Festival de la cité de Lausanne - du 4 au 9 juillet 2017 - 46ème édition

Portron Portron Lopez (FR)

Free-Punk

Limousin-born rock has yet to make music history and Portron Portron Lopez can be the ones doing it. The group anointed themselves the successors of AC/DC. It’s not a bad idea in itself; the Aussies have seen better days.

The trio is not from the other side of the world and they have yet to fill stadiums. What they do have is the audacity of youth and solid musical talent that stirs up a crowd. People aren’t headbanging in the way AC/DC’s boogie blues elicit that vertical reaction. Instead, Portron Portron Lopez’s music prompts the horizontal moves of shaking hips. What else can happen with the frenzied tempo of afrobeat topped with some insane rock and wild drumming?

Two of the three musicians are guitarists driving the music like two race cars up a mountain road trying to overtake one another, even on bends. The first record of this self-proclaimed “power trio of Carribean psychedelic garage rock” sounds like every speed possible on a low-visibility drive along a cliffside. The afrobeat is filled with instrumental post-rock and noise music. Overall, it is an invitation to dance and laugh from these Captain Beefheart Fans.

“De colère et d’envie” is the name of their first album; the titles of each track sum up the offbeat nature of this whole thing. Between ‘Jouffu’ and ‘Bichette  II’ lies a whole world of choppy tambourines and fret buzz galore born out of the trio’s symbiosis. They only take things seriously with their music as a whole. Their sound is solid but not rigid, exceptional but not boastful and their prowess with their instruments shines in every piece. The guitar sounds can paint the picture of a cutter-shredded masterpiece just as skillfully as the serene landscape of sunset over Limoges.

Other than their songlist and their distinctively named production company Sacrebleu Productions, you won’t find as much about Portron Portron Lopez online as you would with AC/DC. Check them out before they become too famous.

Galerie

• Portron Portron Lopez - Lucas Fierro

• Portron Portron Lopez - Lucas Fierro

• Portron Portron Lopez - Lucas Fierro