Ambiance Argile

Maël Salètes is a French musician who has enjoyed an intriguing and far-reaching career. He learned to play the djeli ngoni in Mali, worked with the wildly eclectic Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, and plays guitar with the Somaliland singer Sahra Halgan. He is also the driving force behind L’Étrangleuse, the Lyon duo he formed with singer and harpist Mélanie Virot, which has now been expanded with the addition of bass and percussion. The debut from the new line-up, Ambiance Argile, was recorded live in two sessions in the picturesque Vercors mountains. It is charming, quirky and original. There are passages of hypnotic repeated and rhythmic riffs overlaid with slinky or deadpan vocals, bursts of exquisite vocal harmony work, as on the brief ‘Pas de Mort’, and songs like ‘Ennemi’ which begin with gently whispered vocals and end as a wild guitar workout. There are definite African influences here, thanks to the ngoni work, but for much of the time L’Étrangleuse are in a world of their own. Ambiance Argile is surely set to be one of the French albums of the year.