ECHO

The name IKARUS is mostly known in progressive rock circles as the one-shot Krautrock band that released a sole album in 1971 and then disappeared into the ether but the name has been revived and now also refers to the Zurich, Switzerland based band that is more infatuated with the world of zeuhl, avant-prog and vocal jazz. This minimal groove group emerged in the 2010s and has thus far released three albums. ECHOE is the first which adopts the repetitive bubbling zeuhl rhythms and decorates the soundscape with psychedelic and jazz-rock regalia.

For a zeuhl based band, this one is fairly unique. The piano chops of Lucca Fries provide the zeuhl rhythmic drive while the dual vocals of Stefanie Suhner and Andreas Lareida offer their vocal jazz counterpoints which are wordless (mostly) and provide extra instrumentation. With no guitars to be heard, only a bass and percussion joins forces with the piano and the one / two punch of the human voice. The soundscapes are diverse with heavier passages contrasting with light sparse moments with the main gist of one instrument sort of creating a hypnotizing droning effect albeit in a marching stop / start fashion while others allowed to improvise.

There are no fictional languages on board here. This zeuhl was not broadcast from Kobaia. Instead the vocals are mostly wordless but occasional such as on "Loss Of Fire" in English. The psychedelic aspects remind me of the zeuhl band Archaïa insofar as the vocals create a hypnotic display of both connects and disconnects to the real world simultaneously. While that band was all about brandishing trippy electronic wizardry, IKARUS sounds as if it's completely acoustically driven with the possible exception of the bass. None of the instruments including the voice really dominate the album. The nine tracks of 45 minutes provide an excellent mixing up effect of various sounds dominating with the remaining providing the subordinate roles.

One could consider this a vocal jazz group that went zeuhl only without any traces of wind instruments or guitar. There is a clear reference to the vocal jazz greats of the past at least in terms of tones and textures in the vocals and scatting effect but the rhythmic drive is clearly in the zeuhl universe with more than a few references to the Rock In Opposition movement and avant-prog in general. The musicians are masters of incorporating silence as a major element in its effectiveness. This band can do more with a single piano and a few vocal utterances than most could do with an entire big band. These is incredibly well thought-out musical scores here that founder Ramón Oliveras and his wife Stefanie have carefully crafted.

IKARUS claims that their style is a sort of post-zeuhl if you will which takes cues from the classical composers Bartok's modern classical and chamber music sensibilities along with Arvo Pärt's minimalistic multi-vocalist style. Add the nu-jazz and third stream eccentricities of Elvind Aarset and the zeuhl rhythmic drive of Magma set to slo-mo and it becomes apparent quite quickly that IKARUS has latched onto a stylistic approach that is utterly unique and quite satisfying to sink your teeth into. Somehow this group manages to balance the abstract with the sensual and the otherworldliness of psychedelia with the intimacy of vocal jazz. This tightrope act is in top form and its fragile infrastructure which sounds one note away from totally collapsing into utter failure never flinches from its strategic and uncompromising demeanor. This is an unexpected gem of the modern era.