Accordion-Rock You May Not Know (But Really Should)

Today for MondayMusic I want to present a band that you most like have never heard of. Not to discredit this up-and-coming group, with really incredible music, but unless you are familiar with the underground music scene in France, chances are that you won't know these vibrant party tunes. More of a reason to check them out! (Their facebook page may be a good start.)

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Although their name Los Tabascos may imply Spanish, or rather Mexican origins, they are as French as they come. The imagery they use suggests anarchistic, revolutionary sounds, with plenty of hot spice! And their music feels just like that.

Before I Became Aware of Them

Los Tabascos have been around for quite a while, actually. According to this source the group was formed in 2008 around Romain Lapeyre, lead singer and acoustic guitarist, who is also the songwriter for most of their lyrics. The other musicians, lead guitar, bass, and percussion, mainly from the French punk-rock scene, formed a typical rock lineup... with the addition of the accordion, giving the band their distinct flavor.

Back then I had no clue this band even existed, so I was completely unaware of the albums they recorded, the shows they played, or how the lineup changed over the years. This may have had some effect on their music, but even that remained outside of my circle of awareness... until a few years ago.

A Personal Connection

At the Earthship Academy in 2014 I met a French guy who played the accordion (the dude in the video above). He was quite good, and he even teamed up with a guitarist, a violinist, and a drummer (one of our instructors) to form a band that would last for the few weeks duration of our academy. In the end they performed at one of our closing parties, where even Earthship guru Mike Reynolds sang a song with them: Desolation Row by Bob Dylan.

Later on I got to hang out quite a lot with Stephane Ferreira, the current accordionist of Los Tabascos. He is also part of the small theater group Itínera who are building the World's First Fully Sustainable Theater in Mazunte, on the Pacific coast in Southern Mexico. So naturally I went over to help them on various occasions, wrote a couple of posts about them, and naturally listened to Steph playing the accordion.

A Melody that Touches the Heart

There was one song he played that I immediately liked. It had this melancholic yet beautiful tune, sounding dreamy like the sea, while at the same time stirring up all kinds of emotions, I never even knew were buried in the muddy depths of my soul. Not surprisingly, that song is called Le Marin ( = the sailor) and can be found at 36:54 on the the album Révielle toi. The only other recording that I found, however, does not even feature Stephane, though the harmonica does an all right job in place of the accordion. Take a look here:

An Album, Making Music Tangible

About halfway on my West Coast Bicycle Trip last year I met Steph again, this time in California. We hung out with two other guys we met at the academy, played some music in a cave, and before parting Stephane gave me a copy of their newest album, Réveille toi, which had just been released. I was thrilled to say the least, but I had to wait another month or so before I had a chance to listen to it, as I didn't have a CD player, nor did I find anyone who did, until I arrived at my destination in L.A.

It is a really cool looking album, complete with a booklet, lots of interesting imagery everywhere, including the CD itself. It feels nice holding something tangible in my hands as I'm listening to the music. Admittedly though, it is one of the very few CDs I still have, and since I don't own a CD player any more, I store and listen to their music in digital format. Likewise, you can enjoy listening to their entire album here:

Get to Know Los Tabascos!

So, if you liked my introduction to Los Tabascos feel free to look them up! Hopefully this awesome music will be known outside of the francophone world.