So just who are the Fabulous Trobadors? "We are the 'griots' (poet-musicians) of a country, which has killed off the 'griot' caste'". Claude Sicre, fringe flopping down over his thick National health-style glasses, husky voice burred by a heavy Southern accent, is the theoretician half of the duo. Sicre and his partner, Jean-Marc Enjalbert (aka Ange B), are responsible for creating one of the most innovative sounds on the current French music scene. Critics have struggled long and hard to define the Fabulous Trobadors' unique style but they appear to have finally admitted defeat. The duo's sound is too rhythmic to be classified as French chanson, too "Southern" and acoustic to be categorised as rap, and too wild and crazy for folk !

The Fabulous Trobadors' sound is based on a deliberately pared-down style, revolving around two voices and two 'tambourins' (Provençal drums). "What I like best about singing with the 'tambourin'," explains Sicre, "is that we get to improvise a lot. We can play wherever and whenever we like, and we get to put our message across in a very direct way."

So just what kind of message are the Trobadors trying to get across? Well, the fabulous twosome is basically on a mission to restore 'convivialité' to the French regions - the 'convivialité' which they believe was destroyed by the country's increasing drive towards centralism. After all, without preserving regional dialects and folklore, without preserving spontaneous music which can be played and danced by anyone, how can the spirit of traditional music be kept alive? "Traditional music" claims Sicre,"has lost sight of its real purpose. Apart from in Brittany, Corsica and the French Antilles, that is, where folk music has not been completely eradicated as it has in the rest of France. We wanted to get back to the original purpose of 'popular' music - which was basically the idea of spontaneously celebrating a birthday, the return of a friend, or simply the evening before the start of the holidays - and to do this, we had to start from scratch and re-invent everything again from the beginning. "

As the Fabulous Trobadors set about inventing their own form of modern urban folklore, they established themselves as one of the most excitingly original bands on the French music scene. The duo have recorded three albums to date - "Era pas de faire" in 1992, "Ma ville est le plus beau park" in 1995 and "On the Linha Imaginot" in 1998 - which tackle such diverse subjects as regional accents, town planning and the famous French bonbon 'le cachou Lajaunie'! Accompanying themselves by beating out a simple, catchy rhythm on their 'tambourins', the modern-day Trobadors rap out their lyrics in French or Occitan, while Ange B occasionally breaks into a crazy imitation of electric and acoustic instruments (producing some quite extraordinary sound effects with his mouth!).

The Fabulous Trobadors released their debut album on a small independent label (Roker Promocion), but after rising to prominence on the French music scene the duo were offered a deal with a major label and their last two albums were released on Mercury. This has not affected the Trobadors' 'alternative' musical approach, however. Far from it, the duo's latest album "On the Linha Imaginot" is living proof of that. Take the opening track "Je ne chante pas mes peines" for example - "We alternate the vocals in response to a harmonica," explains Sicre "leaving a few gaps here and there so Ange B can come in with his 'mouth stuff'. This kind of music is really interesting to play live in a café. You know, a lot of artists write their music with the recording studio or the demands of a live show in mind. We're a bit different because we adapt ourselves to practical demands. We're equally at home performing at the market or playing till 3 in the morning at the local bistrot!" The Fabulous Trobadors are also into the idea of opening their sound to other influences. In fact, two of the tracks on the duo's latest album were co-produced with the well-known UK/Indian group Asian Dub Foundation. "The tracks are still very much in keeping with the Fabulous Trobador sound," explains Ange B "but we experimented with a real mix of styles."

The Fabulous Trobadors have always been strongly attached to their local neighbourhood, the 'quartier Arnaud-Bernard' in the heart of Toulouse. In fact, anyone who has ever been to a Trobadors' gig or listened to a Trobadors' album will have heard countless tributes to 'Arnaud-Bernard'. "It's like Ménilmontant in the songs of Maurice Chevalier," says Claude Sicre, "Arnaud-Bernard has become symbolic of the Fabulous Trobadors. It's our life, really, that's where it all happens. We don't sing about Arnaud-Bernard just for the hell of it, you know, but because our neighbourhood is right at the heart of our music."

Claude Sicre does not use his words lightly! Twenty years ago he put his time and energy into creating a local community project in Arnaud-Bernard. And today Ange B continues his partner's work, playing an active role on the committee of the Arnaud-Bernard project. The Trobadors have proved that they're not just content to sing about social justice and regional solidarity, they're also willing to get out there and fight for it, taking part in debates and musical events in their neighbourhood. Looks like these modern-day Trobadors have proved themselves as Fabulous as their name!

Bertrand DICALE (Le Figaro)

Fabulous Trobadors Tour Dates : Lille (24 February), Paris - Café de la Danse (25 & 26 February), Amiens (2 & 3 March), Montpellier (5 March), Macon (11 March), Clermont-Ferrand (12 March), Lyon (13 March), Douai (16 March), Marseilles (18 & 19 March), Nice (20 March), Toulouse (25 March).