The three (not so) veterans of the Toulouse scene, Art Mengo, Yvan Cujious and Magyd Cherfi unite their voices under the Toulouse Contour banner on Saturday March 11 at Bascala, in Bruguières
Without taking themselves seriously, Art Mengo, Yvan Cujious and Magyd Cherfi have recorded a disc and are promoting it this Saturday on the Bascala stage. The three artists were kind enough to lend themselves to the exercise of the favorite songs that accompany them on the CD “Le Temps additional” and in their daily lives.
Art Mengo
“I have a fondness for those timeless songs from our elders that continue to have a strong impact on audiences like ‘Who’s That? » by Pierre Vassiliu (1937-2014), « Le Sud » by Nino Ferrer (1934-1998) or even the medley Nougaro (1929-2004). Definitely, these songs belong to everyone and the public is not mistaken there. It’s a real moment of sharing. As for our new songs that appear on the album, I have a lot of fun performing (with my comrades) “Le Blues du popotin” which, I think, is a very successful song. It should inspire you for our next collaborations, not necessarily on an artistic level but rather in the idea that a collaboration between three people who a priori would have nothing to do together, well, do together! (laughs)”
Yvan Cujious
“On our disc, I have a soft spot for “Scène deménage” by a certain Magyd Cherfi, which also appears on his album “Pas en vivant avec son chien” on the last track. I’ve always found this song very strong in the story, the form, the “Cherfian” finds but also in its realization and the music. I never understood why it was at the bottom of the album! (laughs) So, I’ve been singing it on stage in my concerts for a long time, in my own way, having adapted it a bit and logically I’m also doing it on the Toulouse Contour stage. “On one side Che and on the other Yves Rocher”, that pretty much sums things up! (laughs) Then I like “A bout de souffle”, Nougaro’s adaptation of this 9-beat jazz standard by Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), which is a real challenge to sing. The writing is so precise and successful that one has the impression that the text was written before the music. The real performance lies in the fact that it is therefore an adaptation and that Nougaro writes this nugget of Ciné Mot on an already existing music. I sing it with Louis Winsberg on guitar in our tribute to Nougaro as a duo.
Finally, “Les Bougies fondues” because I love Cabrel’s universe, its precision, the sound of the words, the images and the apparent simplicity of the writing. I recommend this brilliant song from his latest album “Une chanson d’école”, Cabrel’s manifesto, the idea of the ultimate song, the one that makes people say “Doing better won’t be easy. (laughs) Some passages are extraordinary, he puts poetry where there has never been. »
Magyd Cherfi
“Among the original songs on the album, I like ‘Le Blues du popotin’ because I really had a hard time finding a text that would suit all three of us. She recounts the quirky gaze of the fifties (and more!) that we are and, also, the disillusion that wanders through the text with an acid-soaked humor. I also like “Chanson, con! by Juliette who doesn’t look like much but who is a kind of fast, very lively java, on which the text tells the Toulouse identity well. And then, one of my favorites from Brassens for which I literally fall for is “L’Orphelin” which could pass, a priori, for a sad song but which, in fact, tells the advantages of not having parents. It’s a counterpoint to the Brassens as I love them. »
