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Ben l'Oncle Soul

From France

Soul brother numéro un

Round these parts, we've always been of the opinion that French is the language best suited to rap, its poetic syllables melting into each other to create an effortless, natural flow. Thanks to Ben L'oncle Soul, we're now pretty convinced about its suitability for classic soul too. A bespectacled, bow-tied young Frenchman known to his parents as Benjamin Duterde, Ben is undeniably a star-in-the-making - although he's pretty close to the finished article already. With a voice both mellow and sweet, with enough rawness at the edges, his songs' arrangements are impeccable too, fusing together that urgent Motown beat and some needle-sharp Stax-like horns. And if we hadn't already been turned a deep shade of vert with envy at his coolness and talent, Ben's no slouch when it comes to singing in English, either - his classic soul version of The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army is a masterclass in precocious reinterpretation.

(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2012)

Ben L'Oncle - Seven Nation Army

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