I was pleased to discover this new album out of Montréal, Quebec and the French language ska that is Alex Paquette et les Insulaires. The reggae, ska, and rocksteady blend made for some fun, upbeat, and danceable rhythms. While my paltry understanding of the French language made comprehending the lyrics difficult, many of the lyrics did not immediately appear complex and seemed to mostly celebrate the genres, with songs like “Reggaedon” and “La Nuit du Ska”. However, while listening to instinct, I realized I was sorely mistaken, and I would definitely need to find the lyrics and translate them.
The album begins with the horns, an extended note, drums punctuating the end, and a quick horn melody. As it concludes the title of the first song is shouted: “La Nuit du Ska!” The lyrics are dreams of unity, togetherness, and a call to dance for those who cannot, for resistance, and to build bonds and make the world a better place worthy of our joy. While the song is about three-and-a-half minutes, the middle features a minute-long jam session on the horns that begs you to get up and skank. The trumpet, trombone, and saxophone all get to show off with little solos, but the best part is just where they are playing off of each other, almost like extended call and responses.
The second track is “Instinct”, featuring Tchoomin Daddy. This song is markedly different from the opening track. The horns are mostly stripped out, and the guitar and bass and keyboards are muted, largely laying a reggae/ ska rhythm that establishes a texture to the song. The lyrics are a little more rapped and the focus is clearly on the message. The song starts off by singing the praises of some of the artists that influence the band, like Bob Marley, Manu Chao, and Mano Solo. I’m sure everybody knows Bob Marley, and I’ll be talking about Manu Chao a little later. Mano Solo is a French musician and poet and environmentalist/ecologist who also left his record label in support of artist rights to own their own music.
The song goes on to talk about why the band has continued to play music for 15 years with tens of thousands of kilometers of touring under their belt. They acknowledge they’ll never have the skills of Dédé Fortin or Celine Dion, and that they’ll never change the world, but that doesn’t matter. They still might change someone’s opinion or broaden someone’s mind. They’ve made friends and memories and smiles. They will sing about their politics and passions, they’ll speak against weapons and bombs and injustice, they’ll speak their mind and their heart, and they’ll help make their friends and fans happy. They do it for love.
The album is obviously in French, but the one exception is the English language cover of Manu Chao’s 1999 Reggae song “Bongo Bong”. Manu Chao is originally a Spanish musician who sings in nearly a dozen different languages and blends genres from all over the world, including ska and reggae, but also much, much more. Manu Chao is a large proponent of immigration and global community while opposing capitalism, economic globalism, and the exploitation of the world’s laborers and resources. “Bongo Bong” blends English and French, jazz and reggae, and a little ska. The song was originally taken and adapted from “King of Bongo Bong”, written in 1939 by Black American jazz musician and trumpet player Roy Eldridge, a contemporary of Louis Armstrong. In this version of the song, we get big trumpets early in the song, along with a solid English language verse driving forward over a nice little riff, with the keys shaping the primary rhythm under the vocals. Each verse feels like it builds tension with the vocals until the chorus comes and releases the tension with its steady repeated line. We get a really solid keyboard solo before the song switches to French in a pleasant duet before getting a nice sultry jazz sax solo. The song closes with repetitions of the French verse, reverting back to English for a verse and a chorus. All around, the song feels perfect and fun. The transitions and solos, the jazz and the reggae, the dual language, and the backing vocals all come together to make this song stand out.
“De Ti Depende” features Maru Tribu as the primary vocalist in a song that mixes French and Spanish in a nice smooth blend, giving it a touch of an island vibe with some smooth horns over a bit of a reggae rhythm. “On Vieillit” has some scrumptious guitars that remind me of South American rock and roll with a soft underlying ska rhythm and a strong horn section. “Et J’ai Pris La Route” continues the themes of global community while discussing travelling all over Canada, South America, and Europe with the intent of writing music, but always falling for the bottom of the drink with friends instead. The style of this song makes you want to sing along and get up and dance, and the vocal styling reminds me of Joe Gittleman (which is definitely praiseworthy).
The album ends with “Reggaedon”. While I don’t feel its necessary to tell you the style of the song, this song is absolutely a sing-along. Get up on your feet and join in the call and response, grab a partner, get on the dance floor and get down with these lyrics:
“Ben voyons donc du reggaedon
Ben voyons donc du reggaedon
C’est du reggae c’est de la chanson
C’est du reggae c’est de la chanson
Ben voyons donc du reggaedon
Ben voyons donc du reggaedon
C’est du reggae c’est de la chanson.”
Last year I got to talk to Fishbone when I was reviewing their newest album (which you should listen to). We were talking about the role of politics in music, and they had this to say:
“Politics have always been important, because we write what we know and witness… If you don’t write what you know, then you got nothing to say. But pop music still is out there, because people also need escapism and there is nothing wrong with that… That’s why even with our message, we want you to dance… Sometimes the words just make you listen harder while having a good time.”
This album from Alex Paquette captures this philosophy perfectly. This is music with a global message, but even if you don’t understand the language, it’s music you will enjoy. Take a listen to Et j’ai pris la route below.
Written by Gimp Leg
