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sexta-feira, 26 de março de 2021
Companion - Reap the lost dreamers - 1974 (Progressive Folk Rock {US})
Hamsin (חמסין) - Hamsin (חמסין) - 1980 (Blues Funk Soul Rock {Israel})
quinta-feira, 25 de março de 2021
Saffran - Blue in ashes - 1975 (Progressive Jazz Rock {Alemanha})
Saffran - Blue in ashes - 1975 (full album)
segunda-feira, 22 de março de 2021
Visitor 2035 - Visitor 2035 - 1978 (Progressive Jazz Fusion Rock {UK})
A banda lançou "Cain! A modern mystery play" em 1976, e lançou o álbum homônimo em 1978 pelo selo alemão Hansa. A música da Visitor 2035 está fortemente enraizada no fusion, do lado do Weather Report, com elementos sinfônicos onipresentes e texturas de teclado misteriosas e espaciais. É recomendado para fãs de música que está saindo do reino do fusion, bem como para todos os fãs de boa música.
Visitor 2035 were a short-lived band based in the UK, with the Irishman John Mason and Craig Pruess, an American residing in UK since 1973. Mason is renowned as a member of the Irish top-notch outfit Fruupp. Pruess performed with Mike Oldfield and did arrangements for music of Sarah Brightman, Def Leppard and Massive Attack, among many others. Other members were Ray Deefholts (guitar), Nigel Robinson (percussion) and Peter Stroud (bass). Mason played keyboards, and Pruess was on the trumpet.
The band self-released "Cain! A modern mystery play" in 1976, and released the self-titled album in 1978 for the German label Hansa. The music of Visitor 2035 is heavily rooted in fusion, on the Weather Report side, with omnipresent symphonic elements and eerie spacey keyboard textures. It's recommended to fans of music which is stepping out of the fusion realm, as well as to all fans of good music.
sábado, 20 de março de 2021
Ilous & Decuyper - Ilous & Decuyper - 1971 (Progressive Folk Rock {França})
After several attempts by Dutronc to enlarge the Crapou/Padovan/Pelay nucleus, two new members were added to the band in late 1966: keyboard player Alain Le Govic, and guitarist Jean-Pierre Alarcen. Even while accompanying Dutronc, the band worked separately on compositions written by Kawczynski, with lyrics by Puterflam. Under the name of Systeme Crapoutchik, they would release several EP's on Vogue under Puterflam's supervision.
By late 1968, Puterflam was frustrated by participating in the Systeme Crapoutchik sessions only as producer/lyricist-that, and he felt that he was the best interpreter of his own songs. The timing was right for a change anyway, since Le Govic and Pelay had just quit the band. Meanwhile, "Crapou" joined the group of musicians accompanying the musical "Hair" (this thanks to Alarcen, who had already been with the stage company for awhile). George Rodi, who had replaced Le Govic in Dutronc's band, also took his place in Systeme Crapoutchik: André Sitbon, the drummer of the "Hair" backing group, succeeded Pelay.
After two more singles, however, the Systeme Crapoutchik split up for good in 1970. At that point, Padovan also went to play in "Hair", while Sitbon and "Crapou" resumed their careers as accompanists and sessionmen. As a postscript to the Systeme Crapoutchik story, we should add that Puterflam released a posthumous album by the band in 1971, which in typical fashion (now that the group was defunct) received good reviews from the press!
Now that we have dispensed with the history of Systeme Crapoutchik, it's time to backtrack to 1967. This was when Puterflam met young composer, Bernard llous, who like himself was writing songs for music publisher Gérard Tournier. Ilous had grown up in a musical world, as his parents were fond of jazz and classical music. When he discovered rock and roll in the 1960's, llous decided to teach himself guitar and piano so he could reproduce the music of his idols. He started out playing hit songs by The Beatles (the group he admired the most) and Bob Dylan, but soon began composing his own music, with lyrics in French. Ilous wanted to be a composer and a creator, not a student, so he presented his material to Tournier, who showed a great interest in the teenager, and signed him to an exclusive publishing contract. And so, at the age of nineteen, llous sat in a small office every day, composed material on his piano and guitar, and recorded demos on a small Revox. Many top singers of the era, such as Françoise Hardy, Eric Charden, Johnny Hallyday, and Dick Rivers recorded songs written by llous.
As Dutronc was living in the same building as Tournier's office (on the floor below), his band and Puterflam often met there. Some of the band ("Crapou"), Kalafate (Dutronc's first bass player), Pelay, Alarcen, and Le Govic, were moonlighting with singer Eric Charden, for whom lotus had written some songs. Puterflam heard these tracks, thought they were promising, and arranged to meet llous.
We come at last to the fateful year of 1969, which is when Puterflam left Vogue to create the Flamophone label. A new label needs releases, and so the creator of Flamophone turned to his friends for help. Puterflam recorded a single, "Le bal des enfers"/"Détachez- moi les bras" (Flamphone 4502): both songs were written by llous and accompanied by Systeme Crapoutchik.
This record, released in 1970, marked llous' debut as an arranger-in the past, he had merely contented himself with telling other arrangers his ideas. This time, llous realized his songs in entirely his own way. He was present during the recording, and supervised the final arrangement and mixing. Although it demonstrated the talents of all concerned, the single did not meet with a good reception from the media or the public. Perhaps it was the innovative concept of the recordings, their use of experimental techniques such as multi tracking and phasing, which were still unusual in France. In any case, Puterflam appreciated llous' way of giving greater importance to vocals and choruses. They returned to the fray with a second single composed of two new tunes written by llous, "Le vieux pianiste laid"/"L'esprit du mal" (Flamphone 4506).
Puterflam had created Flamophone to suit his own taste, insisting on a certain aesthetic based on the quality of the sound and the richness of the music. He felt that the label was a laboratory in which he could apply his artistic principles and musical theories to create new music, free from commercial considerations. To attain this, he worked only with people who shared the same ideals. And so it was that Puterflam decided to produce a single for llous, who had always wanted to sing his own songs. They recorded two tracks in July 1971, "Fille de lune" and "D'où vient le vent", with Padovan and André Sitbon as rhythm section.
The single was unsuccesful, but Puterflam's characteristic production quality harmonized perfectly with llous predilection for refined vocals and arrangements, atypical of French releases of the era. Ilous had at one time written a tune for a young singer, and had met a friend of hers, Patrice Decuyper. The pair discovered that they had common affinities and conceptions-both musicians wanted to produce elaborate and perfected music-and decided to work together. Like llous, Decuyper was self taught: luckily, he turned out to be a talented acoustic guitar player, with a delicate and inventive style.
Decuyper and llous both admired artists who were concerned with the quality of their music. Their favourites were The Beatles, Jim Webb, Milton Nascimento (whom llous had discovered through an album his publisher had thrown into the wastepaper basket!). Joni Mitchell, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (because of their accurate and delicate vocal harmonies and the richness of their melodies). Together, the two musicians had get used to composing and arranging as a duo. This new mutual creative process was developed through a series of artistic "confrontations", in which llous & Decuyper pitted their ideas and melodies one against the other, they then selected the best themes, cut some of them apart, and put them together again as entirely new songs. It was in this crucible that they came to find a common style-and not the style that thought that they would find. llous & Decuyper discovered as a duo that they preferred emotional music to conventional demonstrations of technical skill. They felt that they could create a sophisticated and original sound without using their technique for a mere display of sterile virtuosity.
In order to create complex music, you need a recording studio, and recording studios cost money. Ilous & Decuyper found an unusual way around that problem. During 1970 and 1971, they squatted in the Vogue studios, recording material on the studios' 16-track equipment during the night, (or whenever time was available between sessions) under the supervision of Régis Lecorre. The process of recording an album this way took an entire year. One reason for this was that llous & Decuyper did not want to recruit studio musicians, whom they felt were used to playing their parts without investing much feeling, and who therefore played with no conviction. The duo felt that they were the only ones who could reproduce their music and transmit their enthusiasm and emotions to an audience with accuracy and authenticity. llous & Decuyper knew perfectly well what kind of sound they wanted to obtain, and so they waited around to play the instruments themselves.
Eventually, Ilous & Decuyper decided that they could not do everything. They called upon their friends Padovan, Sitbon, and Alarcen from Systeme Crapoutchik to help them out. They were fortunate to benefit from Alarcen's exceptional guitar solo on the duo's disconcerting cover version of "Eleonor Rigby" (excellent, even if the name of the song was mis-spelled). As sessions were never planned ahead of time, Padovan, Sitbon and Alarcen were often not available to record. But llous & Decuyper were used to unusual conditions. Sometimes they played the bass and guitar lines by themselves the conventional way: at other times they would tune their acoustic guitars down and play bass lines on them. On one track, lus performed the bass parts with the sustaining pedals of the organ. As he was more skillful with his hands than his feet, he crouched down and played the organ pedals with his hands. The pair also used instruments that had been left at the Vogue studios by other musicians. llous performed an organ part on an old Filacorda model, which started burning while he was playing. Still, he went on until the track was completely recorded!
This anarchic spirit was contagious. A horn player from the conservatoire, Jean Jacques Justafré, guested on the lovely "Cor Bucolique". Upon reading the score, Justafré told llous that his technique, the position of his mouth and the range of the horn would not enable him to play the highest notes of the melody. But llous & Decuyper insisted, and Justafré surpassed his own expectations and managed to play the notes as written, taking pride in having succeeded. By requiring everybody involved in the album to work minor miracles, llous & Decuyper finally obtained the genuine sound, the authentic music, that they wanted.
The "llous & Decuyper" album is distinguished by the excellence of the studio work. The two composers used all sixteen tracks available to them in order to achieve their unique sound. In fact, they used the overdubbing process almost to an extreme, as their search for perfection seemed always to require additional instruments and voices. Choruses were tripled or quadrupled, and yet harmonised, which required one take per voice. Moreover, both musicians wanted to experiment with new effects and orientations, tuning their guitars to the limits of their tonal accuracy, to produce unexpected and personal sounds. For example, on their second single, in a duet with Alarcen, lious used a piece of felt to obtain a peculiar sound that he had in mind for the song. One can certainly say that the music of llous & Decuyper was original and inventive.
Now that this incredible album was complete, there was the task of pressing and promoting it. As a calling card, a single containing two tracks from the album, "L'elu"/"Non", was issued in June of 1971. The record received good notices from the critics, and Jean Bernard Hebey from RTL gave it frequent airplay. The "llous & Decuyper" album was released July 1971 (Flamophone 33.03), featuring a blue infra-red photograph of the two musicians on the cover. The album also met with a good reception. But playing complex studio compositions live was difficult, and the duo did not want an audience who expected refined music to be disappointed. Album sales (said to be a total of 12,000 copies) were insufficient to enable them to put together a line-up for gigging. In the end, llous & Decuyper played a few small gigs, using only their acoustic guitars.
Meanwhile, llous worked as a background singer in order to earn a living. He released a single on his own in 1972, which included "Bienheureux les innocents"/"Comme les autres". That same year, llous & Decuyper recorded a single with the participation of Gérard Cohen, a friend of Decuyper's, on bass and Jean-Loup Besson, a former member of Quo Vadis, on drums. The duet had planned a second album, but this project was soon abandoned due to the low sales of their debut.
llous pursued a career as singer and session musician. He released a solo album in 1974 ("Ilous"), with the help of some friends, among whom were Georges Rodi and Jean-Pierre Alarcen. Patrice Decuyper disappeared from the music scene and became an antique dealer/book seller. llous & Decuyper created their own style and sound full of subtlety and emotion-an elaborate music based on elegant and original arrangements and orchestrations. Their album has come to be seen as representative of a certain segment of the French music scene that preferred sensuous music to frequent chord changes. In fact, it has always seemed a pity that the llous & Decuyper LP has not been more widely available. It is an inspired album, replete with superb vocal harmonies, lovely pastoral melodies, and an introspective quality that sets it apart from most other musical efforts of the time. It just goes to show what can be done with one year spent squatting in a major studio (Vogue) and recording after hours if you have talent, great songs, and a flair for overdubs.
domingo, 14 de março de 2021
Solen Skiner - Solen Skiner - 1976 (Hard Blues Rock {Suécia})
Solen Skiner iniciou seu projeto musical baseado no rock progressivo, com letras sobre, entre outras coisas, a natureza sueca e o militarismo. Os membros eram Håkan Agnsäter, Sven Bjärhall, Gunnar Lidström e Åke Näslund. No segundo "Gärdesfesten" em agosto de 1970, o grupo foi gravado pela gravadora não comercial Silence e participou do LP "Festen på Gärdet" (1971) com a canção "Militär".
Depois que o grupo foi expandido em 1972 com Christer Nahrendorf, Lennart Holmgren e Göran Hammarén (1974) e Christer Kilander (1975), o repertório tornou-se cada vez mais blues rock baseado em letras do cotidiano vivenciado pela própria pessoa. Entre 1974 e 1978, o grupo teve cerca de 490 shows de Luleå a Ystad. A maioria dos shows foi em centros juvenis, fóruns de música, festivais, prisões e vários shows de apoio. Solen Skiner também fez quatro gravações para o programa de rádio Tonkraft entre 1973 e 1977 e apareceu em dois programas de TV - "Lördags" (transmitido na TV2 em 18 de setembro de 1976) e "Popluvan" (transmitido na TV1 em 5 Janeiro de 1977).
Em 1976 veio o primeiro LP, "Solen Skiner", produzido por Tore Berger no MNW. A foto da capa foi tirada por Carl Johan De Geer. As canções populares do álbum foram "Valfläskboogie" e "Dolda Förtrycket". Em 1977 veio o segundo LP, "Strålande tider" (lançado pelo selo Musiklaget), com canções como "Tio våningar att falla" e "Ta hand om ditt liv". O grupo também apareceu no filme "Vi har vår egen sång", que era sobre o "Alternativfestivalen" ("Festival Alternativo") de Estocolmo, em 1975.
Solen Skiner fez alguns shows desde a dissolução em 1978, incluindo "Hellvi" em Gotland (1996), "Tantogården" em Estocolmo (1999), "Kärrtorp" em Estocolmo (2012) e em Aspuddens Bokhandel (2013). O baterista de Solen Skiner, Håkan Agnsäter, publicou o livro "Affischerna 1967-1979 - från den svenska musikrörelsen" em 2013.
Solen Skiner was a Swedish band that emerged during preparations for the first "Gärdesfesten" in Stockholm in June 1970, where the group also played their first show.
Solen Skiner started his musical project based on progressive rock, with lyrics about, among other things, Swedish nature and militarism. The members were Håkan Agnsäter, Sven Bjärhall, Gunnar Lidström and Åke Näslund. In the second "Gärdesfesten" in August 1970, the group was recorded by the non-commercial label Silence and participated in the LP "Festen på Gärdet" (1971) with the song "Militär".
After the group was expanded in 1972 with Christer Nahrendorf, Lennart Holmgren and Göran Hammarén (1974) and Christer Kilander (1975), the repertoire became increasingly blues rock based on everyday lyrics experienced by the person himself. Between 1974 and 1978, the group had about 490 shows from Luleå to Ystad. Most of the shows were in youth centers, music forums, festivals, prisons and various support shows. Solen Skiner also made four recordings for the radio program Tonkraft between 1973 and 1977 and appeared on two TV programs - "Lördags" (broadcast on TV2 on September 18, 1976) and "Popluvan" (broadcast on TV1 on January 5, 1977).
In 1976 came the first LP, "Solen Skiner", produced by Tore Berger at MNW. The cover photo was taken by Carl Johan De Geer. The popular songs on the album were "Valfläskboogie" and "Dolda Förtrycket". In 1977 came the second LP, "Strålande tider" (released by the Musiklaget label), with songs like "Uncle våningar att falla" and "Ta hand om ditt liv". The group also appeared in the film "Vi har vår egen sång", which was about the Stockholm "Alternativfestivalen" (Alternative Festival) in 1975.
sábado, 13 de março de 2021
Dennis - Hyperthalamus - 1975 (Krautrock/Progressive Jazz Rock {Alemanha})
A música em si era baseada na improvisação coletiva, com um toque rock ou jazzístico, dependendo dos músicos, lembrando Thirsty Moon ou Tommorrow's Gift. Em 1973, a banda lançou "Hyperthalamus", que apresentou diferentes sessões com um lado mais rock e uma faixa inspirada no jazz rock. Apesar de ser um disco totalmente instrumental, algumas gravações de campo foram creditadas, como um trocadilho, a "M.I. Real on lyrics". A banda deixou de existir no final de 1974.
HISTORY
The music itself was based on collective improvisation, with either a rockier edge or a jazzier feeling, depending on the musicians, recalling Thirsty Moon or Tommorrow's Gift. In 1973, the band released "Hyperthalamus" which presented different sessions with one rockier side and a side-long jazz rock inspired track. Although an all-instrumental record, some field recordings, were credited, as a pun, to "M.I. Real on lyrics". The band ceased to exist at the end of 1974.