ARCHAIA

This Paris based trio featured Philippe Bersan (vocals, keyboards, percussion), Pierrick Le Bras (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Michel Munier (bass) who were inspired by Magma's rhythmic Teutonic marches of zeuhl rhythms but equally enthralled with the mind expanding world of Gong's psychedelia as well as the bizarre electronic works of Heldon. Together these guys forged some of the most bizarre and freak-fueled musical visions from the entire zeuhl universe easily setting themselves apart from the likes of Magma and its imitators such as Zao and Weidorje. A decades old treat for true psychedelic trippers lurking in the prog underground, ARCHAÏA's debut finally found not only a new vinyl release on Mutant Embryo Records but a proper digital release as well in 2019.

Considering ARCHAÏA's musical freakfest was released in 1977 as the appetite for all things lysergic and unclassifiable was quickly losing ground to more commercial sounds, it's no wonder that the band dropped a sole album and called it quits. Often though a second album was intended with many tracks having been written only to be abandoned and lurking in the vaults for decades. That's exactly the case for these space zeuhl trippers who had every intention of releasing a sophomore followup but were denied their due justice. Luckily the world has caught up to some of these far reaching visions of the past and is hungry for more and lucky for us, they have finally been liberated from obscurity! HARMONIE SOLAIRE released in the final hours of 2021 by Mutant Embryo Records is the long lost second album from ARCHAÏA and features 11 new tracks from the original duo of Munier and Le Bras.

According to Mutant Embryo's Bandcamp site, these tracks were finally recorded in 2013 and presented on a limited vinyl edition as well as digitally downloadable. This album certainly exists in the ARCHAÏA universe with the same hypnotizing bass riffs, synthwave minimalism and haunting vocal style as heard on the band's 1977 debut. This one sounds a bit more direct though as it lacks the Heldon inspired electronic freakery. Dare i even say this one is more accessible since it presents a more cohesive flow? While the first album relied on the electronic wizardry to craft a transcendental lysergic experience, HARMONIE SOLAIRE features a lot more haunting vocals in conjunct with the minimal synthwave style of keyboards, acid guitar licks and martial zeuhl rhythms which all conspire to craft a veritable soundtrack for some sort of mushroom cult! There is more mystical chanting on this one as well.

Although the French language is employed for all lyrics, the vocals come off as more as gibberish as zeuhl tends to make all languages sound as if they originated from Kobaia. Overall this album is more hypnotizing and less jarring than the 1977 album which excelled in pummeling the listener with shrill electronic sounds and over the top excesses in every way which IMHO was what made it so freakin' amazing! While this long lost second coming may not measure up to the intensity, HARMONIE SOLAIRE is nevertheless an excellent album that sounds as if it very well could've been released in the last years of the 1970s. For those who prefer a less harsh presentation that sounds closer to the world of 70s Krautrock than the choral rich zeuhl of Magma meets Heldon, then you might actually like this one better than the original album. For me i still prefer the 1977 album but this is a most welcome release that is outstanding in its own way!

This Paris based trio featured Philippe Bersan (vocals, keyboards, percussion), Pierrick Le Bras (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Michel Munier (bass) who were inspired by Magma's rhythmic Teutonic marches of zeuhl rhythms but equally enthralled with the mind expanding world of Gong's psychedelia as well as the bizarre electronic works of Heldon. Together these guys forged some of the most bizarre and freak-fueled musical visions from the entire zeuhl universe easily setting themselves apart from the likes of Magma and its imitators such as Zao and Weidorje. A decades old treat for true psychedelic trippers lurking in the prog underground, ARCHAÏA's debut finally found not only a new vinyl release on Mutant Embryo Records but a proper digital release as well in 2019.

Well also thanks to those true treasure hunters at Mutant Embryo, in the modern era in the final hours of 2021, the label has released 1976, LA BANDE PERDUE which in English simply means "The Lost Tape." These archival sounds predate the official album and only features the original two members Michel Munier and Pierrick Le Bras before Philippe Bersan joined forces. Basically this is a bunch of demos which showcase the band developing its unique style before the more accomplished debut album appeared the following year. This collection of 17 tracks is presented as various acts with with titles appearing as such: "Act 9: Massa Confusa 1." This collection of sounds is every bit as bizarre and out there as the band's official album but amounts to more of a collection of ideas that were thrown against the wall like spaghetti to see what would stick.

Despite the helter skelter approach, 1976 LA BANDE PERDUE features some interesting explorations into the furthest reaches of experimental music that would sound more at home in 1971 rather than 76 when such music was losing ground to more commercial sounds. While this release lacks the cohesive charm of a space journey that the official debut offered, it more than makes up for that in its more expansive exploration of myriad possibilities of where the unlikely marriage of Magma rhythms, Heldon fueled electronica, Arachnoid spookiness and Steve Hillage era Gong psychedelia could lead to. For true fans of this band (which i am), this is a treasure trove of nascent ideas that indicate a number of directions the band could've steered their musical vessel.

These wild experimental tracks sound like something out of an occult ritual. The tracks bridge the gap between Magma inspired zeuhl with all things lysergic along with the more contemporary sounds of synthwave. The opening "Act 1: Chthonos" sounds more like a Krautrock track from Can than anything in the zeuhl universe which points to Germany's fertile experimental scene as another source of inspiration. While clearly not as perfected as the band's sound on the actual album, this archival release is quite engaging its own right given the more expansive approach. Excellent supplemental material for fans but still satisfying for any true trippers as well.

3.5 rounded down

For me though, that lack of top class drumming from the class of Vander, Truong etc., means there's something missing. It doesn't really hold my attention beyond the opening track for a good half an hour, but then I did enjoy the closer, Vol Du Phénix, with minimal spacey guitars and cymbals.

Definitely worth a listen for fans of anything remotely influenced by Zeuhl, but didn't quite do it for me.

"Soleil Noir" opens with the sound of children along with strange sounds that slowly pulse and hover before this train-like rhythm arrives replacing both. Spacey synths join in and then vocals that remind me of AQUASERGE. Some raw guitar replaces the vocals but the vocals are back as they trade off. It ends like they began. "L'arche Des Mutations" reminds me of HARMONIA with those higher pitched sounds as the bass pulses. Vocal melodies before 1 1/2 minutes then these high pitched crazy synths take over along with lower ones that hum. The vocal melodies are back then spoken words before it kicks into gear with distorted guitar, vocals and synths. A calm then the guitar lights it up after 3 1/2 minutes as the bass pulses. Vocals are back as themes are repeated. It's really spacey before 5 minutes with synths then whispered words around 6 1/2 minutes. I like the guitar 8 minutes in as it starts to build, vocal melodies too. Spoken words turn to yelling. Intense.

"Sur Les Trances Du Vieux Roy" has these synths that hum as vocal melodies join in along with sounds that pulse and echo. Percussion joins in. It settles back. This is so cool. "La Roue" has deep bass sounds, percussion and growly synths. Laughter comes and goes in this very unique sounding piece. "Le Festin Du Lion Vert" is an uptempo track with both vocal melodies and vocals as sounds beat and pulse. A calm before 2 minutes with vocal melodies reminding me of MAGMA. There's a Navajo vibe that comes in as we get chanting and percussion to the end.

"Massa Confusa" has a haunting intro with intricate sounds and water splashing. Some spoken words here as well before we hear a scream 2 minutes in as the soundscape turns eerie. The water sounds are back. "Le Grand Secret" has spacey synths, bass, percussion, vocal sounds and guitar expressions. The spoken vocals before 1 1/2 minutes are brief as vocal melodies take over with bass, synths and percussion. Some brief spoken words are back at 2 1/2 minutes then the vocal melodies are back late. "Vol Du Phenix" features percussion, bass and high pitched guitar to start. This is almost catchy. It changes before 2 minutes as spacey synths and picked guitar take over. It sounds like cars driving by to end it.

I don't usually comment on bonus tracks but these three are from 1978 and were recorded live in Paris and they are fantastic. We do get actual drums on the final two tracks plus keys too. "Armaggedon" is very zeuhlish with the chanting and bass as it builds. It changes big time before 2 1/2 minutes with these haunting voices overwelming the previous soundscape until all you hear is the voices. So cool. "Robots Dans Le Formol" has a killer rhythm to it with vocal expressions and spoken words. It's intense a minute in with those powerful synths replacing the vocals. Keys join the rhythm 1 1/2 minutes in. The synths stop as the vocals return. Themes are repeated. "Chthonos" has a catchy beat of drums and bass with guitar expressions and synths.

This was an absolute pleasure and without question one of my favourites from 1977.

While categorized officially as zeuhl, this is no Magma clone in any way. This is a bizarre hybrid of psychedelic symphonic rock, progressive electronic and of course the Kobaian rhythmic charm that allows it to be catalogued in the zeuhl family. One of the strangest aspects of ARCHAIA is that there are no traditional rock drums involved at all however there is percussion in the form of chimes, bells, other metal things and tribal sounding drums used sparingly throughout the 38:44 long freakfest.

What we get here is Michel Munier's convincing Jannick Top inspired bass line that gives the album a rhythmic zeuhl skeletal form and sprinkled around these beefy rhythms are Heldon inspired spastic keyboard runs and electronic freak outs of Philippe Bersan who also delivers some seriously haunted vocals. Even though the lyrics are in French this actually sounds way more alien than Magma's fictitious language. While the symphonic keyboards, zeuhl bass and electronic trippiness are the major players in this wild world we are also treated to occasional psychedelic guitar runs that would feel right at home on any Steve Hillage recording only in addition to the echoey notes reverberating into multi-dimensional forms, there are healthy doses of bizarre glissando guitar slides as well as stringed freak outs as well.

While the rhythms march on, guitars and keyboards creep in and out of the picture and slowly build up higher intensity while strange angelic Tarzan type calls bellow from the brume of the misty mound of sonic pile ups. This is really an odyssey through odd world. As the album progresses from beginning to end we are treated to fluttering electronica, Arachnoid inspired spookiness, hypnotic musical motifs and off-kilter zeuhl rhythms that pulsate like squids in the turbulent seas while bursts of vocalizations surround the wake and guitar riffs zigzag about.

I would classify this much more as psychedelic space rock or more appropriately space zeuhl that takes the listener on a wild crazy ride through a private musical universe that remains a mere blip in the musical world of 1977. While the album has has the feel of a religious cult's prayer service complete with a chanted type of vocal style, fuzzed out freakiness, dark and chilling atmospheres and a feel of a bizarre world where even the Residents would feel at home, ARCHAIA managed to boil down a lot of ingredients into a cauldron of creative amalgamation which successfully creates the freakiest fusionfest i've ever heard. This is indeed the promised soundtrack for lysergic ghosts haunting alien soundscapes. One of my favorite albums actually. Recommended. 4.5 rounded UP!

Well, I should not had bothered. Their music is nowhere near Shub Niggurath's debut album in the scary stake.

Archaia does Magma inspired zeuhl without drums. Bass, guitars and vocals sets the rhythms. Those instruments plus tangents also stakes out the melodies. The music is hypnotic as in hippie mass where hippies dance around a campfire when chanting peace and legalize soft drugs messages. Black mass ? Fetch me a mug of black coffee !!!!

This album contains some very original music. Original as in kraut, space rock and jazz. Add Magma and subtract all traces of drums. Then you get the music on this album. It is a special album and it is a very good album. It does not really contains some killer music though and that is a problem. Hence my three stars. But this album is such an interesting album that I may upgrade the score next year or in the coming decades. This is an album zeuhl fans should check out.

3.5 stars

There's quite a lot of droning mediaeval chants which makes it sound like it should have been used in that scene from 'Rosemary's Baby' where the baddies are lurking around that big black pram! The guitars are drenched in fuzz, the bass is claustrophobic and throbbing and the vocals are somewhat similar in style to Magma's Klaus Blasquiz. Unfortunately some of the early keyboards are a wee bit on the cheesy side though.

An album to be listened to with the lights off for the full effect. Get it in time for Halloween!

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 other-worldly piece of music.