STRANDED HORSE - Luxe

Despite his infatuation with the exotic Malian stringed instrument known as the "kora", French musician Yann Tambour aka Stranded Horse has long been tipped as a possible heir to Matt Elliott, in the way he revisits traditional idioms (never stiff or academic) far removed from Anglo-Saxon ones - not just hiding behind the generic "world" label (given that the choice of instrument is something of a red herring), but more seriously and with greater personality reworking medieval gestures and, in this case, the atmospheres gathered during sessions in Dakar with Boubacar Cissokho, a native kora player ("The Faint Light").

There's no shortage of charm on this "Luxe" either, even though it has lost the magical tone of "Humbling Tides", whose chant-like delivery was perhaps less distinctive but more emotionally resonant. On the other hand, with the addition of another kora, a violin and a balafon, Tambour can also afford a picaresque, vaguely Latin-flavored track like "Ode To Scabies", or the Thousand-and-One-Nights sweep of the cover "My Name Is Carnival" (from Jackson C. Frank), with its swirling caravan-like arrangements.

With a chansonnier-style number dredged up like "Refondre les hémisphères", "Luxe" comes across as a record of impeccable aesthetics, its exoticism never flaunted but fully absorbed into Yann's musical personality, able to tickle the listener's imagination and musical senses in a number of different ways. The final impression, though, is more one of erudite entertainment than of a genuine inner journey into new territory.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

28/01/2016