Music meets theatre this Sunday as French music group Buffle (Buffalo) takes centre stage at Co-Bank Towers. A group that has created its own ‘style’ their act according to band member Xavier Machault in an email interview, can best be described as ‘post-Caberet’.
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He says: “Buffle consists of Roberto Negro, a pianist and composer, Pierre Dodet, an actor and author and myself. I am a singer and an author. On stage, there is a piano, a keyboard, a drum set and three voices. Post-cabaret is a term our group has coined as our act is a take on the traditional cabaret. Our acts infuse music, theatre and poetry, something not many have explored. Our performances are a bit like a circus but without the sets.”
Full–time musicians, Roberto lives in Paris, while Xavier resides in Grenoble in the French Alps and Pierre in La Drome, south of France. They meet up periodically for a week or two to jam. Xavier says the camaraderie they share is reflected when they perform. “We are good friends and are like family. We travel quite a bit together. Pierre is an excellent cook and he often prepares meals for us. He and I studied together in university. Roberto and I launched a duet in 2007 and Pierre joined us in 2011. As for the name Buffle, we were hunting for one when Roberto came up with it. We loved it and that’s it.”
The music they play is as diverse as their own taste in music. “We listen to everything from rock and roll to French songs and from improvised jazz to classical music. We don’t play one kind of music; sometimes its rock, sometimes its acapela, sometimes it’s more traditional…”
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Although there are often differences of opinions amongst the members of the group about the kind of music to play and “other stuff”, Xavier says, “we speak, shout and scream it out and after that it’s ok.”
The band that has travelled to Belgium, Switzerland, Romania and now India does not believe in staying one step ahead in the music industry. “We don’t really care about commercial stuff or being the embodiment of fashion on stage and I guess that has worked in our favour as work isn’t too bad. I guess the audience appreciates the fact that we are honest to our works and to ourselves. Although we did release an album of our songs in 2010, our music, we feel, is definitely made to be seen.”
The group that started its musical tour of India in Hyderabad and then moved on to Chennai says it has been a fun ride so far. “We are loving the audience and their energy.”
Buffle who has created a new show will start playing it in France in April. They will also be performing in a caravan at the various summer music festivals in France. The band says that they are looking forward to their performance in the city. “I don’t think Thiruvananthapuram has seen an act like ours before; it will be a pleasant surprise. For this tour, we have translated our songs into English.”
The Buffle concert, which has been organised by Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum, is at 6.30 p.m.