QUATERNAIRE

The whole story for this Swiss duo starts in 1996 in Geneva, when painter Marco Miserocchi, who also happened to be a true prog enthusiast, met Marco Caldi, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, with whom he shared the same music tastes.For the next couple of years the two men worked hard on their own songs and they came in touch with producer David Richards, who had worked with Queen, David Bowie, Chris Rea and others.Richards decided to help the duo, lending his studio and providing electronic drums in their debut.Two more drummers, Thierry Hostaetter and JB Meier participated in the recordings and the album ''Quaternaire'' saw the light privately in 1999.

PINK FLOYD-inspired Neo Prog is the name of the game here, delivered with French lyrics and a cinematic atmosphere akin to the British pioneers of the sound, maybe with a touch of PULSAR in the more spacey/symphonic sections.The result is pretty close to native acts such as ADN, PHAESIS or SAQQARAH, slow-paced, deeply emotional and slightly psychedelic textures with impressive guitar solos and a huge, atmospheric keyboard background.Very often though the music becomes extremely grandiose, being built around dreamy voices and ethereal soundscapes and bursting suddenly into sharp electric guitar solos and monster, orchestral synthesizers.These guys composed music that tended to be theatrical, sensitive and dramatic at the same time, having a very balanced sound and measuring the levels of energy in every track.Apart from the cinematic keyboards there are still some more angular synth flights and a few upbeat, rhythmic tunes in a typical Neo Prog approach added for good measure.''Danse des ombres'' is the absolute highlight, a great example of how Marco Caldi mixed emphatic dual guitar parts with keyboards and Miserocchi's slightly distorted but always sensational voice to offer cinematic, FLOYD-ian Prog Rock.

No further releases or info around the duo indicate that ''Quaternaire'' was something like a bet for them.They sure won this thing, the album is a fine example of French-styled, spacey Neo Prog with some unique soundscapes to be found.Warmly recommended.