Yeah, see, I know tons of folks go for that kind of thing. But just to be clear: I'm talking about, like, the Mole-era Residents, not "Sinister Exaggerator" and "The Festival of Death". Math-prog "Hello Skinny" would probably be the greatest thing since Archaia.
― from alcoholism to fleshly concerns (contenderizer), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 15:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
Hm, that 3.5/5 AMG review doesn't seem horrible to me per se. Your description does make it sound good!
I'm listening to a great deal of U Totem these days. "One Nail Draws Another" has been one of my favourite things for years.
― Sundar, Wednesday, 28 October 2009 15:58 (3 years ago) Permalink
Yer right, I remembered the drop in score from the prior records being more drastic. Scoring does make it look like the beginning of the end, but "terrible" was hyperbole. Still, any review that starts off, "Regarded by some as the least successful recording of Univers Zero's early years..."
― from alcoholism to fleshly concerns (contenderizer), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 16:09 (3 years ago) Permalink
Listening to it again (for only the 3rd time), and no surprise, finding it a LOT more accessible & atmospheric this time through. I think my earlier descriptions are misleading to the extent they aren't flat-out wrong, based more on incomprehension & alienation than close listening. Like Ornette Coleman and the Residents = very far from the mark.
The long first track, Présage, is a standout built around some vaguely Middle-Eastern reed jamming and a cyclical "whirling dervish" bassline (reminds me of the 2nd Tarantula Hawk LP and Yeti's "Interstellar Biplane" -- an influence?). 2nd is basically a short interlude, and side 1 concludes with the generally mournful & understated Celesta for Chantal. Spends most of its time on hushed cello, piano and clarinet, but suddenly kicks up some Goblin horrorshow action at the end: grazy drooping/melted guitar solo to fade. Side two starts off with Parade, which combines Presage's bass propulsion with a lighter, more melodious & upbeat feel -- until it gets all Strategies Against Architecture towards the end. Concludes with Emmanations, a 15-minute epic that burns through countless changes without ever really seeming to "go anywhere". Though the sounds are interesting, this is the only track that continues to elude me.
In general, there's a tension between the Heresie-style darkness and a dry, spacious airiness -- an almost sunny feeling of weightless drift in the playing and arrangements. And I don't know why I found this so impenetrable and noise-like on the first couple attempts. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, or wasn't in the right mood.
― from alcoholism to fleshly concerns (contenderizer), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 16:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
awesomely sloppy prog imo = Amon Duul II on Dance Of The Lemmings through Wolf City.
― Durian Durian (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 17:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
so, inspired by this thread, I just checked out archaia. need to listen to this a few more times but my general impression is that this is some pretty weird and and far-out prog. heldon comes to mind.
not so sure that they're sloppy so much as woozy and, yeah, psychedelic. the minimal use of percussion really gives this album kind of a droney, ambient vibe.
― ( - _ - ); (Alan N), Thursday, 29 October 2009 21:41 (3 years ago) Permalink
"chronos" is a sick groove!http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.singleplaylist&friendid=223031934
― ( - _ - ); (Alan N), Thursday, 29 October 2009 22:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
Archaia was compared to Magma a bit, mostly because of the bass sound, and early Heldon might be a reference too just for the general psychedelic haziness (and French factor?) But they weren't really as proggy as either of those bands, so I'd first compare to Lard Free, Igor Wakhevitch, Fille Qui Mousse, Birge Gorge Shiroc, Philippe Besombes.
― Dominique, Thursday, 29 October 2009 22:58 (3 years ago) Permalink
never heard of any of those guys besides magma/igor wakhevitch. I can def. hear a bit of magma in there but these guys aren't just magma clones. (though I do love my magma clones.)
now that I think about it, the album sounds a bit like 70s horror movie goblin-type prog crossed with druggy finnish psych.
any particular albums from the like-minded artists you listed that really do it for you, dominique?
― ( - _ - ); (Alan N), Thursday, 29 October 2009 23:53 (3 years ago) Permalink
i think archaia might've sounded more magma-esque with, duh-dahhh, a drummer. but they probably would've stuck to the lighter side of zeuhlishness.
― a 40-foot-long electrified pickle (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 30 October 2009 10:29 (3 years ago) Permalink
Archaia remind me a bit of Metabolist : http://www.myspace.com/metabolistband who I mentioned on a This Heat thread a while back, it's the under-populated area between Zeuhl and krautrock. Heldon I guess is the nearest comparison, but if we're talking Magma then it's Jannick Top's songs that are the influence for these bands (Mekanik Machine, De Futura, Ork Alarm etc). Anyone know of any other bands in this particular sub-sub genre?
― The people of Ork are marching upon us (Matt #2), Friday, 30 October 2009 10:42 (3 years ago) Permalink
ciao Alan,for more French psychedelicized prog (or proggified psych) check Fille Qui Mousse's "Trixie Stapleton" (especially the track called Cantate Disparate), the first Lard Free album (featuring some monster guitar/synth combination on pieces like Acide Framboise) and the (admittedly cheesy) novelty horror "Etrange cas de Monsieur Whinster" by Horrific Child. I sort of like also another band called Flamen Dialis, probably more similar to stuff like Franco Battiato, and a couple of Bernard Szajner projects, like his Dune-inspired Zed lp (Klaus Basquiz from Magma sings in a couple of songs).
― Marco Damiani, Friday, 30 October 2009 11:44 (3 years ago) Permalink
oh yeah, flamen dialis. also, catharsis are sort of a medieval-ish thing that might be up someone's alley. like medieval prog-psych minimalism.
the szajner/dune thing is great.
― a 40-foot-long electrified pickle (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 30 October 2009 13:41 (3 years ago) Permalink
oh man, the zeuhl/synth/psych/prog cross-section is a reeeal sweet spot for me; I will be checking out every single recommendation on this thread. thanks, guys!
and "medieval prog-psych minimalism" sounds pretty great to me! or, maybe... potentially great.
band name is also a little lolsy to me bc the only catharsis I know are the anarchist metalcore band with gybe bits. (hah)
― ( - _ - ); (Alan N), Friday, 30 October 2009 14:42 (3 years ago) Permalink
alright, both of the youtube things i found for catharsis have a more folky, popol vuh type vibe. so maybe my memory's completely faulty, but i'd give the album illuminations a shot first. masq and 32 mars are also good.
― a 40-foot-long electrified pickle (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 30 October 2009 16:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
will def. check out illuminations.
― ( - _ - ); (Alan N), Friday, 30 October 2009 20:37 (3 years ago) Permalink
I'm really intrigued by Archaia would love to get hold of it on cd. So hoping somebody reissues it again.
― Stevolende, Monday, 7 May 2012 21:19 (1 year ago) Permalink