite albums of 2024, was considerably harder, and I’ve gnashed my teeth over the ones I haven’t found space for: Matthias Prual and co’s La Démesure Du Pas; L’Étrangleuse; Bleu Nuit; eat-girls; joaqm; InFinit’; Unglee Izi; NLF3; Triplego; Lise Barkas; Eiger Drums Propaganda; Violence Gratuite; Berrocal, Fenech & Epplay; Aquaserge; Delphine Dora; Félicia Atkinson… I recommend investigating all of these too if you haven’t already.
BòscBòscLa Crue / La Grande Folie / Pagans
One of the French folk highlights of the year (see below for the other one) Bòsc have emerged from female collective La Crue (see also Bourrasque and Garenne), the first group to feature of all of its members, and they’ve brought a highly distinctive approach, both rough-edged and lyrical, to material in French and Occitan. Exploring dance rhythms, drones, repetition and keening melody, they fully exploit both the instrumental and vocal resources of all five members. And ‘L’Èrba D’Amor’, whether live or on record, is perhaps the song that has most moved me this year.
D’En HautD’En HautPagans/La Nóvia
Two pillars of the folk scene, the Pagans label and the La Nóvia collective, and a pair of musicians who are well-established on the scene – Thomas Baudoin and Romain Colautti – come together for this stunning reimagining of Occitan religious songs that begins with a vision of the hereafter in ‘Au Paradis’ (‘In Heaven’). Using a set-up including drone boxes, acoustic bass and percussion, the pair have crafted ingenious, dynamic arrangements that are profoundly joyous and strange. I’m a believer.
Colin JohncoCrabe GéantJohnkôôl
The Johnkôôllabel boss assembled a crack team of experimental musicians, including Emmanuelle Parrenin, producer and dancer NSDOS, sax player and Nurse With Wound collaborator Quentin Rollet, producer Paulie Jan and saxophonist Léo Margue, for this extraordinary, oceanic set that draws on ambient, spiritual jazz, folk and abstract electronics. Crabe Géant ushers you into utterly enveloping environment, inviting you to explore its mysterious depths.
BramaBramaAirfono
Folk & roll joy abounds on this glorious second release from Brama, a power trio from Clermont-Ferrand, a town in central France that is the capital of the Auvergne region (it was also designated by newspaper Le Monde as the capital of French rock back in 2008). Bass, drums, effected hurdy-gurdy and massed vocals combine for a scintillatingly fresh take on folk rock and psychedelia.
Lala &ceSolsticeColumbia France
Lala followed the summery SunSystem EP with this return to the dark side. Solstice’s dystopian narrative may not be the easiest to follow but that hardly matters when, assisted by producer Phazz and other guests, she’s cooked up another essential combination of inventive beats and heavy-lidded, sensuously slurred vocals. Head and shoulders above the majority of major label French rap releases this year.
BégayerÉvohé BègueMurailles Music / Via Parigi / Le Saule
The rambunctious quintet’s latest is an intentionally rough-hewn release that sutures disparate recordings, jams and overdubs, into a compelling collage of rumbling drums, distorted bass and strangulated yelps. Sonic bricolage at its best.
Marion Cousin & Eloïse DecazesCom A Lanceta Na MãoPagans/Le Saule/La République Des Granges
The latest episode of Marion Cousin’s adventures in the Iberian Peninsula have brought her to the Tràs-os-Montes province in the north east of Portugal. Arlt’s Eloïse Decazes is the perfect vocal and musical foil for an album that takes traditional songs as a jumping-off point for some delightfully playful experimentation.
Hanaa OuassimLa Vie De StarPan European Recording
This debut from the Morocco-born percussionist, songwriter, DJ and producer feels low-key but it’s one I returned to repeatedly this year for its gorgeous blend of chaabi and raï with club beats and delicate pop, its bruised and smeared Auto-Tuned and vocoder-ed vocals. In particular, one play of the brief but almost overwhelmingly poignant ‘Nmchi B Lil’ is never enough.
THE-TrapNoviceland
I gave TH a mention in a column this year but his E-Trap mixtape, or EP (whatever you want to call it) deserves far more than that. This release combines razor-sharp production with real emotional heft, and TH’s apparently nonchalant flow is actually one of the most original in French rap right now; sometimes he’s so far ahead of the beat that he’s behind it (and vice-versa).
Midget!Qui Parle OmbreObjet Disque
The latest from the duo of Claire Vailler and Mocke is a sumptuous winter palace that fuses elements of chanson, jazz, contemporary classical and ambient. Vailler’s vocals, especially on the title track, are hair-raisingly sublime and the wonderfully spacialised production from AtomTM is the icing on the cake.
