M.A.L.

Krautrock • Belgium

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M.A.L. biography
M.A.L. is the pseudonym of Belgian musician Daniel Malempr� (b. 1953), an undersung pioneer of tripped-out kosmische electric guitar from Charleroi. Taking influence from his big brother, nine-year-old Malempr� began a life-long affair with the guitar, initially inspired by the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones before becoming entranced with Pink Floyd, King Crimson and the krautrock movement. After meeting bassist Francis Pourcel in 1970 via high school, the two formed blues-rock ensemble SIC with some friends, covering Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple while also writing original material. The two later formed krautrock collective Kosmose in 1973 with keyboardist/flautist Alain Neffe, whom Malempr� originally met at a SIC concert before their disbandment. Malempr� departed Kosmose in 1975 to undergo Belgium's then-compulsory military service, later getting married and starting a family in its wake.

He returned to music in 1981, joining old friend Neffe (now the man behind the minimal/cold wave label Insane Music) for the short-lived band Subject. The early-to-mid 1980s saw Malempr� make guest appearances on Neffe's other projects Bene Gesserit and Human Flesh while he launched his solo career (in which Neffe would often return the favour). As underground as they come, M.A.L. became "best known" for proggy minimal synth music, performed across numerous compilation tracks and four full-length cassettes, with two subsequent retrospective collections providing an overview of this period.

The turn of the century saw two new studio LPs, along with an archival compilation, The Song of the Stars, released on EE Tapes in 2002. The limited edition CDR featured pieces recorded between 1972 and 1976, simultaneous to his stay in Kosmose, which demonstrated his earlier, more experimental style based around a used 1964 Fender Stratocaster, a wah-wah pedal and a Sony TC630 tape recorder. Malempr� declared to have pioneered the psychedelic multi-layered echo-guitar approach made popular by Manuel G�ttsching's 1975 seminal Inventions for Electric Guitar - in fact, Malempr� claimed to have sent demo tapes of his material to Virgin and legendary krautrock label Ohr (for which G�ttsching was working at the time), and was ultimately rejected by the former, hearing only silence from the latter. Malempr� was later notified Ohr declined, but only soon after the release of G�ttsching's album. Malempr�'s thoughts about this were summed up best via the title of ...M.A.L. is the pseudonym of Belgian musician Daniel Malempr� (b. 1953), an undersung pioneer of tripped-out kosmische electric guitar from Charleroi. Taking influence from his big brother, nine-year-old Malempr� began a life-long affair with the guitar, initially inspired by the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones before becoming entranced with Pink Floyd, King Crimson and the krautrock movement. After meeting bassist Francis Pourcel in 1970 via high school, the two formed blues-rock ensemble SIC with some friends, covering Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple while also writing original material. The two later formed krautrock collective Kosmose in 1973 with keyboardist/flautist Alain Neffe, whom Malempr� originally met at a SIC concert before their disbandment. Malempr� departed Kosmose in 1975 to undergo Belgium's then-compulsory military service, later getting married and starting a family in its wake.

He returned to music in 1981, joining old friend Neffe (now the man behind the minimal/cold wave label Insane Music) for the short-lived band Subject. The early-to-mid 1980s saw Malempr� make guest appearances on Neffe's other projects Bene Gesserit and Human Flesh while he launched his solo career (in which Neffe would often return the favour). As underground as they come, M.A.L. became "best known" for proggy minimal synth music, performed across numerous compilation tracks and four full-length cassettes, with two subsequent retrospective collections providing an overview of this period.

The turn of the century saw two new studio LPs, along with an archival compilation, The Song of the Stars, released on EE Tapes in 2002. The limited edition CDR featured pieces recorded between 1972 and 1976, simultaneous to his stay in Kosmose, which demonstrated his earlier, more experimental style based around a used 1964 Fender Stratocaster, a wah-wah pedal and a Sony TC630 tape recorder. Malempr� declared to have pioneered the psychedelic multi-layered echo-guitar approach made popular by Manuel G�ttsching's 1975 seminal Inventions for Electric Guitar - in fact, Malempr� claimed to have sent demo tapes of his material to Virgin and legendary krautrock label Ohr (for which G�ttsching was working at the time), and was ultimately rejected by the former, hearing only silence from the latter. Malempr� was later notified Ohr declined, but only soon after the release of G�ttsching's album. Malempr�'s thoughts about this were summed up best via the title of his inaugural 1981 compilation submission: "Manuel Ist Unehrlich."

In the wake of his retirement after over a quarter-century as a hospital toxicologist, Malempr� was cajoled by Neffe and Belgian label Sub Rosa to curate even more lost tracks from M.A.L.'s pre-synth-pop period. The result was My Sixteen Little Planets, released to critical acclaim in 2018 and securing Malempr�'s name in the history books next to G�nter Schickert, Michel Moulinie and Achim Reichel.

- Gordy, May 2024read more

M.A.L. Videos (YouTube and more)

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M.A.L. discography

Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

M.A.L. top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.00 \| 1 ratings Chemistry 1981	0.00 \| 0 ratings Two Faces 1983	0.00 \| 0 ratings Outlaw 1986	0.00 \| 0 ratings Uncertain Alchemy 1986	0.00 \| 0 ratings The Song of the Stars 2002
0.00 \| 0 ratings Etats d'�me 2004	0.00 \| 0 ratings Sounds and Images From Some Non-Existing Worlds 2010	4.00 \| 1 ratings My Sixteen Little Planets 2018

M.A.L. Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

M.A.L. Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

M.A.L. Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings

Eighties
2007

3.00 | 1 ratings

The M.A.L. Tapes
2011

M.A.L. Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

M.A.L. Reviews

Showing last 10 reviews only

Thanks to gordy for the artist addition.

2.00 \| 1 ratings Chemistry 1981	0.00 \| 0 ratings Two Faces 1983	0.00 \| 0 ratings Outlaw 1986	0.00 \| 0 ratings Uncertain Alchemy 1986	0.00 \| 0 ratings The Song of the Stars 2002
0.00 \| 0 ratings Etats d'�me 2004	0.00 \| 0 ratings Sounds and Images From Some Non-Existing Worlds 2010	4.00 \| 1 ratings My Sixteen Little Planets 2018