Tigre Qui Pleure

El Gato Negro is as far from Edgar Allan Poe’s creepy Black Cat as you could get. Hiding behind the enigmatic pseudonym is a joyful nomad from Toulouse who left his real name behind in peregrinations through Latin America. Since his return to France, he has integrated the bolero, cha-cha, paso, cumbia and son sounds into three albums which surround his calm voice. His fourth, Tigre Qui Pleure, brings in the new horizons offered by West Africa where El Gato joined album producer Guts early last year (a meeting which also gave birth to Guts’ seminal double album Estrella, reviewed in Songlines #185). In these ten tracks, the balafon, tama, piercing Wolof vocals and ngoni intertwine with the subtle synth, beatmaking, drumming metronomy and soothing poetry composed by the 37 year old, in a happy concoction bound to lift any winter blues. El Gato is joined by a solid backbone of top French musicians (Cyril Atef on drums, iZem the beatmaking scientist, Florian Pellissier on keyboards) and has invited top vocalist Assane Mboup and Cuban piano icon Cucurucho Valdés. But it’s El Gato’s calm yet voluptuous voice and trenchant texts which bind this kaleidoscope together.