WEIDORJE

My first ever Zeuhl experience (meaning everything: listening, collecting, reviewing, accepting the genre's reality and distinction, finding the worthy contrast or finally enjoying what is of great sense in it) is, incidentally, a one-off project, of special music and a very strong style - also of a totally pleasant basic flavor into Zeuhl's stretch of an atypical sounding orientation. Even before Weidorje, I've received the hint that a big part of Zeuhl has the welcoming deep attitude and traditional combination of new music and big classic stereotypes (or catchy drifts), only for the more freak-spotted and gargantuan-clerked Japanese-oriented stuff to bring alive an aware explosion of unpredictable and systematic complications and fun-absurdities. So goes indeed this "half side" of the Zeuhl mechanic, along Weidorje's piquant originality: a lot of traditional and of basic fascinating references, in a Zeuhl-grown absinthe new-pulse and seizurant concentration. Nothing of all this misleads Weidorje's small art and succinct slush act.

Weidorje is practically locked under the Magma reference (but, fortunately, it isn't buried or harassed by it), with two referential artists leading off the experiment, with a lot of feeling that Magma continues into Weidorje without hesitations but with imperfect similarities, plus with the influences of French Zeuhl and dark art prog flicked-on mechanics which I've already mentioned. Even more than that, Weidorje alludes a convenient side within endless "magmatic" composition (meaning to go on playing the values and alternative essences of Magma, even if you've skidded off from the main band) - when, in fact, it comes to a high degree of exquisite and courage-breaking attitude, under the healthiest or just grooviest style and free-sense license. Zeuhl may after all share too little obscurity and underground kinesis, focusing on bands that punch the great spirit, nevertheless Weidorje suffers nothing, musically and conceptually, from playing the rich, plural and contentious kind of lucid art.

The level of quality and inspiration reflects more than enough the artists and their bit predictable and simple evolved, still very spicy and recommendable credit. You could feel that Weidorje is born (and quickly demised) under the desires of a very fulfilling musicianship, based on experience and wickedness, craft and pure pleasure (if that ever gets involved), if only the typicalness, the Magma-link or the dry distorted strain (happening a bit too much, upon hearing the essential pieces) would not interfere deeply with such a thrilling view. The biggest catch seems to face Paganotti, out of the pure fascination and deep lurk the bass grunge has in Weidorje; on a different level, similarly adapted, but more obscure and sound-cut, Gauthier (Magma, Heldon and solo) invites Jean-Phillipe Goude (an electronic, but also fusion tempting artist, having difficult to understand major orientations, much like Benoit Wildemann) into a dark vibrating composure of keyboards and rhythmical eccentricities - something obviously profound, but rather insolite in Weidorje's biggest quick tensions. The flash point isn't over yet, since guitarist Ettorri and drummer Rust bring in the traditional heat-riffs and deaf-beats of a rock movement (and a dark steam composition influence), while the big alternative effect, mostly spiking a lot of jazzy havoc and improvised heap, come from brothers Guillard's saxophone and trumpet moody, occasional, not pure and perfect, but present and active turns.

Weidorje is clamed, artfully, under compelling jams and innate manners, even if, somewhere along, all the complex(ity) skills turn the full attention away from the "art-logic", the animated as hell (only not drastic) measures or the ruffian macro-scaled pulses. A wide pleasure can come out of pure instrumentality, on which the ensemble spends almost everything (additional vocals fussing an inscrutable taste for modified under-sounds), implying hollow-striking composition, improvisation, rhythmic contrast (it's a real deal listening to difficult tonalities and sweating such breakaways), repetitive blow-ups, plus dismantled harmonic and melodic ideas, for a better spice and throb.

Also luscious is the great eclecticism that resides from simple, atypical or dis-valued ways of music attack, and leads a plurality of styles (the albums carves up poly-rock sweet and sour tendencies): the insidious Weidorje develops into a bass-bossy rock groove, a jazzy pitch-black atmosphere, a wild "crimson"-like enthusiasm of technical abstract (yes, I do think some moments sound like the dark-jam King Crimson refused, mainly, to do in the same classic prog time), a mechanic fusion and an embalmed free-expression quality, plus different chords of favorably leathery and chewy feelings, counting a deep and dark musical clout and inner subtlety. Weidorje has real-time complicated, but non-exaggerate preferences, with basic interpretation veins going on a sum of hard eclectic rock, jazzy-bass on and off flicks, repetitive experimentalism (under a lot of main themes and evolving pricked melodies) and artistic simplicity. The loaded epics of the original LP leave you breathless or just highly over-dozed, the bonus lives have a ground-destructive sound quality, but interpret with even more lecherousness the typical jam of rock, zeuhl, bass-tops and sound-powers.

This is on all levels a smashing and Zeuhl-challenging art concept, coming in a late (1978,yikes...), but highly devoted progressive time, also sharing a custom eclecticism and dark-smart orientation, which mostly resembles an endless (and, sporadically, supreme) value in Weidorje, even when its music becomes out-dated or humbly undertaken by other gems of the genre. A very revealing and artistic album for me, a generally exciting creation for anything that matters.