SPACE GALVACHERS - Folk Songs (2025)

After the success of Ornette Under the Repetitive Skies and La Litanie des Cimes, Clément Janinet, one of the most renowned French jazz violinists, joins BMC Records with another group, Space Galvachers. On the trio’s third album, simply titled Folk Songs, the outstanding musicians create imaginary folk songs by harmoniously blending instrumental jazz and world music, with meditative and visceral delivery.
In Burgundy, the term galvacher refers to cowherds who are constantly on the move, always exploring new territory with their animals. It is where the name of Space Galvachers, active since 2018, comes from. The three “space cowboys” started off from the ground of jazz and improvised music, then have been trained in African, Arab and Creole music cultures alongside musicians such as Blick Bassy, Ballaké Sissoko, Naïssam Jalal and Oumou Sangaré. Their first album, Sounds of Brelok (2020), predominantly built on modern jazz, while Lo Swar (2023), with Olivier Araste aka Olivyé, featured danceable world music at its best.
Folk Songs strikes a balance between these two characters: it returns to the instrumental jazz roots of the debut album, while the concept is based on elements of French folklore. Their inspirations are even more varied: these reminiscences and chronicles, at once light and serious, reveal echoes from baroque music to Japanese synth pop.