Zeuhl 5

Yukorin wrote:   Are you chaps familiar with this: http://curved-air.com/?paged=2 A few underground classics getting a mention/appraisal

YESS!!! Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod! Those are direct quotes from Allan the day he discovered, totally out of the blue, that this album had been reissued on cd by the Japanese label EM Records (same folks who put out the Symphony of the Birds reish reviewed elsewhere this list). Kerry and Andee were both in the office that day and can attest that Allan just about jumped out of his skin, his voice positively yelping with excitement. And now we’re ALL going ohmigod, ohmigod too since the box from Japan that Allan ordered arrived and Moolah is among us.

Ok, so what the heck is Moolah?? Well we’re talking a super-obscure psychedelic/experimental Holy Grail album here. Allan only knew about it ’cause he’d heard some of it on a cd-r burn that our pal Loren Chasse had gotten from Jan Anderzen of Finland’s Kemialliset Ystavat. Totally weird, damaged, krautrocky cosmic psych with electronic drones, haunting classical piano, and f**ked up rhythms! According to Anderzen, it was an ultra rare LP from the ’70s by a band called Moolah, entitled Woe Ye Demons Possessed. Wow. Allan found it hard to believe that was really true, and that it wasn’t just something recorded by some genius Finnish forest freak friend of Anderzen’s directly for the cd-r. But some diligent research revealed that the mysterious Moolah was indeed a band from New York who released an album on what was probably their own label, Druidstone (!), in 1974. But it was still pretty much unknown and almost utterly unobtainable. It didn’t seem to have ever been reissued. And even our most ’70s knowledgable psych-rock reissue supplier in Sweden hadn’t heard of it at all. But we never lost hope. And now, thanks to the extremely strange and cool Japanese label EM Records, here at last we present to you Moolah on cd! We’re still left in the dark about a lot of the details of this mysterious record’s history (EM’s sales info is mostly in Japanese*) but from the album cover notes reproduced in the cd package we can tell you that the men behind Moolah were a duo named Walter Burns and Maurice Roberson, who recorded this, “their paranormal concertwork …a cosmic rock relaxation creation” at a “secret studio in New York’s Greenwich Village”. There’s also some amazing pagan poetry on the sleeve, here’s a few lines: “Licking BLOOD Drinking TEARS Sacrificing LOVE on the Altar of Tomorrow Eating FRUITS of Stolen Vineyards With Withered Young Mouthes That Sing The OLD SONGS WHICH WERE FORBID”.
And the music is as amazing as what Allan remembered. Dreamy, beautiful ambience -and- disturbingly chaotic, claustrophobic sounds. Shimmery, murky, distorted, primitive… is it even rock music? For the day, about as far out as you could get. Indeed, ahead of its time. Such tracks as “Crystal Waters”, “Terror Is Real” and “The Hatd Hit” are lo-fi jams full of dubby echo effects, indistinct voices intoning New Age ideas, crazy backwards percussion, and insectoid squiggles of electronics. And we think we heard a purring cat in there too. The question is: did the Moolah duo simply inhabit their own, messed-up, mystical little world (which seems likely, judging by those sleeve notes of theirs), or had these guys heard records by early Kraftwerk, Amon Duul, Kluster, and Neu!? We wonder. But either way, the krautrock scene’s freakiest had nothing on Moolah. File with such rare, eccentric, outsider psych artifacts as the Cromagnon’s Orgasm, Yahowha 13’s Penetration, and Comus’ First Utterance. What a find. If you like weird, lost, lovely, maybe a bit frightening music THIS IS FOR YOU.
*Here’s Google’s automatic translation of the Japanese-only info EM provided: “The [kozumitsuku] psychedelic album where 1974, two youths of New York are identified [mura] and announce. The piano, the keyboard and the percussion musical instrument electric set and electronic sound, esoteric Buddhism vocal sound, drawn, concrete sound, the delay effect, it is the work which is formed with tape opposite revolution.”

Good luck finding these in stock, but lord knows if you enjoy this then track it down and pay your dues!!!

Here’s a little treat from the back cover:

“by the mystic fire
ye wait . . . . yor hide
glistening with sweat
of strange endeavors
performing dances
to the sun and moon
licking blood drinking tears
sacrificing love on the
altar of tomorrow
eating fruits of stolen vineyards
with withered young mouths
that sing old songs
which were forbid

the whirlwind . . . . . . !”

“look the dark clouds
gathering
on the horizon of doom
winds cross trees uproot
plagues of flies invade
the land at hand
o day of judge men
see ye children
of the accursed
what sown be reaped
given ye gods ye chose the beast
and eternity plays the tune
of unnamed horror
for terror is real
and so is hell!”

For Gilles, the release in France was May 68 like the war of Vietnam could be it in the USA. At the end of the Sixties, it meets, in the Parisian concert halls, of people like Gabriel Ibos, who will create later Vamp Records then Spalax, or Henri-Jean Enu leader of the Fille group Who Foams and founder with fire Gilles February of one of the very first reviews underground Frenchwomen, the Umbrella. Gilles Yéprémian holds the musical heading of the Umbrella. Then it organizes concerts on Paris and becomes the Bacon manager Free, the group of Gilbert Artman. It will also deal with Kominern, Urban Sax, Catalogue, Urbi FIAT, Quad Sax. It will make turn to France Third World War, and Pink Fairies, two English groups among most committed politically. I remember Pink Fairies in particular, with their insane beater with half Twink, which lived with a Belgian. They often played saturdays with Portobello, on a waste ground close to West Way.
Gilles: “The guys who deal with music today leave H.E.C, of the large schools. they are not people who like the music. Soon the artistic directors will be énarques, they will say to us what to like, what to buy, it will be well gauged, they already say it to us to a great extent besides… Of course it v A of the interesting independent labels, but the diférence with the Seventies, it is that at the time, there were “marginal” groups which signed in majors, that does not exist any more now, there was for the major, all the same, the step to be interested in musics and formations except framework.”.
One night of May 1971, in Rock' Roll Circus of the street of the Seine, it meets Jim Morrison stiff stuffed, two months before its death. That will be worth to him to be interviewed later by the newspapers, the radios and televisions of the whole world and to collaborate in a book entitled “The Doors One Training course” (a work indexing the recordings in concerts of Doors, is 205 CDs!).
As for me, I will never forget the number of times that Gilles and Gilbert inserted to me gratos in concerts, in Olympia or elsewhere.

Among the 54 artists who are on this compilation:

Jacques DUDON, who walked some of the way a bit of a walk with Hog Farm, this community of freaks American right come from the experiments of Ken Kesey (Acid test). Its first group was Blues Bag. They played the Pop Club of Jose Artur in May 68 during the riots, and festival of Biot after Franck Zappa. Besides one finds Jacques on compiles for another piece recorded in 1992

RED NOISE, with Patrick Vian, the son of Boris, and John Livengood who will join PLANETARIUM thereafter. They recorded an album into 70, “Teals-Locheres” for the Futura label of Gerard Terronès.

HEART ITS was initially a group which played in the rallys of the beautiful districts, the “Primativ', then they became “Expression” into 67, at the moment of the psychedelic explosion. White Marc and Patrick Fontaine then met Daevid Allen, which had just left Soft Machine and they played together from 67 to 69 under the name of Banana Moon, in the Balearic Islands and in the south of France. At that time, there were relatively few groups and they easily found work in the boxes of the Mediterranean coast for which it was larger “In”. It is as like that as Soft Machine, whose music did not age, was found to play for a part of Picasso, “the Devil drawn by the Tail” with St Tropez into 68. It was also the time when Ibiza was a destination very run in the underground medium (see “More”, the film of Schroeter Barbet spaniel, with the music of Pink Floyd), before the arrival of the charters and the concrete. People as Nico attended the island as of the Fifties (and it is there that she died into 88). But let us return to our heroes. After Banana Moon, Marc and Patrick founded Ame Its into 70. They recorded an album for BYG, the label of Jean Karakos, “Catalyses” and played festivals of Amougies and Biot. Marc played thereafter with Jean-Louis Aubert, and Alain Renaud (you will be able to meet them besides with the tennis of the garden of Luxembourg!). After two albums D '' Ame songs' in the Eighties, Marc for submission to leaving a new album soon. http://www.ameson.net/

The history of GONG is indissociable among that, attractive, of Daevid ALLEN and Gilli SMYTH. The group was formed into 69 by Daevid, after Soft Machine and Banana Moon, and Gilli with Didier Malherbe (alias “Bloomdido Bad de Grass”, flute, sax), Christian Tritsch, Rachid Houari, then Pip Pyle, Pierre Moerlen, Mike Howlett, Tim Blake, was entered to Gong like roadie and which formed Crystal Machine thereafter… Their first recording was the music of film of Jerome Laperrousaz, “Continental Circus” into 70. They occurred with the festival of Amougies, and remained in France until 73, where they recorded four delirious albums for BYG, of which famous “the Electric Camembert cheese”, and one with Dashiell Hedayat.

Listen to an extract of “Poem Gong” in   

Dashiell HEDAYAT was initially made known as translator of Dylan and Tolkien, then it recorded two albums: the first under the name of Melmoth had as a title “the front of intoxications” and second the “Obsolete one” with the collaboration of Gong and William Burroughs, and from which the title “Chrysler results” (pink). Since Dashiell its career of writer with success under his true name of Jack-Alain Leger continued.

Listen to an extract of “Chrysler” in    

BACON FREE was formed into 70 by the beater Gilbert Artman. In formed also part Philippe Bolliet (known as “Bolle”), François Mativet, Jean-Jacques Miette and Domenica Triloff. They recorded 3 albums, then Gilbert trained URBAN SAX, group of saxophones making of the repetitive music being able to comprise to 53 members, and always in activity. They played in all kinds of places and events, as in factories, at the top of the castle of Versailles, the world expo of Vancouver or the inauguration of the Arch of Defense. Gilbert also took part in other groups like VIDEO ADVENTURES, also with Domenica Grimaud (ex Camizole) and Monique Alba or CATALOGUES with Jean-François Pauvros and Jac Berrocal, present also on compiles.
The site of Urban Sax: http://www.urbansax.com

Listen to an extract of “Cochonailles” by Lard Free in    

DAGON is one of the legendary groups Parisian underground of the beginning of the Seventies. Jean-Pierre Lentin, of the first team of Current formed part of it, like Patrick Vian after Red Noise. They were characterized by particularly delirious settings in scene at the time of their concerts. They formed also part of the transitory FLIP of Michel Muzac and Komintern.

Another journalist/musician was Henri-Jean Enu, founder of the “Umbrella” and of GIRL WHO FOAMS, present on compiles with a piece recorded with a concert with the FAC Dauphine into 72 (I was there), with grinds light shows.

MAHOGANY BRAIN was formed by the poet/writer/scenario writer Michel BULTEAU. It describes them as follows: “Mahogany Brain was a phantom group. Only one concert in Lucernaire during summer 70. It was also a laboratory where the gang of the electric poets could play of goods towers to the madness”.
They nevertheless recorded two albums, of which a part in the studios of the ORTF, left crossing between Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground and Antonin Artaud. One their members, Patrick Geoffrois left thereafter for New York where it belonged to James Chance and the Contorsions, and there died in 1994.

Listen to an extract of “Silkskin Dawn” in    

MAHJUN, the group of Jean-Louis of the same name knew two periods, one rather committed politically, the other more folk and opened with various influences. They lived in community. Mahjun is a Moroccan receipt of cake to the sh*t.

Jac BERROCAL, actor, poet, trompetist is a large nomad of the Parisian scene. It formed “Musik Ensemble” into 71, then “Rock' N Roll Station” with legendary Vince Taylor. Then it knocked about the world and worked with all kinds of people like the poet Jacques Doyen, the guitarist Jean-François Pauvros, the beaters Jacques Thollot, Gilbert Artman, within groups as Catalogue, MKB, Bad servant boys in France, Nurse with wound in England, Telectu in Portugal or James Chance in New York!

Richard PINHAS has been another central figure for 30 years and its influence is still very present, including among the younger generation. I knew it since 1967 places Victor Hugo in 16th whereas it was one of only in Paris to raise a cut Dylan/Hendrix. In 68 it formed Blues Convention, in the line of British Blues with Klaus Basquiz, future singer of Magma. In 71, it was Schizo, with Patrick Gauthier, George Grumblatt, Coco and Pierrot Roussel, Richard with the guitar and with being synthé. They recorded two individual, the first with the singer Olivier Pamela. The second, present on compiles, left in 500 specimens and was distributed free, produced by the actor Matthieu Carrière. He was called “the Traveller” and consisted of a text of Nietzche called by the philosopher Gilles Deleuze, then very known for his “Anti-Oedipus” coécrit with the psychoanalyst Felix Guattari. When Schizo separated into 72, Richard formed HELDON: it was another association between the experimental electronic music, of the literary connections and an anarchistic philosophical base. The name of the group came from a novel of the writer of anticipation, Norman Spinrad, who was a major influence at Pinhas. But Heldon was also a group of Rock' Roll, with Alain Renaud (guitar), Didier Batard (ex Tryptique) with low, François Auger with the battery, Patrick Gauthier with the keyboards and thereafter of other musicians like Alain Bellaiche.
Today, Richard collaborates with Norman Spinrad and the cyber-writer Maurice Dantec and prepares the exit of a new album, on which also his/her son plays, Duncan Nilsson. More infos on the official site of Heldon: http://membres.lycos.fr/heldon/

Patrick Gauthier

Listen to an extract of the “Traveller” by Schizo with Gilles Deleuze in    

Are also present on compiles: Catharsis, Counterpoint, Oedipus, Urbain Metal, Camizole, the Large Nebulous one, Insane Leloublan, I, Fall of Saigon, Pascal Comelade, Clearly Obscure Etron, Kas Product, François Robert Lloyd and well of others…

Listen to an extract of “Panik” by Métal Urbain in    

Kas Product Catalogue: Jac Berrocal, Jean-François Pauvros and Gilbert Artman. JF Pauvros has just created a new group, the 4 girls of industry

Several groups could not be included, for various reasons. Among them, Crouille Hammer, with Pierre Clémenti and Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Chico Magnetic Band, Crium Delirium, Catherine Ribeiro + the Alps (Patrice Moullet), Comintern, Jacques Thollot, Albert Marcoeur,…

Listen to an extract D '' Antibes' by Crium Delirium in    

FOX (Lionel MAGAL) of CRIUM DELIRIUM in New York in 1978 (photo Catherine Faux)

Pop Groups of the Seventies - Brigitte Fontaine and Areski with Art Together of Chicago of which the pieces “As with the Radio” and 'Mister the station master” accompanied our first joints - Magma - Grass Red (with Jean-Louis.)- ZNR (ex Barricades) of Marseilles with Hector Zazou and Joseph Rabble -