V.A. Chebran - French Boogie 82/89 Volume 2

"To succeed in life is to believe in this moment when all
is magic, when you're a giant; to succeed in life is to cross an ocean, not knowing
what for nor whom for, to be off on an adventure, quite simply" Bernard Tapie The
French in the 80s were not faint-hearted: as some threw themselves heart and soul
into music or business, others wouldn't mind going bottomless to get themselves
noticed_ While Bernard Tapie soon realized his own fortune was rather to be found
in business, many music-loving dreamers already imagined themselves in the sun, in
an enchanting world made of funky rhythms and synthesizers. While the French
National Front was growing in the shadow of François Mitterrand, these guys mixed
New York-style funk with electronic, Eastern or African sounds. These musicians
from all backgrounds - often lovers of "gentle pranking" as introduced by the newlylicensed
independent radio stations - were seeking the easy money they were told
about so much. With their genre-crossing arrangements and often chanted lyrics,
they brought honor to the "SOS Racisme" generation, unconsciously outlining the
nascent French contemporary urban culture. It must be said, the time was conducive
to all kinds of mixes: following the left's accession to power, many illegal immigrants
had just been sorted out, and Southern cultures were in vogue in all fields. The
French, while admiring Grace Jones' "savage beauty" in Jean-Paul Goude's
advertisements, were enjoying their freshly-gained fifth week of paid vacation,
tanning on the beaches of Maghreb. Following The Clash's example, punks and
rockers converted to reggae, and the new independent radios opened up their
programming to "world music". Even politicians - of all persuasions - frequented the
select Parisian nightclub Keur Samba to discreetly scheme with the future of
"Françafrique" to the sound of disco and exotic hits_