Poor Righteous Teachers

Holy Intellect / Self-Styled Wisdom

reissue of 1987 studio album

We used to know Émile Sornin as the son, the pupil, who saw fathers of his among the pioneers of baroque, progressive and psychedelic pop; who found big brothers by heart and aesthetics in Aquaserge; the (nearly) solitary creator of the “fine retro-maniac piece of work” (The Drone), Rhapsode, in 2014. After experiences in metal, garage, hip hop, he had spent a lot of time exploring, mixing together, digging, getting to the roots with the seriousness of a young man on a quest for territories to occupy. An insatiable jack-of-all-trades, he directed delirious videos for Dizzee Rascal or Disclosure when he wasn’t combing the countryside to discover new instruments (the movie Le Bon Coin Forever). Here is Émile Sornin the (new) father, the dubbed artist, the one-man-studio fully aware of his essential influences (French 70s movie soundtracks – Philippe Sarde, François De Roubaix, Francis Lai – rather than Italian giallo soundtracks, synth pioneers such as Wendy Carlos or Mort Garson, library music à la Camille Sauvage, Claude Vasori and Roger Roger); the captain of a dense, tight live band. The man called by producer Sebastian to the bedside of – scoop – Charlotte Gainsbourg’s next album. The man who just gave birth to La Pantoufle. From shore to shore, Émile Sornin incorporated into his music the humor and self-mockery he didn’t dare to embrace in the past.

“To succeed in life is to believe in this moment when all is magic, when you’re a giant; to succeed in life is to cross an ocean, not knowing what for nor whom for, to be off on an adventure, quite simply” Bernard Tapie The French in the 80s were not faint-hearted: as some threw themselves heart and soul into music or business, others wouldn’t mind going bottomless to get themselves noticed… While Bernard Tapie soon realized his own fortune was rather to be found in business, many music-loving dreamers already imagined themselves in the sun, in an enchanting world made of funky rhythms and synthesizers. While the French National Front was growing in the shadow of François Mitterrand, these guys mixed New York-style funk with electronic, Eastern or African sounds. These musicians from all backgrounds – often lovers of “gentle pranking” as introduced by the newly-licensed independent radio stations – were seeking the easy money they were told about so much. With their genre-crossing arrangements and often chanted lyrics, they brought honor to the “SOS Racisme” generation, unconsciously outlining the nascent French contemporary urban culture. It must be said, the time was conducive to all kinds of mixes: following the left’s accession to power, many illegal immigrants had just been sorted out, and Southern cultures were in vogue in all fields.

dope tuff city album released in 1990 ... back then, it was cool to be pro-black (brand nubian, x-clan), and "thinkin of a master plan" is still an ill cut!

...the madness continues, more ill mid-90s freestyles by g rap, ocee, ras kass, voodu, casual, krs-1, saafir the saucee nomad, chino xl etc. plus official wake up show anthems # 1, 2, 3 & 4 with exclusive verses by organized konfusion, nas, ras kass, saafir, bootcamp click, chino xl, wu-tang

2-track single

classic mixtape with exclusive freestyles by all-time greats like akinyele, kool g rap, wu-tang, nas, black moon, freestyle champ supernat & dozens of more great emcees in their prime!

apart from "the power", this is one of the greatest late-90s albums in hip hop history, an undisputed classic, entirely produced by mark the 45 king! / includes 2 bonus tracks you won't find on the original release!

(c) & (p) 1996 Shu-Nut Music bmi