This is going to be a “grand cru” Bal & Basta with two of the leading dance bands from the French folk scene, neither of which needs any introduction. They have already performed on stage together as Ciac Machine. This time they’ll be playing separately, but who knows? Perhaps they’ll be tempted to play a few numbers together.
Ciac Boum: (c) Rebeka Hasson
If you’re looking for a country ball where the sparks really fly, you need Ciac Boum. Their music stems mainly from Poitou, in west-central France but includes some of their own compostions. Christian Pacher grew up with the music of this region, while his fellow-musicians Julien Padovani and Robert Thebaut came from the worlds of improvized music and reggae. The three of them juggle with rounds, waltzes, pas d’été, maraîchines and other dances from the Limousin as if their life depended on it!. They respect the inherent spirit of the dance tunes that they play, and even when they let a fresh breeze blow through their music, it’s the old tunes that carry the vitality of eternal youth. Ciac Boum has built a solid reputation in France and across Europe, and in the last year in Belgium too, thanks to a singular musical style that exudes joy, energy and a party spirit. Dancers hold tight!
La Machine, from central France, continues to amaze with an original sound that combines singing with influences from far away from Europe, such as from Senegal. The coupling of hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes is typical of the music of their part of France, but the band’s sinuous and hypnotic sound uses percussion and bass to add an inimitable sense of groove and a swaying rhythmic foundation in which Afro-Cuban sounds may be heard. The vocals, thanks to a very distinctive vibrato and a timbre far removed from those usually found in “trad” singing, revisit in a surprising way songs unearthed by collectors. The words may be old but they are amazingly relevant today. When they presented their first CD at the Saint-Chartier Festival in France, they were immediately heralded as the revelation of the event., and since then it’s been onward and upward all the way. La Machine plays dance music that invites you to listen and music for listening that compels you to dance.
Ciac Boum
– Christian Pacher: violin, diatonic accordion, vocals – Julien Padovani: chromatic accordion – Robert Thébaut: guitar, violin
La Machine
– Gregory Jolivet: hurdy-gurdy, backing vocals – Jean-Laurent Cayzac: bass, backing vocals – Marc Riou: percussion, backing vocals – Julien Barbances: vocals, bagpipes, violin