CMU Approved

Approved: ≠ FAUVE

By | Published on Thursday 17 October 2013

≠ FAUVE

French rap. Fast, ‘artistic’ French rap. With a hashtag. I realise it isn’t great ‘en papier’, but please, stay with me, it’s better than it seems, and really, isn’t everything better when it’s in French? And it isn’t really rap, anyway, it’s rhythmic ‘talking’, or spoken word if you will. And apparently this thing (says maths) – ≠ – isn’t a hashtag, it’s a ‘not equal’ sign. Fauve in French can mean ‘wild beasts’, or ‘fawn’, or, figuratively speaking, an angry, feral human. So that’s that all clear, then.

And so, finally, to ≠ FAUVE, an ensemble of Parisian artists with it’s own Haus Of Gaga-style Corp, comprising anything ranging from five to 20 musicians, illustrators, and even an in-Corp videographer. An entity since 2010, the band, if that’s what it is, released its first EP ‘Blizzard’ to a whirl of approving noise earlier this year, winning the prestigious Découvertes du Printemps prize at the Bourges Spring Festival not long after that.

And ‘Blizzard’ is, as its title says, a squall of icy jibes that stick like knives, of hot-cold ‘affaires du coers’ and fever-dream diatribes, the lyrics to which are translated via the ≠ FAUVE site.

Whilst ≠ FAUVE’s first-night showing at London’s tres bon OohLaLA! festival (21-24 Oct) is sadly already at capacity, chances are France-fans can still take tickets to watch the also-billed likes of Dominique A, Lescop, Christine And The Queens, Petit Fantôme and Moodoïd. Failing that, this is ≠ FAUVE’s ‘Blizzard’:



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