St Germain (aka Ludovic Navarre), whose albums Boulevard
(1995) and Tourist (2000) originated a genre of French electronic music that
later included artists like Daft Punk, has returned to the studio to create his
first album in 15 years. The self-titled record marries percussive grooves,
which have always been central to St Germain’s sound, with a new element:
traditional Malian music.
The album features various musicians and singers from the
African diaspora including Malian kora players Mamadou Cherif Soumano and
Cheikh Lo Ouza Diallo, Malian violinist Zoumana Tereta, and Senegalese bass
player Alioune Wade (Ismael Lô) amongst others. Notably, St Germain also
includes contributions from revered Malian guitarist and n’goni player Guimba
Kouyata whom Brian Eno recently heralded as “the greatest guitar player I’ve
heard for years and years.”
St Germain’s move closer to the source of the jazz and blues
elements that were essential ingredients in Boulevard and the internationally
acclaimed Tourist led to his interest in those genres’ roots in West African
music. Tourist, which sold nearly three million copies worldwide, was equally
embraced by jazz and electronic music circles, reaching #1 on Billboard’s
Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and being named one of the Best Albums of the
Year by Rolling Stone. In France, the album won three Victoires de la Musique
awards (the French equivalent of GRAMMYs), including Best Jazz Album, Best
Electronic Album and Best Live Performance.
On the 250-show Tourist tour, St Germain performed at venues
ranging from London’s historic Royal Albert Hall to the Glastonbury and
Coachella festivals, with guests including Herbie Hancock, Jamaican guitarist
Ernest Ranglin, Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander and legendary French jazz
vocalist Claude Nougaro. Following the release of St Germain, Navarre will
return to the road, beginning a European tour in November. A spring U.S. tour
will be announced at a later date.
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