TRITON

POTEMKINE formed all the way back in 1971 in Toulouse, France and started off as a cover band of classic rock like the Rolling Stones and Deep Purple but turned to the world of jazz fusion once the founder and brother Charles and Gilles Goubin discovered the wild worlds of the Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Somewhere before the band's debut "Foetus" the world of zeuhl began creeping into the band's sound after attending Magma concerts. The debut "Foetus" was an interesting take on the potentials of mixing jazz rock with the idiosyncratic characteristics of zeuhl but lacked any real cohesion and sorely lacked any bite.

The band followed up with its sophomore release TRITON which came out in 1977 and offered a much more accomplished roster of five tracks that added up to just over 37 minutes of playing time. TRITON found POTEMKINE taking its jazz rock and zeuhl fusion to the world of 20th century classical complexity with composers such as Edgar Varese, Erik Satie and Claude DeBussy serving as the primary inspirational figures. The title of the album refers to the tritone which was considered the work of the devil by the Spanish Inquisition and only reintroduced to Western Music by composers such as Stravinsky and Bartok.

The lineup expanded as well which included the three Goubin brothers: Charles (guitar) Michael (keyboards), Phillipe (drums) and Dominque Dubuisson back on bass as well as Xavier Vidal returning on violins. However yet another Goubin, this time bassist Gilles joined the team as well as an extra drummer Maurice Bataille on a couple of tracks. At this same time POTEMKINE also started to dabble in the world of avant-prog with a more abstract sound courtesy of exposure to bands like Art Zoyd and Etron Fou Leloublan. The results of all this newfound inspiration made TRITON a much more interesting album than the band's debut "Foetus." Likewise the zeuhl rhythms and influences are much more apparent on TRITON which created a very original sound that set the band easily apart from the competition.

The album is primarily an instrumental fusion of the avant-prog delivered by the Rock In Opposition bands that were popping up around Belgium and France in the late 1970s along with the Magma and already established jazz fusion tendencies although still no woodwinds or jazzy horn sections in the mix. The album also offers a few wordless vocals that serve as an extra instrument mostly in the form of haunting backdrops to creepy avant-garde musical processions. The music is much more diverse on TRITON with the tracks offering a wide range of musical exploration and chock full of various time signature workouts that offer a huge sonic expansion of timbres, dynamics and complexity of the compositions. The distinct use of guitar work also was unique for any major zeuhl works of the 1970s.

This album really features a nice mix of things: various percussive instruments, a unique bouncy bass presence and a quirky way of delivering the guitar parts. Lots of virtuoso piano runs and best of all the compositions are ridiculously complex with difficult to follow yet logically cohesive processions through various motifs and disparate cadences. An uncredited female vocalist sort of drops in and out unexpectedly offering a spectral haunting effect with wordless vocals. The album is extremely engaging and infinitely more dynamic than the rather sleepy indeterminate debut. The jazzy interludes are delivered by the combo effect of the percussion and piano rolls at key moments which keeps this album juggling the worlds of jazz, classical, zeuhl and avant-prog quite nicely.

The album closes with the lengthiest track "Eiram" which at 13 1/2 minutes really takes the band into its full potential and offers a wild ride through the world of wild unhinged prog that had been established on the previous tracks. A huge step up for POTEMKINE and one of those crazy complex prog albums for those who like it knotty and angular as it can possibly get. The reissues offer a whopping four bonus tracks which are equally as captivating especially the feisty "Rictus" which is more energetic than anything on TRITON's original track listing as the album itself simmers on mid-tempo for the majority of its run. Great album and the only one of POTEMKINE's three album run to really implement zeuhl bass grooves in full force.