An Homage: Genticorum and "Hommage a André Alain"

Comment ça va! Today's random tune is by Québécois traditional music trio Genticorum, who was founded in 2000 and is based in Montreal. Formed by musicians who have a love for French Canadian fiddle tunes and folk music, Genticorum performs their own compositions and arrangements and meld different kinds of acoustical styles. Their lyrics are all in French. They have released five albums. This song, Hommage a André Alain, can be found on their 2009 CD La Bibournoise.

At the Berber's: Malika Zarra and "Tamazight"

Malika Zarra brings us the random tune for today, called Tamazight. Zarra was born in Morocco to a Berber mother and a Moroccan father and she grew up in Paris though her family remained culturally Moroccan in the home. She became interested in jazz because she noticed its improvisational similarities to Arab music, and studied jazz in Tours and Marseilles. She began getting attention when she started singing jazz standards with her own Arab translations. She is influenced by styles such as traditional Berber music, Gnawa music, Chaabi, French popular music, jazz, house, funk, dance, and traditional African music, and her personal influences include artists such as Farid al-Atrash, Um Kalthoum, Warda Al-Jazairia, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby McFerrin, Thelonious Monk, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. You can find Tamazight on her 2011 release Berber Taxi.

Music of My People: Genticorum and "Les Remon"

Bonjour! Today's random tune is by Québécois traditional music trio Genticorum, who was founded in 2000 and is based in Montreal. Formed by musicians who have a love for French Canadian fiddle tunes and folk music, Genticorum performs their own compositions and arrangements and meld different kinds of acoustical styles. Their lyrics are all in French. They have released five albums. This song, Les Remon, can be found on their 2009 CD La Bibournoise.

It's Pronounced Nack-a-tish: Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys with "Aux Natchitoches"

Happy Valentine's Day! From Cajun Louisiana comes today's random global song, a sad song about lovers, fittingly. Aux Natchitoches is performed by Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, a Cajun band from Southern Louisiana. Founded in 1988, the band takes its inspiration from Cajun traditional legends Dewey Balfa, Belton Richard and Walter Mouton. However, the music of Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys has grown into a style that is distinctly Cajun but also very personal to them. They sing almost exclusively in Cajun French. They have been nominated twice for Grammys in the Best Traditional Folk Album category and have released 11 albums to date as well as one compilation album. Aux Natchitoches can be found on their Best of Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys CD (2008).

Light from Darkness: Amadou & Mariam with "La Fête Au Village"

The random tune for today is by blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam. Vocalist Mariam Doumbia lost her sight at age 5 due to untreated measles, while guitarist and vocalist Amadou Bagayoko lost his sight at age 15. They met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and discovered that they had similar interests in music. Their music has developed from early sparse recordings consisting of guitar and vocals to a mix of traditional Malian sounds combined with rock guitars, Syrian violins, Cuban trumpets, Egyptian ney, Indian tablas and Dogon percussion. This style has been dubbed "Afro-blues." This song, La Fête Au Village, appears on their 2005 CD Dimanche à Bamako (Sunday in Bamako), which was produced by world and Latin music star Manu Chao.

Party Time: Wyclef Jean and "Fistibal - Festival"

Today's random tune is by multiple Grammy-winning Haitian artist Wyclef Jean. Wyclef Jean first came to fame in the US music business, but this hip hop artist, actor, and politician is also a humanitarian who has established a foundation to aid his native country. Born in Haiti, he moved with his family to New Jersey in 1982. A founding member of The Fugees (their name was a reference to Haitian refugees), he rose to prominence with the rest of the band as they released highly successful albums in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, he embarked on a solo career and collaborated with other artists such as Youssou N'Dour, Earth Wind and Fire and Shakira. His foundation, Yéle Haiti, has aided in the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Additionally, in 2010 he made a bid to run for president of Haiti, but his candidacy was turned down by the Electoral Council because he did not meet minimum residency requirements. He has released 11 solo albums, with his latest, Clefication, just out this year. This tune, Fistibal - Festival is from his 2004 album Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101.

Sweet: BeauSoleil and "La Douceur"

Today's tune is La Douceur by BeauSoleil. BeauSoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups from playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about Cajun music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. BeauSoleil are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. La Douceur can be found on their 2013 CD From Bamako to Carencro. The video was made from a live performance in the Cumberland Caverns of McMinnville, Tennessee.

Winds of Hope: Nawal and "Leo ni Leo"

Nawal brings us the random song for today. A musician from Comoros, she takes the traditional music of Comoros and incorporates influences from African and Arabic traditions. She sings in Comorian, French, Arabic and English, and she is a multi-instrumentalist. Nawal is one of the first women from her country to take the international stage and she is known today as "The Voice of Comoros." This song, Leo ni Leo, is from her 2007 album Aman.

A Polyphonic Spree: Chet Nuneta and "Ayazin"

Today's random tune is a haunting song called Ayazin by Chet Nuneta with Michael Fernandez. Chet Nuneta is a French five piece polyphonic group accompanied by percussion. Their music draws from Arabic, Eastern European and Sephardic influences. Started in 2000 as a female vocal trio, they have increased to five members and have always been inspired by the musical traditions of the world. They sing in more than 15 languages and have performed at prestigious venues such as WOMEX and WOMAD. They have released 2 albums. Ayazin can be heard on their 2008 album Ailleurs.

Cajun Pride: Feufollet and "Fier d'Être Cadien"

Today's random tune is from down Louisiana way, in the Cajun country of Lafayette. Feufollet was formed in the late 1990s by some very young musicians (when they formed, their drummer was 8) and recorded their first record before they were teenagers. The band's name refers to the "crazy fire" or will-o-the-wisps in the swamps that mystified both travelers and swamp dwellers alike. Still a young band age-wise (all of them are in their 20s) they are an old band and very experienced in playing with one another. They do both straight ahead Cajun music, but they also improvise and add new elements to the old. This song, Fier d'Être Cadien (Proud to Be a Cajun), is from one of their earlier albums - 2002's Belle Louisiane, and therefore more typical of their straight-up Cajun sound.

Quebecois: Genticorum and "Le Pommeau"

Today's random song is from Canada - Quebec to be exact. Genticorum is a traditional musical trio from Montreal where each member provides percussion by clogging. They fuse modern composition of their own with elements of classic folk and Celtic music. The members came together through a love of French Canadian fiddle tunes and folk music. Their name comes from a word that one member of the trio remembers his grandfather singing, though he does not know the meaning. They sing all of their songs in French. This song, Le Pommeau, can be found on their 2009 album La Bibournoise.

Sooner or Later: Beausoleil and "Carencro"

At some point, when you work with Cajun/Creole music involving Louisiana artists, you will run into Beausoleil. And you should. This group is one of the preeminent groups in music of this genre. I think that possibly the first Cajun/Creole/Zydeco album I owned was by Wayne Toups and Zydecajun because I had seen them perform in concert. But I'm sure the second album of that genre that I owned was a Beausoleil album. They are a bit more low key than some of the more animated zydeco bands, though they draw on that tradition. This probably comes from the fact that they tend to be a bit more rooted in traditional folk. However, the music they present is exciting and fun, and because of their efforts, they are one of the few bands in this genre that have won a Grammy award.

Beausoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups from playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about Cajun music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. They are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. This song, Carencro, is from their 2013 CD From Bamako to Carencro.

Forgetting: Malika Zarra and "Amnesia"

In this song, Moroccan/French singer Malika Zarra sings about a type of amnesia, one in which you forget what you are.  In this context, it's a cultural and ethnic amnesia.  It is an amnesia when people try to play in to the dominant culture, and perhaps feel accepted when they are really aren't.  "Who the hell do you think you are?" is always just below the surface.  That treatment, especially over generations, wears one down so that in the end, even though they tried to assimilate, they find that their children are playing the djembe (a native African instrument), as Zarra eloquently sings.

To me the lyrics seem to be a damning indictment of cultural assimilation, though I'm not so certain that assimilation can't happen.  The United States has been a place where some groups, Italians and Germans for example, have assimilated even though they faced initial resistance and discrimination.  However, they were white.  Ethnic minorities have had a more difficult time, and assimilation into the dominant culture as sometimes been shaky at best partly because American culture has been notoriously unwelcoming to non-whites - slavery, discrimination, and segregation have been the impediments to those groups who may have wanted nothing more than to assimilate.  And of course, no group wants to completely leave their cultural heritage behind, yet to non-whites, Americans have almost demanded it.  The dominant culture thinks it's quaint to be Irish American or German American and hold onto those old world traditions.  The dominant culture often thinks that non-white traditions are alien, suspicious and perhaps even a bit dangerous despite the fact that we often borrow the cuisines, the festivals and other aspects of the cultures.  In this case, it is impossible to completely amnesiac - if the dominant culture doesn't completely trust you, you seek comfort in what you know.

Just musings brought on from this song, Amnesia. Malika Zarra was born in Morocco and moved to Paris when she was young. She studied clarinet in school, but it was the similarity of the core of improvisation present in both Arabic traditional music and jazz that brought her to jazz music. She studied in jazz conservatories in Tours and Marseilles and began to appear at Paris jazz venues, drawing attention to herself by singing jazz standards in Arabic translation. In 2010 she moved to the New York City area. Her music is influenced by traditional Berber music, Gnawa music, Chaabi, French pop, jazz, house, funk, dance and traditional African music as well as individual artists including Farid al-Atrash, Umm Kulthum, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Thelonious Monk. She has released two albums. Amnesia is from her 2011 album Berber Taxi.

Sweet and Salty: Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys with "Zarico Est Pas Salé"

I've never really thought of zydeco as being "sweet" music, but I've never really thought of it as being salty either. Zydeco is too rooted in different types of music, such as the blues and country and a rollicking dance beat, to be sweet. But it often touches on a lot of cultural norms so present in folk music so it doesn't really have a salty flavor either. When I think of zydeco music, I think of a bunch of people getting together in the rural Cajun areas of Louisiana and just having a good time with each other over beer and dancing. You don't need too much sweetness or saltiness, just a good delicate balance between the two. I guess you could call zydeco the kettle corn of music.

Zarico Est Pas Salé is a zydeco tune that our first three-peaters, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, perform with Sonny Landreth. A Cajun band from Southern Louisiana, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys were founded in 1988. The band takes its inspiration from Cajun traditional legends Dewey Balfa, Belton Richard and Walter Mouton. However, the music of Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys has grown into a style that is distinctly Cajun but also personal to them. They sing almost exclusively in Cajun French. They have been nominated twice for Grammys in the Best Traditional Folk Album category and have released 11 albums to date as well as one compilation album. Sonny Landreth is an American blues guitar player especially known for his slide guitar method and of whom Eric Clapton said that he is one of the most advanced and under-appreciated guitarists in the world. He is known as "The King of Slydeco." He has released twelve albums. Zarico Est Pas Salé can be found on The Best of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys (2008).

Going Mediaeval: The Mediaeval Baebes and "Quan Vey la Lauzeta"

Space and time are a funny thing, especially when they intersect and intermingle. Today's song, Quan Vey la Lauzeta by The Mediaeval Baebes, is an example of how global music can bend the rules of space-time as well as anything else in the world.

A French song from the middle ages, it is sung in mediaeval French. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of a person who has lost his love and still burns with desire for her. For an example of how music transcends time and space, yesterday's song by Ebo Taylor of Ghana, Love and Death, explores a similar theme - how loving can lead to pain and broken-heartedness. Here we see a similar theme from almost a thousand years ago in a culture and world vastly different.

When I see the lark beating

Its wings for joy against the sun's rays,

Until it forgets to fly and allows itself to fall

For the sweetness that goes to its heart,

Alas! such envy comes over me

Of those I see filled with happiness

I marvel that my heart

Does not melt from desire

Alas, how much I thought I knew about love

And how little I really know.

For I cannot keep myself from loving

Her from whom I will gain nothing.

She has taken all my heart, my soul,

Herself and all the world.

And when she left, she left me nothing

But desire and a longing heart.

I have not had control over myself

Or belonged to myself from the hour

When she let me gaze into her eyes -

In a mirror that pleases me so much.

Mirror, since I saw myself reflected in you

Deep sighs have been slaying me.

Translation found at lyricsmode.com

Formed in 1996 when a group of friends broke into a North London cemetery and sang together in flowing white gowns and ivy garlands, the Mediaeval Baebes were conceived by Katharine Blake of the band Miranda Sex Garden and initially was made up of members of that band and other women with a love for mediaeval music. Their music consists of mediaeval poetry set to original music and sung in a variety of languages from the time period - French, Italian, Middle English, Spanish, Latin and regional or forgotten languages. Sometimes their sound is expressly traditional and performed with mediaeval instruments, and at other times modern instrumentation and electronic sounds are blended in with traditional harmonies. As such, they are not an "authentic" mediaeval group but interpreters that stretch bounds through creativity. They have toured extensively throughout Europe, Canada and the US, and have performed in Lilith Fair. It can be found on their album Undrentide (2000) and also on their 2003 holiday album Mistletoe and Wine.

Déjà vu: Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys with "Oh Mam (Oh Mom)"

I couldn't find lyrics for this song, and I had hoped to see if the lyrics would echo anything of what I'm experiencing right now with my own mom. But, I couldn't find anything. I often think "Oh Mom" nowadays, but for different reasons than in the earlier stages of my life. I'm at the age where my mom is elderly, and experiencing all the fragility and uncertainties of a life of old age. She is forgetting more and more, particularly in the short term, her physical infirmities mean that she doesn't get out much, and she needs more and more supervision and care. So, at this point in my life my "Oh Mom" is a mix of empathy, exasperation, humor and some sadness. I have empathy that she cannot do the things she used to do, which is frustrating for her. I get exasperated with her, especially at the times she tries to do too much and gets herself tired, worn out, and perhaps into positions where she could be in danger. Humor comes at times we least expect it, when she can laugh a little about where she's at in life - laughing about forgetting something that she usually remembers, for instance. Sadness comes from comparing the mom I know now with the more vital, younger mom back a few years or longer. And, there is the wondering about how long she'll be with us - how many years? "Oh Mom..."

Oh Mam (Oh Mom) is performed by Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, a Cajun band from Southern Louisiana and our first repeater on this daily global song list. Founded in 1988, the band takes its inspiration from Cajun traditional legends Dewey Balfa, Belton Richard and Walter Mouton. However, the music of Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys has grown into a style that is distinctly Cajun but also personal to them. They sing almost exclusively in Cajun French. They have been nominated twice for Grammys in the Best Traditional Folk Album category and have released 11 albums to date as well as one compilation album. Oh Mam (Oh Mom) can be found on their Best of Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys CD of 2008.

World Apart: Wyclef Jean and "24 É Tan Pou Viv"

One of the difficulties I often have is deciding whether something is world music. Megan and I tend to be a bit expansive on our show when we pick music. Our criteria usually runs this way: 1) Is the artist from somewhere other than the United States? 2) If not, is the artist fit loosely into a world genre? and 3) Do we like it or does it have some reason that it should be heard?

This still creates some conundrums. Should we play the Finnish rockabilly band covering a Johnny Cash song? Is that world? Or, just because some American pop artist puts a few words of another language in a song or even allows an artist from another country to sing on a song, does that make it a world song? What about foreign bands that play rock, or blues, or jazz? We usually stay away from reggae, because the station has a reggae show, but there is a lively debate on whether reggae is considered world music. We have played songs with reggae beats in them, but usually if they are infused with other genres. Folk music comes from all countries, but is American folk world music? We usually stay away from that because there are at least a couple of folk shows on our station.

So, what often happens is that we play it by ear. We stick fairly firmly to other countries but throw in some American acts that meet our subjective criteria. If the song is of a genre like rock, jazz or blues even though it is from a foreign artist, we listen to it, read about it, and make some kind of decision. After all, we don't want to be totalitarian over what is considered world and global, and ultimately our shows have a good mix that sometimes stretches the boundaries of what can be called "world."

While Wyclef Jean in some of his music would have us thinking about whether to include him, this song, 24 É Tan Pou Viv, would not make us hesitate. Wyclef Jean, despite his time spent in the United States as a part of the American pop music scene with The Fugees, is from Haiti and clearly identifies with his culture. He also clearly made this song to highlight Haiti and its culture. He is using a genre developed in the US, hip hip and rap, but he includes influences from the Caribbean and does his rapping in French creole (which I particularly like). So, we would (and did!) play this song on our show without any hesitations.

Multiple Grammy-winning artist Wyclef Jean first came to fame in the US music business, but this Haitian hip hop artist, actor, and politician is also a humanitarian who has established a foundation to aid his native country. Born in Haiti, he moved with his family to New Jersey in 1982. A founding member of The Fugees (their name was a reference to Haitian refugees), he rose to prominence with the rest of the band as they released highly successful albums in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, he embarked on a solo career and collaborated with other artists such as Youssou N'Dour, Earth Wind and Fire and Shakira. His foundation, Yéle Haiti, has aided in the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Additionally, in 2010 he made a bid to run for president of Haiti, but his candidacy was turned down by the Electoral Council because he did not meet minimum residency requirements. He has released 10 solo albums, with another in the works. 24 É Tan Pou Viv is from his 2004 album Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101.

Speaking in Tongues: Flight of the Conchords and "Foux du Fa Fa"

I don't have too much to say about today's random selection, other than I considered whether I should include it and decided that we need some levity once in a while. I did a post previously on the languages. My problem is that I never learned a second language. I have a smattering of Spanish and a smattering of German, and that's it.

That's why I find this particular video so amusing. For one who doesn't know a language, it would be easy to sound ridiculous in it. Fortunately, when I spent a couple of months in Germany, I was able to delve right in and even though I probably annoyed some people, I learned enough to even have small conversations, despite the fact that I probably mangled pronunciations. But when you mix a beginner's skill level with trying to impress the opposite sex, well, that can be funny, especially with a language like French which is supposed to be the language of romance.

Our random tune today is therefore a little bit light and comedic. Foux du Fa Fa is by Flight of the Conchords, a New Zealand-based comedy band who once referred to themselves as "New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo." Consisting of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, the duo had a BBC radio series in 2005, followed by an HBO series on American television for two seasons starting in 2007. Premised around the idea that the band is trying to find success in New York City, the cast included Rhys Darby and Kristen Schaal, and often had at least one video-style montage where the band spoofed genres of music and even artists (a memorable one was an early series spoof of the Pet Shop Boys style of music). However, they were continually denied funding by New Zealand television, who deemed them too "Wellington," meaning that their humor would not travel outside New Zealand's capitol. The pair have since been working on their own projects, but there were plans for a reunion tour in 2012 and an eventual Flight of the Conchords movie. "Foux du Fa Fa" follows a scene where Clement tries to impress a young woman at a bakery counter with French, and consists of lyrics almost entirely in beginner French, replete with grammatical errors. Foux du Fa Fa was part of the first season's eighth episode, titled Girlfriends.

Speaking in Tongues: Blick Bassy and "Donalina"

Not being able to speak another language often makes many people not care about other traditions, other cultures and other peoples.  That's been a salient criticism of the United States - our citizens tend to not speak other languages and therefore we take a very Ameri-centric view of the world and don't place a lot of value on cultures and peoples that aren't like us.  Of course, it doesn't hold in all instances.  Germany and France and other European cultures have their share of nationalism and xenophobia, not to speak of the rest of the world.  But it seems to me there is an expectation in most countries that they will learn more than one language.  Many people in Africa speak French as well as their own native language.  Many in Europe speak more than one language, even if the second language is English.  Yet in the US, speaking a second language is hardly the norm unless you are an immigrant who has to learn English.

Language, however, is the key to understanding and learning about cultures different than our own.  The reason that so many other cultures seem so cosmopolitan, at least to me, is that they have the understanding of other cultures and countries that comes with knowing other languages and being generally open to other experiences.  When a language is lost, or worse, a language is denied, then a wealth of understanding is lost.  Blick Bassy, who is the artist behind Donalina, our song of the day, addresses this problem in an interview he did in 2012 with National Public Radio.  Bassy, who is from Cameroon, sings specifically in his native language Basso.  Basso is one of 250 or so languages that is spoken in Cameroon, and Bassy is doing his contribution to keep the language alive.  The interviewer, Guy Raz, asked Bassy (who now lives in Paris) if he would ever make an album in French (his second language) and he said no.  It struck me that here is a man who is raised in a language, learns French (probably because he had to) but also does his interview in English!  How much cultural knowledge he must have - and as a musician he probably is doing himself and his career a favor by having that knowledge that comes from language.

Some more information about Bassy.  He was born in 1974, and formed in first band, The Jazz Crew, in 1996 at the age of 22.  He then went on to help form the band Macase, which went on to win numerous African music awards.  He released his first solo album, Léman, in 2009 and his second solo CD, Hongo Calling, in 2011.  This song, Donalina, is from Léman and is also included on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: Jazz Around the World.

The Heart of the Plain: Lo Còr de la Plana and "Sant Trofima"

One of these days I will visit France. Actually, I have been in France but I never really visited France. I was passing through on a train, through the French countryside, and into Paris where I got off the train, took the subway to a different train station, got on another train, and headed through the French countryside to Le Havre where I caught a ferry to Ireland. So, I literally saw France from the inside of a train and I saw Paris from underground, and that was it.

A friend and his wife are planning to rent a villa in Provence next year. Every so often, they travel someplace interesting like Italy or France, rent a little villa, invite some friends and enjoy 2-4 weeks traveling around and seeing the countryside, enjoying the local fare and pretending that life just stops for a while. They have invited us over the years, and over the years we have found reasons not to go, usually because we are too busy or we have something else going on or we have work obligations. But I'm 50 now, and as I am now firmly ensconced in the last half of my life I think it is important that I indulge the things that give me joy. Those things are travel, food, music, and friends. And what better way to get them all in than spending 2-4 weeks in Provence where all of these things would be available to me?

And perhaps, when I am in Provence, I will get to see Lo Còr de la Plana. While prepping for a world music show about a year or so back, I found them. It is my practice to find and buy 10-15 new songs for each show, usually from albums released relatively recently. So, in my iTunes search, Lo Còr de la Plana popped up. Their unique sound, just voice and percussion and hand clapping and foot stomping, was different enough to catch my attention. It turns out there is more to their unique approach. Lo Còr de la Plana was formed in Marseilles in 2001, and they sing most of their songs in Occitan, a language I had never heard of but which apparently is the regional language of Provence. The songs are polyphonic chants in that language, but they apply chants and songs to a modern sensibility. According to Womad, they are not interested in reviving a long-dead past or culture, but appropriating what they need and applying it to the realities of Occitan life today. The band has released three albums to date, and their first album, Es Lo Titre (2003), won the prestigious Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros in the world music category.

This song, Sant Trofima, is from their 2012 CD Marcha!