NEFFESH MUSIC: DÉLIRE

It is a minor tragedy (which could be easily rectified) that Yochk'o Seffer's Neffesh-Music albums from the late 70s have not been re-released in a coherent form. Unless you're ready to spend huge amounts of time and money tracking down and buying the now rare LP releases, it's really only the third album "Ghilgoul" that's available. On CD, the tracks "Heart", "Jonetsu for Judith" and "Delire" are found on the Musea compilation "My Old Roots", and "Orkana" is on the compilation "Noce Chimique" as well as the release called only "Neffesh Music" from Moshé-Naim. As far as I've been able to ascertain, the tracks "Streledzia" and "Ima (1ere partie)" have not been released on CD, although the latter appears to be the introduction to the 20-minute piece "Ima" which covered the whole A-side of the next album, "Ima".

Anyway, the first of the Neffesh albums is a little different from the two next ones, in that it features no bass guitar and also very little drums (only "Heart" and "Orkana" feature drumming by Zao bandmate Truong). For this reason there is much less of the jazz fusion feel which is so prominent at times on "Ghilgoul", and the Univers Zero-style chamber rock is a closer reference. It is arguably the least Zeuhl-like of the three for this reason.

Opener "Heart" is a stand-out track. It sets out boldly with a staccato figure performed by drums, strings and piano. Much precipitous string work follows before an almost anthem-like melody sets in with piano and tenor sax in unison, later also overdubbed with Seffer's otherworldly falsetto singing. This bit reminds me strongly of VdGG's "Killer", but it doesn't last. Instead the music suddenly sets off in a different tempo, and a solo duel occurs between Seffer on tenor sax and Seffer on mini-moog, accompanied by drums and...yup Seffer on piano. All of a sudden Stravinsky is nowhere in sight, and we're in free jazz land.

"Jonetsu for Judith" opens with jazz chords and tenor sax, and if it weren't for the mini-moog bass you'd be forgiven for thinking we're in more standard modern jazz for a little while. Seffer really gets to show his absolutely improbable technical ability on the saxophone here, a true son of Coltrane in style and texture. The string quartet is reduced to playing chords here. The result is a kind of eerie and somewhat unsettling landscape which is such a trademark of Seffer's more recent work (not least the "String Orchestra" album), and it really works well here because it's only the single track. In the last minute of the track, the music suddenly builds over a pretty groovy cello and mini-moog bass figure with some cymbals, and I'm thinking "wow, this is getting cool", but then the song is suddenly over just when things were really picking up. Pity.

"Orkana" is another highlight, featuring prominent mini-moog contrasting the rigid and claustrophobic piano chords. After several radical tempo changes the piece ends with an out-of-control mini-moog solo over frenetic drumming, presumably illustrating the song's title.

The short track "Streledzia" -- named after the bird of paradise flower -- I really enjoy. It's a light and beautiful piece led by a soaring melody on sopranino sax with string section and what sounds like bass sax beneath (which is funny, since only "tenor sax", of which there is no sign, is stated on the LP cover). "Bird of paradise" (without the flower) might have been a better title, because I can very much imagine the bird's dance to this music. The piece is interesting because it's structure is sort of inverted: it starts with strings and two saxes, and then the instruments fall off one by one, leaving the sopranino pretty much alone for the last minute. Normally you'd build it up, rather than take apart, but Seffer's not one to care for conventions.

The title track "Deliré" presumably tries to communicate a sense of delirium, and does so effectively. This piece is pretty inaccessible and very, very dense, with very close string quartet chords set against Seffer alternating between tenor sax and piano, occasionally overdubbed with his distinctive high-pitched vocals doubling the melodic themes. If you're a fan of Shostakovitch and free jazz you will enjoy "Deliré", although in honesty this track could be too much even for many hardy listeners. To be honest, I personally enjoy this track the least. Might be something for the most ardent RIO fans out there, and it's certainly unique.

Only a little bit of "Ima" is included here, as a taster for the upcoming album by that title (the LP cover states as much). It is a unique piece and very ethereal, notable for introducing (for the first time?) Seffer's self-made "sonic sculptures", twisted and wierd looking pipeworks with a saxophone mouthpiece attached (I think) which make very odd sounds indeed. No less than 4 bass clarinette tracks have been added as well, and Seffer's vocals multitracked into a ghostly choir. "Eerie" doesn't begin to do this justice. On top of all this runs a loooong tenor sax solo. Absolutely amazing, or possibly absolutely unlistenable, you decide.

In all a superb album, although not quite reaching the soaring heights of "Ghilgoul" or side B of "Ima" quite as consistently.