La Gouache

In 2000, Parisian band Java gave traditional bal-musette (French accordion music) a 21st-century makeover, adding the lyrics of Erwan Séguillon (alias R.wan) to the mix to create rap musette. Giving a modern voice to a much-beloved sound, the genre immediately took off; now, 20 years later, R.wan is back with his fifth solo album. In La Gouache, the self-proclaimed ‘godfather of rap musette’ revisits and reworks his signature style. The first few tracks emphasise the classic accordion sounds and lyrical double-entendre he is known for, but elsewhere the côté musette makes way for some new influences: the enchanting kora melodies of ‘Nos Mille et Une Nuits’, the hypnotic Ethio-jazz of ‘Asticot’, and not forgetting ‘Des Humains’, which features Malian music legend Salif Keita. Closing track ‘Le CRS Mélomane’ (The Music-Loving Police Officer) is a powerful tongue-in-cheek tale about police violence, which R.wan originally released in 2012. Here he reinterprets it, swapping out the up-tempo arrangement in favour of a stripped-back ballad, which puts the lyrics in the limelight at a pertinent time in the French political climate. Managing to diversify his sound and still retain his characteristic style, La Gouache is a patchwork of old and new, with musical variety, lyrical depth, and an impact as potent as ever.