GILBERT ARTMAN'S LARD FREE

One of the hottest and revered drummers in early 70s France, Gilbert Artman emerged as one of the more innovative forces in the French underground with his early Kraut-jazz meets avant-prog band LARD FREE. Formed in 1970 Paris, LARD FREE existed for eight years and released three distinct albums that sound nothing alike mostly due to the fact that Artman was the only constant member throughout the band's existence. The first album to emerge was the 1973 album titled GILBERT ARTMAN'S LARD FREE which found the perfect marriage between the wild Euroepan free jazz 60s (Artman was a trained jazz drummer)and the burgeoning world of progressive electronic and Krautrock coming to age in neighboring Germany as well as taking root in France. An earlier album was attempted but was scrapped and only emerged later in 1997 with the simple title "Unnamed." Despite having one of the most unpalatable names in the French underground, LARD FREE actually resulted as a pun of the French "L'Art Free" which simply means "The Free Art!" Probably shoulda stuck to the French :)

The lineup on GILBERT ALTMAN'S LARD FREE included Altman himself on drums, vibes and grand piano along with François Mativet on guitars, Philippe Bolliet on saxophones and Hervé Eyhani on both bass and synthesizers. Album #1 showcases a wide range of jazz music as the basic rhythmic keeper while the guitars and synthesizer sounds are allowed to go absolutely ape shit thus crafting a unique dynamic throughout a roster of seven tracks that each takes on a completely new approach of crafting a true form of musical chaos but always includes a lifeline of some sort to keep the music from spiraling into completely avant-garde noise. The opening "Warinobaril" is quite misleading as opens with a relaxed groove with a rather mechanical German motorik groove generated by a beefy bass and several references to the world of neighboring Germany's Krautrock scene.

With "12 Ou 13 Juillet Que Je Sais D'Elle" things start to get a bit wilder though seemingly starting out tame with a rather smooth jazzy swing only to be joined by a sputtering loose cannon synthesizer solo that ratchets up the tension into an explosive conclusion that decides to depart the musical flow altogether and becomes a rogue sputtering effect. The two part nearly 9 minute in length track continues the second part with a totally different approach only with a dissonant guitar delivering crazy rhythmic bombast in the company of a more pacified saxophone keeping the entire thing from sounding like Fred Frith having a bad acid trip. "Honfleur Écarlate" follows suit but in a more subdued manner with a steady bass groove that allows the guitar freak out and the saxophone to delivery a unique staccato form of syncopation. "Acide Framboise" actually resembles something that one might expect from Clear Light's symphonic mastery in the keys department only set to a recycled groove while Mativet delivers an atonal guitar dance around it.

"Livarot Respiration" is the most free floaty track on board with a slowed down bass groove and an emphasis on the calming vibes starting very much like a typical 60s cool jazz number only the bass melody sounds like a smooth jazz version of the bass line in Janis Joplin's 1971 hit "Move Over." After two rather subdued and less startling tracks, the closing finale "Culturez-vous Vous Même" sounds more like something Heldon would latch onto with layered synth drones that slowly glide through a perucssionless detached soundscape that offers the bleakest and most abstruse of them all. But ends with a few tinklings of the piano and then it's all over. Overall a unique installment to the early world of French outsider music which easily qualified LARD FREE to be included on the Nurse With Wound list. A diverse album that offers varying degrees of placidity, sonic textures explorations, extended jazz techniques and an interesting mix of avant-prog and Krautrock. At times pacifying and at others startling and truly obnoxious, GILTMAN ARTMAN'S LARD FREE is an album that is worthy of the attention of any true sonic explorer of the strange and unusual experiments that were bursting out of the early 1970s.