Music / afropop
Review: Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains, Thekla
There is a lot of love in the room for Brussels-based artist, Frànçois Marry. Performing in Bristol is a little like a homecoming for him and although the rain pours heavily over Harbourside, tonight’s Thekla crowd is delighted to see him again, warmed to the core by those unmistakable Afropop vibes.
Marry lived in Bristol for 5 years from 2003 and despite being the first French signing to indie giant Domino, the city can take credit for his debut album The People To Forget (2006) which was released on local micro-label Stitch-Stitch. Certainly the area has rubbed-off on him, with it’s multiculturalism, enduring popularity of world music and general bonhomie.
The track that opens his current album, Solide Mirage, is also the first single to drop from it and, fittingly, it’s the song that kicks-off tonight’s set; BBC Radio 6 Music playlisted, “Grand Dérèglement”. It’s a perfect introduction to what the band does best; a beautifully harmonised concoction of afrobeat, indie folk and even reggaeton. In his career, Frànçois Marry has been a touring member of 4AD Glasgow group Camera Obscura and there is certainly a peppering of similarly 1950’s beach pop and bubbly orch-pop in his writing.
is needed now More than ever
This latest album was produced by studio wizard Ash Workman who has cast his production spells over albums by Metronomy as well as Christine & the Queens. He also produced Fràncois & the Atlas Mountain’s 2014 LP, Piano Ombre. Although, if I had to guess, I’d say Marry probably reached for those studio knobs and buttons more often himself this time. This is because his latest collection is beautifully delivered, with a tireless rhythm. The music ebbs and flows with intensity and in a live setting, an intoxicating wall of sound creates a whimsical escapism that has more in common with a heady Balearic Alfredo dance floor than a sticky-floored boat-come-club in one of the UK’s wettest cities! Marry has a gift for deftly intertwining rhythms and melodies, harmonising beautifully.
A couple of line-up changes to shout about. The most significant is the replacement of Gerard Black with David Nzeyimana, a multi-instrumentalist who adds a rich dimension to the live outing and has his own Brussels band, Le Colisée and it would be criminal not to mention tonight’s drummer who, like some of sort of percussive Olympian, high-tailed it from Paris to be here. He has also played live on dream pop/psychedelic rock project, Melody’s Echo Chamber.
The flexibility and fluidity of personnel, tools and techniques are key to Fràncois & the Atlas Mountain’s style and this is extremely important to recognise. For all the feelgood material on display tonight, the music has a serious message. Fràncois says, “The lyrics of [Grand Dérèglement] are about the great changes in the world that move populations and force the weaker to adapt to an intense and strenuous lifestyle.” This band, like others in the world music sphere, boasts as many nationalities as it does instruments and depends heavily on musicians being able to move between borders with ease. In the UK, there are worrying times looming for musicians and music fans, as we begin to clamp down on these freedoms, but for now, let’s simply enjoy it.
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