For those of you who are used to performers like Baaba Maal and other African musicians the music of Francis Jocky may come as a surprise, but consider he has been living and working in Europe since he was fifteen, and with Western influenced musicians for the entirety of his professional career. His African heritage can be heard in some of the percussion techniques utilized on songs, and some of his vocal styling.
Quite frankly though that shouldn't be a factor in your decision making process about whether to buy this CD anyway. Music isn't judged on the performer's adherence to our preconceived notions of what people should or shouldn't sound like. Francis Jocky plays a brilliant mixture of Soul, Rhythm and Blues, and Jazz with skill and emotional honesty.
Those qualities are rare enough in popular music they should be celebrated and encouraged whenever they are encountered. Mr Pain by Francis Jocky is just such a find. As of now the disc is available through his web site, CD Baby, My Space and iTunes. You can either download the disc or order a hard copy. My own personal recommendation for a song as a download that will give you an indication of his abilities would either be "Song Of Freedom" or "Down Slow." Listen to them both and you will begin to see the true breadth of talent that is contained within Francis Jocky.
Article comments
1 - Ben
Hi Richard,
I really appreciate your work and want to tell you how you were right one more time with this Artist. I discover Francis Jocky with your review, the guy is just fabulous with an incredible voice.
Keep the good work.
Benny