Although dance, trance, a smile on the lips, bodies dripping with sweat and eyes flashing with vital energy are at the core of Cissy Street’s music, their new album comes tinged with a bittersweet after-taste; a steely beat concealed in the groove. For this music echoes the Black Panther’s snarl – exudes the very same sweat of toil and struggle – recalls James Brown’s howl: “Say it Loud! I’m Black and I’m Proud. Musical revolution joins hands with revolution in the streets: Cold Sweat, one of the biggest hits in funk history, was released the year before the riots of ‘68. It was a reflection of those tumultuous times. And it’s from this dimension that the Lyon-based band draw their energy. In its revolutionary cry and its universal nature. The titles from this album are a testament.
“Tric!” means “strike” in old Lyonnais dialect and would be heard in the rallying cries of the printer’s revolt in 1539. The same cry for liberty was shared by oppressed African-Americans and “canuts” (silkworkers from Lyon). That same cry resounded when the Black Indians of New Orleans appropriated American Indian symbols in their protests.