Yann Tambour originates from Normandy and used to perform under the name ‘Thee Stranded Horse’. He has now wisely abandoned the biblical sounding article and the decision not to use his own name is, I suppose, to acknowledge that this particular beast is much more than a solo project.
'Luxe' ('Luxury' in English) is the third Stranded Horse album after ‘Churning Strides’ (2007) and ‘Humbling Tides’ (2012).
Tambour is something of a musical polymath and restless journeyman. He is currently based in Marseilles but has also lived in Brighton, Bristol and Brussels and performed in Western and Central Europe, Russia, Japan, China, the US and North Africa.
The rich ensemble arrangements are fundamental to his songs which amount to a cross cultural musical dialogue between France and Africa. Two tracks are sung with Eloïse Decazes, and there are contributions from a string trio and traditional instrumentalists Poulo K (riti) and Bakoutoubo Dambakhate (balafon).
Tambour's own original instrument is the classical guitar, but having taught himself to play the kora, it is the sound of this 21-string African harp which gives his work such a unique character.
In the past Tambour has played alongside Malian musician Ballaké Sissoko and here he is accompanied by another master kora player, Boubacar Cissokho.
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The foundation of ‘Luxe’ derives from a set of recordings made on trips to Dakar in West Africa; one song is even named after the Senegalian capital. Other tracks were added from sessions in Paris and Nantes.
Five of its nine songs are sung in English and the rest are in French, an interesting linguistic and stylistic divide but one which makes it hard to enjoy the album as a coherent whole.
All are original compositions with the exception of My Name is Carnival which was written in the 1960s by the late Jackson C. Franck.
The echoes of Tambour’s African experiences make for the most distinctive musical passages but attempts to blend these with pastoral English folk are more uneven. Sharp Tongues establishes a nice Wicker Man mood but there is an embarrassingly whimsical quality to the closing track Unusual Ways.
Full marks for ambition. but taken as a whole there is too much of a hit and miss quality to this particular global experiment.
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