Le Chant des Rameurs

In the course of a variegated career, Gabriel Saglio has forged a solid reputation as a lyricist with a keen eye for the interstices of French society. His latest album continues his iconoclastic exploration; prostitution, migration, questions over paternity and social tensions are scrutinised with acuity and power. Yet the leitmotiv of this album is found in the words of late Senegalese poet Birago Diop who provides the title-track, a searing homage to the Bozo fishermen plying their trade on the Niger river to the rhythm of bitter-sweet songs.

With this fourth album, Saglio turns away from the klezmer inspirations from the East that dominated his 2013 album to the vocals and rhythms of West Africa and La Réunion. His sextet of ‘old magpies’ are anchored solidly to the rhythms of Cameroonian Toups Bebey and take a new dimension with guest singers Mamani Keita, Sekouba Bambino and Christine Salem. Saglio's sandpaper voice is subtly enhanced by Timour Cardenas, the seasoned sound engineer known for his work with Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita and Blondy. Cardenas seamlessly melds Florian Tatard's dominant accordion with the Brazilian cavaquinho, Senegalese tamani, or Maloya percussions from the sati or roulèr.

The troubadour from Rennes has thus cobbled together his most accomplished recording to date, which radiates humanity and a form of quixotic hope.