Fifteen years we waited for the carnival: St Germain live in London

Navarre has been seamlessly combining the sounds of house, afrobeat and nu-jazz under the St Germain moniker for 20 years. His first album under the title, Boulevard, explored the realm of Nineties deep house, while Tourist – arguably his most famous work – took a different turn, slowing the tempo down with some trip hop and spaced-out funk. The new downtempo sound paid off, and saw Tourist reach multi-platinum status.

After a taking a 15 year hiatus following its success, St Germain came back this year with an eponymous new album, a record imbued with an African influence most notably from Mali. Navarre returned to London tonight (17th November) to play his first show since the release of his third album under the St Germain alias. His band joined him, playing everything from recognizable kit like bass and guitar to the more exotic likes of the kora and n’goni, both string instruments from West Africa.

The set began with “Real Blues”, the lead single from St Germain. It sounded electric at the Troxy, the ex-1930s cinema in Tower Hamlets, and even better live than on record. The room was packed but not packed out, giving everyone in the audience ample room to dance but enough company to feel an atmosphere. In a live setting, the musicians had more time to show off, going on wonderful tangents that you could easily get lost in. Myriad sounds, including glockenspiels, synths, blues vocal samples and African guitars combined to form an early highlight of the show.

Shortly after came The Dave Brubeck-sampling “Rose Rouge”, on which it was the saxophonist’s turn to show off with a solo. A heavy hitting techno beat crept in, upping the pace in the room and receiving warm applause from the denizens of the Troxy.

A particularly memorable part of the evening occurred when the set reached its mid-point. It started off with a flute solo leading into the aptly titled “So Flute” from Tourist. After two minutes of unaccompanied flute, a funky bongo backdrop followed, along with sweet jazz piano chords and a bouncy double bass. After all the musicians had jammed together for seven minutes, the bongo player closed the track, playing a solo so intricate it made it sound like he was playing it on eight hands, not two.

Despite being the man behind the St Germain name, Ludovic Navarre remained humbly discrete throughout the evening, standing calmly behind his decks and throwing in the odd vocal sample. It worked well, allowing the musicians to flourish while he programmed the drums and mixed in the vocals with ease.

Just when you started to resent not hearing more of St Germain’s lo-fi works, the warp of “Sure Thing” crept through the speakers after the encore. The audience were all smiles as the show wound down, but it was clear they did not want it to end. Given the flair of the musicians, the calculated rhythms and good time carnival atmosphere it evoked in the audience, this show really was something special.

Setlist:

Forget Me Not
Real Blues
Rose Rouge
Hanky Punk
How Dare You
So Flute
Sittin' Here
Family Tree
Real Blues
Sure Thing