Lo'Jo (France)

Lo'Jo come from Angers in the Loire Valley where they have been at the epicentre of an extended counter-cultural tribe of musicians, painters, poets, film-makers, acrobats, street performers and circus artists for more than twenty years.

With origins in France's popular art form of street performance, the group has seen over 300 band members circulate through their midst since their origin. In the early days, Lo'Jo was the musical backdrop for mythological and political mime, circus, acrobats, theatre, and even a film collective. These roots still show in their performances, sound, and lifestyle.

Travelling is part of the creative process for Lo'Jo and the group has roamed the four corners of the earth performing and, more importantly, meeting and collaborating with sympathetic souls. In 2001 they helped to organise the first Festival in the Desert in the sandy vastness of the Sahara, an event which has since taken on an almost mythical status.

Powered by the rhythm section of Nicholas 'Kham' Meslien on bass and Matthieu Rousseau on drums, and fronted by the unmistakable vocal sound of the Nid El Mourid sisters, Yamina and Nadia, Lo'Jo have grafted together all their musical loves and obsessions like French chanson, Afro-beat, gypsy, Indian, funk, dub, Arabic, Berber and African music into a sound which you're unlikely to anywhere else on the planet or forget in a long, long while.

The music will grab you; throw you up in the air, till you eventually find yourself floating in a poetic and musical galaxy. Lead singer Denis Péan sings with cynical charm about the blood dancing in the veins of our slumbering sisters. His lyrics combine humour and pathos to present insights about a world we may never hope to completely understand. This must be the vision you get from up-there, as a trapeze artist.

 | Friday  Magasinet 19.00 |