There are free-roaming geese honking in the background when vocalist/guitarist Laurent and drummer Mathieu of blues rockers Inspector Cluzo call from the farm they run in rural Gascony, France. Somewhere in the background, Miguel, their favourite goat (and mascot for their record label) is munching his way through the hedgerows. Just back from the local farmer’s market where they’ve been selling their avian companions’ eggs, it’s pretty clear that this is neither your average band. Nor your average farm.
“Our farming is renewable and noble, especially now with the climate changing,” says Laurent. “It’s more important than playing rock’n’roll because we’re on the frontline of agro-ecology. So, it’s a good balance with the band, but it’s constant work.” As they release their ninth album, Horizons, here are the things to know about the bucolic bluesmen…
They take a rock’n’roll approach to farming
Both men studied physics at university and combined their knowledge with their grandparents’ way of farming on their 15-hectare plot where they grow organic wheat and corn. As the title of one track on the new album points out, Running A Family Farm Is More Rock Than Playing Rock’N’Roll. “This is working,” says Laurent of their methods. “Our goal is to feed people with no more chemicals, no GMOs. We need animals to fertilise the soil, so we need to save them. There’s a lot of greenwashing out there.”
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