Flairs

Let's see if I get this all straight (to hell with ambiguous press releases, mere instruments of flattery). Flairs is a French bass player, but he lives and works in both the U.K. and Paris and somehow has a Cockney accent. Right? "Cockney speaking French knob twiddler Lionel Flairs" is what he's described as on his MySpace page.

It doesn't matter, though. This guy has the bass chops of Tom Vek merged with the abrasive "knob twiddling" aesthetics of French compatriots Justice and Kavinsky (and all those others ones). His songs are infectiously rhythmic and catchy; heavy on the bass (duh) and high on the funk. It's refreshing to see and hear someone who's not so closely tied to one scene/country, who's not keen on replicating what's hip, but rather working in his own form, and who's totally fine with making dancey music that doesn't need spastic beats and hyper-glitchy melodies. This guy has the finesse of Zongamin (where are you, Zongamin?!) and the razor sharp edge of say, Jamie T. I'm down.

Flairs is collaborating with some big names, though, so I guess he's not making a name for himself as a total independent. Working on his music video is France's Jonas & François, the dudes who did the killer Justice "D.A.N.C.E." video and Kanye's Ed Banger imitation; lending a hand in the studio is Alavi, Etienne De Crecy, 25 Hours A Day, Cosmo Vitelli, Bogus, Alex Gopher, & Benjamin Theves. Not too shabby.

Check out "Truckers Delight." You'll enjoy it. Flairs has an album coming out, but I got nothin' on that one ...

Flairs - Truckers Delight