San Salvador, a vocal sextet from France’s Massif Central, sing in Occitan – but you certainly don’t need to understand the language to enjoy their Provencal polyphony, heart-warming harmonies and propulsive percussion.

‘… rich chords, call-and-response, drone-backed dissonances, microtonally inflected incantations, complex counterpoint, hocketing, propulsive unison refrains — delivered with handclaps, drumbeats and full-throated vehemence.’ New York Times

Three women and three men with a tambourine and two big drums, they describe their music as a search for universal folklore. Their compositions use the Occitan language as a rhythmic instrument, combining poetry with hypnotic vocal harmonies cascading over shifting patterns of compelling percussion to create their own universe. It’s a joyful quest that sees them following every path from the crossroads of trance, choral punk, global vocalese and math-rock constructions; modern Occitan troubadours at large in the world.

Their performance at last summer’s WOMAD festival was considered one of the highlights.