LIBRA

Originally a chemist, preparing a PhD at the university of Paris, but always fiddling around with free jazz and contemporary music for a passion, even working with a ballet troupe until the summer of 72, when Besombes embarked on a typical hippie trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan. On his returning, he met Jean-Michel Jarre (then still working for a radio research centre) and started a duo with him, playing electronic music and played live a few gigs in early 73. Commissioned by Pattern (an association of moviemakers) for the soundtrack of a seldom-seen movie Libra, Besombes took quite a while to work on this album, thus ending informally the Jarre partnership. The movie project proved difficult, because it became a dialogue-less 90-min project that was, as usual, under-financed. When it finally came out in 75, the project was critically well received, but remained confidential.

The album has a very wide scope ranging from strange TD synths and sounding like Pierre Henry (the opening Plage with its orgasmic voices and q) to some weird "bruitage" ala Faust (Les Diapos), passing through some Ron Geesin-like Floyd moments (the Ballade En Velo with the Geesin-like horns ala AHM) and some pure RnR moments (the out-of-context Boogimmick) and some downright Floyd ambiances (Cérémonie or Jaune, which sounds like Saucerful Of Secrets, the track). You even get some Indian music (Raggacountry) and some almost-normal prog rock (Hache 06) and much more. The second side holds the longest tracks, but this does not make the album anymore direction, as it ends on a weak English-sung Tis A Song.

While there are some outstanding (and even sublime moments), there are some rather embarrassing moments as well. The album is actually quite uneven and it goes a bit aimlessly in every direction. While I can never thank enough MIO to release such lost French gems, I wish they'd have given us some kind of info on the origins of the four bonus tracks, but most likely, they were part of the movie as well, since they sound quite a bit like the rest of the album. My guess is that if MIO records named the-is album Libra Vol.1, there will be yet another one.

Besombes will record a second "solo" album in 76 than found Hydravion (his best-known project in 78), before recording the last of the album (eponymous) I know him to have recorded in 79. Nevertheless, this debut album is very much worth investigating it, even if I would not call this work essential.

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