Silex

published in Jazz Forum (Warsaw) 134/5 (Aug. 1992)
Doubtless the most exciting new record label to emerge in France in the last few years, Silex traces its original impulse to an interest in local traditional musics, but with a difference: the Silex musicians, having mastered traditional instruments, explore contemporary forms of expression, often collaborating with musicians from other disciplines and cultures.
The company was created in 1990 by two long-time enthusiasts of traditional music: Philippe Krumm, founder of the Ris-Orangis Festival and of Trad Magazine, and André Ricros, producer and ethnomusicologist. To date they have released twelve recordings, most of which concentrate on new traditional music from different regions of France.
The Quintet Clarinettes, on Musique Têtue (stubborn music), consists of five adventurous clarinetists offering a program of mostly traditional Breton tunes arranged by members of the group. Like other Silex releases, this music defies stylistic labels, seeming at once centuries old and fresh as spring water.

On Veranda, the duo of Italian accordionist Riccardo Tesi and Patrick Vaillant, a singer and mandolin player from Nice, joined by tuba, trumpet, and vibes, presents mostly original pieces with lyrics in Occitan. Here the imprint of village ensembles grounds the lively spark of an improvising spirit.
Le Partage des Eaux pairs Silex co-founder André Ricros, a native of the Auvergne region who sings and plays the cabrette (a version of bagpipe), with Lyonnais clarinetist and saxophonist Louis Sclavis. Joining them, on striking arrangements of traditional Occitan pieces, are four seasoned improvisors that Sclavis has often worked with, notably in groups connected with the collective ARFI (Association pour la Recherche d'une Folklore Imaginaire).
Likewise on Tra Ochju E Mare, an album of Corsican songs, the bold arrangements by saxophonist David Rueff transform and further dramatize the sound of the traditional vocal ensembles. A lead singer is highlighted against an instrumental group that resembles more an unusual jazz quartet that includes a Cuban percussionist and a Chilean keyboard player.
La Concordance des Temps, by the Trio Violon, three violinists from the Limousin-Auvergne region, takes traditional tunes as its point of departure. But the rich sonorities and playful turns they uncover lead to new gardens and echoes of violin densities from other roads.
Benat Achiary’s Ene Kantu Ferde Ta Urdinak presents contemporary Basque music that is mostly inspired by traditional tunes. Singer and percussionist Achiary (who, like saxophonist Michel Doneda here, has also recorded for Nato Records) launches into some very free-form interpretations, full of a strange angular beauty, backed by a quintet as resourceful as he is.
Tangoneon reveals a seductively hybrid music that springs from tango, jazz, and candombé. The group includes a bandoneon player and a classical bassist from France, a German violinist, and a pianist and a percussionist from Uruguay, blending together seemingly without effort.
The Trio Erik Marchand’s An Tri Breur, though it features the Breton singer Marchand, combines the unlikely textures of oud and tablas. With a sound as arresting as would be expected, the music derives a wild force from its distant sources.
On Ethnograffiti, the Compagnie Chez Bousca draws on a cross-breeding of tunes from several regions, comprising an instrumentation of two violins, accordion, clarinet, and hurdy-gurdy. Theirs is an earthy and spirited, unpredictable sound.
Giovanna Marini’s polyphonic vocal quartet can vary widely in its interpretations of original and traditional Italian songs. The versions that she and her (women) singers offer on Cantata Profana show both a precision in their approach and an emotional daring in the moods achieved.
In its eleventh release, Silex has enlarged the field with a record of new music from Madagascar. Guest-produced by Sir Ali (who is working on more releases of this enchanting music), Justin Vali’s Rambala opens a marvelous new world of sounds with his mastery of the bamboo harp known as the valiha. The instrument itself embodies world music, with its Indonesian past and the Afro-Asian cross-currents of its practice. Backed by guitars, percussion, and voice, this is a rare musical feast.
The first in the company’s Mémoire series features accordionist Emile Vacher, the creator of the musette style of music, in recordings from the 1920s and ‘30s. With polkas, waltzes, and javas, Vacher’s irrepressible flair shines through on what is now considered the classic popular dance music of France.
Silex, which means flint, has already ignited many fires with its lively catalogue. Future projects include a bagpipe quartet, Breton guitarist Jacques Pellen with saxophonist John Surman, and also a series of children’s music.
Le Partage des Eaux pairs Silex co-founder André Ricros, a native of the Auvergne region who sings and plays the cabrette (a version of bagpipe), with Lyonnais clarinetist and saxophonist Louis Sclavis. Joining them, on striking arrangements of traditional Occitan pieces, are four seasoned improvisors that Sclavis has often worked with, notably in groups connected with the collective ARFI (Association pour la Recherche d'une Folklore Imaginaire).
Likewise on Tra Ochju E Mare, an album of Corsican songs, the bold arrangements by saxophonist David Rueff transform and further dramatize the sound of the traditional vocal ensembles. A lead singer is highlighted against an instrumental group that resembles more an unusual jazz quartet that includes a Cuban percussionist and a Chilean keyboard player.
La Concordance des Temps, by the Trio Violon, three violinists from the Limousin-Auvergne region, takes traditional tunes as its point of departure. But the rich sonorities and playful turns they uncover lead to new gardens and echoes of violin densities from other roads.
Benat Achiary’s Ene Kantu Ferde Ta Urdinak presents contemporary Basque music that is mostly inspired by traditional tunes. Singer and percussionist Achiary (who, like saxophonist Michel Doneda here, has also recorded for Nato Records) launches into some very free-form interpretations, full of a strange angular beauty, backed by a quintet as resourceful as he is.
Tangoneon reveals a seductively hybrid music that springs from tango, jazz, and candombé. The group includes a bandoneon player and a classical bassist from France, a German violinist, and a pianist and a percussionist from Uruguay, blending together seemingly without effort.
The Trio Erik Marchand’s An Tri Breur, though it features the Breton singer Marchand, combines the unlikely textures of oud and tablas. With a sound as arresting as would be expected, the music derives a wild force from its distant sources.
On Ethnograffiti, the Compagnie Chez Bousca draws on a cross-breeding of tunes from several regions, comprising an instrumentation of two violins, accordion, clarinet, and hurdy-gurdy. Theirs is an earthy and spirited, unpredictable sound.
Giovanna Marini’s polyphonic vocal quartet can vary widely in its interpretations of original and traditional Italian songs. The versions that she and her (women) singers offer on Cantata Profana show both a precision in their approach and an emotional daring in the moods achieved.
In its eleventh release, Silex has enlarged the field with a record of new music from Madagascar. Guest-produced by Sir Ali (who is working on more releases of this enchanting music), Justin Vali’s Rambala opens a marvelous new world of sounds with his mastery of the bamboo harp known as the valiha. The instrument itself embodies world music, with its Indonesian past and the Afro-Asian cross-currents of its practice. Backed by guitars, percussion, and voice, this is a rare musical feast.
The first in the company’s Mémoire series features accordionist Emile Vacher, the creator of the musette style of music, in recordings from the 1920s and ‘30s. With polkas, waltzes, and javas, Vacher’s irrepressible flair shines through on what is now considered the classic popular dance music of France.
Silex, which means flint, has already ignited many fires with its lively catalogue. Future projects include a bagpipe quartet, Breton guitarist Jacques Pellen with saxophonist John Surman, and also a series of children’s music.