Customer Reviews

Cuisine Non-Stop

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I haven't plunked a CD into my player and and gotten so excited for quite a while. I am absolutely bowled over by "Cuisine Non-Stop."

I like street music, especially from Europe and Africa. This CD mines the relatively unknown but incredibly rich treasures of French "Neo-Realism." This is a strange but addictive blend of the French tradition of street and cabaret singing of Piaf, Brel, non-sterotypical French accordian, plus ethnic sounds from Africa, Russia, Romany Gypsies, Algeria, Morocco, and more. It's hard to describe here, but the first cut on the album is one of the best, and it is a great example of cross-cultural fertilization that produces a new breed in pop music.

I haven't been this excited about a CD since I got a copy of "Lost Souls" by Spaccanapoli--a band that plays Neapolitan street-inspired music. They are very hot on the Euro-festival circuit. If you like Spaccanapoli, or enjoyed the music in films like "Amelie", you will love the mix on "Cuisine Non-Stop."

David Byrne's far-reaching Luaka Bop label has finally made it to the Gallic territories, with this loopy set of kooky, postmodern cabaret tunes, a quirky update of the Parisian cafe music of the 1930s. The album opens with the crosscultural acoustic world-jazz of Lo'Jo, and moves into a succession of likeminded contemporaries... The spirits of Tom Waits, Serge Gainsbourg, Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet happily hover over this collection, which provides a welcome alternative to the more staid tradition of French pop vocals. A set like this bodes well: I hope Byrne & Co. have a volume or two of other French material on tap -- samplers of great indie rock by the likes of Francoiz Breut, Katarine and Etienne Charry would also be welcome, as well as a look at modern French hip-hop and electronica. Oui!

What can I really say? Simply that Cuisine Non-Stop deserves a very good word. I've listened to Lo'Jo for some time, and am more than happy to say that the rest of the contributions will prove exceedingly pleasing to Lo'Jo listeners, though this is not a compilation of Lo'Jo ripoffs. The selections are all fine, nuanced amalgamations of tradition, street, and ethnic influences. The marketing of Cuisine Non-Stop claims that it's an exploration of "France's newest music scene." In general, it is music inspired by Piaf and company but turned on its head. Interestingly, it's an amalgamation of music styles that has occurred over the past ten years without much of the major French recording industry taking notice, as it maintained its steadfast Nashville approach of pushing forth generic [stuff]. Well, it can ignore these bands anymore. Finally, even if you're not a David Byrne fan, don't be put off by the statement that the collection was put together by David Byrne. This stuff is fresh and worthy of a serious listen.

Tasty sampler of pop styles that sound to me more like reggae and other current world musics than like their French chanson precursors. Several are clearer lineal descendants of Byrne than of Brel. Great collection-only a couple fall short. Standouts: tr 4-Naļve deriche (Arabist take on what could be classic Talking Heads); tr 7-René Bouteille (gentler ska take on Les Negresses Vertes, like a rollicking folk song sung in a pub); tr 9-fèm ren (Celto-Arabic, with layered rhythms and a vocal that gets under your skin); tr 11-Brūlé la méche (male rap against female chorus with fiddle and percussion is goosebumping)

Excellent compilation of French pop from Luaka Bop and the Talking Heads' David Byrne. Various artists perform everything from alternative sounding tunes to cafe-style music. Every bit of it is good. My personal favorite is "Naive Dermiche" by Arthur H. It's a deliriously exotic piece that I can only call "intense trance". I will be looking for more from Mr.H. I highly recommend this CD for those who enjoy something different and appreciate Euro flavored sound. Enjoy this one.

This is a great collection offrench music. It focuses on mostly the music of north and west sfrican diasporas in france with a few gypsy tunes. As such the same musiccould have easily been masrketed as a continuation in Luaka Bops " Adventures in Afropea" series.
The subtilte of french nouvelle generation is misleading because it completely ignores a lot of the very interesting musical movements in French A,bient and Techno music. prominent bands such as Air , Daft Punk are missing as are french hip hop icons such as MC Solaar.On the Whole this is a unique and excellent compilation of Afro French tunes..