For the planet, Shaka Ponk says “farewell” to his fans with a series of concerts in Paris

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“It’s the end.” Around twenty years after their formation in Paris, the crazy electro-rock group, Shaka Ponk is giving its final concerts until this Saturday, November 30, 2024 in the capital before its programmed shutdown. A radical decision taken in accordance with ecological convictions that the members of the group intend to continue to defend.

“We never would have imagined that”

Soon the guitars will vibrate with their last chords and the monkey Goz, the virtual mascot, will set off towards other horizons. This is what the six members of Shaka Ponk decided, after a tour of more than 60 dates bringing together more than 1,5 million of spectators.

“The Final F* Up tour” ends with four sold-out dates, from November 27 to 30, 2024, at the Accor Arena. “It’s like saying goodbye,” confides to AFP Samaha Samencountered in the group's historic lair, in the heart of the capital. “We are 1,000% but with a lot of emotions. This is what I feel the most. »

“And a little anxiety too…”, bounces back Franother voice of Shaka Ponk, evoking a “complex, psychological and emotional tug of war” in this decision that they nevertheless thought carefully about. “We find ourselves in a paradoxical situation, where we stop doing what we love to do. When we started this group, we never would have imagined that,” he adds.

The last show shown in the cinema

But the der des ders cannot only be synonymous with tears and knotted stomachs: Shaka Ponk wants to prove his electro-rock energypunk trend, which has always characterized him.

The training, which exploded in 2011 with the album “The Geeks and the Jerkin' Socks” – third opus including the hits “I'm picky”, “Sex ball” and “My name is stain” – was above all designed for live performance. All the more reason to make this finale a great celebration shared with the public.

For fans unable to attend, the last concert will be broadcast in the cinema during a single screening, on 3 avril. And their latest album, “Shaka Ponk”, has just been released in a reissue enriched with previously unreleased material. The group denounces “a lack of meaning” (“D’essence”) and calls to join the fight (“Resign”) at their side.

“Be in sync with our convictions”

“Shaka” has never made a secret of his ecological and social values deep. “I think what binds us is also a need to be in sync with our convictions. At some point, it’s complicated to tell people to respect the planet, when you yourself have a professional activity that is polluting,” observes Samaha Sam.

Despite its efforts to make its own “as eco-responsible as possible” on tour, from the hunt for plastics to vegan meals including the refusal of certain brands not compatible with its positioning, the group came up against environmental impact of the movement of thousands of spectators, a key but unchangeable parameter.

“Public speech”

Their initial concept, that of the monkey who explains to man the ineptitude of a happiness which would reside in “overconsumption and social elevation”gradually appeared to be out of step with their success in the music industry.

“It’s a kind of failure in the sense that we don’t have a solution. And as long as there is no solution, we stop,” summarizes Sam, who specifies that this choice is “their own” and that it is not a question no pointing fingers the other artists.

If each member is free to decide their future projects, Fr et Samaha Sam intend to invest more time in favor of “awareness”, convinced that there are still “things to create”, solutions to invent, particularly in the entertainment industry, and a “public voice” to be heard, in particular via the sounding board of social networks.

Will they stop the music altogether? “I think that music, art in short, allows us to convey important messages,” believes Samaha Sam. For his part, Frah is more clear-cut: “We have to put down the guitar and we try to help the firefighters. It has become more urgent. »

This commitment will go through The Freaksa collective that they set up, made up of artists and personalities mobilized for the planet.

With AFP.

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