Dominique Cravic et les Primitifs du Futur
Tribal Musette
(Sunnyside)
Accordions and Edith Piaf are more normally associated with musette than sitars and kotos. But les Primitifs du Futur are not your normal musette band. Guitarist Dominique Cravic’s giddily post-modern take on the bittersweet French cabaret song is full of surprising world-music twists and jazzy inflections, but never loses touch with the music’s soul. A revolving cast of singers and musicians (including underground cartoonist R. Crumb on mandolin and wacky cover illustration) bring the inspired Frank-Zappa-meets-Maurice-Chevalier whimsy to life using musical saw, darabukka, and marimba in addition to the traditional accordions, violins and guitars.
Singers set the sad, knowing tone on many of the tunes. On “Canal Saint-Martin,” Allain Leprest growls like a wounded bear over a sweet and delicate arrangement, thereby creating a surprisingly touching contrast. Olivia Ruiz and Christophe sing an intimately rasped duet on the medley “Sur le Toit/Ramona” to the accompaniment of conventional musette augmented by eerie tones of organ and theremin.
Thanks to the boundlessly inventive arrangements of Bertrand Auger, the instrumental selections strike a similar balance between tradition and innovation, emotion and restraint, ironic humor and sincere melancholy. This is pure pleasure from beginning to end.
- Ed Hazell
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