Stranded Horse - Luxe (2016)

Originating from Normandy, France and now based in Marseilles having lived for spells in Brighton, Bristol and Brussels, the itinerant composer/multi-instrumentalist Yann Tambour (aka Stranded Horse) began recording in 2001 under the name Encre, a project combining samples of strings, piano and voice. Following a series of album and EP releases under that name and having returned to his original instrument, the classical guitar, Yann started to experiment with the kora, building his own lighter, more compact versions of the instrument. Marrying this with his singular approach to the singer/songwriter mode, Stranded Horse (formerly Thee, Stranded Horse) came into being in the mid-noughties. Yann's instrument-building endeavours continue - his most recent creation being a chromatic kora with harp levers, made out of keno wood, maple and formica christened the 'formikora'. 'Luxe' is the third Stranded Horse album after 'Humbling Tides' (2012) and 'Churning Strides' (2007), With five of its nine songs sung in English and the rest in French, the ensemble arrangements hinted at on 'Humbling Tides' find full bloom on 'Luxe'.Two tracks are elevated by the gossamer vocal timbre of Eloise Decazes (Arlt), along with contributions from Poulo K, Bakoutoubo Dambakhate and Amaury Ranger (Francois And The Atlas Mountains).

Tracklist:
01. Monde (2:49)
02. A Faint Light (7:57)
03. Ode to Scabbies (3:50)
04. Refondre les hemispheres (3:52)
05. My Name Is Carnival (4:56)
06. Sharp Tongues (5:29)
07. A qui dois-tu montrer les dents ? (3:57)
08. Dakar (6:16)
09. Unusual Ways (5:35)