ZAROOTS

Teradélie is a very singular artist, who seems nonetheless obsessed by the "Za" syllable, the only common denominator to all her albums. Developing her creativity in ever-moving landscapes and breaking the established rules, her music cannot be referred to with a simple tag. Hence, come hell or high water, she treads on grounds rarely visited in the french musical landscape, and her last album to date is no exception to her eclectic vision of music.

As the title of the album suggests though, the stress was put on traditional music. We are indeed overwhelmed by acoustic guitars throughout this new record. Moreover, while on the tropical "In A Way", a mesmerizing flute brings a ray of light, the Saharan "Exilia" is scented with arabic elements. Elsewhere, a flavour of traditional American music perfumes the garden. The slide guitar of Jipes and the melodica of Teradélie paint both the invigorating "The Last Deal and the sublime oneiric balad "Lulla" with "country" colours. Further on, on the catchy "Lili", composed in cooperation with the briliant songwriter and long-time friend Eric Grünenwald, the swing of Daniel Collet's "walking bass" blends with the rock'n'roll of the guitar of another guest, In-Mobile, and the doo wop of backing vocals. Last but not least, "Je Tire Ma Révérence" enthrals us with its relaxing and intriguing folk. Besides all those "roots" elements, it's a world full of fantasy that holds us in its arms. Like in the title of one of the last albums of the late Alain Bashung, this fantasy can be military on the otherwise enchanting "Astrées". It can take a carefree turn on the catchy "Le Paradigme", or become rather bitter on the whacky "7 H 08″, symptom of an uneasiness in a more than ever demanding business world, making it close to the kafkaian world depicted in Terry Gilliam's cult movie "Brazil". Some winks to Led Zeppelin can also be identified here and there ("Highway" with its alternating acoustic and electric sections recalls strongly "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", while the ghost of Robert Plant flies over the high-pitch of "The Last Deal"). And to ensure indeed the link with Teradelie's voice, we are pleased to note that her versatility is still there. At times stuck in the frail playground of Stina Nordenstam ("Lulla"), the voice can take the smooth accents of Marlene Dietrich ("Lili"). At other times, we will be reminded of Anne Clark's narrated poetry style ("Je Tire Ma Révérence"), while our ears can also either be filled with the rage of Nina Hagen and the fantasy of Kate Bush in turns ("7 H 08″), or enchanted by the lyricism of Lisa Gerrard ("Astrées"). The physical copy of the album comes with a marvellous cover of the orchestrated version of Peter Gabriel's "San Jacinto" as a bonus track. The creative inhabitant of Lille managed to bring to the fore the main theme of this song (the living conditions of Native Americans) by accompanying the lead vocals with onomatopoeias mimicking Indian chant. This is for sure a great moving moment.

Teradélie hits hard again with "ZaRoots". A gifted multi-instrumentistalist (in addition to programming drums, she plays tuba, as well as cello, melodica and keyboards), the enthusiastic artist keeps on carrying us to a world that is colourful and intimate in turns and where the unpredictable is king.