Just as Kipling’s hero discovers a life on the edge of human society and blossoms among new companions, so the French trio Mowgli ventures where you might not expect. Their new album reminds us that electro-jazz resides in a playground that still flourishes. Intoxicating and catchy riffs are mixed with experimental themes, asymmetrical yet danceable grooves. Through the abundant and luxuriant vegetation of the music, you can penetrate deeper and deeper, like in a jungle.

The album Gueule de Boa is characterized by incisive frenzy, teeming sound world, vivid fantasy and soft serenity. The imaginary world of the jungle is omnipresent. It weaves its way into the titles of the pieces and turns the album into a kind of phantasmagorical bestiary. Mowgli has a talent for alternating climates. This gives a strong cinematographic dimension to the album, where there is a succession of twists, moments of relaxation, and spells of enthusiasm. Some of these pieces can be listened to in the same way you would read a story. So much so, that future generations will perhaps one day wonder whether Kipling was inspired to write his book by this CD from Mowgli.

The name of Ferdinand Doumerc may sound familiar to followers of BMC Records: in addition to Initiative H and Headbangers, the French saxophonist is also a member of Pulcinella, a band who has released three albums on the BMC Records label. He is now joined by Pierre Pollet (drummer in Pulcinella, and incidentally also a member of the circus collective Petit travers) and keyboard player Bastien Andrieu (member of the electro-tropical group Reco Reco and the Parti Collectif). Together, they seek a path blending the acoustic with the electric, the throbbing with the garish, the innocent with the wild. After their first, self-released album, they recorded the current album with the support of OcciJazz. The title is a French play on words: Gueule de Boa means “the throat of the boa” in English, but the pronunciation is the same as the French equivalent of “hangover”.