Hirsutes Farfelus

Has there ever been an ‘Eco-Trio’ before? The Parisian trio Tako Toki, led by Etienne de la Sayette, join a globally diverse lineage of skilful repurposing of industrial junk, DIY offcuts and recycled waste to create the handmade acoustic instruments that are Hirsutes Farfelus’ musical tools. Eschewing atonal weirdness for its own sake, Tako Toki have taken these plastic, metal and wood leftovers (from “industrial scraps, DIY offcuts, recycled waste [and] diverted daily life items”) and tuned them expertly. The trio have also baptised their new instruments with knowingly humorous names such as the Orgabush, Latofon, Plastokfloots, Klarbass and Clarinut. One can hear West African and East Asian influences throughout the album (it’s worth noting that de la Savette is also bandleader for Akalé Wubé and Baeshi Bang) as well as the hypnotic minimalism of Steve Reich, gamelan and world jazz. Both Aurèle Gerin and Nicolas Brémaud are exceptional percussionists, while Etienne’s mastery of wood (plastic) wind instruments means that over the 14 tracks, there is meditative beauty as well as moments of great fun. Sophisticated yet playful, this is no mere novelty.