On La Danza Poetica this month, surfing the poetic radio waves: une fête de la musique et de la poésie! 

A smooth and cool mix of new French abstract hip hop, alt-rap, spoken word, trip hop and jazz. Downtempo melodic beats and spoken word. Opening with Canadian poet Fabric Koffy in collaboration with Deya, and taking a journey that traverses many moods. 

Featuring the return of Les Sages Poètes de la Rue with a fresh and surprising new album after eight years of silence; a truly epic continuation of the philosophical music, poetry and field recording journey of Oiseaux-Tempête, this time into Lebanon; mysterious orchestral electronics from Omertà interpreting the Corsican texts of Florence Giroud; hip hop from slam poetry and drum duo L'Envoûtante; political rap from Ghana’s Kwame Write; sublime new experiments in ambient beats from the label French Touch Connection – including Wasaru, Yaul, L.Boy Junior, and Lil’Fish. Et plus! … gravity defying jazz-electro from Hugo Kant's new album, and closing with the magnificent track ‘Marseilles’ from the new album by master pianist Ahmad Jamal, featuring poet, rapper and writer Abd al Malik. 

Our honoured ghosts, the poets of France's at turns romantic and surrealist soul, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Victor Hugo, and Stephane Mallarmé. 

Tracklist

Deya - Imagine (feat. Fabrice Koffy)
Les Sages Poètes de la Rue - Planance poétique
Yaul - Haine, rage et remords
Lil'Fish & Screenatorium - All Words feat. Emilienne Chouadossi
Paul Verlaine - Colloque Sentimental (read by Paul A. Mankin)
Wasaru - Take a Hi(n)t (instrumental)
Omertà - Devenir liquide
Victor Hugo - Demain, dès l'Aube (read by Paul A. Mankin)
Omertà - La voix de l'araignée
Hugo Kant - In Time
L.Boy Junior - Allo les Ondes
brome - River Blues
Paul Verlaine - Clair de Lune (read by Paul A. Mankin)
L'Envoûtante - Chevauche le vent
Kwame Write - A ghost's complexion (feat. Thandokuhle Mngqibisa, w. Drumnayshin)
Dum Spiro - Des animaux bizarres
Les Sages Poètes de la Rue - Papa India (feat. Valérie Belinga)
Stéphane Mallarmé - Le Vierge, Le Vivace et Le Bel Aujourd'hui (read by Paul A. Mankin)
Oiseaux-Tempête - Feu Aux Frontières
Lil'Fish & Ovalys feat. Stef - Magic Cellar
Arthur Rimbaud - Aube (read by Paul A. Mankin)
Jean du Voyage - Untitled (feat. Pierre Harmegnies)
Ahmad Jamal - Marseille (feat. Abd al Malik)

Notes on the show

Some visual treats for you too ...

The collaboration of Ahmad Jamal and Abd al Malik is so free and lovely. There is something very relaxing and lovely about watching this session also:

L'Envoûtante released a nice video for the track Racines a couple of months ago, filmed by Sébastien Croquefer:

For a magnificent trip in black-white, a video by Grégoire Orio & Grégoire Couvert (As Human Pattern) for Oiseaux-Tempête track Bab Sharqi. 

And, a shout out to Kwame Write's film for Protuded Platics, directed, shot and edited by Wanlov the Kubolor at North Kaneshie and Korle Gorno in Accra. This film and track, like all tracks on the new album, is concerned with environmental and social degradation. On the album Kwame talks about black world modern slavery, water pollution, illegal mining and plastic waste. 

Plastic is a nasty habit, we've got to get off, worldwide. Respect to Kwame for telling the word.