BONDAGE FRUIT

For their third album, Bondage Fruit go live and take in a slight change of sound, dropping the two female vocalists and evolving into an instrumental King Crimson meets Led Zeppelin style. The influences from Zeuhl and RIO are still there for sure, but there's a lot more improvisational jamming (at least two of those three also being a King Crimson trope). The opening 12 minute track Odd-job certainly wouldn't seem out of place in Fripp & Co.'s discography, while the next rack takes a mellow turn, merging Floydian guitar with a minimal vibraphone, with some later violin, drums and programmed elements for added effect. Shortwave from Outer Space is a brief electronic interlude before the explosive Frost and Fire, with powerful drums and at times almost surfer-style guitars. A passage of this track also has a krautrock feel to it with galloping drums and frenetic violin. We're then onto the absolute monster of a track, Recit. The drumming in particular is a fantastic and frenetic piece of work which underpins a series of guitar riffs and violin elements. While much of it seems improvisational jamming, as another reviewer has pointed out, many of the riffs and rhythms worked through have an odd familiarity as if a tribute to some of the prog greats, however they are worked through so rapidly in between the frenetic jamming that it's hard to pick out where they may be from. The jamming gets more and more frenetic and violent before breaking suddenly at the half way mark for an interlude with only the vibraphone playing solo. Guitar and violin fading in signify a foreboding mood and a slow build up to pace once again, and it's the same frenetic jamming as before, right up to a lingering end to the track. It is very good, but really its far too long! The final track Kinzoku No Taiji is another improvisational fast-paced jam which immediately after listening to the 28 minute epic, seems like a footnote and a continuation of what went on before. As a whole, a good blend of styles, both contemporary and with nods to the past influences. Sadly for me though, the length of the final jamming almost makes me forget about the brilliant tracks that precede it.

The Tokyo based BONDAGE FRUIT has been around since as far back as 1990 and was one of Japan's first foray's into the world of French zeuhl courtesy of the mighty Magma however this band has offered a far more eclectic palette than most bands that fall under the zeuhl banner by offering healthy doses avant-prog, jazz-fusion, standard prog rock and folk in the spirit of not only classic Magma but also that of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Univers Zero and fellow Japanese outfit Happy Family who emerged at about the same timeline only slightly sooner.

Everyone's favorite S&M produce at the supermarket released the self-titled debut in 1994 and was very consistent in releasing a new studio album every two or three years but after the release of "Bondage Fruit VI" in 2005, the band fell silent and has remained incognito for almost two decades. Well that silence has been broken and in 2024, BONDAGE FRUIT finally release its sixth official studio album titled BONDAGE FRUIT VII. After 19 years since the last release and 35 years as a band, it's amazing that the current lineup features five original members which includes Kido Natsuki (guitar), Katsui Yuji (violin), Ohtsubo Hirohiko (bass), Takara Kumiko (vibraphone, percussion) and Okabe Youichi (percussion, trap drum).

This new album features eight tracks and clocks in at a lengthy 61 1/2 minutes. Noticeably de-emphasized are the zeuhl characteristics of the past and instead the band focuses on a stellar mix of avant-prog and jazz-fusion and in that regard it's pretty much a continuation of 2005's "Bondage Fruit VI" which began to move away from the Magma influences and steer into the world of Pierre Moerlen's Gong meets the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The music is mostly improvised and almost exclusively instrumental with only a couple jazz vocalists offering some vocal prowess as extra instrumentation. The jazzy touches are complemented by guitar oriented rock guitar which not only provides select power chords but also some funk heft and a few scale runs here and there.

While sounding somewhat familiar at this point BONDAGE FRUIT is far from its origins and actually sounds to my ears like many of the Kraut-jazz bands from Germany after the initial psychedelic lysergia of the early Krautrock scene had played itself out. Think Embryo, Xhol Caravan, Eiliff and even Out of Focus and it's in the right ballpark. There are also Middle Eastern moments such as on "Caminante" which offers an interesting mix of Agitation Free's "Malesch" meets the Mahavishnus. The vibraphone works overtime on this release which adds an incredible warm fuzzy feel to it. While the album hums along at mid-tempo with attention paid to improv jazz and rock workouts, the near 14-minute "Cypress" is a nice little chill pill with a lengthy mesmerizing vibraphone dominated atmospheric track only punctuated by a feisty guitar towards the end. After the upbeat "Happy Bastard," the lengthy bonus track "Three Voices" also features a nice chill out moment mixed with more upbeat rock.

Personally i prefer the earliest BONDAGE FRUIT albums for their sheer audacity and experimental limitlessness and i doubt the band will ever top the masterpiece "Bondage Fruit II" however this newest style that the band carries on from the 2005 release is quite effective in its own right. The entire album is a pleasant mix of various jazz related and prog related influences and performed quite well. Yet another band to emerge from "what ever happened to" vaults, BONDAGE FRUIT is back for the attack leaving us to wonder if we'll have to wait another decade or two for the next chapter. Whatever the case, BONDAGE FRUIT VII will help fans get their fix for a little while longer. Nice album that delivers a consistent pleasant upbeat mood for the album's entirety.

1994 was the real advent of Zeuhl in Japan (yes Ruins got there before then, but was that TRULY Zeuhl?).

Bondage Fruit's debut album is certainly Zeuhl, at the very least the vocals give it away. While not as dark and totalitarian as peak Magma, it has its brooding moments while being relatively accessible.

Holy Roller is a great opener, very tribal sounding thanks to the percussion. Operatic vocals on Arabia No Zou mix with some scatting and a simple but great guitar riff in what's a bit like a post-punk take on Zeuhl.

Kodomo No Torokko is a masterpiece. A variety of instruments across the track mean it seems to go on a global tour of styles without settling on one for too long. The fast percussion, the violin work, vocal harmonies.

Rigo is a bit of cartoonish filler of scatty vocals and percussion before the guitars explode back into the scene in Octopus- Command alongside fantastic bass and drums. The start of this track is a couple of minutes of fantastic head bopping material! Everything then drops away for a slow, deep toned bass solo before things are turned up to eleven again, all the instruments return, the vocals get extremely manic and the guitars are distorted. A brief xylophone interlude just about gets the heart rate down before a final rock head banger to the end.

Hiko Suru Ko is a return to the tribal sounds of Holy Roller, with the vocals also helping to create the atmosphere of an African tribal song. Kaku No Sakana is a surprisingly lilting acoustic guitar track with incidental noise and violin added. Its a slow burner, perhaps a bit too long, but a nice change of pace. If its caused you to drift of to sleep, prepare for a big jolt though as Kinzoku No Taiji starts with a big bang, perhaps the most manic and Ruins-like track on the album with some parts losing melody entirely and becoming a wall of noise. TRex is then mostly a showcase of drumming, with a lot of electronic distorted noise and a build up to a crescendo and a final, sudden stop.

A very strong debut!

If GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR went Zeuhl, the ever-evolving Zeuhl veterans have slowed things down, drawn them out, removed the vocals, and chosen to explore the sound that the space between percussive hits can occupy. Gone are the Crimsonian dynamics or Magma-esque constructs, welcome in the bluesy foundation of all rock 'n' roll, even to Zeuhl! Never before have the commonalities between Zeuhl and UNIVERS ZERO been so evident.

1. "Skin" (29:27) Zeuhl takes a trip to the deep bayou of Louisiana. The music and the performances are still stunning, virtuosic, amazingly tight considering the pace and spacing. Drummer Okabe Youichi is especially impressive for his solid ability to adhere to this very challenging pace while continuing to display his virtuosity. Huge chills when acoustic guitar strums enter at 17:00; great chord progression. Then, in the 20th minute, we return to awesome sparsity and restraint. Again, this drummer deserves to be credited with so much for this brave and spiritual performance. The finish is a kind of Post Rock coming together of all elements and instruments in a cacophonous anti-climax before solo bowed bass takes us slowly out. While not a real fan of Louisiana blues, I know when something special has been achieved, and this is special. I feel as if I have just been put through a religious ceremony; it's as if Miles Teller has reached that level of ecstatic mastery that he fought so hard for in the film Whiplash!. Wonderful stuff! (56.5/60)

2. "Frasco" (19:40) opens with the sound of a traditional Japanese stringed instrument called a "valiha" playing solo. Repetitive single muted electric guitar chord strum is repeated and somewhat arpeggiated while vibes, bass, heavily effected electric guitar, and hand percussion instruments play around above and beneath. Valiha continues to ejaculate riffs between those of a variety of electric guitar sounds and other instruments. In the seventh minute the electric guitar and violin begin to take over the main melody line and, as the other instruments all fall away, the musical fabric itself. By the halfway mark a kind of Japanified Latinized Mahavishnu Orchestra jam has been set in motion--violin and guitar, of course, taking the lead presentations. Interesting! The music then morphs into a more JEFF BECK-like jam with a fairly simple and straightforward melodic riff steering the course to the end. Nice but not my favorite stuff from Bondage Fruit. (34/40)

Total time 49:07

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of evolving Zeuhl and an excellent addition to the lexicon of progressive rock music. While the title piece is, in my opinion, a prog masterpiece, the second epic falls well short of these heights.

I first rated this album four years ago (its now 2024) when first discovering Zeuhl. Since then the genre has reached a new appeal for me so I'm coming back to revise my score! This album combines 'Zeuhl 101' scatty female vocals grinding bass and aggressive drumming, with elements of space rock and a hint of punk. Dissonance and distortion feature but on the whole its very well refined. Daichi No Ko in particular is a fantastic track, with background space elements and tribal sounding drums and vocals, and a belting guitar solo too. Caucus Race showcases some incredible drumming, and Cottleston Pie is a calmer and more ethereal take on the tribal & space rock combination. Gel-Colloid is a little more chaotic (but not on the level of distant cousin Ruins). The first longer track Kodomo No Guntai is about as 'Magma' as it gets, a slow paced military march with the classic foreboding guitar and chanting vocals. Half way in though it transitions into a slow jazzy jam, still with the marching drum underneath, to add a bit of variety and ends with some mad scatting. The other long track Terminal Man is a winding atmospheric number, starting vibraphone/marimba heavy and developing into a dissonant and eerie violin section before a final couple of minutes crescendo of vocals. I originally gave this a low 3 stars, now upgraded to a comfortable four.

The debut release from these high energy Japanese youth. Though this is definitely Zuehl (the vocals give it away), the tribal rhythms and prominent contributions of tuned percussives, violins, saxophone, strumming acoustic guitars, and really raunchy buzz-saw lead electric guitar give the music and sound an entirely different palette than Magma or the European Zeulers.

1. "Holy Roller" (3:54) tribalistic hand drums joined by scratchy electric rhythm guitar and then violin and voice. The vocals definitely have Zeuhlish feel to them, but the rest less so. (8.75/10)

2. "Arabia No Zou" (4:31) fairly simple, straightforward musical weave in which the wordless vocal weave switches from percussive "da-da"s to smooth "wee-ee"s and then to soul-operatic scatting of a solo woman. Interesting. (8.75/10)

3. "Kodomo No Torokko" (8:24) opens with fast driving, multiple layers of percussion and chunky bass which are soon joined by a choir of wordless vocalise establishing a very engaging series of melodies with harmonic support and counterpoint presenting in a verse and chorus format. Very cool! At 2:30 voices and bass take a break while violin takes the lead over cymbal play. Sounds like Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went to Georgia" or The Who's "Baba O'Riley" violin play over Laurie Anderson's "Blue Lagoon" tuned percussives. Voices join back in until the five minute mark when acoustic steel-string guitar takes a turn as the demon soloist. Voices join in during the seventh minute in a beautiful Paul Winter Consort kind of way. Simply an awesome, innovative song! (20/20)

4. "Rigo" (2:22) percussion and Bobby McFerrin-like voices create an odd, perky chordal weave before soprano female takes on the role as the breathy lead over the top. Halfway through the song stops and peeks through another door (vibes) before returning to the perky chords with horn added. (4.5/5)

5. "Octopus-Command" (7:16) opens with multi-voice vocal weave that sounds like something Bobby McFerrin might have constructed, but then full band bursts in with same bass, snarey-drums, vibes, edgy guitars, and multi- voiced choir, all scatting along at breakneck speed with each other, each following the same melody lines--until the third minute when everybody drops out except for the bass--who meanders slowly, snail-like, through a lonely murk of silence. He sounds a lot like Eberhard Weber or David Darling. At 4:30 everybody comes shrieking (on behalf of the guitar and high-speed vocalists--who alternate screaching at each other, this is literally true). At 6:00 everybody cuts out for a brief interlude of high end xylophone before the band members all rejoin--this time at normal speed. Not as melodic as I like, but very impressive performances. (13.25/15)

6. "Hiko Suru Ko" (6:45) opens with a weave, pace, structure, and vocalist and melody sounding very much like a song of theirs from the future. I love the hand drumming as the percussion/rhythmic foundation. Violin takes over the lead from the alto female voice in the second verse. Female voice rejoins in the third minute. both leads are smooth and fairly sedate. Acoustic guitars and bowed cello/bass become more prominent in the third section--and vocals get thicker with others joining alto. Next section has an Nassau N'dour-like African-sounding male singer. Very cool! Then other vocalists join in while song slowly fades. (13.5/15)

7. "Kaku No Sakana" (6:15) gentle, based upon a simple acoustic guitar arpeggio other instruments add gentle almost incidental sounds to it. Nice and interesting but a little long and drawn out. (8.5/10)

8. "Kinzoku No Taiji" (7:37) more full band frenzy on display, this time pursuing a more mid/alto range of pitches. Excellent drumming on display here as the chunky bass slides all over the fretboard, high and low ends. Violin, electric guitar, and single voice take the solos (and take their solos very seriously--and man do they cook!). (13.5/15)

9. "T-Rex" (6:01) from the first note this one definitely presents itself like some kind of wild orgy of soloists. The only thing keeping it all together is the tribalistic drum pattern. When things "calm cdown" and move into more vocal- centered deliveries, it reminds me of P-We Yoshimi's OOIOO project. I actually really like the second half of this song: it's much tamer and more melodic and cohesive than the initial food frenzy. (9.75/10)

Total Time: 53:05

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and quite a debut of Japanified Zeuhl.

Zeuhl, Japanese style. Some very aggressive, almost animalistic music.

1. "Mobile" (4:57) pulsing, throbbing rhythm section with busy violin and vibes and scatting female lead vocal = ZEUHL! A bit simplistic in its construction (this is no Magma), it does have the advantage of being accessible to the uninitiated listener from the get-go. I love the vocal work, both soft and full volume, in the final third--as well as the re-assessment of pace in the final 30 seconds. (8.5/10)

2. "Daichi No Ko" (7:23) punky-poppish with searing electric violin soloing in the first minute, the choral vocals (kind of call and response) throw a very catchy pop melody (almost AmerIndian) at you, carry it just the right length of time before going off into a wild animalistic frenzy in the third minute--which is then followed by an equally frenzied electric guitar solo. At the 5:00 mark there is a slowdown and shift into more sensitive, delicate passage of vocals, double bass, vibes, and multiple voices woven into a simple jazzy rhythm (the bass is actually doing a solo throughout) before a full kick back into the fast-paced melodic call-and-response movement from the opening minute (with violin seething and screeching in the background). (14/15)

3. "Caucus Race" (7:26) opens with drums and bass keyboard flying at Mach 2. Guitar, sax, and Yuki join in before giving way to marimba and male vocalist's animal noises. This is the pattern until 2:51 when everything drops back except for a super-fast rolling guitar note and accompanying bowed bass, cello and multiple violins(?) play a furious dual into a mutually satisfying group orgasm at the 5:10 mark. But does the pace let up? No! It speeds along as fast as ever until at 6:15 it stops, leaving behind one female voice to carry forward previous melody lines. Second female voice joins in and then the whole band rejoins for a frenzied animalistic finish. Another interesting and engaging song. (13.5/15)

4. "Cottleston Pie" (5:31) thought the acoustic music here sounds more SHAKTI (violin, acoustic guitar, and more traditional percussive folk instruments), the multiple vocal tracks are full-on Zeuhl. Nice performances by all! (9.25/10)

5. "Gel-Celloid" (3:27) awesome JANNICK TOP-like driving music with intricate performances from the vibes, vocalists, and violin--all brought down by the fairly standard super-speed classic rock electric guitar solo. (9/10)

6. "Kodomo No Guntoi" (10:00) opens with slow-moving female choir and plodding, militaristic drums while searing electric guitars flail away here and there. In the third minute the choral voices back off and all kinds of wild, animalistic sounds are thrown into the music from all directions--including individual voices. It's a funky, pre-historic free-for-all. (Could Yoshimi P-We's OOIOO have been born from hearing this tribalistic music?) (16.5/20)

7. "Terminal Man" (15:15) churning electric guitars, vibes, violin, choral voices, chunky bass, and metallic drums open this very Zeuhlish song. After the introductory first minute, some wild male vocalist shouts us into a more MAGMA-like section. The vibes are the only thing that make it sound different from Christian Vander & Co.--until the fourth minute when a very Dick Dale-like rhythm track takes over while the lead guitar, screaming violin, and vibes express their energy in a rather anger and aggressive fashion. This must have been very therapeutic and cathartic for the band members! In the sixth minute we get a break while wailing guitar feedback is toyed with. Slow guitar arpeggi are then played, as if seeking their TOOL-like melody, before violin begins a slowly building solo. This goes on for minutes, building into a frenzy (though not as frenetic as some of the previous music on this album!), until we finish with a celebratory Zeuhl dance of some of the music from the earlier Dick Dale section. (26.5/30)

Total Time: 54:59

Powerful music with a very aggressive, often tribalistic approach to Zeuhl, though still definitely within the "rules" of Zeuhl. B+/4.5 stars; a near masterpiece of progressive rock music and a shining example of Zeuhl taken seriously (or is it?) by a group of very talented Japanese artists.

Tokyo based BONDAGE FRUIT joined the ranks with Tatsuya Yoshida's Ruins project by adopting the Magma inspired zeuhl rhythms of Christian Vander's creation and used them as a canvas to paint upon with rich vivid colors. The self-titled debut album emerged in 1994 only after a stable lineup formed the year before. The roots of the band actually dated back to 1980 when Yuji Katsui formed the precursor band Deforme. With the debut album BONDAGE FRUIT displayed a more energetic and substantially varied mix of styles that drifted in and out over the rhythmic zeuhl underpinnings that included not only jazz and folk elements but also dished out episodes of serious avant-prog angularity. The style of zeuhl is characterized primarily by two key factors. One is a martial rhythmic drive mostly driven by the backbone of a virtuosic skilled drummer and by ethereal vocals that more often than not convey shades of color rather than meaning, mostly performed by female divas.

BONDAGE FRUIT exhibited all the required elements for a classic zeuhl band with virtuoso drummer Okabe Youichi and the vocal combo of Aki Kubota and Saga Yuki. On the debut Yuki was only a secondary vocalist with Kubota performing the lion's share of vocal duties but before the second album simply titled BONDAGE FRUIT II, Aki departed and left Saga Yuki as the primary vocal goddess to deliver all those divaliscious utterances. She was joined by the addition of Yen Chang and together they are pure magic. The rest of the noisemaking cast which included Kido Natsuki (guitar, organ), Katsui Yuji (violin), Ohtsubo Hirohiko (bass) and Takara Kuimiko (vibraphone, marimba, percussion, piano) remained and thus this second offering from one of Japan's premier punk infused jazzy-zeuhl fusion bands and BONDAGE FRUIT II takes all the excessive eccentricities of the debut and ramps them up several notches. The results of which offer one of the most creative and energetic displays of the entire zeuhl genre.

Japanese bands have always excelled at incorporating noisy punk infused guitar riffing and nowhere is this so perfectly executed than on the second installment of the BONDAGE FRUIT show. As with all great masterpieces of avant-rock, BONDAGE FRUIT II manages to create enough variety to keep your interest but also doesn't delve so far out into the experimental soundscapes as to create an unfocused album. While the tracks display a diverse run of differing tones, timbres and dynamics, a few factors offer a cohesiveness that keeps this second album humming along without skipping a beat. The martial rhythmic drive is impeccable. Youichi displays a wide range of drumming skills as he can nail the simplest primitive beats but likewise can explode into a fury of bombastic jazzed out complexities that could be heard in the most hardcore tech death metal bands. The tracks all have instantly addictive melodies that often remind me of the Canterbury Scene particularly from the Northettes on the Hatfield & The North albums.

BONDAGE FRUIT II exploits the contrasts more effectively than the debut. Beautiful melodies are in harmony with heavy dissonant guitar feedback, echoey funky chords and jazz-fusion keyboard styles from the Herbie Hancock playbook. The playful nature of the music finds many time signature gymnastics such as the wild displays on 'Kodomo No Guntai' which finds lengthy examples of instruments falling in and out of sync while avant-prog angularities decorate the steady beat that decays into sophisticated chaos yet somehow an underpinning of rhythm successfully keeps everything connected. This really is an amazing display of Japanese noise rock at its absolute best. Everything about this album works on every level and exudes an energy and excitement throughout its entirety. You know you got a winner if you want to hear the album again after you've just heard it. BONDAGE FRUIT would go through even more drastic changes as both Yuki and Chang would leave after this album. The band would become more experimental and weird but for this brief moment managed to perfectly maintain the balance between that magical emotional connection and the unhinged avant-garde.

The crazy zeuhl sub-genre of progressive rock may have begun in France by Magma creator Christian Vander and then imitated by many others mostly residing with the French territory but after this crazy jazz-rock's country of origin, no other country has helped evolve it beyond its Kobaian roots like Japan has. The Eastern chapter of zeuhl craze caught on in the 80s when Tatsuya Yoshida emerged from nowhere with his band Ruins as it took the bubbling zeuhl rhythms of the French pioneers and turned it all into a highly sophisticated and bombastic mix of zeuhl, avant-prog, math rock, hardcore punk and free improvisation. The Japanese sector of the zeuhl universe has become known as brutal prog in many camps with its relentless attack of all the characteristics of progressive rock turned up to 11 without showing a shred of mercy whatsoever.

After Ruins opened the floodgates of this free-for-all zeuhl-fest, one of the earliest bands to follow suit was the Tokyo based BONDAGE FRUIT which took many of the aspects of Ruins, such as the avant-prog eccentricities of bands like Henry Cow and brutal bombast a la hardcore punk and simmered it all down into a completely new form of martial rhythmic drive that included a whole bunch of new instrumentation hitherto unheard in the genre's French scene. BONDAGE FRUIT was formed in 1990 by guitarist Kido Natsuki, violinist Yuji Katsui and drummer Otsubo Hirohiko. The band emerged from the ashes of another band Deforme and went through many lineups before vocalists Aki and Saga Yuki, percussionist Okabe Youichi and Takara Kuimiko (vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, percussion) joined ranks and created the band's outstanding self-titled debut which hit the market in 1994.

If that fine collection of instruments wasn't enough, BONDAGE FRUIT also incorporated the talents of vocalists Namie Tokyo and Yen Chang as well as saxophonist Hirose Junji on select tracks. While following in the footsteps of Ruins' manic delivery of percussion run amok with ample doses of noise rock, BONDAGE FRUIT crafted a much steadier flow of musical elements that relied as much on melody as the frenetic callithump of creative instrumental interplay. In addition to the Magma inspired zeuhl rhythms and the haunting choral vocal styles, the band displays a rather Mahavishnu Orchestra inspired style of jazz-fusion that comes through loud and clear on the Ponty-esque violins as well as the Celtic folk tinged guitars that tease in some John McLaughlin. However despite the niceties involved there is still plenty of room for avant-prog angularities such as on "Rigo" which hints at the artier side of the Art Bears or News From Babel.

Lyrics appear to be in neither English, Japanese nor some invented counterpart to Kobaian but rather nonsensical utterances utilized simply as another instrument. BONDAGE FRUIT is a really good album as no tracks are weak and each one resonates a unique personality which makes this album a wonderful listening experience. Tracks like "Octopus-Command" create a cacophonous roar that is as bombastic and brutal as what Ruins dished out which is why Kido and Tatsuya Yoshida would harmonize their passions in the band Korekyojinn that created a similar style of brutal zeuhl that BONDAGE FRUIT constructed on this debut. All in all, this is an excellent mix of musical styles teased into the deeper underpinnings of the zeuhl experience with a diversity that far exceeds anything that came before and while exhibiting an amazingly flamboyant display of weirdness, the album retains firm control of the rhythmic drive and never bursts into chaotic avant-weirdness for its sake alone.

I don't get Japanese Zeuhl. I get French Zeuhl, Belgian Avant Garde, UK Rock-in-Opposition, Scandanavian Symphonic and Death Metal, Dutch Neo Prog, Krautrock and Berlin School Electronic, Polish Heavy Prog. I even think I get Rock Progressive Italiano, but I don't get Japanese Zeuhl. I understand that the Japanese are masters of imitation--that they are even capable of taking previously defined forms and elevating them in terms of precision with their virtuoso mastery of their instruments. But I don't get how Japanese bands like Happy Family, Koenji Hyakkei, Ruins, and these guys, Bondage Fruit, fit into the Zeuhl scene. I mean, is there a Japanese translation of Kobaïan? a blood/DNA connection to Egyptian king Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré? a notorized endorsement from Camp Vander?

1. "Odd-job" (11:40) opens like a ROLLING STONES sound check, sounds, pacing, rhythms, and even riffs sound as if they come straight from some Stones song(s). (It turns out that the song may have been recorded in front of a live audience anyway!) When things breakdown into quietude in the third minute, even the vibes seem to remind us that this is a "déjà vu" type of moment as he plays the famous "Twilight Zone" theme riff--which is later picked up and carried by the violinist. As far as I can tell, this is the strongest link to a structural thread that the song has (aside from the drummer's fairly faithful attention to carrying forward a beat on the "ride" or "swish" cymbal). More old 60s early blues-rock riffs are introduced and toyed with over the second half of the song with little effect in inspiring a whole-band ethic until, finally, at the end of the ninth minute, something clicks (sparked by Katsui vocalise?) and everyone starts to really jam--coherently and cohesively. It's truly magical, but really? Nine minutes of [&*!#] to get to this point? Have you ever heard of "practice"? or editing? Can't the drummer and bass player fly all-out like that all the time? (15/20)

2. "Kagee Ga Kieru" (8:18) opens with some very sensitive, melodic, and careful play from vibes, violin, electric guitar, and the occasional bass note. It's beautiful even if it does sound like a ROY BUCHANAN or JEFF BECK piece. And all band members are on the same page--playing what constitutes a loose, contrived weave. Even when drummer Okabe Youichi enters in the fifth minute he is restrained and delicate. (14/15)

3. "Shortwave From Outer Space" (2:52) is a contrived construct to fabricate exactly what the title says it is. Keys, electronics, percussives. I have to admit: it's pretty good. (5/5)

4. Frost And Fire (12:32) opens at a gallop (the drumming literally sounds/feels like a horse's hoofbeats at a running gallop). In the third minute Kido Natsuki's guitar and Katsui Yuji's violin synchronize (bass is mixed way in the background) and mirror one another in trampsing through some Fripp-McLaughlin-like scales of chromatic dissonance. In the third minute the duet becomes a duel as violin drops out and searing guitar surges forward. Very Mahavishnu-like until he starts playing chords, but mostly he's playing single-note runs at breakneck speeds. Six minutes into the song, the guitar solo stops, Kido pairs up again with the violin, until Katsui breaks free to solo over the bare-bones help of Okabe Youichi and Takara Kuimiko's percussion play. Starting out slow, even melodically, Katsui builds and shifts gears as the crazy guitar strumming and percussion play provide the impetus for what becomes an almost deranged solo. Pretty cool. (I still don't get how or why this is "Zeuhl.") The two come back together at the very end to punch and drop dead. (Crowd clapping at the end! WTF?) (8.5/10)

5. "Récit" (28:19) opens with some guitar riffs from YES's song, "Close to the Edge," played over electronic chirping bird sounds. Violin then takes the next shot, playing some Mahavishnu Orchestra-like riffs before the whole band engages in the third minute. As the title suggests, perhaps this song is merely a clever merging of the recitation of many of the most famous or impressive riffs and motifs from the "classic era" of progressive rock music. I cannot name them all, but each individual melodic riff put before the drums and Zeuhlish bass by the guitar, vibes, and/or violin seem so familiar that I feel guilty for not being able to name them immediately. The drum work, once it has begun, remains fairly constant in its breakneck, KEITH MOON-like pace and busy- ness. The other instrumentalists have merely to play whatever they wish--and they do, now mixing separate riffs as if standing alone with the drummer, oblivious to the other band members. I suppose some might find this entertaining, even an exciting intellectual challenge (to solve the "name that tune" mystery puzzle pieces), but I am not of this group. The test for me would be to see the band "recite" this song in full replication in a live setting. (Much of it seems as if it could have been improvised and would, therefore, be quite difficult to replicate. Ever.) Somewhere in the twelfth minute the sound engineer is suddenly called out of the sound booth. Seeing no reason to continue, the band drop their instruments and head off to the lunch room, Thus, around the 13:00 mark we, the listener, are treated to a spacious reprieve as all band members walk out of the studio for their lunch break leaving only vibes player Takara Kuimiko alone with the admonishment, "You need to practice!" After their bento boxes have been emptied, guitarist Kido Natsuki and violinist Katsui Yuji return to tune their instruments while bassist Ohtsubo Hirohiko takes extra time to get out his double bass--which he, likewise, has to tune. All of this, of course, is still being recorded as the sound engineer had to go get take out and forgot to push "pause" on the console. Drummer Okabe Youichi has to eat twice as much as the others as he is expending many more calories than the others, but eventually, in the eighteenth minute, he, too, returns and begins tuning and adjusting his instrument. Somewhere in the twenty-first minute the engineer returns so the band members start to jam just to let him thing that they've been working hard. The odd thing is--and this really surprises the band--is this time it really works! The whole "Close to the Edge" riff jam thing finally comes together into an interactive, full-band explosion. But, then, after about five minutes of that, the band has had enough and try to shut it down, but, as most musicians are rather hard-headed, they can't decide who gets to have the last word so they're all left there standing as the feedback from the amps and monitors slowly decay and fade. (45/60)

6. Kinzoku No Taiji (Live *) (8:39) opens as the whole band, Takara Kuimiko on vibes, bursts into form and function. Bass lines from Ohtsubo Hirohiko are flowing like machine gun fire, the violin sounds as if it's going to start smoking, while Kido Natsuki restrains himself (as long as he can) to wild flailing chord play. After five minutes of "holding space" for others, he can no longer restrain himself, joins the fray of soloists, gradually pushing Katsui Yuji out of the soundscape (he tries to re-approach several times but is thwarted each time--the third time by the vibes!) Now, this, might qualify as Zeuhl--though Mahavishnu Jazz Fusion is more like how I'd describe it. Special shout out: Well done, drummer Okabe Youichi! (20/20)

3.5 stars; an unusual album of Mahavishnu Orchestra-like jazz fusion. The songs often have trouble coming together--seemed improvised--as might give reason to doubt the truth that this was released under the auspices of being a studio album when all but two of the songs have audience clapping at the end. I rate it up for the high amusement factor.