No, don't blame Musea for the headline - that's all us... well, me. But you can credit them for bringing those morsels, by way of CD,, to you. Head of state King Crimson are seeing their In The Wake Of Poseidon release get the 40th anniversary treatment, Musea saying about this distributed title: Une superbe réédition vinyl, avec une pochette 200 grammes ouvrante reprenant le mix original de 1969 remasterisé. Des codes de téléchargements exclusifs à chaque pièce permettent de télécharger une version MP3 320 Kbps
du même album." In other words, "A superb 200 gram vinyl edition, with a reproduction gatefold sleeve. The original 1969 mix has been remastered [by Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson, if I'm not mistaken -ed]. Exclusive codes lead to downloads of each peace as 320 Kbps MP3s."
What else? Here's the rundown:
Andre Balzer - Entre l'Alpha Et l'Oméga: André Balzer is no other than the lead singer of Atoll, one of the major acts of the French-speaking Seventies Progressive rock scene, along with Ange and Mona Lisa. Probably less considered than his alter-egoes Christian DeCamps or Dominique Le Guennec [that is, I think, his counterparts in those respective bands... -ed.], the singer from Metz was able to deliver an unmistakable theatrical sensibility, an unique personality and a remarkable voice though. The Progressive rock audiences lost touch since the Golden Seventies, but here's André Balzer back in the year 2011! Entre L'Alpha Et L'Oméga - Opus Un (Musea Parallèle, 2011) could be regarded as a concept-album made of Progressive rock songs exploring various themes, stuck by short narrations. And if the voice is no more the same as in the famous L'Araignée-Mal (1975), rockier and smoother at the same time, one might even have the illusion of hearing Par Les Fils De Mandrin here and there. The famous album by Ange, indeed...
André Balzer has been helped here by some of the best musicians in north-east France, including Caroline Crozat and Alain Wittische. And, to round the circle, let's notice that this album has been made with a certain Raoul Leininger... You heard it right, the one who replaced André Balzer in Atoll during the Eighties! Here's a return as thrilling as it's unexpected. Will you be a part of it?
Laborator -Laborator: Laborator is a trio of multi-instrumentists from the latest incarnation of Moving Gelatine Plates, one of the cult-bands of the French Seventies Progressive rock scene. Two albums were issued between 1970 and 1971, then
bassist Didier Thibaut reunited the group for an opus under the name Moving in the year 1980. In the end, he reformed the band once again in 2006, to produce Removing on the Musea label. Today, Laborator presents its eponymous debut album (Musea, 2011), introducing a brand new music with various colours. Faithful to the sound and the typical rhythm breaks Moving Gelatine Plates was known for, the compositions go on a wider scale, sometimes bordering World Music. The three musicians perform on various instruments, aiming at melting acoustic sounds with electricity. Still defying any categorization, Laborator offers an open musical universe, full of original sounds, displayed by the infamous Tap Guitar, guitar-violins, xylophone-drums... The door of the laboratory is wide open!
Print - Nordic & Baltic Tour: After already fifteen years of career, Print shows a huge technical and rhythmical skill on stage. It is quite rare and really amazing to be moved by such a maelstrom of polyrhythms. All along the tracks, drums and bass enrich this flood by very coherent interventions. Crossed melodies of saxophones are superposed, and create aphorisms and poetic frames. Compositions are very original, full of parallel scenarios and nuances which allow the listener some rest in this rhythmical frenzy.
Radiation 10 - Radiation 10: There exist three fairly distinct mechanisms to produce a supernova: the first results from the thermonuclear explosion of a dead star called a white dwarf; the second from the implosion of a massive star called supernova heart collapse [or it was roughly translated -ed.]. A third mechanism remains uncertain; similar to the second, it is likely to occur within Radiation10.
Radiation10 ... is a mini veritable mutant big band, combining the punch of a small band to the wealth of a large band around an original instrumentation operating between the acoustic and electric. Far from the archetypes of music, Radiation10 claims a music without leader, without boundaries, which combines jazz, progressive rock, music room, all distilled in a still improvisatory manner.
Yochk'o Seffer - Acèl Toll: Yochk'o Seffer always created varied and interesting works during his long of career, be it with Magma, Zao, Neffesh Music, his teammate François "Faton" Cahen or all alone. In each of his records, the French saxophone player tries to pay tribute to his Hungarian roots, with jazz-rock music close to Zao, but with free tendencies. Chromophonie compiles two volumes, originally released in 1981 and 1982, with the notable support of Hungarian violinist Lajos Horvat and the Quatuor Margano. Magyar Etno unites popular music from Hungary with free and dissonant jazz. Yog I - Pitchipoy (1997) keeps on carrying Neffesh Music's spirit, as flaming as ever. The development of complex and structured themes are linked with frenetic saxophone parts, blended with other instruments. It can be described as the crossing point between works like Ghigoul or Chromophonie. Yog II - Sefira (1998) follows the same path with an equal talent: Thierry Maillard, Dominique Bertram and Sylvain Miller are here as well.
My Old Roots is a collection of pieces recorded between 1976 and 1980. Some of them should have been included in the Musea reissue of Chromophonie, but
were dropped because of technical problems. So, here they are today! [or "tothen" -ed.] Some others had been composed in the year 1976 with Neffesh Music. Let's
also note that many of the compositions were never released on CD, especially an unreleased track recorded in 2005 with violin player Lajos Horvath. So, here's an excellent introduction to the lively, inventive and colourful music of Yochk'o Seffer. Just brilliant!
The Chromophonie DVD was the documentary we were waiting for, to illustrate the career of this exceptional musician, refugee in France since the dramatic events suffered by Hungary in the year 1956. Directed by Jean-Pierre Zirn, this movie presents the work of the artist as a musician, but also as an improviser, a painter and a sculptor.
Musicians from the Magma galaxy are featured here, such as Christian Vander, Didier Lockwood or François "Faton" Cahen. Some other fellows appear as well: Alain Bouhey, Sylvain Miller, Laurent Matherton, François Causse, Denis Constant-Martin, L'Ensemble De Cordes Camerata De L'Isle, Le Septuor De Saxophones, Gérard Prevost and Cynthia Saint-Ville. Five bonus-tracks complete the show, new interpretations from the repertoire of Ethnic Duo, Neffesh Music and Zao.
Said to be Yochk'o Seffer's musical testimony, Condor (Musea Paralléle, 2010) is no less than a triple-album, worthy of the event! It showcases several duets recorded with Joëlle Leandre, Jean-Pascal Molina, Sylvain Miller and François Causse. Made of original tracks, this major opus is decomposed into three different parts, named "Puma", "Anaconda" and "Condor." The latter features the ambitious "Trabla N° 12," a 30 minute-long work for fifteen saxophones (!), and a present performance of the classic "Ima" as a video bonus-track. Not to be missed!
And then, of course, there's Acél Toll, out this year from Musea.
Schizofrantik - Oddities: Even with their names, these four musicians from Munich are making their picture of the world very clear: The combination between "Schizophrenia" and "Emotional rush," the brokenness between Chaos and Order, technical genius and released safety, are sensible with every single tone. That's why it is no surprise that Martin Mayrhoferr, head of the band, did not only cross ways with "superdrummer" Marco Minnemann, but did also walk together with the well-known jazz-metal band Panzerballet6 and of course got himself a more than versed band for his own project: keyboarder Markus Jehle (RPWL), as well as drummer Andy Lind (ACHT, Lind...) are well-known authorities in the music scene. For their studio debut, Schizofrantik did make a more than image-fitting theme their own: Oddities (2011) is dealing with the David Lynch classic The Elephan Man in which John Merrick, caught between Ausgrenzung and Akzeptanz, is standing in the eternal fight for humanity, which he is giving up at least. This critical concept album, based on a true story, is holding lots of space for several different emotional facets, expecially with the main character John Merrick: Loneliness, otherness, as well as trust and musings are part of the story around Oddities.