RFI: French prog

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I've just donwloaded a load of Vander/Magma stuff and am starting with Pinhas/Heldon now. What else should I look into?

― fcussen (Burger), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Gong, early to mid-70s

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

They were French!?

― fcussen (Burger), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

try this. although it is more krautrocky than proggy. it's still a swell record. (this is just cut & paste from ILE what are you listening to thread):

now i'm listening to the album Pole. but not THAT Pole. The french group Besombes-Rizet from the 70's who made krautrock. i
dunno what you call french krautrock.(there is probably a good joke to be made here about the Vichy government and Stereolab, but
i'm too tired to think of one) Tapioca records. (they were great) plus, this Pole has a weird thing over the O.

Les claviers et synthetizers employes furent:VCS 3 AKS, ARP 2600, Electrocomp 101 et 500, Synthorchestra Farfisa, FY 1 Yamaha,
Expender Oberheim, String-ensemble Solina, Pianos electrique Crumor et Fender Rhodes, Orgue Hammond et Mellotron 400.

-- scott seward (skotro...), January 25th, 2004.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

They were French!?

Eh, not "entirely", but there're French connections galore.

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

OK, check late-70s Art Zoid as well :)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Any knowledgeable folks want to make a rough guide?

― fcussen (Burger), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Gong were half-U.K. (Actually, Daevid Allen was Australian) and half-French; the U.K. members were living in France at the time (some alumnae, like Tim Blake and Pip Pyle, still are).

― Joe (Joe), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:30 (twenty-two years ago)

* = especially recommended from my point of view as great starters:

Magma:
Univeria Zekt (As "The Unnamables", not Magma)
1001 Degree Centigrade
Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh *
Wurdah Itah *
Live: Hhai *
Udu Wudu
Attahk *
Retrospektiw III
30th Anniversary Theusz Hamtahk Trilogy * (actually, I don't have it, since I have the DVD, but you never hear anything bad about it)

Official Bootlegs: Theatre du Taurs* (Vander is ferocious on this one), Opera de Reims, Bobino (for a track called "Zess"; much of the rest is dated), Le Voix (all a capella/chorus versions)

If you like Magma (there's probably tons more stuff in this vein):
Weidorje - Weidorje
Zao - Z = 7L
Eskaton - 4 Visions (terrific MDK mutant stuff), Ardeur

Heldon: My favorites are Allez Teia (II), Agneta Nilson (IV), Un Reve Sans Consequence. Also deserving mention is Stand By (I think this one is pretty overrated, but most fans think it's Heldon's best). Haven't heard Interface, but that's another one that is loved.

Art Zoyd: There are two 2CD sets collecting their albums in the 70s: Symphonie pour le Jour/Music for "The Odyssey"/Archives is one, and Phase IV/Les Spaces Inquiets is the other. Those are the best starting points, though I think they're out of print. If you can't find those, go for "The Marriage Between Heaven and Hell" soundtrack.

Symphonic/Other:

Carpe Diem - En Regardant Passer le Temps; strong Gong influence (at least, on the opening track)
Pulsar - Strands of the Future, Halloween* (Halloween is incredible; probably the best French symph prog album I've heard)
Laurent Thibault - Mais on ne Peut Pas Rever Tout le Temps* ; he was Magma's first bassist, then later their producer...this sounds nothing like Magma, but is more symph in nature
Tangerine - De L'Autre Cote de la Foret - not really "prog", but great French folk-psych-pop quartet influenced by West Coast folk-psych; all acoustic guitars, great harmonies, etc.

From Belgium:
Univers Zero: All pretty consistent albums, I can't think of any bad ones. Ceux du Dehors is a touchstone for their earlier albums. Since they reformed, The Hard Quest is a pretty great one.

Cos: Viva Boma (lead singer Pasquale Son was like a pre-Elizabeth Fraser with soaring, improvised phonemic vocals; musically, takes its cues from British Canterbury bands etc.)

― Joe (Joe), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

here's a good site:

http://perso.frogprog.mageos.com/index_GB.html

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:54 (twenty-two years ago)

BTW, fcussen, I write reviews for a prog site called "Ground & Sky" (I usually avoid self-advertising, but maybe you might find it helpful for more in-depth discussions about particular albums):

www.progreviews.com

You can go to the "Search" engine, pull down "Country" from the options and type in "France"...

― Joe (Joe), Sunday, 15 February 2004 16:58 (twenty-two years ago)

See also from Belgium, Aksak Maboul, who just had their great first album reissued.

From France, also see:

Pataphonie: RIO-style prog, very concise and sharp
Potemkine: RIO-meets-zeuhl, has a typically late-70s French sound, most reminiscent of Etron Fou, but more proggy
Albert Marceour: the French "Zappa"
Shub Niggurath: avant-zeuhl, very dark
Moving Gelatine Plates: RIO/Canterbury
Dun: RIO
Volapuk and Etron Fou Leloublan: RIO, but lighthearted. Volapuk also has lots of Euro folk influences
Lard Free: heavy psyche prog, see also Archaia and Heldon
Video Aventures: precursor to post-rock, RIO-esque, but lots of electronics too
Look de Bouk: avant-rock, some improv and electronics too
Igor Wakhevitch: experimental psyche/classical/electronic hybrid, see esp. first two albums Logos and Docteur Faust

― dleone (dleone), Sunday, 15 February 2004 18:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Joe, can I ask, is that guy "bob" who writes for that site the same person as "g0ndo1@ b0b", who seems to be a hongro-esque for some posters on here?

― fcussen (Burger), Sunday, 15 February 2004 18:51 (twenty-two years ago)

"a hongro-esque bogeyman" is what i meant

― fcussen (Burger), Sunday, 15 February 2004 18:55 (twenty-two years ago)

No, it's a different Bob. The "g0ndo1@ b0b" you are referring to (I haven't seen that on here yet)...is that person the 'real' Gondola Bob or someone poking fun at Gondola Bob?

In any case, for the 'real' Gondola Bob, IIRC his real name isn't Bob, as it is for the reviewer on that site. Plus, (putting it mildly) I would think the idea of writing prog rock reviews would not exactly be GB's thing...

― Joe (Joe), Sunday, 15 February 2004 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

i was just writing it like that bcoz people seem to want to avoid him googling this place. why this is so is a mystery to me, though.

― fcussen (Burger), Sunday, 15 February 2004 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

there's actually a guy in France who collects prog lps
and sells them. forget his e-mail, but he's on the mailing
list for The Wire. Some really great stuff on his lists and
it's all pretty cheap too.

― andrew jones (andrew jones), Sunday, 15 February 2004 21:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Many good recommendations above, and some new things for me to seek out...

Another interesting record is Jacques Thollot's "Quand le son devient aigu jeter la girafe à la mer" -- he's a drummer more involved with the French early-'70's jazz scene; his solo record is a strange mix of electronics, keyboard interludes, and percussion workouts, not quite like anything else.

Also, they're not really prog per se, but Malicorne are worth checking out -- they're much more folk-based but use a fair amount of electricity and electronics (they sometimes get referred to with descriptions like "the French Fairport Convention"). At their proggiest, they approach a Jethro Tull-like sound, but the real attraction is their vocal work -- they are one of THE BEST vocal ensembles I've ever heard, nothing short of stunning. If you can find their fourth (self-titled, 1976) album that's their best; "L'Extraordinaire Tour De France..." is a bit easier to obtain and is also quite good.

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Sunday, 15 February 2004 23:49 (twenty-two years ago)

dleone's Volapük recommendation seconded!

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 15 February 2004 23:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Nom De Plume, actually Thollot has a record called Cinq Hops from 1978 which is a lot proggier (and song-orientated) than his earlier stuff. I think the record is great.

― dleone (dleone), Monday, 16 February 2004 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

wait, orientated?

― dleone (dleone), Monday, 16 February 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

whichever, dude :)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Monday, 16 February 2004 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I've only heard the one Thollot record, dleone, but will seek that other one out.

Again, it may not be "prog" to some, but Alain Gouraguer's score for "Planete Sauvage" ("Fantastic Planet" in the English-language release) has some nice Floyd/Popol Vuh-esque moments, and is a pleasing all-around listen.

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Monday, 16 February 2004 01:58 (twenty-two years ago)

really hate that Fille Que Mousse record (widely press-released as the french version of Faust, argh). genuinely incoherent, but insubstantial.

about Heldon, don't forget Pinhas solo. 'L'Ethique' is Heldon condensed into pop form, and 'Iceland' is masterful atmosphere.

My favorite Art Zoyd album (out of the first four) is 'Musique puor l'odyssees', mainly for the piece 'Trio "lettre d' automne"'.

― (Jon L), Monday, 16 February 2004 17:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Nobody mention Ange? I got an album of theirs in a library sale because it had a version of "Ces Gens La" on: "Ces Gens La" being one of my favourite Jacques Brel songs. Ange's version is actually pretty good! I don't think I played the rest of the album more than once however. I got "Planete Sauvage" recently and was very disappointed with it, nowhere near as good as I remember and absolutely nothing like Popol Vuh... unfortunately.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:10 (twenty-two years ago)

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