I Recommend...

Hello fellas,

Been meaning to post earlier, but for some reason I wasn't in the mood to...

But now I am and here is the latest:

A while back I was reminded by Yukorin in the Zeuhl 5 thread about this French band from the late 70's called Pataphonie. I say reminded, since I have heard them several years ago (something like 10-11 years ago) and I remembered liking their sound, but I have since forgotten all about them...

So my memory of them was salvaged by Yuko and he got me going after their second album Le Matin Blanc and I finally managed to get it online. It is as good as I remember it.

This is all good an well you say, but what is it like?
Well, think chamber rock with RIOesque touches and avantgarde oddities, improvisational at times and free-form compositions. An instrumental group made up of 3 guys playing the basics - guitars, bass and drums.

I have scanned the biography appearing in the booklet of the cd and here it is:

"
Pataphonie : "No purpose, no ambition; except, ultimate luxury, to be unclassified ... "
     Before      1970, the future PATAPHONIE
members used to play covers songs in rock bands in the north of Paris Andre VIAUD, Gilles ROUSSEAU and Pierre DEMOURON long time friends (who made before some MOVING GELATINES PLATES first part gigs) gathered in PATAPHONIE around about 1973 ...
The group, without name and career schedule, improvise a scholarly mixture of jazz and rock music. The musicians quickly went in a more free-rock style in quintet (with Bernard AUDUREAU on piano and Alain SEVE on sax). The crux, an appear in the famous Jose ARTHUR Pop-Club on France Inter. The project, based on a pooled passion for the contemporary compositors such as Bela BARTOK, Eric SATIE or Maurice RAVEL; also a vocation to reconcile claimed influences of WEATHER REPORt, HUGH HOPPER and HENRY COW The last comparison surely not harmless, or pretentious, a Rock en Stock chronicler wrote in the August 1976 issue, that the drums play of Chris CUTLER, the Rock in Opposition frontman, was near from Robert WYATT (SOFT MACHINE, MATCHING MOLE ... ) and ... Gilles ROUSSEAU from PATAPHONIE ...
The band name was chosen at random in a dictionary. The first attempt was not the good. The name "mussel" ( ... ) was not as elegant as "Patagonie" ... It's a southern Argentina region renamed for its sheeps breeding. The noun became the join of "Pata" for the pataphysic (to be unclassified) and "Phonie" for the sound and the atmosphere. The band PATAPHONIE was created on a instrumental trio with guitar, bass and drums, where own member composed music (only one author name was awarded to satisfy the SAC EM ... ).

In 1975, few chronicles, following the example of Jean-Marc BAlllEUX of Rock & Folk said that PATAPHONiE "could be the great European discoveJy of the year" To confirm that good promise, the Pole records label edited a LP called "Pataphonle" with extracts of the 1972-1976 period. That improvisations collector, not really a first constructed piece, wasn't suggestive at all of the instability of the group at that time ...
Better than a speech, that declaration of the combo in 1977 make us keep their philosophy:, "To be free in music, you must work for yourself. Freedom isn't the notes recitation, but the feeling that you put into. You must work on the sound as a clay model. We think that we play an innovator music with his defaults. We can be wrong commercially, but musically, we're right. Music is not synonymous of success at all".
After a succession of remuterating gigs, the band finances could support a studio recording. In July 1978, the musicians put in concrete form the awesome gigs. "Le Matin Blanc" was recorded in only four days (!) at Prunay Ie Temple studios ... That master piece presented an exclusively instrumental music, structured and sharp. An omnipresent tension wrapped allover the album the inspired play of the musicians, extremely competent in their own domain. Harmony, melody and rhythm meaning lived together with happiness, and the feverish sequences, inspired of free-jazz styie could going on.
Due to the lack of interest from the labels to their music, the PATAPHONIE members decided to issue their first effort on a phantom label, FEERIMUSIC. The lP, essentially sold by mail-order business (distributed by Meta Records and Ceresco) was bought by around 1000"people, thanks to die hard fa~ .. .T he album was, on the whole, welcomed well by the press. And strangely, that was the province chroniclers who were righter in the assessments on the emitted atmosphere by the worrying and imaginative music of the trio ...
"Mandoline Station" was a composition written in April 1978; never played live, it had to appear on the "Matin Blanc" LP. However, the difficulty of transporting a piano harmony table made of that track an unpublished one, till now! The extracts of a gig from Strasbourg, six months before the combo spiit are also include. "Automne Souvenir" emits a communicative atmosphere; more over "Memoire Baroque" surely the most structured song of the combo, was the main title of the second true opus ...
The powerful success of the Parisian group continued one year after the LP issue. It was concluded in pinnacle at the Rennes festival, on the 23nd october 1980, a performance which emphasized the split. The musicians jugged themselves "too old to rock'n'roll" ... But aiso "to young to die" , cause a second album was on work! "Memoires Baroques" compietely composed, will never be issue, victim of a time change and of the indifference of the medias towards of new musics and other styles a bit complex. Eventually, a story heard a lot when you're speaking of then French and Europeans innovators or bands; by the side of references not confessed such as MAGMA, SOFT MACHINE or KING CRIMSON ...

Thanks to Andre Viaud, Gilles Rousseau, Pierre Demouron & Luc Marianni.

Translation by Jean-Louis Demouron.
"

The cover art work:



Our ZAR (Zeuhl/Avant/RIO) Team is in the process of approving them for addition to PA.



More recommendations to come...


Assaf

The Red Masque http://www.theredmasque.com/

Very interesting art rock, avant gardish band with a great female vocalist

I put this already in Symphonic appreciation thread, but thought it's also worthy to recommend it here, as this band are not in the Archives yet, but well deserve to be added and I would highly recommend them.

Edited by eugene - November 25 2006 at 06:36

This little Australia band from my birth Town really deserve more credit they they get. Most Australians seem to just dismiss and overlook all the wonderful bands we having coming out of our underground scene, which really is a shame. Coming out in 2005 with the debt album "Make Me Love You", this could be none other than a post-rock album. Here are some works to do them some justice.



ust three tracks in and Sydney quintet Pivot’s long awaited debut album has well and truly justified fans’ keen hopes.

The third track, “Incidental Backloth,” begins with a repetitive throb somewhere between the click-clack of a train and the tick-tick of a wrist**tch. Pivot have long been compared to Tortoise, and drummer Laurence Pike’s factory-floor groove justifies that. But the light smattering of hi-hats and a sad, warm guitar line inject emotion the Chicago-ites have rarely managed since Millions Now Living Will Never Die.

Neal Sutherland’s bass kicks in at three minutes: it’s a relief and feels like something of a resolution. Laurence’s drumming gets heavier too; his degenerating rhythms and his brother Richard’s programming send the track into a tailspin of psychotic intensity.

Describing electronic music as a soundtrack is so ’95, but the images evoked by Pivot’s music are impossible to ignore. I can almost see it on the movie screen: sick-in-the-head lead character who you’ve come to understand, even like, but he’s spiralling out of control, hitting out and desperate for understanding.

The finale of destroyed melancholy is as euphoric as it is unsettling. After that, anything would be anti-climactic, the track is so tightly packed with possibilities and twisting, turning with ideas that it’s tempting to dismiss the rest of the album.

Pivot formed six years ago, but its members have collaborated so widely that it sometimes feels like a bit of a super-group: recording as Triosk for Leaf, collaborating with Jan Jelinek for ~Scape and traveling through Europe in Burnt Friedman’s group Flanger. Indeed, it is difficult to see why it’s taken them so long to get around to a debut, the response to early EPs—really just lovingly packaged demo’s—was critical acclaim and high rotation on community and national radio.

Compared to Triosk’s excellent debut last year, Make Me Love You is a much more open-sounding affair. And although it grew out of a series of improv sessions it rarely feels loose or aimless; it holds together well, the flow rooted in songs and moods, rhythm and ideas. It lies somewhere between Private Presses-era DJ Shadow, Tortoise’s debut and the epic quality of Squarepusher (e.g. “Tundra 4”) and yet somewhere entirely different; an album with a similar breadth of intent is John Tejada’s I Am Not A Gun on City Centre Offices. The musical ebb and flow is clearest on the tidal wash of “La Mer,” a flowing guitar washed in a cloud of glitchy production, sound samples, and a spray of feather-light hi-hats, which flow seamlessly into next track, “Pivot Voltron.”

I was initially tempted to dismiss Make Me Love You as failing the promise of Incidental Backcloth. But with time, it was the mournful electro of “Kirsten Dunst” that played in my mind. Or the ecstatic rush of soft focus drum’n’bass on “Montecore”; four minutes in everything stops, just like the moment in a fireworks shower when the explosions of light and sound stop and you think, “Is that it?” All of sudden there’s another explosion and you’re right back in the middle of the show.
 

I recommended:

 

LE ORME:

"In Concerto"

 

One of my recent discoveries, I think this definitely deserves more attention (some of you already know of this one, I guess)

Dom - Edge of Time

DOM — Edge Of Time

Review by philippe (Philippe Blache)
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Content Development &Krautrock Team

Edge of Time is a mesmerising psych acoustic « trip », blowing away Pink Floyd at their most « spacey » moments. This is really in German style, original kraut experimentations with organ…A very interesting release whose concept is based upon acid « test ». Their sound perfectly illustrates a psychedelic, meditative landscape. The approach is rather folk, poetic and dreamy, similar to Mythos self title album and others krautrock obscurities. The opening track starts with a peaceful acoustic guitar / flute dialogue, then comes the acoustic percussions, accelerating the rhythm. The track is punctuated by mysterious, deeply celestial organ parts, bells echoes and « weird » noises. « Silence » explores the labyrinth of our subconscious with soaring organ sounds, repetitive acoustic guitar parts and strange, atmospheric voices. After a short break of electric « chaotic » noises, mixed with flute, the climax gradually descending into silence with a heavy bass "drone". The title track begins with a bunch of hallucinatory, cacophonic noises suggesting the coming of a floating, tranquil atmosphere played on acoustic guitar and organs. The track ends with English recitative, explaining the concept of the album. « Dream » which closes the album features a fascinating, tranquil, melancholic mix for acoustic guitar and organ + a strange, psychedelic atmosphere created by manipulated sounds and xylophone. A very attractive, « primitive » acid folk album. A masterpiece that culminates the genre

^^ Philippe already said it better than I ever could...

This is a band I have been meaning to recommend pretty much since I have been hear. Coming out in 2003, in the psych scene this was seen as one of the biggest albums in years. I don't know if they on the site, but if you are not they definitely should be.

Polytoxicomane Philharmonie - "Plays Psycho Erectus"
(Nasoni Records 2004, 037, LP)

---

From Aural Innovations #30 (February 2005)

How does Hans Georg find such cool music to release??? I have never heard of this project before but apparently the band has existed since the late 80's with members coming and going and doing a lot of other projects, but enough people have stuck to it that they were able to lay down a really cool record. This is one that really grows on you a lot. The Philmarmonie features 6 musicians with male and female vocals. "Poisonous Moth" starts the record and features fantastic early 70's krautrock meets Pink Floyd music. Fantastic sounds bubble up and in and out as the drums and bass line drives the composition (which is very improvised as are all the tracks). The vocals are more like spoken words. Fuddle Pie and Muddle Fie features a long guitar excursion, which is pretty spacey and has some cool effects. "Sulphur" is a more dark track to start with trading male and female vocals. The track develops with some excellent guitar and drums and horns and becomes a bit funky. Side B opens with the long (10 min) "Chanson Verte". This track starts to be built on the cool bass line with the exchanging male and female voices. The track slowly develops into a jazzy thing with sax and some strange soundscapes deep in the back of the sound that float up and back. "Too Sad, Lady Mushroom" is next and is one of the most laid back tracks on the record, and it features rain in the background for the first half of the track and the guitar line plays a beautiful melody which melts with the keyboards. An abrupt change happens in the middle (like a new jam was spliced in) and the song gets quite happy and spacey at the end. "Lokus Pokus" closes this great LP and features a guest guitar player and horns and is pretty jazzy with a bit of an eastern sound through it!

The record features an amazing gatefold with a beautiful painting of animals watching gnomes play music under a mushroom. Cool stuff. Great artwork inside and out. Buy it now…

For more information you can visit the Nasoni Records web site at: http://www.nasoni-records.com.

avestin wrote: In my recent purchase I bought an album by a new band called Deluge Grander which is a Baltimore based band that rose from the ashes of Cerebus Effect - a band I recommended here before. They have a fusion basis topped which is shared with CE but as opposed to them they do not posses the more metallic sound that gave CE the tag of Canterbury Metal. Instead they are more laid back, incoporating a rather symphonic rock sound to their music with what sounds like mellotrons (not written in the booklet). They are original and demonstrate excellent musicianship. The album has lenghty tracks (one track is almost 27 minutes) and never boring, changing tempo's and atmosphere and bringing about new musical ideas to the tracks. This album was released in September and you can find it on Big Balloon for 10.80$ or on SynPhonic for 12$. The art work is beautiful, with some more artistic, classic painting style and some more colourful, fantasy styled pictures.   This is an album that should be mentioned when talking about the highlights of 2006.

Wow this looks really beautiful. The artwork reminds me a little of some of Summoning, Candlemass and Drudkh, though some very different music. Do you know if this comes on vinyl, I would be tempted to purchase it just for the artwork.

It's nice to see that Finnish CIRCLE have reached audiences world wide. They'll be listed in the PA soo I think, but there's already their sideproject PHARAOH OVERLORD in the archives: http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_BAND.asp?band_id=2628