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Album review
CD OF THE WEEK: FEMMOUZES T
T For Two!
15/01/2001 -
Françoise Chapuis and Rita Macedo could not make a more striking contrast. At first glance, the energetic blonde from the south of France and the vivacious brunette from Brazil look like the most unlikely of musical duos. But when they combine their talents as singer/tambourine-player and accordionist the Franco-Brazilian duo are guaranteed to hold any audience enthralled. In fact, we'd go so far as to describe Femmouzes T as one of the most exciting duos of the decade!
After making a name for themselves with an accomplished debut album, Rita and Françoise are back in the French music news with a second album entitled 2. Infused with a richer, fuller, more mature sound, Femmouzes T's second album features some stunning contributions from Ange B, aka Jean-Marc Enjalbert, the "human beat box" from the Fabulous Trobadors, a man who is apparently capable of producing more intriguing sounds with his lips than many other musicians can manage with a drum-kit or a set of turntables!
Reproducing the sound of bass drums, a double bass or a DJ's scratches, Ange B, the human beatbox, adds an interesting edge to Femmouzes T's sound, without ever overwhelming the duo's poetic style. Accordion and tambourine are left at the fore, powering along Femmouzes T's personal odes to the blue of the French flag, the blue of the Marseilles football team, the blue of policemen's uniforms or the vibrant blue skies of Massilia and Bahia.
On their second album, Femmouzes T are also joined by La Compagnie Lubat, aka Bernard Lubat and André Minvielle from Uzeste, who add their mélodica, vocals and snare drum to the Franco-Brazilian duo's musical universe. Françoise and Rita return the favour by paying tribute to La Compagnie Lubat's home region, Gascony, and the joys of the Uzeste Festival.
As far as the lyrics on 2 are concerned, Femmouzes T remain true to their guiding principles: cultural and social militancy and comic wordplay. Seeking inspiration in everything from the sublime to the ridiculous, Rita and Françoise are at their best when depicting the oddities of everyday life such as the overzealous housewife in Je Nettoie: "La gazinière ou les carreaux / pas une trace ne résiste / le frigidaire , la salle d'eau/ pas un microbe ne subsiste" ("Not one smear left/ on the cooker or the tiles/Not one germ left lurking/ in the fridge or the toilet bowl!") .
When Rita and Françoise are not exercising their biting humour or their sharp eye for social absurdities, the duo celebrate the joys of music and urge others to do the same. On Si tu sais pas, the two songbirds proclaim: "Chante à tue-tête, c'est ça qui est beau / chante à tout age / chante à tout vent / Chanter c'est un remède contre le mauvais temps". ("Sing at the top of your voices/ Sing at any age/ Wherever and whenever you can/ Singing is the remedy for grey and rainy days).
Femmouzes T also pay tribute to Rita's Brazilian roots, covering the Brazilian singer Alceu Valença's classic Papagaio do futuro. The influence of Rita's father, Osmar Macedo, is also much in evidence in Femmouzes T's music. Osmar not only spawned a whole family of Brazilian musicians, but is also renowned as the man who invented the 'sound-system lorries' which paraded at the Bahia carnival in the 50s. In spite of their burgeoning success on the mainstream French music scene, Femmouzes T have remained true to Osmar's 'carnival' influence and continue to perform regularly at street festivals and other open-air venues up and down the country.
Frédéric Garat
Femmouzes T 2 (Créon/ Virgin)
Photo on the homepage: ©Yves Barat / Créon Music
Photomontage: Renaud Paravel
