The brainchild of MAP rapper Kaddour Haddadi, HK & les Saltimbanks became one of France's most popular politically conscious outfits thanks to their tales of social inequality and exclusion and eclectic fusion of reggae, chaabi, and blues. Self-described as "the little brother of Zebda," accordionist Jeoffrey Arnone, mandolinist Cheb Meddhy, guitarist Jimmy Laurent, drummer Sebastien Wacheux, bassist Eric Janson, and comedian Said Toufik joined forces with HK in 2006 and released their critically acclaimed debut album, Citoyen du Monde, in 2011. After seeing their track "On Lache Rien" adopted by the French workers on strike against the Sarkozy-Woerth plan to raise the retirement age and appearing on Tournée Générale's Demain, C'est Quand?, they followed it up a year later with Les Temps Modernes. ~ Jon O'Brien