Target reached!
Tchi mèrveilleux!!! We have reached our funding goal of £2500! Thank you SO much to...
Badlabecques - help save Jèrriais through music
Jersey, Channel Islands
Aim
Please help save the endangered language of Jèrriais, by supporting us to make our next album. Badlabecques are a pop-folk band from Jersey.
Nous-y-v'là! We're cooking up a great new album of Jèrriais songs in our unique pop-folk style, but need YOUR help to get it out there.
Our Ethos
We're a pop-folk band with a difference - we sing in the endangered language of Jèrriais (an ancient dialect of Norman, unique to our home island of Jersey in the Channel Islands).
The ethos of the band is to promote Jèrriais as a living part of Jersey's cultural identity, not just as 'heritage', but as something we can enjoy and be proud of as we move forwards into the future.
Our first album
Impact of Our First Album
Our debut album not only put Badlabecques firmly on the cultural landscape of Jersey, but made a significant contribution to the profile of Jersey’s native but endangered language – Jèrriais.
Responses to the first album have been very positive across the board - from the general public, to the media, various official bodies and the Jèrriais community itself. Beyond Jersey, we have had CD orders from places as diverse France, UK, Germany, New Zealand, USA and China.
BBC Radio Jersey plays music from the album regularly, and it has also been featured on other radio stations and local TV in Jersey, France and across the Channel Islands.
Badlabecques have consequently been invited to perform at various venues, festivals and cultural events all over Jersey as well as Guernsey, Sark, and France on several occasions.
Badlabecques are members of Genuine Jersey
The album, and Badlabecques’ work in general, has also attracted interest from academic circles in the fields of Linguistics and Ethnomusicology, with academic papers featuring the band being published in England, New Zealand, and Japan. Badlabecques’ lead singer Kit Ashton has recently been awarded AHRC funding to complete a PhD in Music, looking at how music can contribute to safeguarding endangered languages, with a field study focus on Jersey.
Jersey Tourism featured Badlabecques in 2014, stating:
"This must-see band is breathing new life into traditional Jersey songs with their infectious blend of pop and folk music. It’s cool, it’s catchy and it’s all performed in Jèrriais.”
German airline Air Berlin have also recently featured Badlabecques as a cover story (August 2016), representing the band, our island, and our language to an international audience of 3 million people.
Air Berlin Magazine front cover August 2016
None of this would have happened without our first album, and now after four years a new collection of songs is well overdue.
Jersey Heritage Annual 2014
Community Outreach
With ten members of the band, we're all about community! Our aim is to make Jèrriais a fun and exciting element of our local culture.
Our music has been used in local primary schools as part of the cultural studies programme, and Jersey Heritage featured the band in its 2014 Annual (complete with a cartoon caricature!), including a QR code which linked to an online sing-along video (using a song from the album).
Badlabecques at the Island Games 2015
Given the ethos of the band, we were very proud to perform at the opening ceremony of the Natwest Island Games 2015. The finale of that event was a collaboration with Les Amis Choir (adults with Learning Disabilities), along with the Games Choir, the Fleur de Lys Signing Choir, and the Jersey Youth Orchestra. In total over a hundred performers were involved in a performance of The Beatles ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’, in collective celebration of local identity and community spirit, made all the more powerful by singing in our native language as well as English.
Not long after the Ceremony we received a thank you letter from Shaun Findlay, Managing Director of Les Amis, which said it was “an amazing experience for the people involved”:
“Rest assured, the buzz and excitement that has been going around Les Amis in the past week will continue for some time, and it is credit to your vision and inspiration to involve adults with learning disabilities and showcasing Jersey as an inclusive island.”
Our next album will include a recording of this song featuring Les Amis Choir, who have already done a great job of recording their part.
We see this album as a community project designed to excite and connect with new audiences as well as our established fan base, from schools to retirement homes, pubs and clubs to high profile events. Both the content of the music and our marketing approach aims to reach as broad a range of people as possible with our vision of Jèrriais as a positive and creative aspect of Jersey culture.
Artwork by Matt Falle Art
The New Album - details and plans
We have almost finished recording our new album, which will be titled 'Cocolîncheux!' (which means cockadoodledoo!) and includes new songs we have either adapted or written and performed over the last few years.
The material is a mix of traditional Jèrriais songs (like ‘Vive La Compagnie’), translated cover versions (e.g. The Beatles ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’), and original material – often based on well-known Jèrriais poems (e.g. ‘T’en r’Souveins-tu’ by EJ Luce); all of which we will produce in our typical ‘pop-folk’ style. We have also been working closely with Jèrriais poet Geraint Jennings, who has provided some wonderful lyrics and spoken word samples; and a few songs feature special guest performances from flautist Naomi West, and violinist Vinny Donnelly.
We are recording with Badger Productions in Jersey, and the album will be mixed by Neil Costello (James Taylor Quartet, Katie Melua), and mastered by Streaky (Cheryl Crow, Adele) - so we're sure it will sound great.
We have some great original artwork from Jersey artist Matt Falle, which is going on the CD, but also available in various forms as part of the pledge rewards.
We will have it all done and dusted by January 2017 and the CD will be available from March.
Pledge Rewards
We've got some LOVELY rewards for your pledges so here's a quick run down:
A £1.00 pledge will get you a thank you from us and a warm Jèrriais glow in your heart.
A £5.00 pledge will get you a thank you from us and a digital copy of the album.
A £10.00 pledge will get you a thank you and a CD copy of the new album 'Cocolîncheux', complete with full translations of the lyrics and artwork by Matt Falle Art.
A £25.00 pledge will get you the above PLUS: a CD copy of our first album 'Hèque Badlabecques' as well as a personalised thank you postcard, signed by the band, AND a free ticket to our album launch in March 2017.
A £50.00 pledge will get you the above PLUS: a pair of free tickets to our album launch in March 2017 AND a sexy organic cotton T-shirt featuring the 'Cocolîncheux' artwork.
A £150.00 pledge will get you the above PLUS: a high quality A3 size fine art print of the 'Cocolincheux' artwork by Matt Falle Art.
A £250.00 pledge will get you the above PLUS: a pair of VIP tickets to our album launch in March 2017, including the aftershow party featuring a very special guest DJ - AND a bottle of (decent!) champagne to toast with the band!
A £500.00 pledge will get you the above PLUS: your very own mini-Badlabecques gig - a trio or quartet from the band will perform for you in person at a convenient time and place!
A £1000.00 pledge will get you the above PLUS: your very own Badlabecques gig - with the whole load of us! All ten members of the band will perform for you in person at a convenient time and place...
So now it's up to you... please pledge what you can and be part of the story of Badlabecques, the story of Jèrriais, and the story of Jersey's unique and special culture.
Mèrcie bein des fais pouôr vot' souôtchein!
This project successfully funded on 30th November 2016