Cissy Street - La tour du pouvoir (2020)

Cissy street blasted into the French jazz-funk scene with their first eponymous album in 2017; brandishing a repertoire of entirely original compositions that they’ve been performing in festivals ever since. Their music explores “the heart of a heady groove that mixes explosive funk, jubilant solos and ear-catching melodies (…) this is scorching hot music that we’d recommend to all ages, all types of crowds in any season.” (Dragon Jazz)

Coming out in June 2020, their new album “La Tour du Pouvoir” reinforces the band’s original identity whilst paying an obvious tribute to Tower of Power and other forefathers of jazz funk. With its motley crew of featuring artists, illustrious french funk singer as Juan Rozoff or unlikely guests such as the Fabulous Trobadors who play the Black Indians in French, or daringly integrating a Bourrée (French dance) from Auvergne amongst the funktastical grooves, this disk is not uniquely the result of a simple American affiliation, but a far more complex and authentic brew.

These are tracks coloured with revolution and activism, showing that beyond rallying us to the dance floor, funk can also rally us to a cause just as it did for the African-Americans.