These recordings collected in situ by Francois Jouffa in 2015, allow us to listen to the compelling wealth of the traditional music of Southern India. This classical music from the lower part of the Indian subcontinent, called carnatic music, has age-old bases. This release contains Kathakali songs ( from the Sanskrit Theater) and ragas performed by masters of the veena (ancient Indian lute with plucked strings), temple music and groups of percussion. It is a seizing musical overview, a preeminent testimony of the Indian immaterial heritage.

(2-CD set) "A drawing by Jean Cocteau lies behind the image which springs to mind whenever I think of Charles Trenet - I see him with big wings, flying across the sky..." Gilbert BeCAUD. Includes a 40 page booklet with both French and English notes.

«A master-piece still lives on a century later. People often tell me than several of my songs will still be going in a hundred years time. I hope so but can hardly believe it. And among my songs which will supposedly live on, La Mer is always referred to. I think if I had to choose one, it would be L’Ame des Poetes! »

French songs for children.

In this feminine follow-up to our previous album, Latin Crooners, the Latin diva spews out her venom and resentment of the male race. Here, we can enjoy some gems from the forties and fifties, a period craving for both tenderness and spice.

Tatavla was the early name of a popular, highly cosmopolitan Greek enclave in Istanbul. Greek immigrants leaving Turkey took this music with them, and it evolved in exile to become the popular rebetiko genre. After the album Black Night Please Fall Over the World, which focused on traditional Hungarian music, violin virtuoso Tcha Limberger continued his search for authenticity in music, exploring the roots of forgotten popular genres as he does here, with such wonderful accompanists as the Greek accordionist Dimos Vougioukas and guitarist Benjamin Clement. Produced to the familiar high standards of U.K. independent label Lejazzetal, here the trio Tatavla offers music of infinite richness, filled with festive melodies and marked by hybrid accents from the East.

Located within the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, the Golden Triangle is a remote region of Southeast Asia at the crossroads of Chinese and Indian influences. On the outskirts of steep mountain passes and of its foothills covered with luxuriant jungles live peoples of Chinese origin isolated from the rest of the world that Francois Jouffa recorded in an area known for its dangerousness, in the late 1970s, on the Cold War and traffic drugs background. This sound recording, here presented on a double CD, is a rare audio testimony which lists the different types of music, the songs and the music instruments of the Meo, the Lisu, the Shan, the Lahu Nyi, the Yao, the Akha and the Karen Sgaw peoples, the traditions and customs of which are very ancient. Patrick FReMEAUX

An exceptional document: Trenet’s very first sizeable one-man show held at the TheAtre de l’Etoile in 1947, previously believed to have disappeared into thin air. It has at long last been retrieved and is now released in its entirety.

The famed critic Leonard Feather wrote, "Oscar Alem has more swing than any other guitarist on the continent" and, "His tone, phrasing, swing, and attack are so grand that if anyone ever mentions Django Reinhardt to me again, I shall stare coldly." Born in 1909, the famed Argentinean guitarist played with the best jazz musicians of the 20s and 30s, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Django. He was hired by Josephine Baker to lead her band, the Baker Boys at the Cafe de Paris. After the war began, Alem returned to Argentina, where he lived, taught and performed until his death at age 71. The two albums here date from 1965 and 1975, and are among his last recordings.

Dressed in a waxed satin or nacred sheath clinging to her ephebic hips, revealing the shoulders of an Olympic swimmer and her back which aroused men and women alike, Solidor's ambiguity prevailed. Not to mention her face, voice and repertory.

(2-CD set) After the arrival of Charles Trenet, the French song was never to be the same again. Charles hid his worries behind a mask of carefree youth and enjoyed jingling words and swinging rhymes. In 1938, his identity as the “singing fool” became permanent... Includes a 32 page booklet with both French and English notes.

Serge Gainsbourg remains one of the most influential artists of the 20th century to this day. In this second volume, Olivier Julien and Frederic Regent have gathered all of Gainsbourg’s works from the period 1960-1962, a little-known period when French song was in transition, in a context where rock ’n’ roll was emerging at the same time as the beginnings of the tidal wave in French pop they called “Ye-Ye”. This 3CD set contains titles sung by not only Gainsbourg himself, but great stars of the early Sixties, including Juliette Greco, Philippe Clay, Catherine Sauvage and Petula Clark. Patrick FReMEAUX

Following on the success of Fremeaux's first release of the Red Army Choir's historic recordings, the label now offers a second volume devoted to great traditional Soviet melodies. The repertoire on the disc includes the National Anthem of the USSR.

Since his arrival in Paris 15 years ago, and assisted by Patrick Tandin Productions, Raul Barboza gained international repute. Through records, DVDs and concerts on the world’s most prestigious stages, Barbaoza globally legitimized his Indian-inspired accordion and became the major ambassador of Chamame, the expression of a natural life-style using musical rhythms and improvisation. D. Leblond, B. Goldenstein et P. Fremeaux

“The first French singer-songwriter you could call genuinely inspired by jazz was this boy named Charles Trenet [...] the new heartbeat, the extraordinary joie de vivre coming from the songs that this rumpled kid chucked out by the dozen, were born of the conjunction between a remarkable poetic gift and the vitality of jazz, assimilated fully by an exquisite sensibility.” Boris VIAN (En avant la Zizique)

“Choc ‘n soul” – The title composed by Manu Dibango in 1978 is a veritable manifesto of the good word preached by Manu in his orchestral elucubrations, demonstrating the shock of the fusion between original Africa and musicgenres of Afro-America – soul, jazz, disco – which came between Manu Dibango’s success with his “Soul Makossa”, his journey to Kingston, and his Parisian recordings at the end of the Eighties. Here Manu Dibango proposes a return to 12 of his best titles released between 1978 and 1989. Soul and shock indeed." Benjamin Goldenstein & Patrick Fremeaux

“It would be inexact to say that you caused poetry to descend into the streets, for your prodigy is that your songs grow there as if the pavement were grass in April (…) This record is made of a gold of which you will forever remain the young and mysterious alchemist. On this day of Saint Charles, I hand it to you and embrace you.” Jean COCTEAU (giving a gold record to Charles Trenet on November 6th 1955)

"This set brings together all the recordings by Taos Amrouche originally released on the Arion label. The 5CDs propose an unrivalled synthesis of our knowledge of the artistry and oral culture contained in these neglected gems from the Mediterranean regions: the Berber songs of Kabylia, and Spanish songs of ancient times. The Amrouche family – both Taos and her brother Jean – have enjoyed an extraordinary destiny: having perfectly assimilated French culture, they have at the same time spread and enhanced the glorious cultural heritage of their Berber ancestors. Thanks to Taos Amrouche and Laurence Bourdil-Amrouche, herdaughter and heir, these poems and songs have been saved from oblivion, as testified by this boxed-set and its 88-page booklet, a precious document for generations to come." Benjamin Goldenstein

The best Jamaican musicians brought a substantial, masterful contribution to jazz. Their belated recognition reveals truly original, spirited and sophisticated styles. At long last, the rare, little known albeit greatest recordings of the founders of Jamaican jazz are gathered here, fully annotated in a 32-page booklet by Bruno Blum. They include strong personalities such as Wilton Gaynair, Cecil Lloyd, Billy Cooke; Ernest Ranglin’s quirky guitar playing and groundbreaking afro-jazz by Count Ossie’s drum orchestra, as well as the legendary Joe Harriott, Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook, Don Drummond and Rico Rodriguez. These musicians, who were about to create ska and reggae, breathe stunning life into swing, mento, blues, hard bop and soul jazz. PATRICK FReMEAUX

“This record was produced in the context of the museum work of Guillaume Veillet (a collector and former editor of Trad Magazine), so as to make available to the public a broad panorama of French traditional music. It is one of a collection of 10 CDs, divided geographically by region, that aim to document popular contributions to the history and contem porary nature of our cultural and artistic heritage.” Benjamin Goldenstein

The universe of Karl Zero blends world music (Latin, mambo, Brazilian) and jazz (big band orchestration), deliciously vintage, mixing humor, poetry, and tenderness. He picked up a “Brazilian version of” water from the 1940s to the 1950s, new wave tunes, electro rap, and diverted timeless titles to make these arrangements. He sings in French, Russian, or Arabic, and has surrounded himself with Abd Al Malik, Arielle Dombasle or Daisy d’Errata, who find themselves in roles counter to Zero. Karl Zero united the fine flower of Parisian jazz with the legendary Ferber studio and entrusted the sumptuous arrangements and orchestra direction of the big band to Raphael Lemonnier. Making this even more special is the acoustic environment in which these songs were recorded. A truly remarkable juxtaposition of the old and the new.

These titles were recorded between 1971 and 1975 by Manu Dibango for professional sound illustration for the cinema, television or advertising. They have never been released on disc and are therefore exclusive. Unfortunately, information is missing but Manu Dibango remembers that his Parisian band then comprised: Jacques Bolognesi, Ivan Julien, Francois Jeanneau and Slim Pezin. On the sides cut in New York, we can appreciate prestigious guests such as Buster Williams and Cedar Walton (“Lea’s Love Theme”) and even Tony Williams. In 2008, these tunes have not aged at all and have even been upgraded by the gold-diggers. This album, a wonderful return to the future, should satisfy their needs, or at least make their mouths water. And watch out, as there’s more to come.

“To dance the beguine, you have to be a music lover, have sunshine in your head, love in your heart and rum everywhere.” SALAVINA (Trente ans de Saint-Pierre, 1909)

(3-CD box set) Jacqueline Pagnol reads the classic story "Bonjour Tristesse," written by Francoise Sagan and touted by some as the French "Catcher In The Rye." "Bonjour Tristesse" is the story of a spoiled teenager who acts with a high-society sophistication beyond her years. The girl plots to end the relationship of her playboy father's new love interest with equal parts conniving ruthlessness and juvenile prankishness, too self-absorbed to even consider the brutal results of her actions.

(2-CD set) Tango - one of the strongest forms of popular artistic expression in South America, genuine world music from the very beginning of the XXth century, which combines the gitano hoarseness of Andalusia, the melodic style of Italy and the expression of Central Europe, and yet it's true cultural identity lies in Buenos Aires. This Latin tale of dance and desire, illustrated with 36 titles, is related by Philippe Lesage. -