Zebda: Les Petits Pas

A new clip by Zebda, for the track Les Petits Pas, a number with a retro funk flavour that's right up to date.

The band have been working with Yarol Poupaud, of French funk fiends FFF. He's also an experienced producer and has worked with a huge number of French acts, including recently working with Johnny Hallyday as lead guitarist and musical director for his Born Rocker and Jamais Seul tours.

Zebda's comeback two years ago with their album Second tour exceeded most people's expectations, reaching the top three in France.

The band had taken a pause for almost a decade before its release, having been founded in the 80s and enjoying huge success in the 1990s, particularly with their 1998 Essence Ordinaire album.

The band have never shied away from being politically engaged, their last album including the song Une vie de moins which had a video that  led to a row in its depiction of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

But Zebda don't let politics get in the way of a great tune, and in a France currently facing more than its share of political tensions, some music that can help bridge divides is more than welcome.

The new track comes ahead of an album to be entitled Comme des Cherokees, which is  expected out in August 25.

But before that they've got a number of live dates including festivals aroudn France and elsewhere.

Zebda: Une vie de moins

A song by Zebda, and its associated video, has caused a row for political reasons.

The song Une vie de moins pays tribute to the residents of Gaza, the Palestinian enclave currently under a blockade from Israel.

Lyrics for the song were written by French scholar Jean-Pierre Filiu, a lecturer at the Sciences Po Paris and an expert on middle eastern affairs. he's written several books about the subject is Islam and Palestine, his most recent being Histoire de Gaza. He also wrote a book about Jimi Hendrix in 2008.

Zebda have always been a politically engaged act, and for my money this is the best thing they've done, simple and hugely affecting.

The song was released last month, and has already caused a reaction.

However, the song has been met with criticism from the organisation Conseil représentation des institutions juives de France, who say that it risks promoting hatred of Israel and that the song and the video are anti-Israeli propaganda.

The situation in Gaza remains one of the most politically charged in the world. Whether pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli, the only real position worth taking is one that values human life and promotes peace. Hopefully this song and video goes some way towards that.

Zebda - Un Je Ne Sais Quoi

A new video by the mighty Zebda, whose latest album is certainly one of the contenders for album of the year as far as this blog is concerned.

The song Un Je Ne Sais Quoi comes from the Second Tour album, released in January this year, that marked the band's return last year following their split in 2003.

They were certainly missed - by me at least - and its great to have them back and releasing material that's as punchy as ever. While not still confronting political issues head on, Zebda never let this get in the way of a good tune.

As has been said: "if you can't dance, it's not a revolution worth having."


Zebda came to my attention with their 1998 Essence Ordinare album, which produced their best-known song Tomber La Chemise. They picked up two Victoires de la Musique awards in 2000, Best Song for Tomber... as well as the Best Group award. They also won two NRJ Music Awards for best Francophone Song and Best Francophone Group.

During the band's hiatus, members involved themselves in political issues, and the results from the first round of the presidential election certainly shows that there are a huge umber of issues to be addressed.

Zebda are touring in france in May and have festival dates in the summer across the country