16 May 2023: Pulsar; Shylock; Mysterium, Incubus et Terror. Music inspired by Edgar Allan Poe stories

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This week featuring Gordon Lightfoot

 

 Pulsar's second album, 'The Strands of the Future', is one of the definite and undisputable masterpieces of French prog, and together with their next recording 'Halloween', incarnates the band's peak in terms of inspired writing and skillful performing. Their style keeps on being somewhat inspired in 73-75 era Pink Floyd, but there are also obvious references to Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre's electronic excursions (powerful presence of multiple layers of synths and mellotrons), and also some compelling pastoral passages of flute and acoustic guitar in the 3-minute coda. (from "Orexis of Death" blog)
Studio Album, released in 1976 
Songs / Tracks Listing

1. The Strands of the Future (22:08)
2. Flight (2:37)
3. Windows (8:47)
4. Fool's failure (10:17)

Total Time: 43:49

Line-up / Musicians

- Victor Bosch / drums, percussion
- Gilbert Gandil / guitars, vocals
- Roland Richard / flute, strings
- Jacques Roman / organ, Mellotron, bass, synthesizers

 Debut album released from this French outfit which has reached "cult status". "Gialorgues" has found its way onto many "best of" lists that I have seen and for good reason. SHYLOCK are from the KING CRIMSON school of progressive rock in style but have certainly their own unique style and delivery. For the most part SHYLOCK were a three piece band who brought in some guest musicians along the way. SHYLOCK deliver complex and involved prog which has a dark forboding theme and feeling to it. Guitars soar from your speakers and drumming is nice and complex with ever changing tempos. Songs are well constructed and seem to create different mood swings - from hyper driving acid laced guitar to the quiet dark atmospheric chamber-prog. If you like great speaker seperation then "Gialorgues" is just for you as SHYLOCK move from speaker to speaker creating some mind bending moments sure to make you smile. Oh yes I should also mention that this an all-instrumental piece of work. If you are looking for a real find and a very polished and professional sounding prog then SHYLOCK is just for you.                                               Review by loserboy   PROG REVIEWER

 

 

Mysterium, Incubus et Terror. Music inspired by Edgar Allan Poe stories

Edgar Allan Poe’s power to inspire artists of various different mediums and styles has been a significant factor of his enduring popularity, as has the man and the mystery himself. Whilst the academia hauntings of M.R. James and the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft have experienced something of a renaissance in recent times, E.A. Poe has always been a lingering presence. His meandering stories featuring such things as the onset of plague in a quarantined complex, troubles at sea, a murderer preying upon victims in their homes in the streets of Paris and quite frequently the haunting phantasms of guilt and grief and loss. At the times the supernatural drifts in, it is frequently with a disconcerting subtlety, even when wreathed in Gothic robes. His horrors are relatable, timeless and ultimately haunting and therefore they and Poe endure.
Poe found his way into the lives of other readers and other creatives – the visual artists, the filmmakers and writers such as Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket and even Marvel comics creator Stan Lee, his influence and inspiration remains a persistent vitality like the echo of a beating heart or a strange mewling behind the walls. And there’s another thing, possibly more than any other author of strange tales, Poe has proven inspirational to many musicians – Sergei Rachmaninoff, The Alan Parsons Project, Philip Glass, Lou Reed, Tangerine Dream, are just some of the diverse acts to release music motivated by Poe.
Andy Paciorek (extract from the preface to the anthology of stories “E.A. Poe - Mysterium, Incubus et Terror” published by Eighth Tower).

To pay the right tribute to the literature of Edgar Allan Poe, Eighth Tower has called musicians from various countries and asked them their musical interpretation of 10 classic stories from the superlative productions of the American Master. 

credits

released May 5, 2023
Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella for providing us with a copy of this release.
Published by Eighth Tower Records
Curated and mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (a.k.a. Sonologyst)
Artwork by John D. Chadwick
© 2023. All rights reserved

ambient dark ambient dark chamber drone industrial noise Italy

24 April 2018: Sonar (featuring David Torn) and Corima 天照

2018 release. Sonar's fourth release Vortex reflects the sound of surprise. After three uncompromising quartet albums exploring the edges of minimalist groove, the Swiss group has partnered with renowned guitarist, composer and producer David Torn for it's RareNoise debut. The band, comprised of guitarists Stephan Thelen and Bernhard Wagner, bassist Christian Kuntner and drummer Manuel Pasquinelli have long been celebrated for combining the visceral power and dynamics of art rock with a minimalist aesthetic. Their previous album, 2015's Black Light, attracted significant media and musician attention. Legendary avant-guitarist Henry Kaiser took a particular interest in the group and was determined to pair them up with Torn for their next album.

  A review from "Can This Even Be Called Music"
Corima is a Zeuhl quintet from California that released their first album in 2007, followed by the acclaimed Quetzalcoatl, in 2012, and now 天照 (Amaterasu), which came out on November second, 2016. It features two compositions spanning fifty minutes and split into nine tracks. It was released on the label Soleil Zeuhl and is also available to buy on bandcamp.

I never was attracted to Zeuhl, at first. I tried to get into the progenitors of the genre, French band Magma, but was very underwhelmed and disappointed overall. However, as fellow writer Ignacio put it, it would be like listening to Black Sabbath to get into metal. The contemporary scene has evolved a long way from its garden of Eden. Corima are more influenced by the Japanese wing of Zeuhl than the French one, making it more energetic, demented, schizophrenic, and just thrashing you in its incomprehensible maw. Yes, that’s the one that I like.

天照 is split into two songs. First, ‘月読’ (Tsukoyomi), represents the Moon God in Japanese mythology. I believe there’s a slight typo on bandcamp, as it’s written ‘Tsukotomi’, but that word doesn’t lead to any convincing search result. The song is spread in three movements, adding up to almost twenty minutes in total. The second one is eponymous to the album title, and represents the Sun Goddess. This one consists of six parts, and makes up the bulk of the album, at twenty-nine minutes long. The former is an instrumental meltdown with its fast-paced odd-time signatures (and frequent rhythmic modulations), key changes, and intricate melodic and harmonic framework, and the latter adds an extra layer by including more vocals from violinist Andrea Calderón, keyboard player Paco Casanova, and guitarist and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi.

Since no lyrics are available on line (and my physical copies are in the mailing æther), it’s hard for me to write on them at length. However, based on the more easily-discernible vocals on Quetzalcoatl, I would bet that they are in Kobaïan, a constructed language by Magma’s drummer, heavily influenced by German and French languages. However, there’s also a chance that the lyrics are, in fact, in Japanese. I’ll write a small update here once I receive the physical package, assuming that it contains the lyrics.

So, what should you expect, diving into 天照? Let’s have a look at the instruments on display: violins, keyboards, organ, saxophone, guitar, glockenspiel, bass, drums, and vocals. That’s quite a lot, but there can only be five or six of them at once, since the team consists of five persons. What’s interesting is that the violin and the saxophone are almost always present, and compliment each other wonderfully well. For an example of that, listen to ‘Amaterasu V’, where Andrea’s voice and violin, and Patrick’s saxophone interact to produce a truly outstanding motif, and serve as the leading role of the track.

In conclusion, Corima‘s third full-length, 天照, delivers an untamed flow of energetic, Japanese-influenced Zeuhl. The album is enjoyable to the core and will please anyone seeking a new musical challenge. Personally, I’m overjoyed to have stumbled upon it and to finally be able to make a connection with the promising world of Zeuhl music. I would recommend 天照 to any progressive music lover.

Tonight's Playlist:

14 June 2011: AKIN & The Winter Tree (formerly Magus)

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – 6 June 2011 – "The way things end" is an hour plus, 15 track adventure, mixing progressive rock, metal, pop music and a bit of jazz. A string quartet from the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse de Lyon performs on it along with a classical flute, percussion and some other exotic instruments, such as the dilruba. The result is, as recently noted by an English reviewer, "a work of harmonious contrasts, (...) a jazzy liveliness but with a melancholy gothic underbelly; delicate subtlety and driving power; catchy and melodic but with technical musicianship; adventurous, fascinating and absorbing but oh so easy to listen to; acoustic and electronic instrumentation; simplicity and sophistication; light and dark."

THE WINTER TREE (formerly MAGUS) is a band formed by composer/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Laitres(a.k.a. Andrew Robinson) with vocalist/guitarist Mark Bond and his wife Deb Bond on keyboards. In late 2010 Andrew decided to rename the band THE WINTER TREE, after the song of the same title by one of Andrew's favorite bands, Renaissance. Andrew, along with new bandmates Deb and Mark Bond, released the self-titled CD "The Winter Tree" in mid 2011 with ProgRock Records.

The Winter Tree is a synthesis of many different musical styles and genres: rock, folk, electronic, ambient, and world music among others. These elements combine to create a fascinating and cohesive work that should satisfy the progrock enthusiast as well as a diverse listening public.
Our thanks to Shawn at ProgRock Records for making this music available for our listeners.

12 April 2011: Frank Zappa & XAAL

Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental (the song "Willie the Pimp" features a short vocal by Captain Beefheart). It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention. In his original sleeve notes Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears."
Because Hot Rats focuses on instrumental jazz-like compositions with extensive soloing, the music sounds very different from earlier Zappa albums, which featured satirical vocal performances with extensive use of musique concrète and editing. Multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood is the only member of the Mothers to appear on the album and was the primary musical collaborator. Other featured musicians were Max Bennett and Shuggie Otis on bass, drummers Aynsley Dunbar and John Guerin and electric violinists Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Jean-Luc Ponty.
This was the first Frank Zappa album recorded on 16-track equipment and one of the first of such recordings released. Machines with 16 individual tracks allow for much more flexibility in multi-tracking and overdubbing than the professional 4- and 8-track reel-to-reel tape recorders that were standard in 1969. While Zappa was recording Hot Rats The Beatles were working on their Abbey Road album, but were limited to 8-track technology.
The album was dedicated to Zappa's new-born son, Dweezil Zappa.  (from Wikipedia)

 On the Way (En Chemin) forges ahead into the French "zeuhl" music. Based largely on pioneers such as Magma and Univers Zero, Xaal's music has the rhythmic proficiency of both the aforementioned bands, and even some horn guest spots from former Magma-ites. But rather than re-live old glories, Xaal takes the sound into new directions. Their melodies are based around a heavy, riffing guitar and occasional keyboard backdrops. Occasionally they remind me of Voivod! Led by busy drumming and an active bass, the music contains the weirdness, inconsistencies, and drive that early Magma had, without the repetition that turns many people off that band. The creative level here is something right out of the seventies and hopefully this will inspire other nineties prog bands to become more self-indulgent. This was, IMHO, one of the strongest new releases in 1992. Highly recommended. (from New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock)

28 Dec 2010: Pulsar & Anglagard

Pulsar's second album, 'The Strands of the Future', is one of the definite and undisputable masterpieces of French prog, and together with their next recording 'Halloween', incarnates the band's peak in terms of inspired writing and skillful performing. Their style keeps on being somewhat inspired in 73-75 era Pink Floyd, but there are also obvious references to Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre's electronic excursions (powerful presence of multiple layers of synths and mellotrons), and also some compelling pastoral passages of flute and acoustic guitar in the 3-minute coda. (from "Orexis of Death" blog)
Studio Album, released in 1976 
Songs / Tracks Listing

1. The strands of the future (22:08)
2. Flight (2:37)
3. Windows (8:47)
4. Fool's failure (10:17)

Total Time: 43:49

Line-up / Musicians

- Victor Bosch / drums, percussion
- Gilbert Gandil / guitars, vocals
- Roland Richard / flute, strings
- Jacques Roman / organ, Mellotron, bass, synthesizers

Anglagard biography
Änglagård were a short-lived band who nonetheless generated critical acclaim and a loyal following in the early nineties with their brooding mellotron and synth heavy sound that also featured virtuoso percussionist Mattias Olsson and classically trained flautist Anna Holmgren.
Änglagård's sound is rich in mellotron, Hammond and piano, and a brooding wash of guitars and bass/bass pedal accented by Holmgren's moody and precise flute. The band's compositions are characterized by long, often instrumental tracks with significant tempo shifts and sometimes intense guitar flourishes. The Epilog album is instrumental in its entirety, and many of the tracks are distinguished by striking passages from Johnson's grand piano. Early Porcupine Tree also comes to mind, particularly when listening to Epilog. 
MUSICIANS

Mattias Olsson: drums, cymbals and percussion
Johan Högberg: bass
Thomas Johnson: Hammond organ, mellotrons and other keyboards
Jonas Engdegård: guitars
Tord Lindman: guitars
Anna Holmgren: flute

Åsa Eklund: voice
Martin Olofsson: violin
Karin Hansson: viola and double bass
Jan Christoff Norlander: cello

All music was written and arranged by Änglagård
Pictures by Rut Hillarp
The poems to Rösten (The Voice) and Sista Somrar (The Last Summer) were written and translated by Rut Hillarp. The other poems were snatched from the wind, those poems were translated by Christian Holmgren.

The music was recorded in Herman Palmsalen on Ekerö on 28th of July and in Studio Largen between 29th of July and 28th of August 1994. Mixed in Studio Largen between 3rd and 11th September 1994.
Sound engineer: Roger Skogh
Mixed and produced by Änglagård and Roger Skogh

26 October 2010: Halloween & Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog

From ProgArchives: In 1989, the French symphonic-weird, highly creative HALLOWEEN released inventive and creative musical ideas and vocals with "Laz". Maybe for PULSAR, VDGG, or KC fans and for prog heads that do not believe "it was impossible to release outstanding prog in the eighties".

To celebrate the Halloween holiday, FreeForm brings you a special treat: the soundtrack to Joss Wheedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog"!!

FreeForm Spotlight 06 Oct 2010: Jean-Pierre Alarcen

Jean-Pierre Alarcen's classic Tableaux Number 1 from 1979 will be featured on today's spotlight.In 1979, he released his second album, "Tableau No. 1". This work in three movements has more ambient (somewhat The ENIDish) and symphy qualities, but also has jazz and Zeuhlish elements. It's more in the romantic "classical" (to mix my eras in a poor turn of phrase) with melodic rock styled camp than before, but with dramatic contrast. Soft ambient music turns into jazzy guitar driven rock. Allan Holdsworth springs to mind as a possible influence on his guitar work here, as well as McLaughlin. The third movement in particular has exciting funky bass guitar-driven work. It ends with music that rather reminds me of Toto's "Dune" soundtrack.  (from ProgArchives)Alarcen, Jean-Pierre [France]
Jean Pierre Alarcen (78), Tableau (80)
Alarcen was the guitarist in the one-shot french group Sandrose. After Sandrose he had two albums: JPA and Tableau. Tableau which is very symphonic, is basically one long piece spanning both sides of the album, vaguely comparable to stuff like The Enid, but a little more low key for the most part. Jean Pierre Alarcen is a more guitar oriented album with some fusion leanings, but not overtly so, which features excellent guitarwork and some brilliant writing. Both are available together on one CD.

5 October 2010: Unwritten Pages - Noah & Jean-Pierre Alarcen

Unwritten Pages - Noah
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – 13 July 2010 – Unwritten Pages' Noah is an album born out of a passion for progressive, driving music, concept albums and 80's science-fiction films. It combines the broad musical taste of its creator Frederic Epe and the stylistic and unique musical backgrounds of each project member, reaching from rock and metal to Latin influences and more classical/score-oriented arrangements. The album features soaring guitars, fat organs and bone-breaking drums, as well as a healthy dose of retro. But most of all, it never loses its focus on unique and melody-driven song-writing. And it comes in the form of an ambitious story, told through the eyes of the vocalists and musicians. This double album features the talents of Damian Wilson (Threshold, Ayreon, Les Misérables), Karl Groom (Threshold, Shadowland), Davy Mickers (Stream of Passion, Ayreon), Alejandro Millán (Hello Madness, Stream of Passion) and many others.

Jean-Pierre Alarcen's classic Tableaux Number 1 from 1979 will be featured in the second half of tonight's show.  In 1979, he released his next album, "Tableau No. 1". This work in three movements has more ambient (somewhat The ENIDish) and symphy qualities, but also has jazz and Zeuhlish elements. It's more in the romantic "classical" (to mix my eras in a poor turn of phrase) with melodic rock styled camp than before, but with dramatic contrast. Soft ambient music turns into jazzy guitar driven rock. Allan Holdsworth springs to mind as a possible influence on his guitar work here, as well as McLaughlin. The third movement in particular has exciting funky bass guitar-driven work. It ends with music that rather reminds me of Toto's "Dune" soundtrack.  (from ProgArchives)