TRADITION & RENOUVEAU

70's French Prog Folk act from Caen, for which little is known other than they had a good contract, recording for Warner Bros.The begun as a trio of Patrick Grandpierre on guitar/vocals, William Lawday on bass/violin and Bernard Darsh on percussion/vocals/flute and with this line-up they recorded the 76' ''L'hirondelle'' album, released both in France and Canada, said to be in a traditional Folk/Folk Rock path.By their next album they had added Guy Printemps on keyboards, eventually ''Tradition & renouveau'' was released in 1978, again both on French and Canadian grounds.

Album's title is a bit prophetic, because at this point Asgard retained much of their traditional influences, but stretching them a bit further with the addition of keyboards and the prominent use of electric guitars.Actually they sound to my ears as the French equivalent to PERERIN, an extremely ethereal approach on electric Folk Rock, led by excellent mono- and multi-vocal parts and a sweet touch on guitars with a bit of lovely keyboard lines.The tracks are full of melodious textures, romantic flutes, some light violin doses and an almost constant electric/acoustic enviroment.The addition of Guy Printemps has only made good to the band and his discreet piano and synth lines complete a mellow, but still pretty attractive musical background.Traditional, reworked Folk tunes meet with the sharper edges of Rock instrumentation and the album contains very nice instrumental combinations between keys, guitars, flute and violin.The best is saved for the flipside, where the band makes a slight turn towards more dramatic pieces.''Ce soir Francois Villon'' is a bit like ANGE in its theatrical approach, featuring dark electric backgrounds, GENESIS-like synths and majestic Mellotron choirs over a poetic singing performance, while ''Les landes d'Harou'' features a similar atmosphere, albeit a bit more melancholic, with storytelling vocals, calm flute-based and electroacoustic moods and a bombastic, cathartic ending section with a symphonic vibe, based on heavy bass lines, flutes and keyboards.

I do not know what actually happened to this group, but their second album is among the real goodies of French Prog Folk.Intense, melodramatic and sweet instrumental and vocal performances with excellent songwriting.To be discovered without hesitation.

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