Tambours Du Bronx
Encyclopedia
Les Tambours du Bronx has 17 musicians on stage surrounded by synthetic sounds, samples, and singing, all in time with the powerful rhythm. It built its reputation reviving drums from rough energetic music; a mixture of indus, afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
, drum'n'bass, hip-hop, rock, metal, hardcore and techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
.
Summary
Les Tambours du Bronx was born in 1987 in Varennes-VauzellesVarennes-Vauzelles
Varennes-Vauzelles is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-Demographics:At the 1999 census, the population was 10,211. On 1 January 2005, the estimate was 9600.-References:*...
, a suburb of Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
, Nièvre
Nièvre
Nièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, France. Its name comes from a Varennes-Vauzelles district called "The Bronx" because of its square patterned streets, and lines of identical dark houses. This district was then inhabited by SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
(French rail company) workers, where the first drums used by LTDB are from.
The band's first performance was to be a single happening as part of the Nevers a Vif festival, in 1987. What began as a joke between friends became the urban percussion's international reference.
20 years later, the band played in the U.S.A., Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Arabia, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, Greece, Reunion Island, Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
and all around western Europe, on big events such as the bicentenary of the French revolution on the Champs-Elysee for Jean-Paul Goude
Jean-Paul Goude
Jean-Paul Goude is a French graphic designer, illustrator, photographer and advertising film director. He created several well-known campaigns for brands such as Perrier, Citroën and Chanel....
defile in 1989, the opening of Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...
's celebration of his 40 years' career under the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, a six week tour across the U.S.A. in 2000, the opening of KoЯn in the Sziget
Sziget
The Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August on the Northern Budapest Óbudai-sziget , a leafy island of 108 hectares on the Danube. Sziget stands for Island...
Festival in Budapest in 2005, the Roskilde Festival for the opening of Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
from Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
in Denmark in 1992 and 1995, the Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
, Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
, in 2006, the Zenith, Paris, with a symphony orchestra in 2007...
In 1992, under the direction of Philippe Poustis with a philarmonic orchestra and bulgarian voices, they recorded a disc, "Grand Mix", the only one of its kind. In 2008, they worked with Jaz Coleman
Jaz Coleman
Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is a musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is notable for his vocal contributions to rock band Killing Joke...
(Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
) on the creation of 3 tracks, still unreleased.
One thousand concerts, 16,000 squashed drums and 110,000 split sticks mark the route of this atypical band, who had more than 120 musicians in 24 years of life.
In October 2009, they released a new studio album "MMIX", based on their new show. This record is distributed by the French independent label At(h)ome. A live DVD is planned for 2011.
Les Tambours du Bronx will share the stage with Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
at Rock In Rio
Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio is a series of music festivals held in three cities: Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Lisbon in Portugal and Madrid in Spain.Four incarnations of the festival were in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001 and 2011, four in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, and two in Madrid in 2008 and 2010....
2011.
Frequently Asked Questions
From the beginning, the musicians used 225 litre "Monostress" drums, chosen for their resonance and flexibility. The drums arrive raw by truck, then are painted by Les Tambours du Bronx to their own designs. One drum is used for two concerts, one for each side. The drums are given away every second show then end up, most of the time, in a warm and cosy living room, under a TV or as a piece of furniture.
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
wood and are 40 cm (16") long with a diameter of 3 cm (1.2"). Each musician breaks about two pairs per concert. Back in time, they were pieces of picksticks. They're now delivered on pallets.
There are 14 drums on stage, two musicians on sampling stands, and one playing keyboards. One singer, or even two, perform a few songs. The drums circle arc is divided into three parts called "bases", "middles" and "rhythmics".
The band performed more than 1100 concerts and totalled over 120 musicians, all of them from Nevers and the surrounding area. Nowadays a few musicians from the beginnings are still there.
Since their creation, they have broken about 16000 oil drums and 110000 sticks !
The electronic sounds, set off by the metal pipe stands, appeared in the mid-nineties. Keyboards arrived in 2003, with the album "Stereostress Remixes". This allowed the band to explore other musical influences whilst keeping its industrial roots. Before that time, their concerts were acoustic only, with up to 28 musicians on stage. The present set still preserves straight drums songs. Occasionally the band will still play a 20 minute acoustic show, instead of the complete 1h30 usual one.
Since the new show launched in February 2009, the metal tubes have been also used to trigger real time video in addition to the sounds.
Anecdotes
- Les Tambours du Bronx appears in the video game SimCity
- Les Tambours du Bronx appears in the party game Trivial Pursuit
- Les Tambours du Bronx has been in the credits of La semaine des guignols on Canal+ (TV channel) since 1997
- Les Tambours du Bronx played 10 times in the Szene (Vienna, Austria)
- Les Tambours du Bronx played in many unusual places such as a chapel, an ice rink, the Dubaï desert, in a swimming pool, under the Eiffel Tower, in a quarry, on roofs, on the water, in the snow, in the forest, on the beach, on the top of buses, on a barge, in Roman amphitheatres, as well as fortresses or medieval citadels...
- Three members of les Tambours du Bronx (Dom, Sid and Cece) have founded a Metal-hardcore band called "Bensoussan", with an external drummer.
Present Team
- Manager: Laurent LEFEBVRE (Base Productions)
- Production manager: Guillaume PIAT (Poz)
- Technical manager: Dominique GAUDEAUX (Dom)
- FOH sound: Sébastien GUICHARD (La Fraise)
- Monitors sound: Jérôme CARTIER (Djé)
- Lights: Michaël LEMAIRE
- Samples & Electro: Yann LAVOCAT
- Musicians: Cécé, Dédé, Nono, Franky, Romi, Sid, Dom, Chris, Luc, Ben, Zio, Thierry, Julien, Kooskoos, Poz, Babass
Discography
- Ca sonne pas beau un bidon? (1989)
- Monostress 225L (1992)
- Grandmix (1992)
- Silence (November 1999)
- Live (October 2001)
- Stereostress Remixes (April 2003)
- DVD Live (March 2006)
- BRONX Live (November 2006)
- MMIX (October 2009)
External links
