I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 5 :47
David Linx, lead & backing vocals Himiko Paganotti, Ousman Danedjo, Prabhu Edouard, backing vocals + the band
Indian rythmic arrangement written, performed & recorded by Prabhu Edouard
Pastime Paradise (Stevie Wonder) 8 :03
Ousman Danedjo, lead & backing vocals Himiko Paganotti, angel vocal Karim Ziad, bendirs, karkabus, tarijet.
Hamid El Kasri, gumbri sample. + the band
Vocal arrangement & recording by Ousman Danedjo
Over The Rainforest (Nguyên Lê) 0 :37
Nguyên Lê, prepared vietnamese Cai Luong ac. gtr
Move Over (Janis Joplin) 6 :58
David Linx, lead vocal David Binney, alto sax. Stéphane Edouard, frame drums, duggi tarang, dayan + the band
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin) 5 :30
Youn Sun Nah, lead vocal Prabhu Edouard, tablas & indian vocals Karim Ziad, karkabus + the band
Sunshine of your Love (Bruce, Brown, Clapton) 4 :42
Himiko Paganotti, lead vocal Nguyên Lê, gtrs. Illya Amar, vibraphone & marimba. Linley Marthe, backing vocals & el. bass. Karim Ziad, drums & karkabus. Stéphane Edouard, dholak, finger cymbals
In A Gadda da Vida (Doug Ingle) 5 :25
The band
Topkapi (Nguyên Lê) 0 :43
Nguyên Lê, baby 12 str ac.gtr
Come Together (Lennon/ McCartney) 5 :47
Ousman Danedjo, David Linx, Julia Sarr, Himiko Paganotti, lead (in order of appearence) & backing vocals. Chris Speed, clarinet. Stéphane Edouard, frame drums, finger tom + the band
Produced, arranged, recorded (except when noted) & mixed by Nguyên Lê
at Louxor studios, Paris Barbès, july to oct 2010
Basic live tracks recorded at Studios 7e ciel, Issy les Moulineaux, aug. 2010 by Jean Maurice Hayano
Chris Speed recorded in his NYC appartement by N. Lê, dec.2008
Julia Sarr recorded by Fred Soul, studio Malakaa, Paris
Mastered by Bruno Gruel, Elektra Mastering
Photos by Laurent Edeline
Executive producer Siegfried Loch
Nguyên Lê uses EMG pickups & DR strings
Linley Marthe uses Markbass amps & Galli strings
Stéphane Galland uses Lignum drums, Sabian cymbals & Gibraltar hardware.
David Linx appears courtesy of Naive
Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/ McCartney) 7 :00
Youn Sun Nah, lead vocal Guo Gan, erhu Ousmane Danedjo, backing vocals Stéphane Edouard, frame drums, tablas, shaker + the band
The band
Nguyên Lê guitars, saz (4,5), computer
Illya Amar vibraphone, marimba, electronics (5,7)
Linley Marthe electric bass & vocals (12)
Stéphane Galland drums (except 12)
The guests
Ousman Danedjo, David Linx, Youn Sun Nah, Himiko Paganotti, Julia Sarr, Dhafer Youssef, vocals
Guo Gan, erhu (chinese violin)
David Binney alto sax, Chris Speed clarinet
Prabhu Edouard, Stéphane Edouard, Keyvan Chemirani, percussions
Karim Ziad, drums (12) & perc
Ben Zeppelin (Nguyên Lê/ Dhafer Youssef) 0 :51
Nguyên Lê, fretless el. gtr. Dhafer Youssef, vocal
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 6 :14
Dhafer Youssef, vocal Stéphane Edouard, frame drums, duggi tarang, cowbell + the band
Uncle Ho’s Benz (Nguyên Lê) 0 :40
Nguyên Lê, el. guitar with Vietnam street sounds
Mercedes Benz (Janis Joplin) 6 :23
Himiko Paganotti, lead & backing vocals Ousman Danedjo, David Linx, Julia Sarr, backing vocals Keyvan Chemirani, zarb (iranian perc) + the band
Redemption Song (Bob Marley) 5 :26
Julia Sarr, vocal Nguyên Lê, gtrs. Illya Amar, vibraphone
« Songs of Freedom » n’est pas mon titre. Je l’ai emprunté à Bob Marley, une des plus grandes figures de la musique mondiale. Cet album rend hommage à ces musiciens qui ont jalonné la Pop Music des années 70 de leur chansons mythiques. Si mythiques qu’aujourd’hui elles appartiennent à toute la planète, si globales qu’elles sont la World music au sens de « la musique que le monde écoute ».
Mais la Musique est comme l’oiseau : une fois libérée, elle s’envole vers tous les cieux. La Terre devient de plus en plus ronde, invitant les cultures à se croiser et s’imprégner les unes les autres. S’ouvre la liberté de se réapproprier ces chansons, tout en jouant amoureusement ces mélodies avec l’audace de nouveaux arrangements célébrant le règne de l’imagination et de l’extrême fantaisie.
Une attitude très jazz en somme, qui lie traditions collectives et singularité de l’interprétation et de l’improvisation. Un point de vue contemporain, qui veut chanter les flux mêlés de notre monde & les énergies de nos identités en mouvement.
“Songs of Freedom” is not my title. I borrowed it from Bob Marley, one of the world’s greatest musical figures. This album is a tribute to those musicians who established Pop Culture in the 70’s with their mythic songs. So mythic, that they now belong to everybody on the planet and so global that they are World Music i.e. “music the world listens to”.
Yet Music is like a bird: once released, it flies to every sky. The Earth becomes rounder and rounder, inviting cultures to chat and soak up one another. Hence, the freedom to make these songs our own. Still lovingly playing these original melodies with the audacity of new arrangements which celebrate the reign of imagination and fantasy.
Thus, a true jazz attitude combining collective traditions with the singularity of interpretation et improvisation. A contemporary point of view, aiming at chanting the flow of our crossed-over world and the energies of our changing identities.
