Jazz Archives

4.5 stars.Another new Zeuhl band from France(keep them coming) that is impressing me big time.Of course Rhodes piano,chunky bass and dynamite drumming will do that for me.Some excellent guitar work here too,and our own Udi Koomran also mastered this album.We get four long tracks ranging from about 12 minutes to 15 minutes and one short 3 1/2 minute tune. ACT I is divided into three parts. "Part 1" opens with lots of atmosphere as piano and guitar join in.It kicks in after 2 1/2 minutes with drums and guitar leading.The bass is excellent once this track settles in.Check out the guitar before 4 minutes ! Some female vocal melodies as it settles more.The vocals start to get more intense bringing MAGMA to mind.Male vocal melodies 8 1/2 minutes in as the sound becomes more upbeat.Great sound before 10 1/2 minutes as the guitar,bass,drums and keys dominate. "Part 2" is mellow with sparse piano then female vocal melodies.It kicks in as these contrasts continue. "Part 3" has some killer bass on it as the tempo picks up quickly.The guitar is shredding the soundscape briefly a minute in(more later too).A calm before 2 1/2 minutes but it builds quickly with fat bass lines.Themes are repeated until we get these melancholic vocal melodies and sound after 6 minutes until it kicks back in at 13 1/2 minutes where it becomes very Zeuhlish. "Part 4" is mellow with female vocal melodies and sparse keys.It kicks in after 4 1/2 minutes as vocals continue.The tempo and mood continue to shift.Guitar before 10 minutes then it turns dark with outbursts of sound. ACT II "Part 1" opens with the piano playing slowly.Heaviness comes and goes until it stays after 3 minutes.It settles some 4 minutes in.It's building before 6 minutes followed by some nice guitar.Intense stuff and the bass is huge.The Zeuhlish vocals are back late.Nice. Please check this album out and also XING SA's new one.Zeuhl fans should be hunting these two recordings down pronto.

1. Act I - Part 1 (12:16)

2. Act I - Part 2 (3:36)

3. Act I - Part 3 (15:12)

4. Act I - Part 4 (11:58)

5. Act II - Part 1 (12:35)

- Carole Sauvage / Fender Rhodes

- Yannick Duchene / guitar, vocals

- William Pwaelzik / bass

- Christophe Gratien / drumsc

Yochk'o Seffer is a Hungarian born musician who is among the finest winds player (mainly alto saxophone) in the history of progressive music. After spending much of the 1960s in Paris playing with a host of jazz musicians in a variety of clubs, he was recruited by Christian Vander in the early days of Magma and can be found on the album "1001 Degres Centigrade", as well as the two Univeria Zekt recordings. He soon left that band and with ex-Magma keyboardist Francois Cahen founded the band Zao, with whom he appeared on most of the band's recordings. During this time he also had stints with a improvisational jazz group named Perception and a jazz-rock group named Speed Limit. After recording Zao's fourth album, Seffer departed the band to embark on a number of solo efforts, but always associated with a group name. His first and perhaps most important such endeavour was Neffesh Music, which saw the recording of three LPs in the late 1970s - "Delire", "Ima", and "Ghilgoul". Their style is distinctly zeuhl but reflects Seffer's vision of his musical roots and the musicianship is nothing less than first rate. In the early 1980s Seffer embarked on another trio of albums with the title "Chromophonie", and his latest effort "YOG" commenced in 1996 with the release of the album "Pitchipoy". Yochk'o Seffer has collaborated with a panoply of wonderful musicians over his decades-long musical career and produced some of the finest zeuhl and jazz oriented music one will find on this site.

:::Review by Yochk'o Seffer official website:::

Yochk'o Seffer - Neffesh Music: Délire (1976)

1. Heart (6:30)
2. Jonetsu for Judith (5:53)
3. Orkana (6:25)
4. Streledzia (2:40)
5. Delire (13:20)
6. Ima (1ere partie) (4:02)

Credits
Cello - Claudine Lasserre (tracks: A2, B1, B2)
Saxophone [Tenor], Vocals, Piano,Synthesizer [Mini Moog & Arp Odc-solo),Kamuka,Electric Piano, Clarinet [Bass] - Yochk'O Seffer
Viola - Françoise Douchet (tracks: A2, B1, B2)
Violin [1st] - Michèle Margand (tracks: A2, B1, B2)
Violin [2nd] - Marie-Françoise Viaud (tracks: A2, B1, B2)
Percussion - Jean-My Truong

Between 69 and 72, Magma was boiling kettle of French musical talent, but starting from that moment and under Gomelski's impulse (now supposedly rid of Julie Driscoll that had married Keith Tippett ;-))), Vander will take complete control of Magma's musical destiny, leaving many musicians a bit frustrated. Indeed Faton Cahen and Yochk'o Seffer left the band and created the first of Magma's many offshoots. Playing in Seffer's other group Perception, they hired Jean-My Truong a Vietnamese-born drummer that knew how to pound the skins and then Joel Dugrenot bassist behind Jacques Dutronc, who will bring Mauricia Platon and her amazing voice to the group.
After some tryout, the violin was handed to Rigaux, although some well-known musos tried for the post. Recorded in six days in March 73, the debut album came with artwork from Yochk'o himself and was released on the Vertigo label.
Musically, the group is still in the Kobaian territory, especially with the opening Marochsek, where Cahen's brooding piano line provides much menace behind the no-less impressive scatting of Platon that provides much drama. In the background "Dud" Dugrenot's bass is all over the soundscape and Seffer's sax is always waiting behind the corner for the best moment to intervene. Halfway through the track, it suddenly speeds up, gets nervous then dissonant (Seffer and Rigaud's violin) and finishes in fireworks. Cahen's Ataturc is much lighter, less Kobaian, but it doesn't mean more accessible as the song privileges almost strident sounds that could irritate some. Funnily enough Seffer's Ronach seems to pick up exactly where Ataturc left things at, but it goes in a different direction, although remaining in the semi-strident mode via Platon scatting vocals.
The flipside opens with Cahen's Atart a track where Truong's drumming shows all of his mastery over his kit. Seffer's Soup is probably the album centrepiece, drawing the group into a frenzied pace down boulevard, often digressing a bit to allow cruising the side lanes For Platon, Faton and his own sax to explore some collateral space. For this first album, Seffer dominates the songwriting with 3 songs to Cahen's two shorter ones, while Dud signs the closing Satanyia that starts on bass drones then explodes with Rigaux's violin and Platon's scatting sounding like Louis Armstrong this time, then going almost quiet, returning to the drones and more scatting.
Although a lot of Zao fan like to claim that there are not that many similarities with magma's music, it is really clear that the Kobaian heritage is damn heavy one to unload, and throughout their career, Zao will bear the unofficial Magma #2 label, no matter how unfair it might seem to all concerned. Let's face Zao's Z=7L is a pure gem of Zeuhl music that happens to be slightly more jazz rock, but the Orff, Coltrane and Stravinsky influences that haunt Vander's mind are also present in Zao's debut.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Zao - Z=7L (1973)

1. Marochsek (7:13)
2. Ataturc (5:49)
3. Ronach (4:39)
4. Atart (3:31)
5. La Soupe (7:20)
6. Satanyia (6:46)


Credits
- François Cahen / electric piano, piano
- Yochk'o Seffer / saxophone, clarinet
- Joël Dugreno / bass
- Jean-Yves Rigaud / electric violin
- Jean-My Truong / drums
- Mauricia Platon / vocals

5 suns is the 6th CD offering and the 5th album from British trio Guapo, and for me the first (and so far only) 5 star prog album of the 3rd millennium. Founder members Matt Thompson and Dave Smith were joined by keyboard player Daniel O'Sullivan a couple of years ago and they have coalesced into a musical force on a par with King Crimson of 1973/4, the Vander/Top edition of Magma or Univers Zero circa Ceux du Dehors. If they were simply replaying the darker prog sounds of 30 years ago, no matter how well, they would not justify a 5 star rave write up. What makes Guapo stand out is that they have taken the original blueprint and made it sound contemporary - they stand up well next to GYBE as well as to Magma. This is probably down to their instrumentation - they are essentially a Fender Rhodes/Bass/Drums trio, which at times calls Magma and Mahavishnu Orchestra to mind, but they also employ electronica and effects which give a more up to date sound. They also avoid lengthy solos and unnecessary noodling, and make great use of quiet/loud dynamics.
The main body of the album is taken up with 5 Suns parts 1 - 5, although really it's one continuous 46 minute dark, disturbing epic. It starts off with the sound of a gong, not unlike Mahavishnu's first album, but the rhythm section soon kick in and we're away on a nightmare journey through dank subterranean passages, with the sounds of distant pursuers in our ears and no exit in sight. Dave Smith is a remarkable and extremely physical drummer, more emphatically a rocker than Daniel Denis or Christian Vander but with a more subtle touch than Keith Moon or John Bonham. Matt Thompson is an agile bassist, equally capable of pushing the beat forward or playing melodically or both simultaneously. Together they have the ability to play the kind of rapid fire, stop-start rhythms that Ruins specialise in. Daniel O'Sullivan mostly plays chords and arpeggios on the Fender Rhodes, using other instruments to bleed disturbing noises into the mix. Tempos speed up and slow down, and finally the whole thing ends as it began with Dave Smith's gong.
Had that been the whole album it would still have merited 5 stars, but after a minute's silence we are treated to two further tracks, Mictlan and Topan. Whilst they don't exactly pull on party hats and start a singalong, these additional tracks do show a more melodic, jazzy side to Guapo's muse. Daniel O'Sullivan in particular gets to cut loose on Mictlan, which also has a pleasant snatch of Mellotron thrown in for good measure.
5 Suns is essential listening for anybody who is wondering whether progressive rock has a future. Hopefully, Guapo have plenty more like this in store.

:::Review by Syzygy:::
 

Guapo - Five Suns (2004)

1. Five Suns - Part 1 (4:31)
2. Five Suns - Part 2 (10:19)
3. Five Suns - Part 3 (10:30)
4. Five Suns - Part 4 (12:57)
5. Five Suns - Part 5 (7:55)
6. [untitled] (1:00)
7. Mictlan (8:58)
8. Topan (6:37)

Credits
- Daniel O'Sullivan / Fender Rhodes, organ, Mellotron, harmonium, guitar, electronics
- Matt Thompson / bass, guitar, electronics
- Dave Smith / drums, percussion

Eskaton's third album (including their 4 Visions that was never on disc, but only on cassette) sees the band losing a bit its Magma fascination and renews the Zeuhl genre. Should you ever want to convert a French-speaking person not particularly prone to prog or Zeuhl music, I suggest that you try this one, because in some ways it is quite accessible. Line-up wise, violinist Patrick Lemercier who had come in with Ardeur is gone, so the group is back to the core six player including the two female singers Amara Tahir (the brunette) and Paule Kleynnaert (the blonde) and brother Marc Rozenberg on male vocals. Still unable to interest a major label with their superb music, Eskaton recorded this album in Sept 82 at home and released it on Eleanor Productions (as was Ardeur), and used a grim eye artwork with a digital time clock, giving it a post-atomic feeling, which the band confirms.
Opening the album (I will talk of the CD, not the vinyl, because the track order was purposely changed by the group) FX doesn't seem to have brought that much less Magma overtones, but things changes quite quickly with Les Deux Trucs, a hilariously- written "screw you" theme, and Automute (a story of mutation for protection), both being funkier that was Eskaton had gotten used to and more Crimson-esque (the Belew era). Simplicius and Danse Des Feux are even more jazz-rock, planet Kobaia was eclipsed during recording of these tracks, even if the scatting chants still bear a slight trace. Mort De Tristans starts out on a gloomy almost dronal keyboard. The rest of the tracks are more or less a funky Zeuhlian jazz-rock with accessible and funny vocals/lyrics. The album-closing Paranthese is a slow electric piano instrumental.
The Soleil Zeuhl label reissue also comes with five bonus tracks from their fourth album Icare that was never released and although you can hear the difference with Fiction, they are strongly Eskatonesque as well, and make a lovely and valuable addition to Fiction. Actually Gilles Rozenberg left the band in 84 prior to recording Icare, and much of the band's drive was lost, even if they remained active until the late 80's, before finally folding. Musicien was recorded in 83 and is probably the most Belew-era Crimson funky track on the album. The next four tracks are from 85, recorded for Icare. Generally, Kobaia has fled the galaxy (except for the vocals) and the music is very 80-ish, but escaping the worst trends of that dreaded decade. Only the lengthy Le Cri reminds of earlier times.
This Cd reissue is absolutely essential to Zeuhl and Eskaton fans (and at least as much as Ardeur), because it showed that the genre could move away from its Kobaian roots, a bit like Zao had managed to unveil but never confirm. Along with Ardeur, a must for Zeuhl fans.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Eskaton - Fiction (1983) (2005 Soleil Zeuhl reissue)

1- FX 6:35
2- Les Deux Trucs 4:10
3- Automute 4:46
4- Simplicius 6:55
5- La Danse Des Feux 4:03
6- La Mort De Tristan 4:25
7- Le Cimema 3:28
8- Plus Et Moins 3:38
9- Parenthese 2:03

Bonus Tracks

10- Le Musicien 4:37
11- Marcel 4:33
12- Le Chant 4:13
13- Le Bruit 4:18
14- Le Cri 9:02

Credits
- Andre Bernardi / bass
- Paule Klaynnaert / vocals
- Gerard Konig / drums
- Gilles Rozenberg / guitar, organ, synth
- Marc Rozenberg / vocals, piano, synthetiseur
- Amara Tahir / vocals

ESKATON have slimmed down from an 8 piece band to a 6 piece band for this recording.There are guest musicians adding violin,piano and guitar,although the piano and guitar were both played on the final two tracks that weren't originally on this album,but were the "a" and "b" sides of a single the band released. The first song "Ardeur" is an uptempo track with steady drums and vocal melodies right off the bat.We get some guest violin melodies as well.The song calms right down with some organ before reverting back to the original melody.Good song. "Couvert De Gloire" features keys and vocals that sound especially good 1 1/2 minutes in.These two ladies can sing! The song ends in dramatic fashion with a collage of sounds.This is my least favourite song here,but it's still well done. "Pierre Et L'Ange" is another uptempo song with drums,vocals and piano leading the way.Synths are prominant late,but check out the melody 2 minutes in. "Attente" was also on the "4 Visions" album and is catchy with a great sound.The drums,synths,vocals and piano shine.The vocal lines late in the song are fantastic. "Dagon" has a spacey intro with pulsating keys,vocals and light drums eventually taking over.The vocals and keys join each other in a wonderful arrangment.The song breaks out before 5 1/2 minutes as a good beat with great drumming leads the way.It's hard not to move to this song at this point.Originally this was the final song on the album and i can understand why. "Un Certain Passage" is mellow to begin with as violin,vocals and keys create the soundscape.Eventually the vocals,light drums and violin make such a wonderful melody,so uplifting. The song then starts to intensify before settling back down to end it. "Eskaton" is the other song that was on "4 Visions".This is my favourite, with the ANEKDOTEN-like guitar melodies that come and go.This song has a great sound to it and it's also heavier.I also love the way the two vocalsists are singing different parts at the same time.Just an amazing song. The first bonus track is a definite let down after hearing "Eskaton".Good bass lines though and the keys and drums are certainly active. "If" opens with the sound of wind blowing as organ comes in and the beat becomes relentless.The vocals come and go,mostly they just go.This is a very good song from the band,it must have been the "a" side single. Yukorin the Zeuhl expert, when comparing this album to "4 Visions" said "I prefer the rougher,younger sister "Ardeur". And it's hard for me not to agree.They both are "must haves" as far as i'm concerned.And how can you pick one sister over the other? Pick them both up.

1. Ardeur (2:33)

2. Couvert de gloire (4:28)

3. Pierre et l'ange (4:04)

4. Attente (6:38)

5. Dagon (10:07)

6. Un certain passage (6:50)

7. Eskaton (6:05)

bonus tracks from EP

8. Le chant de la terre (6:25)

9. If (4:24)

- Andre Bernardi / bass

- Paule Klaynnaert / voices

- Amara Tahir / voices

- Gerard Konig / drum

- Gilles Rozenberg / guitar, organ and synth

- Marc Rozenberg / piano fender, acoustic piano

- Patrick Lemercier / violin on 1 and 6

- Eric Guillaume / KB on bonus tracks

- André Blesing / guitars on bonus tracks

Eider Stellaire was founded in 1980 by drummer Michel Le Bars which played in Offering. The group had a previous incarnation under the name of Astarte, in which were 3 members of Eider's lineup - Michel Le Bars (drums), Patrick Sinergy (bass) and Jean-Claude Delachat (guitar). This lineup existed for 3 years. They separated in the beginning of 1980 and reformed at the end of that year as Eider Stellaire with several new members. Pierre-Gerard Hirne (piano, organ) was able to perform on piano the new musical ideas they wanted to develop. Veronique Perrault joined in as a vocalist. This line up along with Marrie-Anne Boda (flute, vocals) and Michel Moindre (saxophone) as guests, recorded their first and excellent self titled album. This album had the sound they were after but several more lineup changes occurred. Pierre Minvielle entered as the keyboards player, Ann Stewart (Shub Niggurath) became the vocalist, Frank Coulaud joined forces with Le Bars as percussionist and finally Marie-Anne Le Bars played the flute. This lineup recorded the second album released in 1986 and also named Eider Stellaire (therefore it is referred to as Eider II). Though perceived as more accessible than the first one, those two albums define the unique sound of Elder Stellaire: The Zeuhl influence from Magma (prominent bass and drums parts) spiced up with fierceness, only not as theatrical and somewhat similar to Eskaton's approach, and with a generous amount of jazz-rock. They recorded their third and last album called Eider III in 1987. Their albums have not yet been released on CD and the vinyl records are hard to come by and expensive. The first two albums are highly recommended for Zeuhl fans, especially those into Eskaton.

:::Review by Assaf Vestin:::

Eider Stellaire - Eider Stellaire III (1987)

1. Nihil (10:23)
2. L'Encre des Litanies (10:23)

Side B
3. Sans Repos (9:42)

Credits
- Isabelle Nuffer / piano
- Franck Coulard / electric piano
- Michel Le Bars / drums
- Jean-Claude Delachat / guitar
- Patrick Singery / bass

A relaxed lysergic stream meandering through an ancietn rockface, Archaia belong to that magical category of bands that having released only one full length to limited acclaim before disbanding, became known and renowned thanks to the advent of the internet. This release doesn't share an awful lot in common with traditional Zeuhl, whilst the bass is the strongest link and some of the melodic themes are recognisable this is without a doubt a psychedelic release. This psychedelic component is very strong yet isn't easily definable as it is largely the sum of it's parts. The production definitely plays a large role though, it is reasonably lo-fi in that there isn't a lot of low end and there is a lot of fuzzed out guitar and in general it is very distant and sparse sounding - delicate would perhaps be an appropriate term (the percussion only approach turns out to be genius in this regard). There is also a palpable malaise which permeates the music, this turned out to be a stoner classic because it's a record that actually relates to the feeling of being stoned unlike any record I've encountered.
I strongly recommend this album, it is one of those weird unique little albums that fills a place in your musical life that nothing else really does, a tranquil ther-worldly piece of music.

:::Review by FruMp:::

Archaia  - Archaia (1977)

1. Soleil Noir (4:35)
2. L'Arche Des Mutations (9:35)
3. Sur Les Traces Du Vieux Roy (5:03)
4. La Roue (2:34)
5. Le Festin Du Lion Vert (4:45)
6. Massa Confusa (3:21)
7. Le Grand Secret (4:21)
8. Vol Du Phénix (3:58)

Bonus Tracks 

9. Armaggedon (4:23)
10. Robots Dans Le Formol (4:13)
11. Chronos (3:23)

Credits
- Pierrick Lebras / guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Michel Munier / bass
- Philippe Bersan / vocals, keyboards, percussion (1-8)
- Alain Evrard / percussion, keyboards (10, 11)
- Patrick Renard / drums (10, 11)

Anaid is composed of Emmanuelle Lionet (vocals), Jean-Max Delva (vibraphone), former Soft Machine member, (and Canterbury legend) Hugh Hopper (bass), Patrice Meyer (guitar), a keyboard player and a drummer. Their music has been compared to the first ZAO and to COS because of the powerful female vocalist, and sometimes to Gong (Expresso II period) because of the preponderance of vibraphone as well as the specific "tonal harmonies and melodies." They have also been linked to National Health regarding their thematic complexities, the swift and frequent breaks, and the often lush sonic atmosphere.
Anaid released two albums, Vêtue De Noir in 1986, and Belladonna in 1989. Both of these LPs were re-released on a CD compilation by the AYAA label France in 1991, entitled Four Years (Vêtue De Noir was included in part, and the complete Belladonna).

:::Review by Claire:::

Anaïd - Four Years (1991)

1. Azalia (4:45)
2. Belladonna (9:20)
3. Arabesque (5:40)
4. Vêtue De Noir (7:15)
5. Ikebana (4:40)
6. Heartbreak (4:20)
7. Spa (7:15)
8. Nord-Sud (4:40)
9. Clémentine (5:05)
10. Sea And Saw (5:20)

Credits
- Jean-Max Delva / vibraphone, drums, percussion
- Emmanuelle Lionet / vocals
- Rick Biddulph / bass, guitar
- Pierre-Marie Bonafos / saxophones [ alto, soprano & tenor]
- Jean-Luc Ditsch / drums
- Christian Hossaine / drums
- Jean Marc Houssepian - acoustic bass
- Hugh Hopper / bass
- Patrice Meyer / electric guitar
- Patrick Morgenthaler / keyboards
- Sophia Domancich / piano

The first gig of any band or tour is always a slightly fraught affair; anything that can go wrong probably will. Gear will futz, fingers and feet will lie to their owners and the sound could well be unsound with the task of presenting about one hour of very challenging music.
Understandably perhaps, these versions of Utterances of Emergence During Daytime and Lied Notturna (second movement) are not perfectly performed, but is not impediment to really enjoy the music and understand the unique fearless daring sound Bäitoník Configuration is pursuing.
The band audibly settle into the gig during the mad saxophone/trumpet solo during UEDD and you can hear them really enjoying a high-rolling ending of the whole section after the gentle piano solo.
The second movement of Lied Notturna is a ~45-minute long piece divided into 7 parts. Mixing free improvisation with highly structured compositions, this piece is quite a challenge to play (and to listen to, for sure!).
A "slow burning" beginning leads to Part 3: Zôrtsüng, that represents something like a "rock-out" moment which is no bad thing. But the band really get their collective teeth with lots of improvisation into the Three Visions (Parts 4-6). Overall verdict: a band in the process of arriving but not quite all at the same time. Presenting an unusual repertoire of unpredictable and complex music.
Frank B.

Outstanding!
They reach a very powerful Zeuhl trance.
The bass lines have a crude simplicity and an itinerant rhythmic.
The horns are full of THC: they are ruthless, savage and merciless, but gentle at the same time.
The drumming marches are precise and united with the piano's rhythm... they mesh up well and reach a superb atmosphere.
The guitar lines drove me insane! it's like a fly buzzing in your ear.
The voices are captivating; contributing warmth to the trance.
I really enjoyed the recording, looking forward for more!
Edu Cabrera (Bass, Drums & Voice - Caballo de Feria).

:::Review by baitonikconfiguration:::

Baïtonik Configuration - The Last Minute Sessions (LIVE) (2011)

1. Utterances of Emergence During Daytime 12:11
2. Part 1: Announcement 04:08
3. Part 2: Hésiter 06:53
4. Part 3: Zôrtsüng 04:09
5. Part 4: First Vision 11:08
6. Part 5: Second Vision 06:56
7. Part 6: Third Vision 01:33
8. Part 7: Wahrgeriaah 12:19

Credits
Track 1:
Lisa Cantrell - Piano
Viridiana Benitez - Trumpet
Stephen Harms - Cello & Bass
Ricky Peden - Drums & Guitar
Francisco J. Parada - Saxophones & Flute

Music written by Francisco J. Parada
Arrangements by Bäitoník Configuration

Track 2 - 8 (Second Movement of Lied Notturna):
Lisa Cantrell - Piano & Voice
Viridiana Benitez - Trumpet & Percussion
Stephen Harms - Cello & Bass
Ricky Peden - Guitar & Bass
Francisco J. Parada - Drums, Saxophones, Flute & Voice

Music written by Francisco J. Parada
Arrangements by Bäitoník Configuration
Tracks 4 & 8: Special thanks to José Parada, Bruno Salas, Valentina Maza & Jorge Galvez

Corima is a new Zeuhl/R.I.O. band based out of Texas very influenced by Magma, Koenjihyakkei, and Present at times.
Formed in the year 2005, they started out with 4 musicians: Sergio Sanchez on drums, Juan Tarin on bass, Jaime Silva on guitar and Erik Martinez on guitar as well.
They started out playing music very influenced by King Crimson and ELP. About a year later Francisco Casanova joined the band in keyboards. They remained together for about a year and a half and after that Erik Martinez was forced to leave the band for personal reasons and soon after Jaime Silva left the band as well. It was during this period that Corima found out about the Zeuhl and R.I.O. genre and fell completely in love with it. After the departure of both of the guitarists Corima stayed as a trio of keyboards, bass and drums and it happened to work perfectly for its new sound so they started composing new songs.
They released their self-titled debut full length in late 2007.
Their album is a 65-minute wild roller coaster of Zeuhl music with operatic vocals sung in a made-up language, odd time signatures, bombastic super heavy bass lines and insane keyboard work-outs all combined in a way that calls for a never ending explosion.

:::Review by Sergio Sanchez from Corima:::

Corima - Corima (2007)

1. Vranhai Vanzhor (16:00)
2. Anghor Schlauze (14:24)
3. Buluc Chabtan 1 (10:50)
4. Buluc Chabtan 2 (8:17)
5. Wilica Zebbenstai (15:18)

Credits
- Sergio Sanchez / drums, vocals
- Francisco Casanova / keyboards, vocals
- Juan Tarin / bass

 

The French avant-garde ensemble Zoïkhem was formed in 1995 by the drummer, pianist and composer Franck Smith (born 09/01/73 in Aix-en-Provence, France). He learned to play drums in regional school and later continued to refine his performance technique on his own. Zoïkhem was created 05/01/95 and the meaning of the name derives from two words: "Zoï" (roughly translated in the artificial language invented by Smith "echo, sound, voice, call, song") and "Khem" (form ancient Egyptian language, meaning "black land"). According to F. Smith the band's name translates as "sounds of the black land" or "cry from the land of darkness". The composer uses a mixture of Latin texts and language invented by himself and believes that music has to be more important than the language or the content of the texts. The group performed as a trio.
The vocal part was sung by the young baritone Pascal Terrier, while a member with the pseudonym "Hélios" took over the clarinet. In addition, the CD inserts list the piano "Sony D-151" as an independent fourth party member. This is due to a very interesting way in which the music was created. Franck Smith himself first recorded the piano track, which becomes the foundation for the recording and mixing of the other instruments. All compositions by Zoïkhem originated in this way, even the drums were played by Smith with his unique sculptural technique of playing later. The Group made two CD albums, both of which are from 1997: "Requiem" (Tribal Prod. TPZK.VII) and "Vox Clamantis In Deserto" (Tribal Prod. TPZK.IX). This is a new avant-garde electro-acoustic chamber music eliciting a very gloomy atmosphere. It has a clear reference to the music of Magma (especially from the 70's period of "1001° Centigrades"), such as the invented language, way of vocal interpretation, etc.
Nevertheless, this is a very original creation. Zoïkhem's music is mystical, dark, and monumental despite their reduced form. The music is rough and raw, which further adds to its unusual severity, and in moments of expression (eg. the 38-minute piece "Vox Clamantis in Deserto") almost unbridled brutality. It's dark beauty is derived from the grim mystery, the magic of mystical solemnity and ritual. The calculated sober, disciplined austerity and dramatic arrangements do not exclude flowing emotions and creative spontaneity. The Black and white album covers reflect the atmosphere of the music. Unfortunately, upon the realization of these two albums Franck Smith ended Zoïkhem to devote himself increasingly to his own solo projects. So far released two solo CDs have been released: "IX. Que Ce Bébé Se Taise Crierons-Nous Dans Nos Tombes" (1998) and "Ici ∉ Ø si 340 m/s < rien" (1999). The music contained on them is even more avant-garde than Zoïkhem. In 1993 before Zoïkhem was created Smith wrote in two pieces: "Ritual" for string quartet and "Les Quatre Éléments" for percussion. He performed it in concert with the band Alchimie Boréale. The following year he joined Ensemble 2746 après Rome, with whom he recorded a CD "Messe" which was inspired by medieval music. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.

:::Review by musicvideoswiz:::

Zoïkhem - Vox Clamantis In Deserto (1997)

1. Vox clamantis in deserto
1. Mouvement I 8:36
2. Mouvement II 8:28
3. Mouvement III 10:41
4. Mouvement IV 10:42
2. Epithaphe 5:05

Zoïkhem - Requiem (1997)

1. Requiem
1. Pt. 1 3:08
2. Pt. 2 1:05
3. Pt. 3 0:44
4. Pt. 4 2:44
5. Pt. 5 4:53
6. Pt. 6 1:18
7. Pt. 7 2:09
8. Pt. 8 4:00
9. Pt. 9 2:54
10. Pt. 10 6:41
2. I(r)onisation 7:28

Credits
Franck Smith - drums, percussion, various objects
Pascal Terrien - baritone (vocals), programmed piano, SONY D-151
Hélios - clarinet, organ

If you ever wondered what it would sound like if The Human League or Missing Persons were a Zeuhl influenced group, then Super Freego gives you a window into that world. Stylistically it fits in the early 80s New Wave synth pop camp. Except all these irregular rhythms combined with the familiar male/female chanting clearly point to that most unique French school of music. And it gets weirder as you go through the album, that by Side 2 it's almost purely Zeuhl. I've seen a couple of YouTube videos that demonstrate that Super Freego were a far wilder group on stage than in the studio, which gives me some hope there might be some crazy Zeuhl music sitting in a canister somewhere. The only other album that even comes close to sounding like this is Eskaton's "Fiction", though that album is far closer to pure Zeuhl than Super Freego. Maybe Foehn's "Faeria", though Super Freego are much more intense. Excellent.

:::Review by cdreissuewishlist:::

Super Freego - Pourquoi Es-Tu Si Méchant (1982)

1.Yekto Le Kreutre (3:40)
2. Il Y A (4:26)
3. Tu Peux Crever (4:14)
4. M'en Fous (3:30)
5. Dommage Tu Avais L'age (3:52)
6. A La Folie (3:52)
7. Rock II (5:16)
8. Tentative De Courgettes (2:54)
9. Pourquoi Es-Tu Si Méchant? (4:14)

Credits
- Karaki / bass, voices
- Hervé Dupon / guitars, keyboards
- M. Skolarczyk / voices
- Rockez Melendy / drums, percussion
- Max de Pol / guitars

This has been on my "want list" for a long time.Thankfully i was able to get a copy of this recording a couple of weeks ago,and believe me it didn't disappoint.This band is from France and released this album back in 1979.The core of the band is the Blanc brothers who play bass,drums as well as sing.I was surprised at how young the band looked in the pictures in the liner notes,especially to be playing such complex music.A tribute to their talents no doubt.They were known as HONEY DREAM doing covers of KING CRIMSON,GENESIS and YES before they changed their name and started moving in a new direction composing their own songs.They decided to sing in their own made up language(sound familiar) because Gerard had no desire to go back to singing in French which he felt lacked sufficient feeling,and he ignored English as well "wishing to be utterly original".The liner notes describe their sound as mixing "the energy and power of MAGMA,the technical virtuosity of ZAO and the harmonic richness of GENESIS,not to mention the European classical overtones and the power of the likes of VDGG.The music rested on a base of eternally-evolving rhythmic meters,with innumerable changes,accelerations and breaks in tempo.Passages of furious activity would alternate with other,quieter,more ethreal ones".I should mention that the vocals at times remind me of Peter Gabriel making this a very interesting listen to say the least.I like the story in the liner notes about the band playing for 90 minutes to a packed house of a thousand enthusiastic people, and then giving five encores! "Duel A La Vie" and the next track were the only two songs on the original album making it just under 26 minutes.Four bonus tracks have been included which add just over 15 minutes worth of more music.The first track kicks in fairly quickly and when it settles we get those Gabriel-like vocals 1 1/2 minutes in.He can be quite passionate as well.Such an incredible sound here.A dead calm after 3 1/2 minuters before it kicks back in with drums leading the way.Piano and sax after 5 minutes.A Zeuhl-like vocal melody follows and then it calms right down again.Vocals are back 7 minutes in as it gets melancholic.Vocal melodies with prominant drums follow.A change 10 minutes in as the soundscape from earlier in the song returns with vocals.Nice. "Terres De Sagesse" is spacey to start with synths as sax,drums and guitar come in before a minute.Piano then bass follows as the tempo picks up.Fantastic sound 2 minutes in.The drumming is so crisp.Vocals after 3 minutes.The melody stops 4 1/2 minutes in.Love the sound a minute later,there is a lot of tension.Sax leads the way 7 minutes in then vocals return.A change before 9 minutes.Amazing sound a minute later with drums and horns.It then settles with piano,vocals and sax after 11 minutes.What a ride! "Osmose(live)" features piano and some atmosphere.Vocals before a minute.Spoken words 4 minutes right to the end as the crowd cheers. "Rencontre D'un Soir(impro)" is the only track with violin on it.It opens with piano and guitar as vocals come in.Vocals become passionate as the music gets louder.Violin 1 1/2 minutes in as it settles some.Very cool sound here.Vocal melodies before 3 1/2 minutes.Then the vocals return with drums,violin and piano standing out.This is like a piece of heaven. "Message En Breaks" is a short well done drum solo."Qu'une Meme Lumiere Guide Nos Pas" is another short song with reserved vocals that grow louder with a mellow background of strings and electric piano. This surpassed my expectations by quite a large margin.Highly recommended to fans of ZAO and WEIDORJE.

:::Review by Mellotron Storm:::

Honeyelk - En Quete D'un Monde Meilleur...(1979)

1. Stoyz (Duel à Vie) (11:33)
a) Rencontre avec la vie
b) Combat pour l'Harmonie
c) Naissance de la Sensibilité
2. Do Zé Vé Loy (Terres de Sagesse) (14:16)
3. Osmose (live) (CD-Bonus) (4:50)
4. Rencontre d'un soir (impro) (CD-Bonus) (7:34)
5. Message En Breaks (CD-Bonus) (1:41)
6. Qu'une même lumière guide nos pas (CD-Bonus) (1:21)

Credits
- William Grandordy / piano, synthesizer
- Gérard Blanc / bass, vocals
- Pierre Yves Maury / clarinet, saxophone
- Christian Blanc / drums, percussion, vocals
- Frank Louisolo / guitars

The world of Zeuhl music is full of obscure one-off acts that seem to have disappeared as quickly as they introduced themselves. Altaïs is a virtually unknown act even within the avant- garde niche community, and for good reason; they only ever released one EP before vanishing. Having now been released almost three decades ago, its a good bet that we will never hear anything more from this band than the sixteen minutes of music here, but for what it is, 'Altaïs' is a very good snippet of Zeuhl music. Featuring a style that falls between better known acts Magma and Shub-Niggurath, Altaïs build off of the innovation of greater acts, and create something both whimsical and terrifying.
This album opens up the way it ends; with spacey ambiance and the ethereal wail of Sandrine Fougere, who sounds eerily similar to Shub Niggurath's Ann Stewart. Her operatic soprano shares the sound with a less melodic male accompaniment that sounds much more within the Zeuhl canon. Phillippe Goudier barks and howls as Altaïs hits their musical stride, that being a dense jazz fusion observation. The pianos and rumbling bass both lead the band. Throughout the music of Altaïs, there seems to be a constant conflict between the light- hearted, whimsical sounds of Magma, and the horror-inducing style of Shub-Niggurath. In the end, the latter appears to win this contest, and perhaps a little too well. While Altaïs make a very intriguing effort here, their sound is far too close to that of Shub-Niggurath, be it their plodding rhythms, operatic soprano voice, and general atmosphere of creepiness.
Altaïs is not an essential act in Zeuhl, nor are they a particularly astounding obscure gem, as some may hope. What they are though, is an interesting supplement to the Zeuhl that you may have already heard, an apocalyptic jazz-fusion combo that excites, but alas, has been done better before.

:::Review by Conor Fynes:::

Altaïs  - Altaïs (1986) (EP)

1. Altaïs (7:44)
2. Promenade (3:59)
3. Gravitation Zero ( 2:12)

Credits
- Sandrine Fougere / vocals
- Philippe Goudier / vocals, percussion
- Patrick Joliot / drums, percussion
- Isabelle Nuffer / vocals, piano, synthesizer
- Michelle Puttland / synthesizer
- Jean-Marie Sadot / bass

MAGMA have influenced quite a number of bands since the 70's. However, if most zeuhl artists tend to focus on this band's martial rhythms and dark moods, MUSIQUE NOISE concentrated on their lighter side. They took shape in 1986 with some ex-ESKATON and AUTOPSIE members, namely two keyboards players, a bassist and a drummer; then came a sax player, a trumpeter and two classically trained female singers. The band performed in various Paris clubs and began work on what would turn out to be their sole album, which became a zeuhl classic in specialized circles but otherwise had a rather weak impact. Then one by one, some of the members started to walk out, the band slowly disintegrating until it officially dissolved in 1994.
Their album was released under the title "Fulmines Regularis" in 1988 by a then young Musea label. In 2002, they re-released it under the title "Fulmines Integralis" and added four extra tracks, namely some 1992 demos which had been intended for a second album that never materialized. As the album shows, MUSIQUE NOISE embrace the zeuhl style with ease, using three-part vocal arrangements, lots of positive energy and even a sense of humour. Instrumental frenzy, odd-time signatures, operatic vocalizations mixed with jazz, prog, classical tunes and other undefined styles are all part of the show, the numerous choirs (obviously inspired by Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana") embellished by terrific keyboards and sax parts. Overall, MUSIQUE NOISE are rather accessible when compared to most zeuhl bands and their album is a good starter for newcomers to the genre.

:::Review by Lise (HIBOU):::

Musique Noise - Fulmines Integralis (1988)

1. Pas encore (8:03)
2. Unique au monde (8:40)
3. Mise au point (1:57)
4. Pour qui sont ces rangers qui marchent sur nos têtes? (7:46)
5. L'étroit huit (8:17)
6. Vision intempestive (9:27)
7. Ecco (8:23)
8. Ragnarok (8:11)
9. Milliers (7:44)
10. Pzkr! (4:39)

Credits
- Isabelle Bruston / vocals
- Jean-Philippe Gallet / vocals, saxophone
- Denis Levasseur / synthesizers & piano
- Philippe Zarka / drums & percussion
- Frederic Huynh / basses
- Xavier De Raymond / piano & synthesizer (6, 7, 8, & 9)
- Simon Bot-Ban-Jok / saxophone (6, 7, 8, & 9)
- Cornelia Schmid / vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 10)

In the early seventies, one had to be a real rebel and have lots of courage to be in a rock band and had to have a horseshoe up somewhere to manage to record an album. 

This is probably why there were few bands but then again this pushed them underground and enticed them to make groundbreaking music (ARKHAM, CLASSROOM/COS, PLACEBO, PAZOP) and much later the UNIVERS ZERO and its offshoots such as PRESENT. LAGGER BLUES MACHINE consist of the Duponcheel bros on kb and drums, Maes on bass, Cuisset on guitars, Mottoule on kb and Pilotta on winds instruments. On their sole release, LBM develops a somber mood rock that takes elements from SOFT MACHINE, some from MAGMA, some more from ZAPPA & CRIMSON. But make its own sound with relative good interplay between the solo instruments but sounds nothing like blues (actually, the name was a pun as they always longed for beers in their locale). The live album was never really released until 92 but was apparently recorded prior to the studio album and is of dubious quality.

:::Review by Hugues Chantraine, BELGIUM:::

Lagger Blues Machine - The Complete Works (1994)

1. Symphonie - Part 1 (13:57)
2. Darknessly (6:58)
3. Tanit (1:03)
4. Symphonie - Part 2 (13:23)
5. Born to be alone on a white desert island (8:59)
6. Test about a rehabilitating personality (8:33)
7. Ode (6:50)
8. Mistake (9:18)
9. Firedance (7:54)

Credits
- Christian Duponcheel / organs
- Jean-Luc Duponcheel / drums
- Jose Cuisset / guitar
- Michel Maes / bass guitar
- Vincent Mottouille / organs
- Carmelo Pilotta / flute, saxophone