Clovis Goux and Guillaume Sorge have been more than busy compiling some pretty impressive selections of rare and underrated music since 2003 with their first Dirty Diamonds compilation. This compilation is the latest for the duo, otherwise known as Dirty Sound System, which follows up from the Dirty Edits compilation, which assembled a selection of tracks culled from the very limited 12” series of re-edits, lusted after by many an eclectic club DJ.
I’m initially confronted by the wonderful artwork, part classic 70’s psychedelic art, part Salvador Dali. Its obvious Clovis and Guillaume think about the presentation of these compilations excessively, from the luscious artwork, the common musical thread weaving through the compilation, to the sequencing, everything seems to flow.
The French have never really been recognized for releasing innovative music, which I think is undeserved, and its compilations such as this that shine a bright light on a musical tapestry full of richness. I think it has been more the case that some parts of the world just have not been exposed to some great pop psychedelics from France. Some would argue that some songs contained here are not psychedelic, but its more the mood these tracks evoke, not a tidy genre to slot them into. Brigitte Fontaine psychedelic? Listen more closely to Il Pleut, and you might agree, and if you listen through her back catalogue you will be further surprised. For me there are plenty of unknowns, which is always a good thing in my book, and some absolute classics by Dashiell Hedayat, Nino Ferrer, Jeanne-Marie Sens, Alain Kane, Francois de Roubaix, and Karl Heinz Schaefer. Not a Serge Gainsbourg track in site, although, Bernard Lavilliers fills his shoes nicely, Jean Jacques Dexter combines crazy synthesizers with strings gloriously, Cheval Fou serve up tribal ethereal folk, while Ilous Et Decuyper share a ghostly melody with their haunting song Berceuse.
This compilation is full to the hilt with gems, and is a great jumping off point to explore this particular era of French music. Ignore at your own risk.
Wayne Stronell
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