JE SUIS FRANCE
Afrikan Majik is the new album from Je Suis France. This
hour plus tour-de-force is the crowning acheivement from
a collective that is as eclectic and creative as they are
prolific. Without missing a beat, the France run through
Krautrock, Twee-pop and Dub, just to name a few, all
with a sense of humor and complete lack of pretension.
The roots of Je Suis France date to the late 90s, when DJ
Hammond and (aka OJ) and Ryan Martin (aka the
Darkness) moved to Athens, GA and decided to put
together a band. The two had previously played as a “2
piece shitstorm of bad music” called Jolly Trolly, and,
inspired by friends in the Masters of the Hemisphere, they
recruited an early incarnation of the band amongst
friends at the UGA radio station. With members OJ, the
Darkness, Chris Rogers (aka Crog) and Ryan Bergeron
(aka Ice), the France was up and running.
The band began gigging in Athens and quickly earned a reputation for their entertaining and unpredictable live
shows. While sonic comparisons to classic indie rock like Pavement (who OJ refers to as “the best hippie band
ever”) abounded, the band courted a level of absurdity and whimsy that set it apart. Soon Je Suis France was
recording it’s self-titled first album for David Lowery’s (of Camper Van Beethoven) Pitch-a-Tent label.
With the addition of drummer Jeff Griggs (formerly of the Masters of the Hemisphere) in 1999, however,
things really started to gel for the France. The turning point was their incredible performance at the first Twilight
Delirium, a yearly event that Je Suis France organizes to coincide with the “Twilight Criterium” a yearly Athens
bike race whose chief attraction seems to be the chance to watch athletes crash their bicycles.
Following the success of the first Delirium and the realization that they were now a “real band” the France
began gigging a lot and became a fairly well known entity in Athens. Doubters who had written Je Suis France
off as indulgent, in-joking dilettantes were forced to reevaluate their opinions and over the next year the band
shared the stage with the likes of Archers of Loaf, Man or Astroman, Neil Haggerty, Pinback and many more.
The band added Sean Rawls (aka SA, also of the Masters of the Hemisphere and later of San Francisco’s Still
Flyin’) and recorded their second album Fantastic Area for Orange Twin Records.
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After the release of their second album, members of the France began leaving Athens. The Darkness moved
to Boston, SA moved to San Francisco, Crog moved to LA and Ice and OJ ended up in Atlanta. Oddly, this
exodus led to Je Suis France’s most prolific writing period as a band. With all six members now writing on their
own and trading tapes across the country, the band had more new songs than ever. And while live shows take
a little more planning, they have become a vessel for issuing the France’s never ending stream of home-made
EP’s released through OJ and Dark’s label, Nokahoma.
As the France began recording their third full length album, they gradually added three more members. First
was second drummer and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Wheatley (aka the Lord, of the Low Lows and Parker
& Lily) then Jon Croxton (Flip Scoldjah and the Wee Turtles) and keyboardist Ken Henslee (aka the Tinkler).
Je Suis France was now a 9 person collective and their musical vision was quickly widening.
The result is Afrikan Majik, a sprawling 12 song arc that captures Je Suis France at the pinnacle of their
powers. Raging, 10+ minute krautrock jams lead into short garagey nuggets that bring to mind “Here Come the
Warm Jets” played by Superchunk. And while such a description might suggest an air of crippling pretension,
the band’s mission is anything but. To quote OJ:
“We have never taken ourselves too seriously, and I think that’s what draws people to us -- and what
pushes people away. For instance, a lot of people love to come see us play because they know that
no matter what it will be fun, absurd and probably drunken. We play because we are lucky enough to
be able to play music with our closest friends and have so much fun doing it. To be honest, we could
really care less if people don’t like us because we are goofballs or don’t get it. We do have a fucked
up sense of humor, yes, but it’s weird to think that those people don’t know how to have fun. Joke’s
on you, sucker!”
JE SUIS FRANCE IS:
Darkness (Ryan Martin) - Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Organ, Piano
Ice (Ryan Bergeron) - Bass, Vocals, Drums, Hammjamming
OJ (DJ Hammond) - Guitar, Vocals, Organ, Bass, Trumpet, Synth, Piano
SA (Sean Rawls) - Guitar, Organ, Vocals, Bass, Styleaphone
Crog (Chris Rogers) - Guitar, Vocals, Synth, Drum Machine, Bells, Piano
Jeff (Jeffrey Griggs) - Drums, Vocals, Bass, Vocoder, Mouth Solo
Jon (Jon Croxton) - Guitar, Singing, Drums
The Lord (Jeremy Weatley) - Drums, Sampler, Bass, Synth
KG (Ken Henslee) - Piano, Keys, Synth
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for the avant crowd, and too unhip for Atlanta – let’s
hope they keep pissing everyone off for many years
to come, and recording gems like this in the
process.
THE WIRE
#249 November 2004
“Size Matters”
- Ice Age Review
By Byron Coley and David Keenan
Je Suis France are a rather self-consciously
eclectic group from Georgia, but their Ice Age EP
(DC Baltimore 7”) was issued without a cover, and
that’s always a good move. Its eight tracks cover a
certain segment of pop/rock weirdness pretty well.
There’s a good measure of spaced guitar whine,
combined with basic punk thump, and a more
reserved approach to vocals than the group have
had on some of their earlier, jokier releases.
Nothing is too nuts, but the tracks are each
miniatures – individual cool takes on hard edged
Prog-punk readymades.
STOMP AND STAMMER
“Support Our Troops”
- Fantastic Area Review
By Jeff Clark
Orange Twin has bestowed upon us the latest from
Je Suis France, Fantastic Area. Wait a minute, that
sentence seems way too matter-of-fact for the
significance of this event. So let’s try again: HECK
FUCKIN
YEAH,
THERE’S
A
NEW
MOTHERFUCKIN JE SUIS FRANCE ALBUM, OH
HOLY MOTHER OF MILK, THANK THE
HEAVENS, IT’S ABOUT DAMNED TIME!!!! And I
don’t think the overt Oneida reference is
inadvertent, either, as this Athens outfit has always
embraced a similar fuck-things-up aestheticism.
But as Fantastic Area demonstrates, the France
are equally adept at creating works of sublime,
anthemic pop beauty. The album may not be as
immediately arresting as the Pitch-A-Tent disc, but
as it plays on you realize it’s more solid overall.
Too irreverent for the serious scenesters, too goofy
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THE WIRE
#232 June 2003
- Fantastic Area Review
By Edwin Pouncey
Je Suis France (aka “the France”) are a five piece
from Athens, Georgia, whose list of influences
include Gang of Four, Superchunk, Neu!,
Spacemen 3 and OutKast. What they really sound
like though – particularly on the opening title track
and the closing “Horse Violence” – is Bad Moon
Rising-era Sonic Youth. This is no bad thing,
especially as oer the course of Fantastic Area they
find their own sound, when they lash out a slew of
high energy rockers. These range from the full-on
attack of “Memorial Day” to the more subdued,
thoughtful and experimentally arranged “Live To
Win” and “Space Rules”, where The France reveal
that they have plenty of ideas and the power to
convincingly push them along.
MOJO
#116 July 2003
“Size Matters”
- Ice Age Review
By Byron Coley and David Keenan
Tumbling out of Athens, Georgia, like the scruffy
urchin offspring of the Flaming Lips, Guided by
Voices, and Sebadoh, the improbably named Je
Suis France deliver a wealth of fuzzy freak-out pop
with their Orange Twin debut. Whether kicking it
with frenetic sing-alongs or drifting off into
psychedelic reverie, JSF’s exuberant, occasionally
irreverent pop-fizz seldom fails to hit the spot.
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THE WIRE
#249 November 2004
“Size Matters”
- Ice Age Review
By Byron Coley and David Keenan
With their first album, the members of Je Suis
France seem determined to keep it like a secret.
The band’s bio charades as a Lester Bangs article
from 1971, the group is credited to characters
named the Darkness and Iceberg and the album’s
liner notes have been replaced by a story of the
story of the group and its battle to rock in mythical
detail. While all of this may sound great in theory to
the three of you out there who encourage such
nonsense, it isn’t such a good idea when you’re still
a virtually unknown band. Despite the intentional
attempts at obscurity and the occasional aping of
its peers (some works recall early Pavement and
There’s Nothing Wrong With Love-era Built to Spill
a little too closely), in the end Je Suis France has
managed a rousing debut.
Ranging from
sloppy/grand guitar gestures (“Release of the
Tucson Killers”) to kinetic, indie-pop funk (“Forklift
Rodeo”), the 13 tracks here display a group that’s
growing with every song. Some are indulgent,
some anthemic, and others—like the two part miniepic that brings the LP to a close—merely hint at
how good this band may be one day/ It’s a shame
Je Suis France flees from an identity. With an
album this promising, it deserves one.
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