extremko, May 26, 2003
Le Peuple de l’Herbe are one of the most promising new bands that have submerged from the continuously vibrant musical scene in France. Jungle, hip-hop, funk, ragga, house, dub, break-beat, drum’n’bass; the bands’ trademark sound is an explosive and groovy cocktail of these musical styles fuelled with a healthy dose of fun.
Their debut album ‘Triple Zero’ (2000) was met with much critical acclaim upon it’s release in France and the band are already considered (and officially awarded) as one of France’s most exciting live bands.
Tracking back to the beginning of the adventure of Le Peuple De L’Herbe, you will find DJ’s Pee and Stani working together on a hybrid musical project having discovered their mutual passion for turntables and late night DJ sessions. They were soon joined by two other scouts of the Lyon nightlife, drummer Psychostick and trumpet player Zeng. Collectively known as Le Peuple De L’Herbe, the four started their own label ‘Supadope’ on which they released two 12”’s.
In the summer of the millennium year 2000 their debut album ‘Triple Zero’ (Supadope/PIAS) was released and immediately acclaimed by the French musical press. Within months the sales of ‘Triple Zero’ were exceeding 30.000 copies. An immense achievement for an act that was still considered a cult underground act. The great reception of the album was also the starting sign for a long string of live dates, some of them with Asian Dub Foundation and the ‘godfather of dub’ Adrian Sherwood.
Le Peuple’s energetic lives shows provided a sound basis for their fast growing live reputation which resulted in the band playing in front of mad audiences all over France.
Live, Le Peuple De L’Herbe are a pure storm of rhythms, fun and love. Their show is a real band effort with Stani controlling the machines, Pee behind the turntables, Psychostick on the drums, triggering a fire of samples and Zeng playing the trumpet. It proves that you don’t need an attention grabbing front person to captivate an audience. At some occasions the Le Peuple party continues till late after the show as all four members are specialist DJ’s who love to go back to their roots, building an impressive sound system on four turntables
The history of Le Peuple De L’Herbe was an adventure between friends, an adventure that developed far from the glitter and glamour of the French equivalent of the UK’s Grammy Awards, the “Victoires De La Musique”. However, to top their thrilling adventure, Le Peuple De L’Herbe were crowned as the best new live act of the year at this prestigious event in March 2002.
So time for another chapter in the adventure; Le Peuple De L’Herbe’s much anticipated follow-up album is called ‘P.H. Test/Two’.
Aside from touring most of 2001, the band locked themselves up in their home studio all winter to prepare the new album.
While their debut album was a collection of various material and existing 12”’s, “P.H. Test/Two” sounds naturally more mature and coherent. The arrangements have developed and some vocal collaborations by two well-known guests, JC 001 and UK Apache, have added a new lyrical dimension. On a track like ‘No Escape’ it becomes evident that Le Peuple have entered a new league with a real horn section kicking in with an enthralling effect to support the pumping vocals of UK Apache in a ragga influenced frenzy. Elsewhere on the album the hypnotic horn section enriches the traditionally eclectic Le Peuple approach to musical styles. From break-beat to hard house (Maison En Dur), from old school hip hop (1 Rhythme/ 2 Chiens) to funky dub (Delice). “P.H. Test/Two” is a cohesive album of rich textures and hypnotic rhythms that will unleash a storm on dance floors and hi-fi sets alike.
The new album should propel Le Peuple De L’Herbe onto the international scene. An extensive touring schedule is planned kicking of with a string of live dates in France before moving onto the festival stages throughout Europe.
“P.H. Test/Two” will be released on the 24th of June 2002 on [PIAS] Recordings.
