Les Ogres De Barback

French anti-folk quartet Les Ogres de Barback are comprised of the four Burguière siblings: singer/accordionist/guitarist Fred, violinist/trumpeter Sam, cellist/double bassist Alice, and her twin, pianist/reedist Mathilde. Fred and Sam first collaborated in 1992 as members of the short-lived alternative rock group Les Minoritaires. A year later, the band split and the brothers continued playing as a duo, largely abandoning their guitars in favor of accordion and violin. With the 1994 additions of Alice and Mathilde, the Burguières officially launched Les Ogres de Barback, channeling influences ranging from the French chanson tradition to Eastern European folk to post-punk. Their debut LP, Rue de Temps, appeared in 1997, followed two years later by Irfan, Le Héros. Around the time of the 2000 live LP Fausses Notes et Repris de Justesse, Les Ogres founded their own all-star package tour, dubbed Latcho Drum in honor of the acclaimed Tony Gatlif documentary of the same name. With 2004′s concept album Terrain Vague, the quartet scored its biggest hit to date. A year later, Fred Burguière issued his first solo effort, Fredo Chante Renaud. Another live Ogres release, Avril et Vous, appeared in 2006. 2007 saw the release of Du Simple au Néant followed a few years later by 2011′s Comment Je Suis Devenu Voyageur. The group also continued to release additions to their Pitt'Ocha series aimed at children. ~ Jason Ankeny