ONB

Barbès' Hip Musical Melting-Pot

Paris 

10/06/1999 - 

The Orchestre National de Barbès, a multi-racial, multi-cultural group from Paris, are currently spearheading a full-blown Maghrebin revival on the French music scene. The group, who have built up a strong following of fans, are responsible for creating a radical change in French musical tastes - after all, before the arrival of the ONB, French music fans only had ears for the bland, commercial sounds of 'Rai biz'!

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact beginning of the ONB story and establish why, at one precise moment in history, a group of musicians from radically different backgrounds and diverse (often clashing) cultures, banded together and set about creating their own musical melting-pot. All we know is that the ONB got together in Barbès, a so-called 'run-down immigrant' area of Paris, and started playing their own vibrant fusion sound. Since then the ONB sound has gone on to unite France's ethnic communities and got the entire country grooving to infectious Maghrebin rhythms! (In fact, the ONB's cutting-edge fusion sound has proved to be such a success that a host of unimaginative producers have now jumped on the Maghreb bandwagon and tried to invent their own version of the ONB!)

Meanwhile, the ONB soldier on, remaining true to the original spirit of their music despite their increasing commercial success. Authenticity is certainly the order of the day on the group's first album "Poulina", which features a joyous fusion of modern, urban rhythms and traditional African sounds (c.f. the tracks "Nabina", "Lemouima" and the excellent title track "Poulina"). One of the main reasons behind the ONB's lightning rise to fame, however, is the group's reputation for their exuberant live performances. Within minutes of opening their shows, the ONB create an explosive atmosphere in the room, the pleasure they experience up on stage immediately spreading through the audience. (No wonder the ONB's first live album has sold over 100,000 copies to date!) The ONB's tour schedule is currently packed with European and international dates and the group have become veritable ambassadors for the French music scene's exciting new 'fusion sound'.

While we're aware that musical trends never last, there's no doubt that the ONB (together with a few similarly-minded groups) have made their mark on the French music scene, halting the rise of 'Rai bizness' in the process. Call it the Gnawa Touch, if you like! For the ONB draw much of their inspiration from the Gnawa (an ancient brotherhood of Moroccan mystics, descended from African slaves, who believed in the healing power of music). Reinventing ancient Gnawa philosophy for the modern world, the ONB preach a message of racial and cultural tolerance, advocating a sort of spiritual 'coming-together' through music. And their message certainly appears to have caught on - indeed, most major French record companies are now desperately trawling through demo tapes hoping to discover their own rising 'Gnawa' stars!

However, it would be a serious mistake to pigeon-hole the Orchestre National de Barbès into one narrow musical category. After all, the ONB revolve around the concept of fusion, throwing everything from funk, jazz, dance-hall and reggae to trab Rai, chaâbi and Kabyle rhythms into their magical melting-pot. What's more, the ONB's concept of fusion goes way beyond musical mixing, the notion of spiritual and cultural fusion also running beneath the lyrics of most of their songs. And that's why it's impossible to pin the ONB down - take a look in the record shops, you'll find the group's album classified as everything from 'world music', 'modern trad', 'futuristic fusion' and 'reinvented rock'. In other words, the ONB have achieved the enviable feat of crossing the great audience divide! What's more, the group's musical 'esperanto' now appears to be gaining audiences worldwide, the ONB fusion sound simultaneously appealing to fans in Africa, America and the Middle East.

Where will it all end, we ask ourselves? Well, who knows? All we can say for sure is that the ONB have come a long way from their humble beginnings in Barbès. Yet somehow - against all odds - the group have managed to retain their authenticity and originality, clinging fiercely to their independence (despite having recently signed a major recording deal with Virgin!)

ONB "Poulina" (Virgin) 1999

Soeuf  Elbadawi

Translation : Julie  Street