MUSIC AND SONG
As well as the traditional music forms which have always been popular, the novel aspect was the advent of a modern Occitan song in the 60’s, mid way between poetry and politics, the leading exponent of which was Claude Martì. The songs of Martì were very popular. His works were used as a reference for hundreds of singer-song writers, thereby producing what was known as «the new Occitan song». Amongst the most famous we can cite Eric Fraj, Jean-Paul Verdier, Patric, Mans de Breish, Rosina, Jacmelina, Maria Rouanet and groups such as Perlinpinpin, Peiraguda or Nadau, and many others. It was a period of major demonstrations against the plan to militarise the Larzac region, the years of the “Volèm viure al pais” movement, it was also the time of the revolt of the vine cultivators in Montredon des Corbières (with two deaths), the time when Martì sung “I commandos della notte”. Two record companies were also established at the time: “Ventadorn” and “Revolum”. But gradually this initial burst of activity came to a halt, for a variety of reasons, but specially due to the desire of the French mass media to ignore a musical trend which was considered as being too «regionalist».
A new impetus was generated in the 90’s, which saw the emergence of both culturally rooted and innovative groups such a Massilia Sound System (Marseilles), Fabulous Troubadours (Toulouse), Ténarèze (Gascony), Nux Vomica (Nice), Lou Dalfin (Occitan valleys). Through both traditional music and world music the Occitan groups of today are inspired by a great ideal: that of de-centralization based on the re-birth of various cultural identities against a more extensive European framework.