ONZE DANSES POUR COMBATTRE LA MIGRAINE

Aksak Maboul's debut is excellent and quirky European elegant urban folklore known as RIO as well. 17 short compositions indicates more punkish album's structure, but you wouldn't find punk influences there.

Crispy, very acoustic music, based on analog keyboards sound, with addition of many other instruments, including accordion, saxes and electric cello between more traditional others. Musically this album contains short sketches from European street life, but reworked by talented artists with non-mainstream vision of the world. French traditional urban songs, Alpine reeds, some contemporary avant music, plenty of well-balanced European jazz-rock , saloon music, theatrical pieces soundtracks - there are mentioned only a part of their influences.

Music in all is very elegant, a bit melancholic, melodic, with some distortions, but very controlled, some occasional vocals and very imaginative atmosphere. Differently from many RIO genre colleagues, this album is more beautiful, harmonic and in some sense - easier accessible one ( speaking about avant garde music though).

Differently from many other similar recordings, this album has quite limited chamber music influence (or better to say - controlled influence), what is a strong side for me. I really am not a big fan of self-closed chamber rock, where musicians are so attracted by what they are playing, that just often forget that listener exists as well, and very soon such releases become boring to death. This one isn't, and it's a big luck!

In all - still release for fans of experimental music, and possibly will shock symphonic rock purist, but one of great listening for open ears fans of good and interesting music.