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CD
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BUDA 860408CD
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"The adventure of this truly unique band began in 1986 when Dominique Cravic met Robert Crumb, the underground comic book artist best known in France for his drawings published in the libertarian monthly Actuel ten years earlier. Les Primitifs du Futur, with their slightly offbeat music and a name that seems to have been borrowed from a story by Jorge Luis Borges, burst onto the music scene almost by force. The band has long been a variable-geometry orchestra, with Dominique Cravic always at the controls. While the musette of their early days quickly gave way to joyful forays into blues and gypsy jazz, their music has continued to evolve, successively incorporating touches of typical and tropical aesthetics such as biguine, echoes of ballroom dances such as the waltz, and influences from 1930s Maghreb folk music. Les Primitifs play with styles, and disregard temporal barriers. This approach continues with their new album, Les Crimes du Musette, a title that refers to the mixture of reserve and condescension that many still express towards this famous genre which is not considered as noble as bebop, free jazz, rockabilly, chanson or even rock. The repertoire in this jubilant work draws upon new sources. One track evokes Chet Baker, another is a salute to Henri Salvador, not forgetting a tribute to the piano bars of grand hotels and a piece in the form of an African postcard. Of particular note are two delightful adaptations, in French no less: 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,' which brings to mind Django Reinhardt, and Paul Desmond's 'Take Five,' inspired by Richard Anthony's French version, as well as two songs with lyrics written by the new member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Emmanuel Guibert and Pascal Bussy."
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2LP
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FFL 050LP
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Nicknamed the Primdufs, the group have a passion for the obsolete French "valse musette". But their take has nothing in common with the smutty chords of popular balls and singalongs in little town halls. This is "bal musette" with balls, it's genuine, virile, and authentic. Though these noble savages like rummaging around in 1920s Paris, they don't shy away from including rhythms from all over the planet, rhumba from Zaireto, gypsy jazz, Hindu waltzes or Argentine tango, blues, "paso doble" or "chanson réaliste". It all began in 1986, when Dominique Cravic, "ukukeke" champion and a renowned guitarist who learned from jazzmen like Lee Konitz or Larry Coryell and also played with Georges Moustaki and Henri Salvador, met a certain Robert Crumb. Yes, the legendary comic book author from the great days of the US psychedelic underground in the '70s, the creator of Fritz the Cat (1972) and Mr Natural in person, the same man who also created the cover for Cheap Thrills (1968) by Janis Joplin. Crumb plays banjo and mandolin, collects 78s of blues, jazz and musette. The two cronies then composed their own made-to-measure orchestra, alongside many famous names including accordionist Daniel Colin, clarinetist Bertrand Auger, saxophonist Daniel Huck, bassist Jean-Philippe Viret or singer Claire Elzière (sorry, it's impossible to name them all). This great group has recorded four albums since 1986 (all with sleeves drawn by Crumb), some including guest stars such as Pierre Barouh, Jean-Jacques Milteau, Allain Leprest, Sanseverino or Olivia Ruiz. For thirty years, the Primitifs du Futur have carried the torch of musette to the four corners of the earth, from fiestas to festivals, and today release a double vinyl, entitled Résumé Des Épisodes Précédents which brings together the best of their adventures. It is a refreshing and heartening cocktail of "world tribal musette", as they call it, which, in these electro digital times, has a rejuvenating effect, a magic swing potion. Double-LP with 20-page booklet with all Crumb previous artworks for the band's albums plus unseen photos. Edition of 1500; No repress.
"The Primitifs Du Futur travel on sound waves back in time to the early twentieth century and make the world seem like a far better place than it ever actually was. I can't get the band's music off my turntable or out of my head. Accordion, mandolin, harmonica, saxophone, musical saw, and beautiful haunting melodies--what's not to love? Even their sad songs make me happy." --Art Spiegelman
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