Jac Berrocal, David Fenech and Ghédalia Tazartès - Superdisque

Jac Berrocal, David Fenech and Ghédalia Tazartès - Superdisque (Sub Rosa)

This time I am reviewing Superdisque by the Parisian trio of trumpet player Jac Berrocal, guitar player David Fenech and singer Ghédalia Tazartès, I was sent this CD by Ed from Dense.de who sends me lots of interesting things to review so thanks to Ed. I am interested in hearing this French music because I've not heard much French music expect for Serge Gainsbourg and Charles Aznavour both of whom I like very much. The music on Superdisque sounds nothing like Serge Gainsbourg or Charles Aznavour though because it is much weirder than anything they did.
       The record starts of with deep, dark singing called throat-singing. Throat-singing is a very peculiar type of singing that they do in Tuva and Mongolia (see video below), I like this throat-singing very much and there is lots of it on this CD as well as other interesting ways of singing. As well as the funny singing on this song there is trumpet and noises like a ships funnel which I think is made with guitar, it is quite a noisy, chaotic song and fun to listen to, it doesn't really sound like anything I've ever heard before.

            The next song Human Bones is another weird and funny song with more throat-singing in it. It is called Human Bones because instead of trumpet the trumpet player plays real human bones, this is a bit comical and I think it's ok to use human bones as an instrument - some people might not like this because the bones would come from a dead person but I wouldn't mind someone playing my bones after I died because I'd already be dead so I wouldn't feel anything.  

           Next after Human Bones is Cochise and in this one the vocals sound like someone shouting and moaning a bit like someone who has died and come back to life again. There is trumpet and drums (maybe bongo drums) on this one and it would be quite a good song to play at a Halloween party if you wanted to scare people. We had a Halloween party here at the Gate and the arts group made body parts to hang from the ceiling for it and we danced to some music and had sausage rolls and crisps and stuff to eat, it was a very good party.
           The next song is called Quando and has some good accordian playing in it and also ukelele and toy piano. This song has more normal singing on it and no throat-singing but it is still very nice and good to listen to and it sounds very french to me because of the accordion but I think the words are in Italian not French because Quando is the Italian word for when.
          Next is David's Theme which again is very strange; on this one the trumpet player plays a sea shell as well as a trumpet which I think is a very clever idea. The singing on this is very interesting too; it's a bit like throat singing because it is very deep but It's not quite the same and sounds a bit like Popeye singing or sometimes like an animal, maybe a cat, crying in agony. I liked this one lots even though I've never heard anything like it before.
          After this is Ife L'Ayo which starts off with Jazzy trumpet like you used to get in old dance-halls and other sounds like people marching to war then there is some different music made of music boxes and singing which sounds a bit like people with learning disabilities singing before it goes back to the dancehall trumpet.
          Porte De Bagnolet is the next song and sounds like Indian music to me; like you might hear in a Hindu temple - it is a very curious song with more throat-singing in it and something like a flute and bongo drums and screaming like somebodies wife or daughter has died and accordion and bird-song and jungle noise all mixed up, I liked this one a lot.
          The next song is called J'attendrai and is a slow one with vocals like somebody crying and sad sounding trumpet playing, it sounds a bit like a song you would play if you were upset because somebody died or because your wife has left you.
          After this is another sad sounding song which reminds me a bit of a church service because it has noises like bells in it made by a gamelan which is an instrument a bit like a xylophone. This one has more throat-singing in it and more unhappy sounding trumpet - I think the trumpet goes very well with the throat-singing on this one.
          Powow is the next song and has a big, deep drum running through it which sounds like a Native American war-drum and singing like Red Indians on the warpath and after this is a song called Sainte which is another sad sounding song that reminded me of death again. After all this sadness though is a happier sounding song with lots of accordions in it and very joyous singing and mad drumming which made me laugh. This would have been the last song but there is an extra track on the CD of just the guitar and trumpet player playing together, it's quite a noisy track and I thought it was very nice to listen to and a good way to finish the CD.

         Overall I would say that I thought this was a very, very strange and wonderful disc. I especially liked the throat-singing and here at The Gate me and my friend Francis tried it out ourselves as can be seen in the video at the end of this review. I would give Superdisque 10 out of 10 and I hope lots of people buy it.