LA Cédille Background

LA Cédille hail from Besançon in France. Their sound has been likened in the French media to that of The Roots and Opus Akhoben and have been described as "distinct and remarkable individuals who, in concert, become one innovative and explosive entity."

Despite their energetic stage show they have made a positive effort to distance themselves from the infighting and rivalry that has become part of the French hip-hop scene in recent years. Their message, which is reinforced by their lyrics, promotes unity and cohesion amongst hip-hop lovers, encouraging them to focus on the factors that are common to all in the greater human struggle!

Their songs reflect the African heritage of the band's two front men. The description of the meeting of these two cultures in the bands rapid fire hip-hop style yet smooth tones of the French language makes for a unique experience. The band haven't forgotten either their French heritage, with a distinctly jazzy feel to their songs which incorporate a brass-section featuring trombone and saxophone.

The band first came to the attention of Chocolate Fireguard when they played alongside label mates Kava Kava at a festival in Switzerland. The label arranged a few tours of the UK building up a strong awareness around La Cedille's unique sound. The band continue to play across France and Switzerland including a slot at Montreux Jazz Festival and Jay Dee supports at Le Divan du Monde, Paris. Top tune "Autonome" was featured on Chocolate Fireguard compilation "Taster...Sounds From The Funky Underground 2" ("Best Of British" Virgin Megastores USA) and LA Cedille finally signed an album deal with Chocolate Fireguard following an amazing performance at 2003's Glastonbury Festival.

LA Cedille travelled to Huddersfield in the UK to record their debut album 'Vu Du Large' for Chocolate Fireguard. Top tune 'Sous Titre' ended up on Chocolate Fireguard compilation 'Interesting Flavours' (alongside Freddy Fresh, Bentley Rhythm Ace etc) and a special Music Week magazine CD sampler of French Music while the track 'Dissident D'ici' featuring Bluefoot Project diva Rachel was showcased on the official 'British At Popkomm' showcase CD.

La Cedille promoted debut album 'Vu Du Large' with gigs all over Europe and Canada including support slots with Herbaliser, DJ Vadim and De La Soul. DJ and radio support including Mr Scruff, Gilles Peterson, Excalibah. Daddy G, Laurent Garnier, LTJ Bukem, Russ Jones, AIM….. no 8 DJ Mag's Beats and Breaks Chart, no 17 DMC World Hip Hop chart

VU DU LARGE CD PRESS REACTION

DJ MAG “With ‘Vu Du Large’ they’ve produced one of the classiest and most confident rap LP’s of recent years without barely breaking a sweat. (Paul Clarke) 5/5” ALBUM OF THE ISSUE!

DMC UPDATE "picture the scene of a heist being carried out with Ocean Eleven's stylishness ... suave nonchalance avoiding the hustle and bustle"

BLOWBACK " .... at times it soars, at times it scats but whatever your mood La Cedille will move you and remove those language barriers..."

NOTION "......perfectly captures their own particular blend of jazzmatazz, loaded as it is with coffee shop couture cool, velveteen guitar licks and crisp lyrics..."

UNDERCOVER “a highly competent (7-piece) band with a unique sound that follows on where Big Cheese Records and Silent Majority left off”

ECHOES “complete sensual cool and a major find for the Chocolate Fireguard label"

RAP MAG "on se volt instantanement contrant d'admettre que la comparaison avec The Roots n'a pas été volée tant le jazz et le rap se mélent sans a-coup”

OPEN MAG "La Cédille réunit jazz, rap et slam sous une forme spantanée et originale"

JAZZ MAG "Une authentique attitude musicienne - comme chez les Philadelphiens de The Roots"

RADIKAL "Un nouvel album prometteur qui permet à La Cédille d'occuper en France une scène musicale comptant chez les Anglo-Saxons des formations telles que The Roots ou Opus Akoben."                            

DJ MAG (album of the issue) " The French call it 'sang froid'. It technically translates as 'composure' but is normally understood to be the Gallic equivalent of 'cool'. Except it means something slightly more'- a certain chic mystique and aloof attitude that only our cousins across the channel can really pull off.

It's what makes Emmanuelle Beart or Juliette Binoche so enigmatically and untouchably sexy. Or at the other end of the scale, what can make ordering a cup of tea in a Parisian café such a humiliating experience when the bartender looks at you with utter disdain for daring to ask for it with milk.

But it's also what makes French hip hop both so unique and so successful. Until recently at least, UK hip hop has had its head as far up the arses of the Americans as poodle boy Blair, with the result that any distinctive voice was drowned out by fake Yank accents. But the most famous French rappers have never conformed to what mainstream MTV rap decrees to be 'cool'.

Rather than chasing Jay-Z's coat-tails, the French rap scene has produced a number of rappers who wear their national identity and speak their native language with pride. From Saian Supa Crew's deft battle-raps to MC Solaar's conscious hip hop, via the more abstract underground sounds of TTC and Le Peuple De L'Herbe, French hip hop has developed its own musical accent as mellifluous as the tongue in which those rhymes are rapped. And that 'sang froid' is the key. Jesus, if you could bottle the stuff and flog it, it would make most hip hop smell sweeter than smoking a spliff in a Chanel factory.

'Vu Du Large'- the debut album from French seven-piece La Cedille- absolutely reeks of it. Effortlessly cosmopolitan, gorgeous and glamorous, it sashays along utterly convinced of its own cool. Not that they're ignoring the rest of the world because La Cedille have clearly heard a few records by the Roots and Digable Planets in their time. But just as musicians like Django Reinhardt gave the jazz of Louis Armstrong a French twist, so La Cedille have taken the Philly soul template of Jazzy Jeff's A Touch Of jazz stable and the acid jazz sound of early Talkin' loud groups like Urban Species and stuffed them full of Gallic charm.

Like The Roots, it's La Cedille's live and organic sound that is their strength, something exemplified on 'Harmonie' with its gentle guitar and breezy vocals, or 'Boston', where the raps intertwine over a smooth jazz backing as lazily as lovers in a park on a summer's day. 'Hume', meanwhile, features a guest appearance form The Bluefoot Project's Rachel Modest, whose smoky and soulful voice is easily the equal of Jill Scott's. Even the faster tracks like 'Sur La Berge' refuse to be hurried along as the raps ride the rhythms to head-nodding heaven at their own effortlessly funky pace.

And why should La Cedille rush? With 'Vu Du Large' they've produced one of the classiest and most confident rap LP's of recent years without barely breaking a sweat. (Paul Clarke) 5/5"