SEBKHA CHOTT

This album is in fact a newly recorded, plus slightly rearranged, version of Sebkha Chott's first effort "De l'Existence de la Mythologie", which was issued in 2004. According to the band members, they live in 'Ohreland', a self-invented imaginary world with its own mythology which, though, seems to exist only in their minds, because (still according to the musicians themselves) their lyrics are full of pornography and tyrannical, as they say, i.e. sadistic humor. What an awful topic for artistic self-expression! That said, I don't need to comprehend French to realize that the disc's lyrical content is indeed about something obscene. The group's description of its music (a blend of ultra-metal, avant-garde, jazz-punk, electronic and hip-hop, created, quoting them, "by the violent way of thinking") in most cases corresponds to the real state of affairs, too. However, only the last six tracks here are musical creations, whilst what we get before those is a male monolog addressed to some Julia, whom he occasionally calls a bitch in English. I don't know how often he cracks coarse jokes towards his invisible interlocutrix in French, but he certainly does, probably many times. I'm also displeased with the fact that the man's (monolithic of a sort) speech is located on 48 tracks-segments. I believe the band has done so in order to make this, originally a 7-piece, outing consist of f...king tens of tracks as their other releases do, though it's completely beyond me why. The real compositions range from 7 to 11 minutes, and the sound of most of those suggests that, traditionally for Sebkha Chott, quite a lot of jazz, chamber and rock players, as well as singers (of both sexes), are involved in the project. However, it is well known that "many" is not necessarily equivalent to "good", and here is just such a case. The vocals, the harmony ones included, are much less often cohesive than odd, to say the least, and the narratives - everywhere they are - remind me of clownery at best. The music as such leaves a better impression, albeit varying in quality on different tracks, two of which, 53 and 50, lie far beyond the progressive rock idiom. The first of those is basically a brainchild of electronic devices, deploying a drum machine, synth-bass, etc. In style it evokes a cross between e-music, so-called trance acid and a DJ's 'creation' and so is destined either for the dustbin or a discotheque which is the same thing in my view. The latter features most, if not all, of the band's players, and yet it's incredibly monotonous. To be more precise, it is so much hypnotically catchy that I would beware of playing it two, let alone three times running. Its primary theme is particularly obtrusive, reminding me strongly of an excerpt from the main soundtrack for Emir Kusturica's film "Time of Gypsies", which blends Serbian and Gypsy folk melodies and is rollicking, powerful and somewhat clamorous throughout. Full of unison solos and chords, the move or rather riff runs almost throughout the piece, and there are only three digressions from it - to rap (a jabber without any musical background), hip-hop and free jazz, all of which sound far-fetched and incongruous alike. Muzak is the word, a sort of putting on airs. The remaining four tracks, 49, 51, 52 and 54, all would have been good compositions had they been free of vocal extravaganzas and all verbal trash in general, all of which comes predominantly from the 'stronger' sex's representatives, though some parts of a mixed choir are also rather repellent. The music as such is indeed a cocktail of Punk Rock, Metal-In-Opposition and jazz with elements of electronic (but no 'discotheque' ones here, thankfully), and also classical (on the last track), which often seems to steer in the direction of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, but since the guitar riffing is thrash-based in all cases, i.e. within the RIO-related movements, too - is both straighter and more repetitive than that. PS: In the press kit Sebkha Chott describes all its releases in no other way than as masterpieces, particularly accentuating the hero of this occasion. However, "De la Persistance de la Mythologie" is mediocrity at best. Besides, considering the essence of the 'novelty' deployed, I find the debut's original version to be much better than this one.

Into Sebkha Chott's unbalanced discography, "Nagha Mahdi..." is IMHO a real mindblowing RIO jewel... 48 short compositions running thru' your head at speed of light mixed on a non-stop "tour de force" full of incessant changes and brutal breaks based on a hard bass work, awsome percussions and crazy vocal sections that turns this almost conceptual piece into a wild and enjoyable journey.

Perhaps is not a RIO masterpiece, "Nagha Mahdi..." has to be one of the most powerful albums of the last two decades and a proof that avaant-garde genre is still very alive. Mayb is not an album for inexperienced ears, but I'm sure that a real RIO fan would enjoy this amazing album that reminds me the most crazy RIO pieces created by band such as Doctor Nerve, The Muffins on "185", Thinking Plague of Höyry-Kone... 4* to me...

It's difficult not to lose one's bearings listening to this album, which is made by a band that sets out to be as eclectic as possible. It quite sounds like one is changing radio stations in one's car, as the group will play something in one style and abruptly switch to a completely different genre. I do not mean subtle changes- I mean to say that this is a band that will play heavy metal one minute and polka the next, then decide to rap for a while, and then play some jazz, all with nary a transition. Such novelty is certainly amusing, but overstays its welcome after one song. It's a lot like watching one of those awful performers on a TV show like America's Got Talent, where someone combines juggling, cross-dressing, and yodeling, all while farting Ashlee Simpson songs and calls it a talent. Let me press my buzzer now.

"Bienvenue a Babylone" A biting riff a bit reminiscent of early King Crimson forms the basis for the saxophone's work. The vocal sections are more bizarre than the music, ranging from quasi-chants to the shouting over hospital room sounds. While the track begins excellently, it quickly turns into nonsensical music, like something out of a hellish circus.

"Pinok'io" Rambunctious music that still has that dark whimsy makes up the second piece. Unexpectedly, there occurs a French rap (seriously) that is rather amusing and enjoyable. Later, the band invokes a harpsichord-led bit of heavy metal with trombone quavering along, followed by an all out traditional jazz passage. If that isn't enough eclecticism, the band throws in an a cappella moment immediately followed by more giddiness similar to the introduction. Then with a slapped and popped bass, some wild funk ensues.

"Le Cirque Des Enfers" Awful-sounding vocals carry on over pseudo-heavy metal music. Overall, this is a terrible, ugly, and nonsensical piece. It's intriguing that I wrote that earlier remark before I realized that the title of this track is translated "The Circus of Hell."

"La Comtesse Del Amafia" Enraged blasts of overdriven guitars and a banged piano start this one. During many parts, it seems as though Sebkha Chott is attempting to emulate Koenjihyakkei.

"Carpe Diem" Distorted vocals and suppressed rock music begin this track. There's more French rapping, this time over quirky sounds that remind me of parts of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis. Thereafter is some not unpleasant salsa-like piano work with a Latin rhythm. The lead guitar is similar in sound to modern Santana. A percussion solo leads to the conclusion of the song.

"La Chute D'Ohreland" The introduction to the final and longest track is intriguing, with a snake-like bass groove, light percussion, and strange electronic tones accompanied by brass instruments. There's a lot of wailing, a lot of brass blasts, some strange atmospheric passages, odd bass playing, and weird screeching, but not a lot I would consider music, let alone enjoyable.

To describe this album briefly: A mind bending experience. However, it is much more then that. Sebkha Chott are a band that know no boundaries and are not afraid to combine musical styles that most people would feel shouldn't be together. SC mix jazz, metal, reggae, experiemental, folk, and outright strange sounds together into this musical feast. Be warned, this is not for the faint of heart.

For me, the album can be broken down into three sections: the first, dominated by a metal sound. The second, having more of a folky nature to the music, and lastly an experimental part. However, this are strictly generalizations. Each song (sometimes even the twelve second ones) twists and turns without hesitation. But the most reoccuring theme is based in those genres. Though, going through a song by song review would be quite tedious and would be terrible to read. Besides, this is one of those records that must be heard to fully appreciate the power of it. Another thing that need to be said about this band is that they have the ability to switch genres, speeds, themes, etc more smoothly and effortlessly than any other band I've heard. It is quite remarkable and really shows the skill and percision that these musicians have, even though there are times where the music can come off as "silly". There are few downsides to this album, with the most considerable is its length. Not really overlong, as there is not much here I would consider filler, just could become a little much as it takes it's forty-eight song journey. This is mostly a personal preferance thing however.

All in all, this is a fine album that any person with adventourous ears should hear. There is enough stuff going on to keep anyone busy for years, and thus there is always something new to discover. Recommended to fans of genre hopping bands (such as Mr. Bungle, Estradasphere, etc), or to anyone that is looking for something different and can embrace the weird with arms wide open. 4 stars.

Their music: what a blend! From metal, to jazz, opera, contemporary music, progressive rock, electronic, ambient, classic, gypsy, egyptian, african percussions, tap dance, ska, circus music, fusion, zeuhl... , Sebkha Chott mix so many styles with a perfect mastery of structured-craziness. On Nagah Mahdi, we can hear some Zappa, Magma, Fishbone, and Mr.Bungle influences. Call their music whatever you want to: "eclectic cosmic music", "auditory feast", or "Mekanik Metal Disco" (as the band says himself), but it is evident that they're awesome! Nagah Mahdi is really innovator; I felt over backward!

While you're listening to the album, you can imagine that you're in a musical theater. You penetrate their world named Ohreland. The atmosphere is festive, ironic, strange, loud, heavy, dramatic, oriental... but they particularly accent the delirious and original side of their songs. The brass instruments and the distortion guitars leads the sound, despite that their music is so diversified and the amount of intruments is really big. The 3 singers (2 men and 1 woman) contribute to create a crazy atmosphere, alternating between talked lyrics, cries, whispering, opera and going from French to English... Their lyrics are totally profound and lucid. The texts bring some strong reflections about life, even if it seems to have irony in them. The words are manipulated with a hand of genius!

Their album Nagah Mahdi is really surprising. You've propably never seen that: 48 tracks on one CD! All the tracks are really short; about 1:30 (one is 5 seconds long!!!), but there's a black sheep (a 12:50 long track). The 48 tracks of Nagah Mahdi are separated in 8 rouleaux (rolls). However, almost all the songs follow one after the other and cannot be separated. The musical pieces form a masterpiece that has to be considered as a whole, as a brilliant album in his entirety.

If you're adventurous, don't wait to get it, it's absolutely worthwhile! I give 4.5 stars for this jewel!