Factory Festival in Paris

Birdy Nam Nam & Bumcello

Paris 

20/10/2006 - 

Fans were in for a special treat at the third night of the Factory Festival organised at La Cigale, in Paris. On 13 October turntable virtuosos Birdy Nam Nam and ‘zany cello and percussion double act Bumcello took to the stage together for a vibrant improvisation “à six”.

The buzz around the Birdy Nam Nam/Bumcello gig had spread like wildfire and by 6.30pm an impressive queue was already snaking its way from the door of La Cigale up the Boulevard de Rochechouart. A handful of woebegone fans worked their way up the line, brandishing improvised cardboard signs marked "Tickets for sale?" Those lucky enough to be clasping tickets in their hands looked on in amusement, knowing tickets weren’t for sale at any price. The third night of the Factory Festival – an audacious fusion of jazz and electronic music – promised a particularly electronic line-up. As warm-up act came drummer Marque Gilmore, one of the pioneers of Asian beat, and his guest stars. Then the moment everyone was waiting for: an exceptional coming together of the four crazy turntablists of Birdy Nam Nam and wacky duo Bumcello. Six virtuoso musicians on stage together for a no-holds barred improvisation.

Live spectacular

Things had already heated up inside La Cigale by the time Marque Gilmore arrived on stage, accompanied by DJ State of Bengal, Jazzhead and female vocalist Amar. The trippy, hypnotic fusion of drums and turntables, fuelled by lots of bass reverb, was fairly standard stuff. Vocals and percussion could easily have been samples and the electronic dimension of the set tended to over-ride the live aspect. The audience swayed along half-heartedly, never really getting into things despite vocalist Amar’s efforts to inject a little soul into proceedings.

The crowd appeared to be saving themselves for the highlight of the Factory Festival, the spectacular on-stage ‘collision’ between Birdy Nam Nam and Bumcello. Birdy Nam Nam – aka DJ Pone, Crazy B, Mike and Need – are four pioneering young musketeers who made their name at scratch competitions and have learnt to use their turntables as instruments in their own right. Bumcello, made up of Cyril Atef, one of the zaniest percussionists on the current scene and Vincent Ségal, multi-skilled ‘cellist extraordinaire, are no less original.

DJ Need admits that the six musical mavericks had long dreamt of teaming up on stage together. "All we needed was the opportunity – and here it is!” he declared. According to Ségal, who worked with a number of influential musicians on the U.S. hip-hop scene in the late ‘80s, "There’s no doubt that turntables are instruments in their own right now. Birdy Nam Nam have proved that you can get something amazing happening live on stage with just four guys and their decks." Both Birdy Nam Nam and Bumcello are renowned for their improvisational skills and this performance was to be a "live creation" with next to nothing prepared beforehand. "We’re going to have to listen to what’s going on around us,” chimed in Ségal’s partner, Atef, “We didn’t actually play much together at the sound check because we didn’t want to lose the surprise factor.”

Live risk-taking

Last June Birdy Nam Nam recorded a live DVD of another concert at La Cigale they performed with a backing band of drums, congas, keyboards, bass and double bass. They have toured with the band since in the French provinces and according to Need, are “really keen on the idea of doing more of these sort of collaborations.” Bumcello, equally enthusiastic about the project, joked that "This kind of gig is a bit of a rip-off really. It could all go disastrously wrong – it’s like nothing could happen out on stage there at all!” 

But happen it did – and how! The six musicians totally shook the audience out of their torpor, revving them up to fever pitch within a few bars. As the dub beats of the first number boomed around the room, Bumcello and Birdy Nam Nam relaxed into the ambience, riffing off one another’s improvisations and everyone quickly found their marks. As the crowd went wild below the six-piece upped the tempo, mixing in drum’n’bass, jungle, funk and even an entire rock passage verging on punk. Birdy Nam Nam looked visibly impressed by Bumcello’s rhythmic prowess and the duo’s impressive palette of improvisation. Meanwhile, Atef leapt about the stage, snatching up his Gnawa qarqabus and throwing himself in between Crazy B and Mike. DJ Pone jumped down from behind his turntables and took a mic over to the percussion and at one point Ségal abandoned his ‘cello altogether to dance to the beats issuing from the decks.

From trance music through electro trance and electric wonderment, Bumcello and Birdy Nam Nam’s set was totally visceral and instinctive. The show might perhaps have gained from being a bit more structured in places, but this one small criticism aside, no-one could deny that the overall energetic impact of the concert ranked very high on the Richter scale indeed. There is obviously enormous potential for a sequel. Bring on Bumcello and Birdy Nam Nam mark II!

Eglantine  Chabasseur