Manchester 5 piece ska band, Madame Claude, have just released their newest two tone, rocksteady, track – Gendarmes. Consisting of everything you could want in a ska song, this band has created a tune full of syncopated rhythm, upbeat instrumental, and reggae-like vocals making this track one of the best ska songs I have come across in a long time!
The band formed in 2021 and have supported two-tone bands such as The Selector and The Beat where Pauline Black actually credited the band by saying they were one of the most exciting and original ska band she had witnessed in years. Having listened to the band, I can understand why she would say this, these guys are worth checking out if you don’t know them!
Gendarmes reminds me a lot of something that would come out in the late 1970s to early 1980s, the intro to the song starts off slow, building up into that pure skanking type beat with lyrics such as ‘policeman on my back’ and ‘they put us in the car and took us away’ to follow. The vocals from Frank Williams scratch my bran in the right places, they are so raspy and just roll off the tongue easily, in other words – it is a super catchy song that makes me want to skank until I can’t anymore. You can hear influences like The Specials and Bad Manners in this track but the band are so uniquely individual you can tell they have put their own twist on ska.
Madame Claude are supporting Gentlemen’s Dub Club in Manchester on Friday 11 April but have also released tickets for their own headline gigs. So if you are looking for a new undeniably talented ska band, Madame Claude is most definitely the band for you!
FIND MORE FROM MADAME CLAUDE HERE
FIND MORE BANDS COMING OUT OF MANCHESTER HERE