CLUB 12345

Album review

With Bagarre (whose name means "fight" in French), there are no winners, and no losers. Just the sensation of getting shaken up as never before. It's a mix of techno, disco, house, hip-hop, rock, dub, funk, punk, reggae and even chanson française. In short, apart from new age, ska or free jazz, Bagarre give you pretty much everything. At the controls of this furious furnace with just a hint of Dada are five brawlers named Emmaï Dee, La Bête, Majnoun, Maître Clap and Mus, for whom groove is king and partying a deeply-held article of faith. For this young Parisian collectives, art follows life. Tab-hopping, eclecticism, dancefloor, laptop, sharing: modern life seeps from every pore of CLUB 12345, an album with a name like an email password.

In an attempt to channel the madness without rounding off its sharp edges, Bagarre headed to the studio with a few older friends like Jean-François Perrier alias Grand Marnier, who produces Yelle, but also Guillaume Brière, one half of The Shoes. But while the album is all-encompassing stylistically, this group speaks with one voice. One for all, and all for one! Not one, but five leaders, working on the basis of participatory democracy. The mic passes from hand to hand, as do the instruments. This wild hybrid of a record rewards repeated listenings, and leaves you feeling a bit more "wanna fight?" than "wanna dance?" © Marc Zisman/Qobuz