True reggae enthusiasts might remember Manuel Merlot, simply known as Merlot, as the frontman of French reggae band Baobab, active in the 1990s. Merlot has been pursuing a solo career for quite some time now, crafting a repertoire that blends French chanson, crooner jazz and reggae.
By Jah Rebel
For ‘La Marseillaise’, Merlot teamed up with the outstanding musicians of The Handcart Band (Laurent Albertini on bass, Sébastien Kassapian on guitar, Johann Martin on guitar, Maxime Dormoy on drums, Jérémie Mateo on trombone and Stéphane Cavin on keys), led by saxophonist and bandleader extraordinaire Guillaume ‘Stepper’ Briard, and complemented by classically trained musicians from the Orchestre d’Avignon.
Merlot’s style, accentuated by the string arrangements of the Orchestre d’Avignon, occasionally evokes the lush instrumentation of Trojan Records productions from the late ’60s and early ’70s.
Having traded the banlieues of Paris for sunny Marseille, Merlot celebrates this transition with this new album. In ‘Paris’, he bids a bittersweet farewell to the French capital, singing:
J’veux pas mourir ici
Je veux m’en aller
C’est trop triste Paris
Ici c’est cramé
…
And in ‘Chez Moi’, he ironically expresses his love for the City of Light:
Je veux rentrer chez moi
Là où l’air est pollué
Et où les gens ne sourient pas
Je veux rentrer chez moi
…
Of a different nature is ‘Nous Dormirons Ensemble’, a reinterpretation of Louis Aragon’s iconic poem, first set to music by Jean Ferrat in 1963. The socially critical ‘Coton Et Charbon’ shifts toward a Louisiana-inspired style, reflecting on how little has changed since the days of slavery and the exploitation of the proletariat during the Industrial Revolution, and in ‘Ambitieux’, Merlot humorously critiques himself with lines like:
Je n’ai pas de Rolex, pas de limousine
Pas d’actions sur internet pas de bitcoins à l’usine
Je n’ai pas de succès pas de defaite
Et personne dans la rue ne reconnait ma tête
Je m’en veux j’aimerais savoir comment faire
Je ne suis décidément pas extraordinaire
Peut être c’est moi
C’est peut être ma faute
Ou peut être pas
C’est peut être les autres
Parfois j’essaye
Je fais de mon mieux
Mais c’est toujours pareil
On me dit que je ne suis
Pas ambitieux
…
Beautifully orchestrated and enchanting album to dream away with.
Founder alongside Jah Shakespear who transitioned to this role in late 2014. Previously worked as critic and reporter, balancing passions for music and Haile Selassie spirituality.
December 31, 2024