After a seven year hiatus since release of Massilia in 2014, Massilia Sound System’s ninth album is called Sale Caractère which translates roughly as “dirty character.” Hailing from the French port city of Marseilles (or Massilia as it was called in 600 BC when founded by the Phocaean Greeks), this band also has a long tenure, having played together for nearly four decades.  While not perhaps the greatest singers around, Massilia Sound System emits a copious amount of exuberance, personality, passion and camaraderie as the socio-political troubadours critique life, identify inequities, call out injustices, and espouse love for Marseilles.  As kids, I wonder if these guys were probably every teacher’s nightmare as cut-ups, class clowns or troublemakers. Mixing dub, ragamuffin, reggae and electronica with French and Occitan lyrics (a mix they call trobamuffin), Massilia Sound System creates critical exclamations and exigent declarations about their city and the ills that befall it. 

To fully appreciate Massilia Sound System, you should put yourself in the shoes of one of their many fans and tune into the lyrics. The CD booklet contains them, and the Manivette record label was kind enough to send me English translations for them. That is where the real fun begins, as you listen to the cadence of their messages in songs like “Casa Massilia” that is inviting, “You’ve had enough of being ripped off, smooth-talked, scammed, pushed around. Give it up, that’s done with. Come to Massilia, it welcomes you in!” Their charismatic appeal might get a festival crowd of several thousand clapping, dancing, swaying and singing along. I wouldn’t be surprised if these middle-aged men didn’t channel their inner teen mentalities and start crowd-surfing the audience.  

Members of Massilia Sound System are Moussu T, Papet J, Gari Grèu, Janvié Claider D, Dj Kayalik, and Blu. Opening with “A Cavalot” (Back in the Saddle), the trobamuffins sing sprightly words and punchy rhymes to pulsating phrases and reggae rhythms that get people off their arses and onto their feet. While liner notes acknowledge the band’s “fleshy, gravelly voices,” their music is also a rediscovery of “sunny and scratchy texts” that are as witty as they’re provocative. “Lo Mercat” (The Market) is an interesting treatise against capitalism which they call crap, rubbish and disease. The song evolves with a strong statement admonishing rich fat cats, bankers, shitty shareholders, racketeers, wicked hypocrites and profiteers!

In the frenetic “Uei” (Today), the band declares that they intend to keep singing, dreaming, learning and enjoying themselves on the road of life with songs, stories and tales “of shepherds, sailors,  labourers, prayers of witches, secrets of buccaneers.” It’s music to elevate spirits and get the energy going.

The title cut, “Sale Caractère“ invokes imagery from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables as the singers ask pointed questions, “Are we able to control our temper all the time? Is it even a good idea? Is it always wise? Am I pathetic when I get angry?” The band may like to moan and tell people not to be arseholes, backchat band members, tread on their toes or get in their faces. They admit to having a bad character and might lose their cool and make a right mess. Despite these admonitions, Massillia Sound System actually has a lot of good character as they lend immediacy to various social issues with insightful perspectives. With a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor, their musical je ne sais quoi retains an edge without sounding anachronistic. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)