At the top of the charts in France for 12 weeks from June to September 1998, La tribu de Dana was the second best-selling song in France that year, behind Belle, from the musical Notre-Dame de Paris.
The popularity of the piece by the group Manau quickly crossed the border, and even the ocean: elsewhere in Europe, notably in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as in Quebec, the chorus plays on the radio over and over. .
“I wasn’t prepared for that,” recalls Martial Tricoche, lead singer of the duo he formed with Cédric Soubiron. “I come from the factory. I never thought one day I could live from my passion, “adds the one La Presse met during his visit to Montreal last May.
How did these rap druids manage to captivate so many people with their piece? Part of that success is “that incredible chorus, that traditional melody,” Martial Tricoche believes. Because, for those who are still unaware of it, La tribu de Dana takes on the air of an old Breton song, Tri martolod.
Professor of musicology at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), Vanessa Blais-Tremblay also thinks that this element has helped to charm many people, even if they did not know the original song.
“To be associated with this piece, which had enough melodic potential to last through the centuries, was interesting. And it was successful,” she says.
The professor also points out that before The tribe of Dana, the public had never heard of Celtic rap. “Rap, as a musical genre, is generally social protest music. […] The historico-fantasy elements that appear in The Tribe of Dana, are found much more often in the subgenres associated with metal and with the music of video games and role-playing games. So there’s a really interesting and unique crossover here in terms of musical genre that appealed to mass audiences. »
Even though the years have passed, the story of these giant Celtic warriors remains in the collective imagination, in France as here. People of all generations know the lyrics. “When I saw children between 10 and 15 years old sing it by heart when they weren’t born when it came out, I said to myself: ‘Something is going on'”, testifies Martial Tricoche.
“It’s an iconic song,” believes Virginie Fisette, who, along with her partners at the Tamélo clothing store, launched a sweater featuring the popular refrain. “For our generation, The Tribe of Dana is a megaclassic,” adds the late 1980s-born. the company’s top sellers whose designs highlight strong cultural references from the 1980s and 1990s.
In 2023, La tribu de Dana is experiencing a new life thanks to a cover by opera singer Vincent Niclo. If Martial Tricoche and he stopped in Quebec in May, it was also to promote this version which appears on the album Opéra celte by the French tenor. Why did he want to include The Tribe of Dana on this album? “I experienced the Manau tidal wave like everyone else,” replies Vincent Niclo, indicating that he did not see himself drawing on Celtic music without surrounding himself with artists who marked the genre.
In the past, Martial Tricoche received other similar offers and refused them all. But this time it was different. “I was really pleasantly surprised when I listened to the track. […] I thought his voice helped the story. It was getting epic. »
Next fall, Manau will release a new album, his eleventh career. If the group has never returned to success as great as that of La tribu de Dana, Martial Tricoche is not disappointed. “We’re not on the freeway anymore. We are on the side roads, but we are very happy,” he says.
The rapper also refuses the label of “one-hit wonder” that some attach to the group. Winner of a Victoire de la musique, the album Panique celtique, on which we find La tribu de Dana, sold better than the single, underlines the one who would like to make a first tour in Quebec in the coming months.
The fact remains that in concert, it is The tribe of Dana that the crowd wants to hear. Does he still enjoy singing it? “I don’t sing it anymore,” he replies with a mischievous smile. From the first notes, I hold out the microphone. And that’s just emotion. »
The emotion of a nostalgic crowd that raps about the exploits of a king of the past.
