Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band
"They didn't imitate anything, they reinvented everything!"
BACAO RYTHM & STEEL BAND is the art of the familiar resonance that slips away. Familiar tunes, but transfigured by the steeldrum's metallic timbre, as if hip-hop and soul classics had been reincarnated in another, more vibrant, sunnier material. Their music catches the ear through memory and diverts it through the unexpected, a game of mirrors where we recognize without ever finding again. Ten years of underground work, a label renowned for its nuggets, and suddenly the light: a track that propels them forward, an obviousness that imposes itself. Bacao is the surprise of the obvious, the instrumental that becomes a journey.
PROG IS SOMETIMES JUST A PHIL...
Where and when did you first hear them?
Already a decade ago, a whole album that grabbed me. Instrumental covers, steeldrum in splinters, revisiting Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z or Drake. Yet nothing has been imitated, everything has been reinvented. Know the tune, but rediscover it in a different way, as if your memories were dancing. Their label, always on the lookout for treasures, confirmed this intuition. And then Soulist, my friend and sound passer, said to me: "What do you think of them at festivals? France had never seen them, Germany had never let them out. Suddenly, a bookeur took an interest, a door opened, and the obvious took shape...
Their music in 3 words, or more... ?
Instrumental. Original. Magnetic. A cover band, where you'd normally look for pure creation... But they transform the exercise into living matter, like Meute in Hamburg, a band in red jackets who make the street vibrate. With Bacao, no words, no voices, just the power of a band that hijacks the expected and makes it irresistible, and that steeldrum that metamorphoses our sonic memories. Familiar and surprising at the same time!
If this were the soundtrack to a daydream, what would it sound like?
A Caribbean beach, cocktails in hand, vahines dancing like a Gauguin painting come to life without telling anyone. The sand pulses, the sea breathes, the rhythms rise like a jerky tide. The steel drum becomes the sun, each note a flash of light on the skin. And wherever you are, you're home.
Any anecdotes about Line-up 's career?
Their representative in France had never had a request. And then, just as I knocked on the door, the group began to open up to a French agency. The perfect synchronicity. The Circus, true to its role as a revealing venue, became the stage for their French premiere. A delighted team, a band that had never (really) crossed the border, despite a multi-award-winning film soundtrack and tracks capable of instantly thrilling crowds. To be the first to reach out is to offer a showcase for discovery...