FORGAS BAND PHENOMENA

FORGAS BAND PHENONEMA are a seven piece band out of France playing music greatly inspired by early SOFT MACHINE. Patrick Forgas the drummer and leader here has been very much influenced by Robert Wyatt over his career. Patrick's first solo album "Cocktail" from 1977 is worth tracking down along with "Axis Of Madness" under the FORGAS BAND PHENONEMA name. That latter album from 2009 is often mentioned when "best of" lists for that year are brought up.

On this 2018 release "L'Oreille Electrique" or "Electric Ear" we have a new guitarist since that 2009 record and a new bass player. And what a bass player! Gerard Prevost played on Patrick's "Cocktail" record way back in 1977, and some may know him for his work with ZAO, HELDON, RAHMANN, Jean-Philippe Goude etc. The man can play, and as Patrick mentions in the liner notes he has a lot of hilarious stories to tell from being on the road over the years. This album and package is so classy and well done. Patrick wrote the extensive liner notes and it's just such a positive enjoyable read. He even talks about each track along with his battle with vestibular neuritis that affected his balance and required emergency treatment. All is good thankfully, and the title of this record reflects that experience.

The photos of the band in the liner notes are appreciated. I like the one with all seven discussing things. Young and old all on the same page. Two horn players, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and violin. The violin dominates the sound much of the time but with two horn players we get plenty of sax, trumpet and trombone. Patrick is in fine form and I'm just going to say it, Gerard Prevost is the man here. An incredible bass player folks! We get five long tracks ranging from 9 1/2 minutes to 12 1/2 minutes. This is a very uniform album in the sense that each track has a similar vibe and sound to it. The keyboard of choice is the piano, and maybe my favourite moment is the electric piano to open "Creme Anglaise" where it echoes bringing Fusion to mind. There is some ripping guitar at times and the violin and horns certainly are not restrained much of the time.

This has been a pleasure. A mature and uniform work that I would describe as feel good music. You know, that warm blanket on a Winter's night here in the North sort of thing. Patrick mentions that the title of this record may bring to mind GONG's classic "Camembert Electrique" which is fine by him as Daevid Allen is a founding member of SOFT MACHINE his favourite band, and a musical genius as he points out.

Following on from the release of their debut album in 1997 the band planned to undertake live dates, but these were impacted by changes in personnel and by the time they went into the studio in January 1999 only guitarist Mathias Desmier was still there with Patrick. The rest of the band now comprised Gilles Pausanias (keyboards), Denis Guivarc'h (saxophone) and Juan-Sébastien Jimenez (bass) with an overall sound and approach that was very rooted in the fusion space but with less overall breadth and width than the debut. There is still one number coming in at nearly twenty minutes, but the other four are all less than ten with a total running time of just over 45 minutes.

With less woodwind instruments, and no vibraphone/marimba, there is far more space on this album which is used wisely so while Denis is often taking the lead role the others switch between providing melodic support or taking more of a backseat. During "Rebirth" Mathias plays the same note progression almost throughout, yet when he is given the opportunity he is an incredibly exciting and dynamic performer yet fully understood his role in this piece. This also allows Patrick to ensure that he and Juan-Sébastien are more to the fore, as there are far less layers to contend with while musically it feels much more like an album of its time as opposed to one from much earlier, unlike the debut. Undoubtedly the change in line-up had impacted what was taking place, but also Forgas had been able to record four albums in 10 years, and before that there was a break of 13 years when he had recorded very little, so he was able to experiment more with what he actually wanted to achieve. This often feels more upbeat and commercial, with much more of a jazz rock fusion feel than Canterbury, and one can certainly understand why after this was released they were soon signed to Cuneiform who they have been with ever since. Again, this album has until now been unavailable for the last 20 years, and it is a fine addition to any collection.

Drummer Robert Forgas, who was heavily inspired by Soft Machine, recorded and released his debut album, 'Cocktail', in 1977, but due to the demise of the record label he pretty much gave up on music for ten years. Thanks to Musea, the healthy sales of 'Cocktail' then led to the release of two new albums in the Nineties, which in turn led to conversations about forming a band to be able to play the music live. Their debut album, 'Roue Libre', was recorded in less than two weeks in March 1997, and was released on Cosmos Music later the same year, but has now been unavailable for more than 20 years.

Even though I was highly active in the scene in the 90's I had not come across this release until now, but I did review their most recent album, 2018's 'L'Oreille Électrique' which I thoroughly enjoyed so was looking forward to this. In many ways this is like stepping back in time, not to the late Nineties though, but a decade earlier. Patrick (drums, electronics) is joined by bassist Philippe Talet to provide the bedrock of this release, always moving yet always keeping the structure tight while Mathias Desmier (guitar) and Stéphane Jaoui (Fender Rhodes, piano, synthesizers) provide the middle layers, wrapping on top of the rhythm section to provide depth and yet more support. However, it is Mireille Bauer (vibraphone, marimba) and Frédéric Schmidely (tenor & soprano saxophones, flute) who are often the lead players, often harmonising while Frédéric must have worked like a trojan in the studio, adding multiple instruments and threads to the same track. That is not to say that Desmier is not a wonderful shredder, just that he is rarely given the opportunity to shine, although his blast in "Sérum de Vérité" is both unexpected and a real delight.

There are only three songs here, with the short one being six minutes long, and then we get one at eighteen and another at twenty, but they never seem that lengthy as one is soon deep inside the music which somehow seems dated and timeless all at the same time. Given his early love of Soft Machine it is no surprise this has much to offer fans of the Canterbury scene, with the likes of National Health also having some influences while this will also appeal to those who enjoy Jean-Luc Ponty, Ian Carr's Nucleus, Frank Zappa's instrumental works and Billy Cobham's early bands. In many ways this is something of a forgotten album now due to its lack of availability and it is wonderful to be able to enjoy this again thanks to Cuneiform Records who signed the band to their label more than 20 years ago.

Back with their first album since 2012, FBP may have a new guitarist and bassist on board, but drummer Patrick Forgas continues to drive his band and be inspired by Soft Machine, just as he was when he released his first solo album more than 40 years ago. Karolina Mlodecka (violin), S'bastien Trognon (saxophones), Dimitri Alexaline (trumpet) and Igor Brover (keyboards) are still with the band, while guitarist Pierre Schmidt joined the band as long ago as 2013 and veteran bassist G'rard Pr'vost joined in 2015. Interestingly, he appeared on Patrick's debut solo album back in 1977, but he overdubbed his parts back then so never actually played with Forgas.

This is instrumental music, which is heavily Canterbury inspired, mixed with JRF, containing an incredible lightness and deftness of touch. Patrick provides the support for everyone else to harmonise or take leads around him, with brass and violin combining together as one to create a gorgeous sound. It is relaxing, easy to listen to and incredibly fresh. The keyboard sounds take the album back into the Seventies, yet the violin and guitar are bright and sparkly and grab the album back into the present day. It is the perfect album for a Summer's day, inviting and joyous, with a complexity which combines into a glorious delight. Definitely worth investigation by those who have yet to come across this band.

French unit FORGAS BAND PHENOMENA was formed back in 1997, with drummer Patrick Forgas as the principal member. Following two initial productions in the 90's they signed to the US label Cuneiform Records in 2005 for their third studio album. "Acte V" from 2012 is the band's fifth outing, and their third on Cuneiform Records.

Forgas Band Phenomena has made a strong, coherent and high quality album with "Acte V". Instrumental progressive rock residing somewhere within the jazz-rock universe, but of a kind that will give it appeal also beyond aficionados of that particular style. Fairly challenging but accessible progressive rock, as excellently made as performed, and with a live DVD attached that adds quite a lot in the Value-for-Money department. Obviously a production that comes with a high recommendation attached.

The newly born band of Forgas promoted its first album through series of gigs around the Paris region, but unfortunately personel changes wasn't meant to be avoided.The recordings of the new album found only guitarist Mathias Desmier onboard from the previous core and Forgas was also surrounded by newcomers Juan Sebastian Himenez on bass, Gilles Pausanias on keyboards and Denis Guivarch on sax.''Extra-lucide'' was eventually released again on the Cosmos label at the fall of 1999.

This second album of Forgas Band Phenomena finds Forgas musically more mature and his new bandmates collaborating in a tighter way.The result is a trully enjoyable album with too many incredible moments, as the arrangements are characterized by constant shifts between richer and smoother passages in a balanced way, while there are plenty of shattering interplays, semi-loose solo deliveries and a fair amount of melody appearing in the album.The Canterbury influence is still apparent through the dreamy keyboard parts and the jazzy twists of the album, which is highlighted by the excellent work of Pausanias on synthesizers and electric piano.Saxes remain always in evidence with alternations between extended solos and more melodic interventions in a Jazz/Fusion style, while the guitars are added for good measure when needed.Forgas' drumming is again unmistakable and the whole amalgam sounds very attractive.The 19-min. long ''Pieuvre a la pluie'' is a fantastic example of varied Prog/Fusion with tremendous interplays and tons of changing textures, while ''Annie reglisse'' contains a beautiful combination of synthesizers and saxes, creating beautiful, dreamy, unmet soundscapes.These tracks are propably the picks of an otherwise very solid album.

This is some excellent Prog/Fusion, where both emotions and technique meet.One of the gems of the 90's regarding the genre, absolutely satisfying and highly recommended.

As its title indicates, this is FBP's fifth album, and it comes with a sweet little treat in the form of a DVD live At Nearfest in '10. Still with the same septet line-up, this album is a logical musical continuity of L'Axe Du Fou and should disappoint absolutely no-one that knows anything of the band. We're dealing with a typically 90's & 00's gentle, yet complex, instrumental and progressive fusion, still all written by their leader and drummer Patrick Forgas. Through a rather delicate and strange conceptualization, this album represent the five acts of theatre dramaturge Raymond Russell's last play called Poussières De Soleil (I'd have preferred that for an album title) or something to that effect, despite the album's six tracks. The album's front artwork is a bit dull and messy (too much text), and Id rather have seen the more Hypgnosis-like artwork of the inner booklet getting the nod.

The opening Corps Et Ames start rather slow, but soon goes rougher and wilder, with Violet's crunchy guitars in the forefront, before leaving the spotlight to Mlodecka's violin solo, and returning like a burning sun. Violet's fiery guitar attacks right out from the start Loin D'Issy (a "far away" play on word on a Paris suburb), but this leaves the other to shine for much longer. The lengthy George V track starts out rather softly, but goes wild in is second quarter, before resting softly by the halfway mark on Mlodecka's gentle violin (JL Ponty-like) and the song gently speeds and crescendos but doesn't really climax towards its end. One might have thought that the Ultraviolet track's title might have been a hint to their guitarist's glory, but he doesn't get the spotlight UV or IR until the middle section, but even then it won't become a sunstroke. While the following Feu Sacré certainly sees a lot of violin, the closing album-lengthiest Midi-Minuit recapitulates everything said on their fifth album, and could just be the ideal (and best-ever) musical résumé of the band's works so far.

As for the DVD, it's the full set played at the legendary festival and it features two then- unrecorded tracks from the present studio album - recorded nine months later and released over 18 months after the festival - including the opening Ultraviolet and the shorter Feu Sacré. From the previous then-fresh off-the-press album, we find the Axe Du Fou title track and the excellent Double Sens, while the rest of the set is from their Soleil 12 album or earlier. As always in a festival, the audience is largely made up of an eclectic crowd that's mainly present for Group X, Band Y or Orchestra Z, so the polite crowd reception is not always representative of the band's capacity to ignite a dedicated crowd. One can indeed fear that the mainly-symphonic crowds of the festival might have appreciated only moderately FBP's instrumental gentle modern fusion, and that by the end of the 70-mins set, they might've had their fill of it. In either case, I found the FBP's set a bit subdued (I'd seen them before, and that was wilder) and a bit too even, lacking big moments and emotions. The crowd culture maybe and the long transatlantic distance as well, but the set's Eclipse finale indeed managed to shake off the slow torpor that had set in.

Anyway, this is another impeccable Cuneiform release, on that comes with an outstanding bonus, that's become the label's specialty - see Miriodor's Cd+DVD, or the 70's UK fusion combined releases (Surman, Soft Mahine) of the last few years. To be honest, if you're to investigate FBP's work, Acte V has become the indisputable entry point, and if you're a confirmed fan, there is no way you ould possibly pass up to this one.

Relentless jazz-rock from drummer Patrick Forgas and a crack team of six getting right down to business on this follow up to 2005's Soliel 12 and maintaining the fire for nearly sixty minutes. Axis of Madness indeed, and the four-cut Cuneiform release has the kind of hungry intensity usually heard on great debuts only to wane from that point on. Here the ensemble have hit a very satisfying stride as they feed off of Forgas' new material, Karolina Mlodecka's spirited violin on top leading with Benjamin Violet's high-octane guitar, Igor Brover's ivories quietly echoing the violin/guitar interplay, and the weighty rhythms of Forgas and bassist Kengo Mochizuki.

'La Clef' burns as it introduces each member and their strengths, a perfect opener, Dimitri Alexaline and Sebastien Trognon spinning their brass throughout the bends, twists, turns and recesses of Patrick Forgas' work. The longest piece at 16 minutes, 'L'Axe du Fou' [the title] is more varied; quieter at times with space to build slowly and with some traditional fusion on hand. Forgas appears to have been influenced by the RIO movement but brings a refined and deliberate jazz sensibility to his music that helps the project to sound like more than just some rebellious Europeans getting weird. Closer to Mahavishnu in their prime or early National Health. 'Double-Sens' is spidery as it builds its ever-growing web, rocking, funking...just jammin', man, and always from a group with their eyes on the ball, unwilling to let the fine music slip into cacophony. The mark of a superior band of players.

Finishing the set is airy 'La 13eme Lune', the violin returning to center stage interspersed with flute and trumpet lines. I'd think fans of anyone from Phil Miller to Bill Bruford would quite like this release. It'll be interesting to see where they take it from here. World-class stuff and one of the best jazzrock releases of 2009. Maybe the best.

Have had this album for several months now,and it is now clear that it is nothing short of brilliant. Is it a 5* album?Definately closer than four,but 4 and3/4 if I could rate it that. There is not more, that I can add that has not already been said,so this is more of a jump on the band wagon thing. Everybody here gets plenty of space to shine ,and all equally excellent.The funny thing is that Forgas gets the least room really.His drumming though is always there keeping everything in place.His style is excellent in a smooth,casual way, but is never over the top.Outstanding drummer you are Monsieur Forgas. After the 4 songs ,things get a little samey though,but it is minor.Also wish that the guitar player had a few more solos,since it is a crispy crunchy catchy sound and beefs up the tunes with his presence. Folks,an album that I am very happy to have purchased,and sits neatly there in the top 5 of albums I have got over the last year or so. There are samples on his web page I believe,or facebook or such thing.

This album seems a considerable step forward compared to the band's previous release, the live album SOLEIL 12. There are two main reasons: (1) the tunes are more likable; (2) the soloists seem far more inspired.

I must admit, when I first started playing L'AXE DU FOU, my heart sank. I thought: "Oh no, yet another post-Canterbury album where one unexciting, repetitive rock riff merges into the next (and into the one after that, and the one after that) without too much going on in the way of excitement... Haven't we heard too much of THAT on all those mediocre Gong albums Pierre Moerlen released after ESPRESSO II?"

But my spirits immediately revived when I realised that, this time, Forgas's riffs are rather good, really! His players, too, may not have the stature of Allan Holdsworth or Kenny Wheeler but they give it all they've got. Each single solo makes your heart melt, the wide VARIETY of solos (shared out among saxes, flute, trumpet, guitar, violin and keyboards) keeps listeners on their toes, call-and-response passages within the brass section are remarkably lively, and the album makes you feel better as it goes on. It's old-fashioned jazz-rock but there's not a whiff of the elevator to it; it really and truly lifts your spirit.

Perhaps the main reason for the band's success is the fact that (acoustic) violinist Karolina Mlodecka operates as the main soloist. Her playing is so sensitive and refined I got a little jolt of pleasure every time she came on.

And since Forgas is a Moerlen-inspired drummer, L'AXE DU FOU actually reminded me (again and again) of the best passages in classic Gong albums like ESPRESSO II and SHAMAHL. I can't think of higher praise. I sincerely hope Forgas will keep this incarnation of "Phenomena" together and treat us to many other life-enhancing releases.