NEBELNEST

NeBeLNeST (capitalisation was obviously important to these guys) emerged out of the international post-rock/RIO/ avant-progressive scene in the late 90's and were known for music influenced by the likes of King Crimson, Shylock and Univers Zero/Present, but played at high energy levels and bringing with them influences form the hardcore and noise scenes. With the line-up of Michaël ANSeLMI (drums), Cyril MALDeReZ (guitar), Gregory TeJeDOR (bass) and Olivier TeJeDOR (synth, devices), this debut album was recorded in 1998 and released the following year by the American label Laser's Edge. By the time of the next release they were signed to Cuneiform with whom they recorded two albums before calling it a day in 2013. In 2020 Cuneiform contacted the band to see if they wanted to reissue the debut, and after a series of quite unfortunate events (check out the Bandcamp page) they managed to recover the tapes which were then remixed and mastered by Olivier Tejedor and the album has finally been made available once again, with updated artwork.

I have long moved past being amazed at the artists discovered by Cuneiform and their seemingly endless mission to make music available which the vast majority of people will ignore or decry, as what they do is so incredibly essential for those of us who understand and long may they continue doing so. Did you know it is their 40th anniversary this year?

Right from the opening we understand we are into something quite special as here is a band who have improvisation at their heart but are approaching it from a quite different angle to many of the bands as this is not jazz, but something darker and more experimental, angular and with many edges as they refuse to conform to expectations and produce something which is very left field indeed, even for the then somewhat resurgent progressive scene. It is as if King Crimson have decided to work at their most extreme experimental boundaries and then they have brought in influences from their previous genres to create something which is difficult to listen to, being quite obnoxious and challenging. However, it is also essential as one needs to understand just what rocky path the guys are going to be taking next, how it is going to diverge and split again as they continue up the tricky terrain, never taking the easy route. Having brothers in a band is always a benefit as they know exactly how each other thinks and where they are going to go, but the others are also joined into that mindset so while there are times when they let the listeners in on the secret with more melodic passages there are plenty of ideas where they act as a guide to us who are totally lost.

This is my first experience of NeBeLNeST, but I can see at some point I need to check out their other releases as well, as some 25 years after this was first released this is still an essential work for those of us who want our prog to be uncompromising and totally left field.

Sad to say, not super available digitally... This is the self-titled debut by this French Avant-Prog band. I mean, personally I love the quirky capitalization choices: NeBeLNeST. The potential influence of Zeuhl has been mentioned and I find that to be incredibly apparent.

On our opening track, "Improv: Pooks (I. Part One)" we have a jazzy ethereal drive. Full speed ahead! The keys are spacy and strange and dissonant, in part, but the most notable piece is the drums... "Psykial Trysm (I. Shafoo)" is our next track. Just as forward-driving, the sonic choices of the guitar are so tasty, I can't even tell you. In its midsection, much falls away. It is so spacy to a creepy degree [You'll be hearing this sentiment quite a bit here]. I can't but help to think it's utterly film-ready. This section lasts clear from the middle until the final minute. We are then back in fullness. The keyboards!!! Wow. Nice organ sound, reminiscent in the end of Soft Machine's Mike Ratledge. Then we have "Psykial Trysm (II. Nahja)"... The synth tone eerily floats downward and then begins to fluctuate back up and back down as the rest of the band enters in. Very psychedelic this'n. Around minute 2 there is a slight rhythmic shift. It really does sound like Soft Machine here to me. Then the drums pick the beat up rapidly. The lead guitar takes us into an Eastern sound modally. A different kind of dynamic than the two before.

The first of our two 9-minute mini-epics, "Etude De Shimshot" is eerie and wavering in its frontend. The hovering, piercing guitar sounds a bit like Fripp. The Avant is in fuller effect here. It just feels like a really nice mix of progressive idioms (from Jazz-Prog to Avant-Rock to Zeuhl to Space Rock). The whole of the song is a play on what appears to be a singular theme, driven throughout by the ever beefy bass. then we have "Improv: Uncertain Journey". I love whatever effect they have on the guitar here in the start. Reminds me of Tera Melos' Nick Reinhart! It takes about two minutes to really get into things. The keys morph in and out with the guitar. A lot of talent. A lot of understanding in their respective mediums. More Eastern-sounding vibes here. Up next, "Solilock" comes with drumming that reminds me of Bruford (I just saw a clip that Bill uploaded online from Rock Goes To College haha). This song features a great theme, played on the keys. They are just goin' on this one; a slight cacophony toward the end. A sure highlight!

Then we have our second sort of mini-epic, "Absinthe", a lower, slower number with rolling bass, more of those wide open organs from before. This song does call more Zeuhl to mind. Only in the best ways. The rhythm just drives the songs forward, as drums are bashed and all else is to match. All falls away to an eerie synth padding with light acoustic guitars. The instrumentation enters in full with some mellotron and more lead guitar. The Ratledge-esque organ continues then in a wild fashion to match the rapidly plucked guitar. The song's final moments sonically lower down, continuing on with a different groove. The dissonance returns. And I'm thankful for that. Next, "Crab Nebula", the actual nebula appearing on the front cover, starts queer yet cleanly played. Fitting for a band so into the spacy and ethereal. This track has an awesome beat, too. Have I mentioned how much I love all of the instrumentation. What I'm loving here, as I approach the end, is just how damn consistent this album has been. The low points are all still quite good. A ton of talent and compositional knack to be found here. Finally, we have "Improv: Pooks (II. Part Two)". This beginning is something... Very creepy in the synth department, the rhythm section slams on the... purportedly proper times. This is followed by some jazzy drumming over some absolutely wild Avant-Jazz. I love the keyboards; sounds like a little electric saxophone haha. When this song is on, it is on. "Improv" sounds right. Just feels like a jam. And with that, it's a tad less focused, but still good.

And with that... That's it! Great album!

This was the third album by this French band, released in 2006. It's now 2017 and they became one of those "Whatever happened to them" kind of bands. It seems their website was last updated in 2008, although still running. It sounds like when they were recording Zepto, they were having trouble with keeping guitarists. They started with Cyril Malderez, who was the original guitar and played entirely on their previous releases, and then there were Sebastien Carmona and Vincent Boukera. With a four year gap between albums, there surprisingly little change, despite the guitarists. Olivier Tejedor does appear to have larger reign on his keyboards, other than that, it's the same twisted King Crimson, Magma, and Anekdoten type of RIO. Parts of this are a bit even more "out there", but much of it is the same tried and true formula. If you like what they did on previous CDs, there should be no reason to enjoy this one. On the other hand they probably realize they may end up hitting a brick wall, and probably the reason we hadn't heard from them since. Still, this is a great album if you enjoyed their other, but like RIO in general, it's not for everyone.

I seriously doubt anyone who was blown away by their 1999 debut would be surprised they'd end up on Cuneiform Records. After all that label has released its share of RIO and avant prog type of releases since the beginning, around 1984, and of course France's Nebelnest (or their insistence of capitalizing all the consonants, NeBeLNeST) totally fits the bill of Cuneiform like a glove. And so was the label of their last two albums, this one, and Zepto. Nova Express (I won't bother with those capitalizations again) is their second one, some three years after their debut, and what a great followup it is! More of that weird Crimson/Anekdoten style, the more extreme in, the Magma influences I guess comes more from the heavily fuzzed bass of Gregory Tejedor in the style of Jannick Top or Bernard Paganotti. Brother Oliver Tejedor gives us synth and Mellotron (both sampled and real) and on the title track he goes so tron overboard on one section that the Planet Mellotron website called it "tron torture". This music isn't easy. Every now and then the band sounds a bit normal, this is the part, I guess, where strangely, the Ozric Tentacles comparison arise (although I fail to notice any Ozric comparisons), it's back to that chaotic approach real fast. Traditional song structure and melody are forsaken, even King Crimson would diverge with someone a bit more conventional, but not Nebelnest, but then not many of these RIO acts. Because of that, it's little wonder RIO will never be without their detractors, many will accuse these groups of testing the boundaries, being "weird for weird's sake". So obviously I won't recommend those to those who have an aversion to RIO, but I'd say the same of Henry Cow or Univers Zero. But I do get with what RIO is about and Nebelnest is certainly a great example. I've seen comparisons to Guapo, as they take to the heavier end of RIO/avant prog, although Guapo is frequently even more metal, although there is a metal influence in Nebelnest. There are fewer songs on this CD, only five, but they are longer, but to be honest, there isn't much of a difference in that three year gap. If you like this style, I can heartily recommend this.

After too darkly-symphonic second album, this, band's third release, is a bit more interesting listening for me. Plenty of scratching guitars, distorted sound,some zeuhl atmosphere, but less over-arranged sound - all this changed this album for good.

No more trying to be prog rock, zeuhl and dark avant all-in-one, this album has it's own face. Obviously more avant and even jazzy (in a free jazz manner). this music if not catchy or easy accessible is at least interesting too listen.

My problem with this album is same as with both previous: under external sound experiments, improvs and energetic noisy well-organized chaos I can't find music's soul. Not tunes or melodies, we are speaking about quite noisy free-form avant compositions, but something under the skin I such enjoy in Naked City's much more noisy and brutal releases.

My rating is 3+.

Second NEBELNEST album, possibly, most representative for their sound. Dark, almost with Magma-influenced rhythms and cold totalitarian atmosphere, at the same time this album contains plenty of different elements, as metal guitars, symphonic keyboards and even jazzy drumming.

Very professional, well balanced, but as often with French bands with over-arranged and too polished sound, music which I can accept by mind, but it doesn't stick with me. Not real zeuhl, avant-jazz or chamber music, there is all in one for everyone's taste.

Still sounds too empty for me, more external sound constructions, but without filling. Very competent album, just not my cup of tea.

After two fascinating albums of modern Crimson Zeuhl-rock, Nebelnest explored their avant-garde side more thoroughly on Zepto. It's something that leads to mixed results, as the experimentation doesn't seem to represent their strongest side.

The album starts very similar to the debut. The first three track offer sinister droning rock music that matches Magma in Kobaian atmospheres and King Crimson in its ability to be heavy without needing heavily distorted guitars. None of the tracks equals the level of Nova Express though.

Then things get out of hand on The Thing In The Walls and the urge to experiment seems to carry them away from what they do best: playing upbeat dark rock. Also Fabric of Reality doesn't fabricate much listenable music. Of course, everybody's standard for listenable are different, but I doubt whether these two pieces will reveal much to seasoned avant-garde listeners.

With De Triumpho Naturae the album returns to Nebelnest prime business. It's one of the harder rocking tracks here but again it can't bring the captivating atmospheres from the previous albums back. After the challenging Do What Thou Wilt the album ends with the droning noise of Station 9.

I admire Nebelnest's willingness to move forward and explore new areas, but so far I have the impression they overstretched their abilities somehow. I wouldn't recommend it really, unless you own the preceding albums and everything by Guapo already.

I have to join the ranks of praise for this space-zeuhl-drone-rock masterpiece. Nebelnest is the product of a collision between King Crimson and Magma that took place in the deepest outskirts of space back in 1974. At least that's what this sounds like, so forceful are their rhythms and heavily pulsating bass, so chilling are their chromatic guitar riffing and eerie keyboard sounds.

Nebelnest continues in the vein of the darker sound of Anekdoten's 90's albums. Especially the instrumentals on the excellent Live In Japan come to mind. Also the avant-garde of Univers Zero is a welcome influence in their nebula, but Nebelnest sure rocks a whole lot harder. Closest of all is of course the blasting avant-rock of Guapo.

Nebelnest don't write your average pleasant rock song. If you look for melodic splendour and tunes you can hum along with, you won't find them here. Their long instrumental suites are driven by the rhythmic energy and muscular bass guitar. Layers of dissonant keyboards, mellotron and guitar flippertronics complete the anxiety attack. The production is perfect for their music, very organic, rocking and harsh. Despite the battery of keyboards the sound remains solid and raw, the atmosphere is dark and alien.

Nova-Express is a perfect modern prog trip, it's intense, bleak and nihilistic, but at the same time it's energizing, inspiring and full of vibrating creativity. Not for everyone obviously, but highly recommended if the above description and bands doesn't frighten you away.

Nebelnest's debut is a King Crimson dream come true. Even the song titles seem to have run away from King Crimson albums.

Nebelnest is a French modern prog bands that takes the dense darkness of Magma and adds towering Crimsonite riffs and dissonant harmonisation. They operate in the RIO section of PA but next to the notable avant-garde elements, they sure rock as wild and gripping as Crimson does.

The band keeps things entirely instrumental, laying down a heavy rhythm section with drilling bass guitar and the type of jazz-rock influenced drumming that brings back the energy and dynamism of Bill Bruford. Organs, mellotrons and guitars provide for the melodic leads, often using dissonance and weird tonalities. Not one track is less then stellar. The band is sure inspired on each of these improvisations, going fluently from uncanny spacey atmospheres to furious intensity and everything inbetween.

Kudos to Sinkadotentree for recommending this band to me and particularly for introducing me to this album. A golden tip! Highly recommended for fans of '74 King Crimson, early Anekdoten, Guapo and Magma's instrumental side.

4.5 stars. I've been a big fan of this French band ever since I heard "Nova Express".They play a dark, heavy and at times experimental brand of music that recalls KING CRIMSON. And with the abundance of mellotron added to the formula I can't help but think of ANEKDOTEN and GUAPO. I still think "Nova Express" is their best followed by this their debut then "Zepto".

"Improv : Pooks Part 1" opens with faint sounds that build. We get some angular guitar and experimental sounds but check out the bass after 2 minutes. "Shafoo" opens with mellotron then a beat comes in followed by angular guitar and a full sound. The bass is huge and like the drumming. It turns spacey around 3 minutes. It's dark and intense. The bass returns with drums and guitar around 5 1/2 minutes. Great section. "Najha" opens with mellotron before drums, bass and guitar join in. Some organ later. It's pretty intense around 4 1/2 minutes as the drums pound. It picks up a minute later and the guitar starts to rip it up. "Etude De Shimshot" is fairly quiet to open as mellotron and other sounds bubble under the surface. Angular guitar comes into this haunting setting. We get a change after 2 1/2 minutes as the drums come in. A full sound follows. Nice bass here. It settles 5 1/2 minutes in then builds. It's a powerful soundscape 8 1/2 minutes in before settling late.

"Improv : Uncertain Journey" opens with experimetal sounds and cymbals. Eventually drums and bass join in followed by the guitar making some noise. "Solilock" is a favourite of mine. It just sounds so incredible, and I guess I feel that way because this really reminds me of ANEKDOTEN with the mellotron and heaviness. It does settle some later as the guitar starts to solo. Nice. "Absinthe" is laid back early but it's dark with some bottom end. Mellotron joins in and the tempo picks up. The guitar follows. A calm 4 minutes in before it kicks back in with fat bass lines and mellotron. The guitar comes in on fire. A calm 7 minutes in with piano before the guitar and drums return. Amazing tune. "Crab Nebula" opens with piano, bass and drums. Angular guitar before a minute then mellotron. A great sounding track. The tempo picks up 5 1/2 minutes in. "Improv : Pooks Part 2" is spacey to open as outbursts of power come and go. Drums before 2 minutes as the guitar makes some noise. Mellotron 3 1/2 minutes in. Still no melody here. An experimental piece.

Man this is so close to 5 stars for me. Just love this style of music.