KAWANA

On Kawana, Zao recapture the dark Zeuhl spirit which eluded them on Osiris (the only earlier album of theirs I have heard). Opening with the mesmerising Natura, on which Fran'ois Cahen essentially uses his piano as a rhythm instrument to lend extra weight and urgency to the already powerful rhythm section of bassist G'rard Pr'vost and drummer Jean-My Truong, the album proceeds to offer a brooding, volcanic form of fusion-leaning Zeuhl, reminiscent of parent band Magma's earlier (pre-Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh) works. Particular praise has to be given to Didier Lockwood, whose violin contributions help to set Zao's sound apart from Magma's work. Zao's exploration of the fusion-Zeuhl route Magma opted against taking is an important contribution to the genre, and Kawana is one of the band's greatest achievements.