Troupeau Bleu - Cortex

Joint Society Album Review.

Words by Charlotte Trenbath

Cortex’s debut album Troupeau Bleu is an absolute essential for any jazz lover’s discography. The French Jazz-Funk band released their album in July of 1975, after only two days of recording, and it’s since stood the test of time. Hailed as a sampling gold mine, the LP has been picked up by numerous rappers including MF DOOM, who sampled Huit Octobre 1971 in his track One Beer.]

From the feedback it was clear that society members felt relaxed by this album, describing the vibes as ‘chill’, ‘light’ and ‘loungey’. The LP was commonly described as ‘funky’, with one response describing it as ‘perfect to listen to with a glass of wine and a boogie in the kitchen’. One response, however, thought the album had a ‘sad’ vibe to it.

In terms of the positives, one response highlighted that ‘all the tracks are consistent, even the “worst” ones’ and another society member thought that it was a ‘good album to introduce new people to jazz’ with a ‘clever use of instruments throughout’. People would generally listen to this album when studying or cooking.

The album was suggested by Maka, who loves the album because ‘all the drum hits are crisp as fuck, every piano and organ sequence is impeccable and the basslines sit perfectly in the pocket and complement each composition.’ She told us that it’s one of her favourite albums of all time, because of how ‘beautiful’ and ‘unique’ it is as well as its influence on modern rap music.

Society members most enjoyed the title track, Troupeau Bleu, and Mary et Jeff. As far as the worst track goes, Sabbat pt.3 received the most votes. One society member thought that the album was ‘too silly at times’ and ‘too loose’, whilst someone else wanted ‘more lyrics’. Overall, though, feedback was notably positive, and the album scored an average of 7.3/10.

A special thank you goes to Maka for recommending and reviewing the album. For further listening, she recommends IV by BADBADNOTGOOD and Cantar by Gal Costa.

Society Rating - 7.3/10