French Reggae Sucks Big Time (who says?) =(/
RDonnart
<richard...@ntlworld.com>a écrit :
>I think I'll have to agree, 'cos I've never heard of any of
>'em..........
>
>The best French Reggae artist was Serge Gainsbourg, whose album 'Aux
>Armes et Cetera' is still in my top 5 LP's of all time.
>
c'mon, Rich, it's pretty much obvious that you, like most english people don't
know a lot about what's happening in france (at least musically), and any other
continental european country for that matter, admit it ! c'mon, mate : serge
gainsbourg (a versatile artist, not a reggae artist) died more than ten years
ago and his reggae albums were done more than 20years ago with JA's creme de la
creme musicians !
one funny thing is that quite a few french artists released singles on JA label
(ie, how yu fi seh that) and some well-known UK shops & distros didn't even
list them, just because they're prejudiced, and several records were some of
the best on those riddims. if i were to get decent info about what's happening
reggae-wise in france, i wouldn't take guillaume's words for granted-as much as
i respect him as a person who does good things with the artists he likes, he
also likes to show some provocations once in a while.
but truly speaking, guillaume isn't, afaik, connected with the younger
generation, he doesn't really follow closely what's happening in the dancehall
underground, as he's not really into dancehall, anyway. i don't know why he's
so pissed with some artists who signed on majors : if they sell, good for them,
i don't care much for them either, but commercial strategies sell, and some of
those guys deserve it, on grounds that most of them paid their dues in the
sound system scene (there are some frauds, though !). i also think it's biased
to mention that a huge hit here was borrowed from a famous JA label (not the
one he mentioned, still !), i'm sure he also released-or licensed_ records
which borrowed from Studio 1. as active as he is, guillaume isn't the only
active person in reggae here.they existed before him and the new generation
shows promise.
it's very unfair to diss french reggae like this, as it's still, in a way. i'm
not sure german reggae people will diss guys like Gentleman (great album soon),
Tolga or dr Ring Ding like this, and trust me those guys (not dr ring ding,
though) would hardly pass for germans at all.
there are clones everywhere, even in JA !
if a major signs a capleton clone, so what? they sign (or don't sign, or forget
to promote). who's that clone, btw ?is it daddy mory ? If so, i've heard much
worse stylistically.
the best reggae will mostly remain in the underground, where there are a
handful of emerging talented producers, labels and programmers, whom we lacked
for too long, and more and more singles series are being released.
as for the good artists, well, i'll stick to the dancehall side but guys like
Sael (who jus got a rave review in US mag The Beat), papa tank, valley,
matinda, fefe typical, yaniss odua, lord kossity, tairo, lyricson,straika, baby
g ,sunkom, boomsound, reel kila,loo ranks, el dan, az rock, full style, pleen
pyroman, kulu ganja, brahim, etc.. all those guys have recordings out, be they
comps, albums, singles...if you want to know about them, link up with me.quite
a few of them have good lyrics too, but then people who are interested will
have to learn the language (be it french or french creole, as most of those
guys are direct from the West Indies), as we had to learn english !
there are good classic ska bands here too(the skatalites even praise some of
them) and a very healthy dub scene (improvisators'dub, high tone, zenzile, echo
chamber, for instance).
it's true that there are too many bands who are influenced by 70's roots
(especially steel pulse, aswad, spear, gladiators and wailers) and can be too
caricatural at times, but still they make a lively scene which often has a good
attitude.some acts learn to develop their personality, like Mister Gang, who
had a cool album out last year, if you dig early steel pulse.
for a conclusion i'll add that, unlike Rich, i pay a lot of attention to what's
happening reggae-wise in europe, and have noticed that the continental
countries have improved a lot, especially in germany, benelux (Uman is a very
good and astute DJ from Brussels !) and france (sorry i know there are good
things happening in italy, but i lack info).as i'm not a jingo, i'll also big
up the great UK singers and a few of their fellow DJ's; sad to see they aren't
prophets in their own country, nice to see they 're learning at last that
things are happening on the other side of the Channel.
ps: it's one of the first times i don't agree with or enjoy a post by Rich, as
it seems to me that quite often we dig the same sort of oldies !
and this time, i won't side with guillaume, because i can't share wholy his
ill-founded prejudices (though i don't care much for most local bigger), even
though i'm also an old-timer of sorts.
asa
French reggae scene to you all wrote about it. In the UK we never hear anything
of it, no recorded music, stage shows, sound systems e.t.c same goes for a lot
of things though; news, films e.t.c. Britain is more like a part of the USA than
a part of Europe it seems, Most of our modern 'culture' is based around an equal
input from both American and British sources. It sucks but thats just how it is.
Its all historical ballshit of course, but personally I dont give a damn about
that and Britains sometimes pompous nature is very irratating... so nuff respect
to the french, german, italian and all of nations reggae massive, and me thinks
I will have to cross the water soon to check the vibes.
In article <20020309161739...@mb-bg.aol.com>, RDonnart says...
guillaume Bougard
> generation, he doesn't really follow closely what's happening in the
dancehall
> underground, as he's not really into dancehall, anyway.
I listen to a lot of it, and some of it I like. I'd like a little more
differentiation between riddims, better arrangements (which is what makes
Shaggy or, a few years ago, Chaka D + Pliers, work).
i don't know why he's
> so pissed with some artists who signed on majors :
I'm pissed with artists who are fake, who imitate what's going on in JA, who
rob riddims. Actually PierPolJak and Neg Marrons are those I like the most,
even though they:
1. take riddims without properly crediting original composers
2. can't sing half as good as Jamaicans (at least PierPolJak has great
lyrics, a good team working for him, and Neg Marrons are lively)
if they sell, good for them,
> i don't care much for them either, but commercial strategies sell, and
some of
> those guys deserve it, on grounds that most of them paid their dues in the
> sound system scene (there are some frauds, though !).
i also think it's biased
> to mention that a huge hit here was borrowed from a famous JA label (not
the
> one he mentioned, still !), i'm sure he also released-or licensed_ records
> which borrowed from Studio 1.
as active as he is, guillaume isn't the only
> active person in reggae here.they existed before him and the new
generation
> shows promise.
I hope so, because being alone would be very discouraging, I guess I'm the
only indie French label who goes to Kingston to produce new recordings (but
that is another debate).
> it's very unfair to diss french reggae like this, as it's still, in a way.
i'm
> not sure german reggae people will diss guys like Gentleman (great album
soon),
> Tolga or dr Ring Ding like this, and trust me those guys (not dr ring
ding,
> though) would hardly pass for germans at all.
> there are clones everywhere, even in JA !
We don't really need those either, but what you get in JA that does not seem
to emerge here is copy cats who develop their own personality and become a
genre on their own. Elephant Man, for example..
> if a major signs a capleton clone, so what? they sign (or don't sign, or
forget
> to promote). who's that clone, btw ?is it daddy mory ?
It's Yaniss Odua. He seems unable to grow a thick beard like Capleton, but
he's got the turban, the shouts (not as powerful as Capleton)...
If so, i've heard much
> worse stylistically.
> the best reggae will mostly remain in the underground, where there are a
> handful of emerging talented producers, labels and programmers, whom we
lacked
> for too long, and more and more singles series are being released.
> as for the good artists, well, i'll stick to the dancehall side but guys
like
> Sael (who jus got a rave review in US mag The Beat), papa tank, valley,
> matinda, fefe typical, yaniss odua,
lord kossity,
If that guy's musical personality is not a collage of severtal JA artists,
well I'll be damned!
tairo,
Same
lyricson,straika, baby
> g ,sunkom,
boomsound,
separated, according the latest news
reel kila,
loo ranks,
copy cat, idiotic lyrics
el dan, az rock, full style, pleen
> pyroman, kulu ganja,
brahim,
sings off key
these guys would be wiped in clashes, they don't last, most of them have the
wrong attitude (they become quite megalomaniac very quickly), their
productions are very poor musically speaking (which is a shame because
unlike Jamaica, France is one of the richest country in the world, provides
welfare payments that would feed whole families, so there is no excuse for
shitty equipment and sounds).
etc.. all those guys have recordings out, be they
> comps, albums, singles...if you want to know about them, link up with
me.quite
> a few of them have good lyrics too, but then people who are interested
will
> have to learn the language (be it french or french creole, as most of
those
> guys are direct from the West Indies), as we had to learn english !
> there are good classic ska bands here too(the skatalites even praise some
of
> them) and
a very healthy dub scene (improvisators'dub, high tone, zenzile, echo
> chamber, for instance).
at least the French dub scene has done something intelligent: most of them
are classified in electro, and people like Zenzile are very good.
> it's true that there are too many bands who are influenced by 70's roots
> (especially steel pulse, aswad, spear, gladiators and wailers) and can be
too
> caricatural at times, but still they make a lively scene which often has a
good
> attitude.some acts learn to develop their personality, like Mister Gang,
who
> had a cool album out last year, if you dig early steel pulse.
At least Mr Gang seems to fuse elements of other musical cultures.
GB