THE INSPECTOR CLUZO
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THE INSPECTOR CLUZO

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Press


"Download the complete 2010 International Pressbook of The Inspector Cluzo"

Here is a link to download (in PDF Form) the international pressbook 2010 of the band - Ter a Terre


"The Inspector Cluzo in Novinky"

A good review on this webzine from Czech Republic, Novinky - Novinky (Czech Rep)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Pestiest"

A good review in the hungarian magazine Pestiest - Pestiest (Hungary)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Rocktimes"

A good review published by the german magazine Rocktimes - Rocktimes (Germany)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Navopedrik"

Good review on this webzine from Slovenia, Navopedrik - Navopedrik (Slovenia)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Inrockuptibles"

Good review on the greatest french magazine Les Inrockuptibles - Les Inrockuptibles (France)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Heavy Rock"

Good interview published in the spanish version of Heavy Rock Magazine - Heavy Rock (Spain)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Live Xs"

Good interview on the deutch magazine Live Xs - Live Xs (Netherlands)


"The Inspector Cluzo in the China Post"

A good interview on the chinese newspaper China Post - China Post (China)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Power Play"

An excellent review published in UK magazine Power Play - Power Play (UK)


"THe Inspector Cluzo in Inpress Magazine"

Bring the noise ! An interview published in australian magazine Inpress - Inpress Magazine (Australia)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Crossbeat Magazine Part 2"

An interview published in great japanese magazine Crossbeat - Crossbeat Magazine (Japan)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Crossbeat Magazine Part 1"

An interview published in great japanese magazine Crossbeat - Crossbeat Magazine (Japan)


"The Inspector Cluzo in Crossbeat Magazine Part 1"

An interview published in great japanese magazine Crossbeat - Crossbeat Magazine (Japan)


"The Inspector Cluzo – The French Bastards"

First of all, let’s talk about packaging, let’s talk about the album as
artefact. You wanna shift recorded music as a paid-for physical product in this day and age, you need to do more than
slap some tunes on a disc and a logo on the case; you have to make the album an object of desire, a designed object that
stands out, carries your brand and makes people pick it up and look closely. So kudos right away for The Inspector
Cluzo, because The French Bastards is one of the most beautifully packaged albums I’ve had come through my postbox
so far this year, if not longer than that. No crappy plastic jewel case here, oh no; a kind of card envelope outer case holds
the disc and a bunch of cards with lyrics and artwork for each track. The artwork matches the stark black-grey-white
pseudo-graffiti cartoon style of the outer sleeve, and it’s snappy stuff – drew my attention right away. Damn fine work…
and all done in-house, totally independent, no corner-cutting. Look and learn, kids.
Second, let’s talk about touring commitments. There’s a second sheet accompanying the press release that lists The
Inspector Cluzo‘s live dates for the year; it starts back on April 1st (no joke), and runs through until 4th December. Fifty
six live dates, thirteen different countries (including Japan, and a string of six shows across China). That’s how you get the
word out: stir your arses, and play anywhere they’ll have you so long as it’s not your home town. Granted, not every new
band has the money or contacts to start booking themselves overseas shows (The Inspector Cluzo are the remnants of
French “deadly funk band” Wolfunkind, and have a close friend in Angelo Moore out of Fishbone, which probably helps
a fair bit), but it’s something to aspire to. Independent doesn’t have to mean local… or amateur, for that matter.
And so to the music… which I’m very pleased to report is just as much fun as the packaging. The Inspector Cluzo are a
drums and guitar two-piece at heart (the story goes that the bass player from Wolfunkind was flaky about turning up for
practice, and that’s reflected in the band’s website URL, namely fuckthebassplayer.com), but the solid production job of
The French Bastards might lead you think otherwise, layering up extra sounds that one presumes don’t make it into the
live versions. High-precision rattletrap breakbeats bursting with groove; funk-blues filter-fuzz guitar riffs, all choppawoppa-
thunk-kerchung; sleazy brass and organ drones lurking in the background; gruffly silly sing’n'shout’n'rap-along
lyrics… pure daft party tunes for skanking around to with one hand on a beer and the other held up above your head, in
short. In the tradition of the better sort of comedy bands, some classic genres and styles get cameo parts, as in the
fuzz-groove take on country rock that is “Empathy Blues”, and pop culture gets a good skewering, too – I can’t help but
Album review: The Inspector Cluzo - The French Bastards | The Dreaded ... http://www.rock-metal-music-reviews.com/album-review-the-inspector-c...
1 sur 4 26/10/2010 12:23
get behind a track called “Fuck Michael Jackson”, myself.
OK, so The French Bastards isn’t going to topple governments and establish world peace (though it’d be nice if it could),
but it’s good clean loud fun, and even ponderous misanthropes like myself like a bit of fun every now and again. But the
real product has got to be the live show, I’m guessing, so I’m gutted to see that mammoth list of gigs doesn’t mention any
UK dates that haven’t already happened. But there’ll be more to come, I presume, so I’ll await them keenly – in this case,
the recorded product doesn’t need any excuses made for it, which is what J.U.S.T.I.C.E. Force 5 need to wise up to
quickly. - The Dreaded Press


"THE INSPECTOR CLUZO: WE ZIJN EIGENWIJZE FRENCH BASTARDS"

Het Franse duo van The Inspector Cluzo, vernoemd naar (Chief) Inspector
Clouseau in de film The Pink Panther, speelde in juni van het vorige jaar in de
Melkweg om de fans van Suicidal Tendencies alvast op te warmen met een heftige
mix van funkrock met een klein beetje metal. Enkele dagen later werd Fishbone
tijdens Kaderock in Den Haag vergezeld door het tweetal. Nu, een jaar later,
ontmoet ik de twee in Paradiso, alwaar ze die avond hun eerste headline show in
Nederland geven. Tijdens de show zullen ze hun tweede album, The French
Bastards, aan het Nederlandse publiek voorstellen.
Nederland staat bekend als springplank naar succes in de rest van Europa. Jullie
lijken echter de tegenovergestelde route te volgen door via Azië de Lage Landen te
willen veroveren. Ik bedoel, everybody is big in Japan, maar jullie speelden na de
release van het eerste album al in Taiwan. Hoe is die bekendheid daar ontstaan?
“We zijn eigenlijk een stel reizigers dat graag muziek maakt en vooral graag mensen ontmoet. Die eerste keer
in Taiwan was via een goede vriend geregeld en heel kleinschalig van opzet. We werden echter opgepikt en
voordat we het wisten volgden er meer landen in Azië. Men is daar blijkbaar gek op muzikanten die
verschillende stijlen combineren. Zij beschouwen ons als een creatieve band, een ‘freakband’, en daar komen
ze graag naar kijken. Wij worden daar gezien als een drummer en gitarist die in het echt zijn verbonden door
de rock en funk. We speelden vorig jaar in China en op Fuji Rock in Japan voor 20.000 toeschouwers.
Binnenkort zullen we daar spelen om het nieuwe album onder de aandacht te brengen. We doen dan festivals,
maar ook kleine clubshows voor een paar honderd bezoekers.”
Opvallend is het artwork van The French Bastards en de prachtige cartoons die bij het album zitten. Wie is die
kunstenaar?
“Het artwork is afkomstig van Chaos, een Taiwanese kunstenaar die ons na een show bezocht om een cartoon
te overhandigen als blijk van waardering voor onze muziek. Toen we hem vroegen wat we hem moesten
betalen keek hij ons niet begrijpend aan. We besloten hem te benaderen voor het tweede album. We stuurden
hem de muziek toe en hij ging daarmee aan de slag. Voor iedere track heeft hij een tekening gemaakt. We
vonden die bij Fuck Michael Jackson en In Love With Lilian Thuram zo leuk dat we die ook voor de merchandise
hebben gebruikt. De t-shirts zijn inmiddels enorm populair.”
In Love With Lilian Thuram is een ode aan de Franse oud-voetballer. Wat is er zo bijzonder aan hem?
“We willen vooral bekendheid geven aan het feit dat Thuram heel veel goed werk doet op politiek gebied. Hij
fungeert als voorbeeld voor de nieuwe generatie van Frankrijk. Dat laatste kunnen we helaas niet zeggen van
onze president Sarkozy, die er met betrekking tot de integratie nogal vreemde ideeën op nahoudt. Hij is nota
bene zelf van buitenlandse afkomst (zijn vader is Hongaars, red).”
...en Fuck Michael Jackson is zeker ook een ode aan iemand die iets met jeugd had?
“(Lachend) Dat is absoluut een ode aan de muzikant.”
Angelo Moore van Fishbone is getekend voor de track French Bastards #2. Wat is zijn rol in jullie muziek?
“Angelo is onze godfather aan wie wij onze naam te danken hebben. Het heeft te maken met ons Franse
accent. Dat maakte hem altijd aan het lachen. Hij verwees dan altijd naar The Pink Panther. Die naam zou
echter teveel problemen opleveren, dus toen werd het Cluzo.”
Het nummer Fuck The Bassplayer van jullie eerste album is tijdens de optredens altijd één van de
hoogtepunten. Wat is dat toch met die bassist?
“Die obsessie stamt uit een vroegere periode, toen we in de oefenruimte altijd moesten wachten op onze
bassist. Op een gegeven moment kwam hij zelfs helemaal niet meer opdagen. Wij waren er toen al van
overtuigd dat we ook zonder hem goed uit de voeten konden met onze stijl, zelfs al is een bas zeer essentieel
in ons genre. We hebben het maar zo gelaten, want het scheelde ook in het overleg. Met twee personen is het
makkelijker beslissingen nemen dan met drie. We zijn nogal een stel eigenwijze French Bastards, snap je?”
tekst Jeroen Bakker foto David Sanchez
Livedata 12 juni Beeckestein Pop, Velsen Noord 29 juni Patronaat, Haarlem 8 juli Exit Festival, Novi Sad 11
augustus Sziget Festival, Boedapest - LIve XS


"The Inspector Cluzo - Southbounds"

It’s been a lightning fast rise to fame for French duo The
Inspector Cluzo who were wowing on the international
circuit immediately after the release of their first album.
Now, they’re set to touch down in WA as part of
Southbound. Student Edge’s music man Evert Freeman
chats to the pair about their rise to fame, Southbound and
The Pink Panther.
Evert: It's a pleasure to meet you guys, where does
today’s grace find you?
The Inspector Cluzo: Yeah nice to meet you too. We are
in Belgium at the moment, recording our second album...
and I’m forced to be outside in the cold, we have bad
coverage here! [laughs]
So, how'd you guys get so big so quick? I mean you started gigging the international scene only weeks after
forming?
I don’t know if we’re big or whatever, but we are in with a good booking agency in France and have the opportunity to
play good places, like festivals in Japan. And we have good connections in Australia, so we played the Blues and Roots
festival last April. On stage we give it our all and people seem to like it. So, I guess it’s 50% the agency and 50% us.
Excellent, excellent... did touring straight away influence your song writing?
Actually whenever we came back home we would write in our own studio. We’ve been recording for a year now in
between gigs.
What’s your favourite atmosphere to gig in festivals or clubs?
It’s hard to say, it depends where you are in the festival, but usually we prefer clubs – you get to share more directly with
the people. Though big festivals are great because of other band, for us I think clubs are better for the feeling with the
people.
Do you ever get up to any shenanigans backstage at festivals?
Yeah, we make friends and have bands come up to us asking for “$#@! Bass Player” t-shirts [laughs].
Attempts to pigeonhole the genre you guys play is pretty hard – it’s some kind of spastic jazz-funk. Where do
you draw your influences?
Well, from all music actually. We like all types of music, as long as there’s soul in it – as long as it’s true. Though mostly
we draw from rock ‘n’ roll, but also a lot of soul because soul makes people feel and we mix it with the power of rock.
Do you ever sit back and find the situation you’re in bizarre, be it gigging in Japan or being known
internationally?
[laughs] yeah, yeah, yeah... Like “wow, it goes so fast” as soon as our first album was released we had the opportunity to
gig South Korea and Japan. It was amazing!
What’s the story behind ‘The Inspector Cluzo’?
It’s a long story, me and Laurent played in a band for 16 years, then it stopped because the other guys were lazy. The
name came from our good friends Fishbone. Their lead singer was all like “hey guys, you should be called The Pink
Panther”, and we said no, but it gave us the idea to be “The Inspector Cluzo”. Also we like The Pink Panther films, the old
ones of course!
Finally, Are you looking forward to playing Southbound (*cough*and perhaps getting me backstage*cough*)?
Of course! - Student Edge


"Inspector Cluzo mix rock, blues, funk — no bass"

Last year, French rock group The Inspector Cluzo played 185 concerts in 23
countries. Despite linguistic and cultural differences between the guitarand-
drums duo and their audiences, they had little difficulty spreading their
basic message: "F-ck the bass player."
A belief shared by both guitarist
Laurent "Malcom" Lacrouts and
drummer Mathieu "Phil" Jourdain, their
humorous "F-ck the bass player"
ideology has become the URL for The
Inspector Cluzo's Web site, a song on
their 2008 eponymous debut and the
slogan for their band T-shirts.
- JAPAN TIMES


Discography

"The Inspector cluzo" (2008 / Ter A Terre)
"The French Bastards" (2010 / Ter A Terre)

Photos

Bio

Three years ago, the former guitarist and drummer of the deadly funk band Wolfunkind decide to start a new project together. Their fucking bass player never shows up at the practice, so they said "fuck the bass player" and start the band as an original funk'n'roll duo, playing rock and groovy music... without a bass. Their old mate Angelo Moore from Fishbone found the first name of the band, "Pink Panther", but they were affraid of legal issues and prefer to be called The Inspector Cluzo, one of the most well-know french caracter in the world. Then came a first LP, "The Inspector Cluzo", recorded and mixed by Stephan Kraemer (Yann Tiersen...) in Belgium. They don't know yet that they will sell 20.000 copies of this album all around the world, touring everywhere in 2009 and playing at the most prestigious festivals (Fuji Rock in Japan, Pentaport in South Korea, Springscream in Taïwan, The Falls and Southbound in Australia, Azkena Festival in Spain, Eurockéeenes in France, Pohoda in Slovakia, Rock For People in Czech Rep...). For a lot of promoters , they're simply one of the best international live act of the year, doing crazy shows, smashing drums randomly and having some "tumades" (1) with some frustrated technicians.
Back in France, they record their second album in Malcom's kitchen (renamed Studio Kitchen), nothing has changed… and everything has changed. Recorded between a good bottle of wine and delicious duck breast by the band himself (and mixed again by Stephan Kraemer), this record is richer than everything they did before (like if they learned a lot of their travels all around the planet), including a beautiful handmade package which reminds us that The Inspector Cluzo is a really indie band. Actually, they do everything by themselves, management, label, booking... trough their own compagny Ter a Terre. Helped by their old mate Angelo Moore (who make a very special spoken word at the end of this album) and the horns of french band Ceux Qui Marchen Debout , the funkiest rock duo of the world (or is it the opposite?) has just delivered a great record, more successful than ever and more sticking to what they used to do on stage, powerful and exciting. This is rock. "Heart and Soul rock".
(1)- Tumade : In Gascon, a word to describe when the guy is hardly fighted by the cow during their typical "course landaise" in Rugby Arena. "Course Landaises" and "Corridas" are the most representative sports in Landes country, where they come from.