France - Paris Part III

 Paris is of course a very cosmopolitan city like London with many international influences in its music.  Zoufris Maracas were formed around 2007 by friends Vincent Sanchez and Vincent Allard.  The name Zoufris refers to the name given to Algerian workers arriving in France during the 1950's, but their influences combine chanson inspired by Jacques Brel with sounds from African Rumba, Mexican Cumbia and Gipsy Manouche.  Their latest 2020 release is Bleu de lune and this track is taken from it called Sa Majesté la mer:

Due to France's colonial past there is a strong North African diaspora living in Paris, who bring their musical influences with them.  Gnawa music is a body of religious songs and rhythms mostly centred around Morocco.  Multi-national and inter-generational outfit Gnawa Youmala add fiddle and banjo to the traditional instrumentation of gimbri (bass lute) and qaraqab (metal castagnets) to give the genre a lighter, uplifting touch with hues of Berber and Arabic sounds.  This is from their recently released debut album Dounya called Mandiga:

Also playing Gnawa merged with other Maghreb influences such as chaâbi, rai, alaoui and kabyle as well as salsa, reggae, jazz and funk are northern Paris band Orchestre National de Barbès, who were founded in 1995 by some Algerian and Moroccan musicians.  This is the title track from their 2010 album Rendez-vous Barbès:

Paris born clarinettist Yom believes klezmer is all about being a dance music and veers away from the traditional by blending it with some electronic dancefloor sounds.  This tune is called Swimming in the Styx from his latest album You Will Never Die recorded in 2018 with the Wonder Rabbis:

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Etienne de la Sayette is a true musical world traveller who fuses many world music styles.  Notably he championed Ethio-Jazz with his band Akalé Wubé and Korean music with Baeshi Bang.  His recent solo album Kobugi, comprises of his own musical doodles whilst having nothing much to do between concert tours and suddenly realising he had enough material to release an album.  Apart from Ethiopian and Korean influences, there are hints of Mali and Zimbabwe as well as rap.  Hard to put into just one box.  In a recent interview he was asked how he envisioned his future as a musician.  He answered: I might just have a glass of Sancerre after this interview.  A man after my own heart.  Here's a song from the album called Loulou:

Finally we listen to some electro swing from electronic band Caravan Palace, who list their influences as Django Reinhardt, Vitalic and Lionel Hampton.  This is a track which features on the 2011 album The Rough Guide to Paris Lounge called Jolie Coquine:

That's it from Paris, next we are heading back into the French countryside.  As usual you can follow my virtual trip on my tripline map.