We welcome 4 gentlemen: Christophe Cagnolari and Sekouba Bambino for the Afriquatuors project, then Sorg and Napoleon Maddox for the album “the openingdedicated to Toussaint Louverture.
Our first guests are the musician Christophe Cagnolari and the singer Sekouba Bambino from Afriquatuors. Video.
Afriquatuors is the very first (or almost) chamber music ensemble dedicated to African music.
It echoes the mythical era of the great orchestras of the 1960s and 80s, when juju music, electric rumba and soukouss were invented.
By entrusting two quartets – one for strings, the other for wind – with the audacious mission of making this dance music groove, it is a question of revealing the orchestral potential of these sub-Saharan classics, and of rediscovering the voices of Ballou Canta, Sam Mangwana Where Sekouba Bambino when they mingle with instruments with classical European instruments. In this meeting, the electric guitars become pizzicati of violins, the musical melismas melodies of clarinets, and the drums of the smoky ports of the gold-coast boxes of cellos.
Between Paris and Brazzaville, Berlin and Lagos, Afriquuors is an invitation to enter more than a room, a pan-African philharmonic hall where we would finally have the right to sit on the tables.
Tracks played, extracts from the Afriquatuors album
– Ballakesinging Sekouba Bambino
– Stabat Matervocals by Tina Kloutse
– Suite Letter 1vocals Ballou Canta, Sam Mangwana
– Madidina Lovesinging Ballou Canta.
► Scrapbook Afriquartets (Idol/The Tail of the Comet 2022).
Then we receive Sorg & Napoleon Maddox for the album release Louverture.
The tireless Franco-American duo is back with its 2nd album the openinga concept album inspired by the fight of the Haitian general Toussaint louverture. It’s been almost 10 years since the rapper Napoleon Maddox distills his sharp flow on the productions of the beatmaker Sorg. Their 1st track Wild West (2013) was recently pitched by Netflix in the French series “Braqueurs”. Their discography includes several EP’s, a 1st album “Checkin Us(2018), and numerous collaborations with renowned artists such as Gaël Faye, Hamid Drake, Marc Cary, Dobet Gnahoré, Cheick Tidiane Seck, etc.
The activist and poet from Cincinnati (Ohio), Napoleon Maddox, leader of the group IsWhat?! and member of the groups BadFat and Papanosh recently settled in France in Besançon, stronghold of producer Sorg, particularly noted for his remix of Rone wave.
It is in this opus to open the doors of history, to explore and share the life of Toussaint Louverture around the worlds of jazz, electro and hip-hop. The strong symbol of the history of Louverture, a black Haitian general who fought for the French revolutionary armies then against the reestablishment of slavery before ending his life at the Château de Joux imprisoned by Bonaparte, resonates particularly in the common history of African-American peoples.
Originally, Louverture de Toussaint was a scenic creation project motivated by the American singer’s residency as an associate artist in Besançon, supported and co-produced by SMAC La Rodia and Le Moloco. Napoleon Maddox, his real name, chose to draw inspiration from the story of the Haitian general to create a quartet alongside Sorg, Canadian-Haitian multi-instrumentalist Jowee Omicil, and Malian pianist Cheick Tidiane Seck, who was eventually replaced by Franco-Haitian jazzman Carl-Henri Morisset. The premiere of this show took place at the Château de Joux under the walled-up window of the cell where Louverture died. Sorg & Napoleon Maddox then decided to make an album, soberly titled “Louverture”, where we find the musicians Jowee Omicil, Carl-Henri Morisset or the rapper Marc Nammour of the group La Canaille.
The self-titled single and music videothe opening» filmed at the Château de Joux, a jazzy and tasty title, marks the beginning of the album. It’s a journey through time, with atmospheric sounds, that echoes the story of this incredible freedom fighter.
Tracks played taken from the album the opening
– Louverture
– The Letter
– Trayison Feat. Jowee Omicil
-Bones Feat. Marc Nammour.
► Scrapbook the opening (Without sugar records/L’Autre Distribution 2022).