SERGENT GARCIA

DOSSIER September 2001

A TROPICAL JOURNEY

In their new album Sin Fronteras, Sargento Garcia invites us to follow them on a tropical journey on board of a multiracial cargo boat with various intercultural influences.
First stop : Cuba, where percussion and the son shake our bodies and set our hips moving.

Everyone is invited to dance and jump us best as they can to the rhythm of the ragga-hip hop. Congas and other bongos are generously offered by the crew ( Bruno García and Locos del Barrio) guaranteeing an atmosphere of festive youthfulness to all participants, of whichever generation.
Fans of Andean journeys - from Cartagena de Indias to Santiago de Cuba passing by Camagüey, Lima, Caracas or Bogotá will recognize traditional sounds and will be able to move their butts to the devilish rhythm of rumbas and salsas.

Prick up your ears and oil your joints, for this is going to get hot, with swaying bodies lured into dance, dance, dance...

Whether you a teen-ager or an octogenarian Sargento Garcia will take you beyond patriotic borders, to joyful sounds such as warm reggae and strongly spiced salsa. Highly recommended for people from 6 months to 87 years .

A politically engaged group, Sargento Garcia denounces poverty, violence and fascism ( bringing us the the voice of Subcomandante Marcos saying: Que palique - Un poquito quema'o), and shout "Oye mi bomba, el sistema vamos a destruir" (Hear, my bomb, we are going to destroy the system). With enticing charm, Sargent Garcia takes us to Cuba in a fiesta environment, compelling us to dance a devilish salsa. This new sound, very often called "salsamuffin", is a wise mixture of salsa, reggae, hip hop, funk, even rap - and bears resemblance to the popular songs of Latin America, which are based in son, rumba, comparsa...
The percussions cast their spell, the congas mark the rhythm, dancers move, the songs enrapture us and in about five minutes we are ready to take off....

Sargento Garcia’s second album "Un poquito quema'o" is remarkable for its attacks against imprisonment (Llevale mi canto"), poverty ("Oye mi bomba") and the cry in favor of revolution ("Acabar Mal") and the zapatista cause ("Que Palique")...
Their last album "Sin fronteras" sounds more like a relaxed journey through music in which the band crosses the borders of Latin America to reach Africa. With a strong salsa basis, it reaches new horizons due to the participation of Amadou and Mariam - a duo from Mali- and especially due to Balbino, the gypsy guitar player who sings "Resisteme". The album contains a lot of "farniente" and love ("Adelita") but the band does not forget its political engagement on behalf of social causes and struggles, as shown in the song "Los desaparecidos", written in support of the families of "missing" victims of dictatorships.

When the release of Sargento Garcia’s last album was delayed there was some malign gossip insinuating that the group wanted to synchronize it with the release of Manu Chao’s latest album. One thing is certain –the musical journeys of those Parisians have some similarities and Sargento Garcia’s new record is also filled with optimism and hope, because they know that "maybe it will take a while, but we will win one day."
Like Manu Chao, Bruno Garcia presents Europe with different songs, filled with Latin American and Caribbean traditional sounds fused with rock and reggae rhythm of the 80s and 90s. He has bridged the gap between his musical background and the songs of his childhood taking with him all of us citizens of the present who relate to music without borders.

Bruno Garcia a.k.a. Sargento (Sargent), singer, guitar player and occasionally dancer is the leader of the group - "Sargento Garcia y Los Locos del Barrio". A Cuban-Parisian, he played the guitar in the alternative rock group Ludwig Van 88. Working as a producer for Parisian rap groups such as "Timide et sans complexes" he absorbed enriching French hip-hop influences. As he was mixing reggae with Latin music sounds one day for the "Salsa Mania" radio broadcast, he created Sargento Garcia’s characteristic style: the salsamuffin. That is how he recorded his first album "Viva el Sargento" at home in 1997. Together with "Locos del Barrio", a group of extraordinary musicians, he went on to an European tour. Who hasn’t seen Sargento pass near their home? Don’t worry if you missed them, next time will be great too.


Locos del Barrio are :

Duniesky Guitierrez Conyedo, "Duny", born in en Santa Clara,Cuba. He is the dancer and one of the singers of the group. The Sargent met him by chance in a restaurant where he worked as a cook. A one night jamming session was enough to take him into the group. He is a hell of a dancer and makes us rave...

Jogerst Vincent, a.k.a Vince : An Afrocuban with French and Spanish background; the band's bass player. Former member of a band called "7" he joined Locos del Barrio in 1997. His tendency to move his pelvis as he dances is usually very pleasing to the women who attend the band’s concerts :-)

Julien Charlet : Drums. He is called "el presidente" because of the central position he occupies on stage. His musical background is jazz and groove

Jamain Pierre Luc a.k.a. Pedrito Lucas, keyboard. After his university studies in Nancy, he got into jazz y and funk. He has been with Sargento Garcia since the beginning and also writes some of the songs, together with Bruno.

Ostrowiecki Thomas : percussionist

Colpin Francois, a.k.a. hermano Soafo : percussions, congas and everything else that can produce musical sounds and rhythms and compel the audience to dance

Aubail David, a.k.a. primo David : flute

Martinez Fabrice, a.k.a. Fabricio ze sound : trumpet

Chirol Julien : tube. He is a jazz and Latin music lover

Gilles Garin, a.k.a. p'tit Gil Gagarine : trumpet

Darroman Montoya Ivan : Cuban percussionist. He was the last one to join the band. He composed "Rumba sin Fronteras" for Sargento Garcia’s last album, "Sin fronteras". Having talked to him for a while, I am in a position to tell you that he is an expert in Cuban music.

Duquenne Florence a.k.a. the Captain, singer. She sings "Camino de la vida" in the album "Un poquito quema'o". This is a tradicional Latin American children’s song, which the Captain turns into raggamuffin. We had been persuaded of her hip-hop potential by her particiaption in "Un Poquito Quema'o" (Dame tu mano que te lea el futuro) and it is a pity that we have been hearing less of her voice in Sargento Garcia’s more recent works...

If this profile was not enough to persuade you, than listen to the songs that we have on our site. If that doesn’t bring you to your senses, beware of bridges and railways lest depression gets the better of you.

Records [up]
  Viva El Sargento
   1997 - Album
 

Main contributions [up]
  It's a French Reggae Party
   1998 Big Mama - Compilation
 

News [up]
  07.05.2008: La Granja Fristail 2008 (Català)
  06.12.2007: IV MESTIZAO Festival 2007 (Castellano)
  07.05.2007: 3r Caixa Sabadell - Etnival 2007 (Català)
  28.03.2007: X EDICIÓN DEL FESTIVAL TERRITORIOS SEVILLA (Castellano)
  06.02.2007: Radio Sargento Garcia (Castellano)
  05.02.2007: Radio Sergent Garcia en ligne (Français)
  25.06.2006: Festival Cruïlla de Cultures 2006 (Français)
  25.06.2006: Festival Cruïlla de Cultures 2006 (Català)
  08.06.2006: Sergent Garcia: des concerts avant l'album (Français)
  24.05.2006: Festival Cruïlla de Cultures 2006 (Castellano)
  15.03.2006: El Sargento García regresa con sabor a rock mexicano. (Castellano)
  10.06.2005: CRONICAS DE ROCK MESTIZO - Música sin papeles (Castellano)
  11.04.2005: RECOPILATORIO RADIOCHANGO AÑEJO RESERVA (Castellano)
  13.01.2005: Nuevo disco de Sargento Garcia a la venta el dia 07 de Febrero (Castellano)
  22.06.2004: Concerts de Soutien aux communautés Mapuche (Français)

Forum [up]
  The Forum for Sergent Garcia

Interviews [up]
  AUDIO: Interview 2000 (Français)

Photos [up]
  Rototom Sunsplash 2010
  La Granja Fristail 2008
  Festival Entresures 2008
  IV MESTIZAO Festival 2007
  Sergent Garcia 2006

Links [up]
  www.sergentgarcia.com
  www.radiotimbo.com
  www.myspace.com/sgtogarcia

 Share RadioChango!