Jun 23/09
“So London”
Despite what some people think, Parisians are fascinated by the Anglophone world. English-speakers are often surprised to learn that it’s the dream of many French youth to leave France for the UK or N. America so that they can escape the constraints of their relatively conservative society. Those without the gift of language skills look longingly to Montréal, that dreamy city where one can speak French but still feel American. (Most return after their first Québec winter.)
Relatively conservative? Paris? Well, compared to London… yes. In cuisine, fashion and music, absolutely. A trip across the manche will quickly convince anyone who has lived in Paris for a while that, for better or for worse, often the latter in my opinion, people make a much greater effort to individualize themselves in London. Goodbye to the seas of matching black clothing at Paris cafés; farewell to blandly-spiced “asiatique” cuisine; adieu to attractively unhappy brunette singer-songwriters. Hello to gutsy use of colour, brash drum’n'bass, fiery south Asian eats and an unabashed fusion of cultures everywhere you turn. I may be a francophile at heart – I’ll take Paris over London any day – but I’ll readily admit that Paris is London’s tamer, less integrated neighbour.
I was in London last week. Most evenings were busy with work nights out and catch-ups with friends but I did manage to see some music upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s in Soho. It was Friday, so it was Viva La Revolucion! night featuring live latin music. The band was Lokkhi Terra, a “Cuban Bengal” group from London.
Talk about a good example of London cultural mixing. Lokkhi Terra features Bengali, Indian and Cuban vocalists, drummers on congas and tablas, and horns backing-up the frontman, Kishon Khan, on piano. The enthusiastic crowd – very mixed in age, ethnicity and ability to dance – worked the bar for mojitos between salsas.
While I’ve grown to love the Paris music scene in its many forms, this live show was something that you wouldn’t find here. As a French teen might say, it was “so London.”
Lokkhi Terra – Gottogotodhaka
Lokkhi Terra – Nodir Kul (BAS remix)
yes, multiculturalism is london’s one saving grace
Hey, Matt, glad to have you back. The fam & I were in London a few years ago for my brother-in-law’s wedding, unfortunately only for a few days, my first and only visit. One thing that amused me to no end was that, while the hip kids here in the US look to the UK, over there the (mainly Nigerian-British) kids we met just adored my daughters’ fashionable American accents!
I was also in Montreal a couple of months ago, also only for a couple of days (my daughter & I were looking at McGill) & definitely want to go back. I take it you have some familiarity with the city? Maybe you can give me some travel advice?
Hey John,
Yes, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Montreal. My brother studied there and I have plenty of friends who still live there. What kind of travel did you have in mind? I could put you in touch with some good people.. musical types if you fancy seeing some music, or foodies if you’re into some of the great restos there.
Cheers,
Matt
Matt: Unfortunately Aku just missed getting into McGill by the skin of her teeth (plenty of Americans looking for a great education at a bargain price this year) so I don’t think I’ll be going there any time soon. When I do plan to go I’ll get in touch by email.
A resto guide would certainly help. There’s so much to choose from in Montreal!
Funny tunes. Has bangramuffin explored the west indies deeper?
Well what you said about Paris tough is sadly true. Only one thing remains from the golden years when the city used to be a capital of african music: sometimes the audience is able to support some major artists that do not make it in… London or NY! An historical well known example would be Asian Dub Foundation, but there still are others. And not so long ago, Paris almost managed to be a melting pot for raï and other north african styles. But after half a dozen of restrictive immigration and asylum laws, years of constant ever and increased police harassment, no surprise musicians turned their backs on us.
I don’t know if that’s true. Paris is still in my mind one of the world capitals of African music, and international music in general. Ok, NY is a major melting pot and source of much good “world music” these days. And sure, London has much more and better Bengali, Indian, Nigerian, etc. But Paris has it’s thing, too – it’s just different.
For example N. African music is still much more popular in Francophone countries than in the UK. Senegalese music is much more prevalent in Paris than in London, too.. the same could be said for much music from so-called françafrique. Brussels, like Paris, also has a strong African music scene.. quite different from the ones you find in the anglophone world.
Everyone talks about the “glory days” of African music in Paris in the 1980s, but really those people are usually just referring to music from certain West and Central African countries, notably Congo. If anything the African population and number of music groups – ok, not necessarily good ones but sheer numbers – in Paris has increased, not decreased, and the overall population has certainly become more diverse than it once was. It seems like Paris doesn’t have as many big African music stars as it once did, but the reasons why are complicated… and it’s not necessarily any better in other countries including the US or the UK. Just different.