Les Ogres de Barback

Formed in the mid‑1990s in the Paris region, Les Ogres de Barback bring together siblings Fred, Sam, Alice and Mathilde Burguière around a French song tradition nourished by rock, folk and popular music from Europe and beyond. Early on the quartet developed a stage approach based on multi‑instrumentalism, dense acoustic arrangements and a direct relationship with the audience, performing in café‑concerts, independent venues and later in contemporary music festivals. Their first releases, including the album “Rue du temps” (1997), established Les Ogres de Barback in a tradition of narrative song attentive both to everyday details and to social issues, with lyrics that alternate between intimate stories, urban chronicles and portraits. Across subsequent albums — “Crocs” (2004), “Du simple au néant” (2007), “Comment je suis devenu voyageur” (2011), “Nos mains” (2015) and “Amours grises & colères rouges” (2019) — the group broadened its sonic palette by incorporating Balkan colors, touches of musette and flashes of electric rock. Alongside this discography, Les Ogres de Barback initiated a cycle for young audiences with “La pittoresque histoire de Pitt Ocha” (2003), a collective project that brought together many artists from chanson and world music, and have frequently collaborated on stage with the French alternative scene, notably La Rue Kétanou and Les Hurlements d’Léo.