After a half decade slumber French hip hop is making its presence felt again and, as Saian Supa Crew bounce on stage to the bass-line of 'Thriller', this time around it's clearly supposed to be fun.
Whereas Solaar chilled the beats amidst the hardcore uproar of the early Nineties, Saian are here to party. They ply their vocal trickery against an on stage act that is credible but also more theatrical than their US or UK brothers and sisters and come across like a street act that's suddenly been elevated to the squat party circuit.
Their vocal skill is immense and half way through the set they kill the backing track to allow Sly and Leroy to display their human beat box skills. This is simply stunning, as they as filter vocal scratches, spoken phrases and snares and kick drums through the microphone and recreate an entire sound systemwith their vocal chords.
In terms of lyrical arrangement the use of harmonies and collective rapping would be old school. But the rhythms hop from reggae dub plates to drum 'n' bass, through to North Africa and beyond.
There is a lot that is curiously British, rather than American, in Saian. They sound far closer to a UK/ Jamaican sound system than a US hip hop act and their vocals skim between rap and toasting. Were it not for the Frenchness of it, you could imagine them at an early UK hip hop night or on a mid Eighties sound system at Notting Hill which is in fact where they'll be tomorrow.
The effect is pure party time and, without having to work the crowd their on stage antics are greeted by a sudden sea of upraised hands.
Saian play with serious beats, serious lyrical licks and seriously choreographed routines. But most of all they play and are serious about having fun. And, by the time they leave the stage, so are we.
