ROUGE CIEL

Modern Rock in Opposition/Progressive Rock band hailing from the city of Montreal, Quebec.Rouge Ciel were an idea of high school friends Guido Del Fabbro and Antonin Provost,who started the band as a duo in 1996.Over the years they expanded the line-up to a sextet,eventually Rouge ciel would end up as a solid quartet with Simon Lapointe on keys/melodica and Nemo Venba on drums and trumpet.Their eponymous ebut was released in 2001 on the Quebecois Monsieur Fauteux M'Entendez-Vous? label.

''Rouge ciel'' is a demanding journey through RIO,improvisational Jazz and Progressive Rock.Highly complicated,the band twists from dissonant parts to groovy passages and even folk touches here and there.Complex interplays are constantly present with violin (fantastic performance by Del Fabbro),trumpets and electric piano leading the way,while there are also plenty of individual solos,even with a heavy use of mandolin.The complex grooves are paused by sudden breaks and the listening becomes sometimes really haunting.Unlike many groups of the style,Rouge Ciel often use dynamic electric guitars to add another dimension to their sound,yet the tracks alternate between acoustic and electric ones.But always there is something to like in each one of them,either the rich grooving parts,the smooth jazzy passages or the earth-shattering interplays.

This is a band to keep an eye on.Some melody around wouldn't hurt,but fans of RIO and the jazzier side of Progressive Rock will find this album particularly challenging but ''Rouge ciel'' comes recommended also for those into adventurous listenings in general.