Flux by Encre is an album I reviewed when it first came out, back in 2004. It’s dense, brooding, mostly instrumental but with a few spoken word sections in French. Although it was apparently mainly composed and assembled by one guy with a computer, it sounds utterly organic, warm, compelling. (It’s full of strings, Yann Tambour, the man behind Encre, being a cellist.) I remember being very impressed by this album. (I’m listening to it again right now for the first time in years, it’s still pretty good.)
One day Encre played at the Botanique venue in Brussels, at the “Nuits” festival if I’m not mistaken. I went with my friend Maïté, who had never heard of Encre but wanted to see the main act, some girl singer I in turn had never heard of. Encre were up first, and played a pretty good show if I remember well. (There was a full band line-up.) My friend liked it too. Then came the main act, a girl with a guitar and three other dudes as a back-up band. It was an amazing concert. Great voice, great arrangements, great performance. And that girl! I, together with all the other men in the audience, could only think of one thing: please marry me. It was the first (but not the last) time I saw and heard Feist.
But what’s funny though is that these days, Yann Tambour aka Encre, the creator of that impressive album, lives in Brussels, and happens to be just a regular nice guy about my age. Actually I ran into him again yesterday, him being a friend of friends of mine.
Too bad Leslie Feist hasn’t moved to Brussels to hang out with friends of mine.
Either way, Yann Tambour now plays the West-African kora and sings under the name of Stranded Horse, and will be playing at la Compilothèque in Brussels, together with Shannon Wright, on the 24th of March.
