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CD/DVD Releases: New Releases From Musea For June

Posted on Saturday, June 18 @ 22:00:00 UTC by nightowl

Musea Records sent out their latest new or distributed titles newsletter for June, and it includes the new live DVD from Mostly Autumn, That Night In Leamington. As the press sheet is in French, and I don't speak it, but further is a bio of the band not about the DVD at all*, I will tell you what the band say about it (and there's a double CD version as well): "On Friday 2nd April 2010 we all crammed in to the Leamington Assembly to witness the end of a journey, a long and inspiring road, stretching back further than thirteen years. It was a final farewell to Heather Findlay’s time with Mostly Autumn.

"To all of us it was a last chance to celebrate the magic that Heather wove throughout that journey, a fitting testament to the end of an era and I’m sure you will all join us in saying 'Go Well Diamond Heart'..." (which is also the title of their most recent album).

This blurb from Musea doesn't talk about their Lazuli's new CD, 4603 Battements either, but here it is anyway [it was in English - mono-linqual ed]: "Somewhere between progressive rock, song, world-music and electro, the atypical, dreamy and researched music of Lazuli takes us far from the beaten tracks with a quite unusual band. This French group uses actually in bulk Chapman Stick, Warr Guitar, marimbas, vibraphone, percussions, guitars, voice... An instrumentation not unlike Peter Gabriels's in his early years, when his guitar player was named Robert Fripp. And that's not by chance! The Leode is also played here, invented and constructed in only one copy by Claude Leonetti, being the surprising mix of a guitar, a synthesizer, a melodic saw and a Martenot wave. This instrument controls a sampling machine and a multi-effect system through a MIDI module. The instrument must be played with only one hand: the musician unfortunately lost an arm in a motorbike accident when he was young. Lazuli conceives songs like pictures, mixing colours, depicting the world or repainting it. Words question the wounds of today. The ethereal, outlandish voice swarms with puns describing man in every forming and deforming... Lazuli will enchant and bewitch you. En Avant Doute... might create the big surprise of that finishing year 2006. This is a beautiful collection of sophisticated songs, succeeding in combining the suggestive power of words and the sophistication of the instrumentation. Ange lovers will appreciate the cover of a classic, 'Capitaine Coeur De Miel.' The CD has a bonus DVD, compiling over 20 minutes live, a documentary lasting 40 minutes, a small Leode story (With an unmistakable English translation!), the video clip of 'Le Repas De L'Ogre' and a slideshow, plus other material. While releasing this second opus, the Musea label presents the reissue of the first effort Amnésie, that had made a strong impression when first released in 2003. Highlighting a particular song wouldn't be easy, since the level is kept high throughout the album. 'Mal De Chien' is extraordinary though, starting as an intimist ballad, and evolving into an unlikely fanfare. A must have!

The new CD was released earlier this year about which the band say, "4603 Battements - the cryptic title of the new, highly anticipated output from the sextet to a quintet shrunken southern French ethno-folk Progger. 4603 heartbeats" - the cryptic title of the new, highly anticipated outputs from the sextet to a quintet shrunken southern French ethno-folk Progger. And it can be given all-clear: The line-up change has not harmed Lazuli; on the contrary, the distinctive style elements are also in the latest work in all its fascinating facets to bear. Lazuli have been consolidated with 4603 Battements despite (or because) of two new associates at a very high level and between the two brackets (first and last track on the album) again put an exclamation point. Since you can now look forward to the live implementation!"

Various - A Flower Full Of Stars: A Tribute To The Flower Kings: There are a few artists out there that, without trying to change the world, succeeded in accomodating the old recipes to the present day. In the domain of Progressive rock, The Flower Kings is the perfect example. Following a path not unsimilar to Spock's Beard's, the Swedish band led by guitarist Roine Stolt achieved to leave its mark in the middle of the Nineties, accompanying the rebirth of Progressive rock. It remains on top of the genre nowadays. It is no surprise then if, after having paid tribute to most of the giants of the Golden Seventies, the artists of today tend to care about that second generation as well. That's how the Musea label and the Colossus fanzine created an album in four CDs, tailor-made for the excellency of The Flower Kings: A Flower Full Of Stars - A Tribute To The Flower Kings (2011). The performers are: Abarax, Argos, Ap Project, Aurora Lunare, Chris, Contemporary Dead Finnish Music Ensemble, Expedition: Delta, Final Conflict, Flamborough Head, Forgotten Suns, Gaou, Guitar Garden With Three Legged Fox, Kate, Marco Lo Musco, Michael Ogorodov Band, Mist Seasons, Cary Clouser & Oracle, Orchestre Celesti, Pandora, Phaedra, Projection, Romanov, Roz Vitalis, Sky Architect, Sky Club, Soniq Circus, Spoton, Supernal Endgame, Tabula Smaragdina, The Samurai Of Prog, Tinyfish, Unitopia, Vanilla Project and Yesterdays. Here's some stardust for the ears!

Disc One: Abarax - "Last Minute On Earth" / Argos - "Cosmic Circus - Including Babylon" / Ap Project - "Alert...! Turn The Flora To This World" / Aurora Lunare - "Trading My Soul" / Chris - "Different People" / Contemporary Dead Finnish Music Ensemble - "Grand Old World" / Expedition: Delta - "Selfconsuming Fire" / Final Conflict - "A Kings Prayer"

Disc Two: Flamborough Head - "Blessing A Smile" / Forgotten Suns - "In The Eyes Of The World" / Gaou - "Rumble Fish Twist" / Guitar Garden with Three Legged Fox - "Ghost Of The Red Cloud" / Kate - "The Man Who Walked With Kings" / Marco Lo Musco - "Pipes Of Peace" / Michael Ogorodov Band - "Close Your Eyes - A King's Prayer" / Mist Seasons - "Lobsterland Groove" / Cary Clouser & Oracle - "World Without A Heart"

Disc Three: Orchestre Celesti - "The Rainmaker" / Pandora - "Theme For A Hero" / Phaedra - "Calling Home" / Projection - "Stardust We Are" / Romanov - "What If God Is Alone" / Roz Vitalis - "Dream On Dreamer" / Sky Architect - "Silent Sorrow" / Sky Club - "Church Of Your Heart"

Disc Four: Soniq Circus - "Sword Of God" / Spoton - "Don't Let The Devil In" / Supernal Endgame - "The Flower King" / Tabula Smaragdina - "Devil's Playground - The Scars Of Evil" / The Samurai Of Prog - "World Of Adventures" / Tinyfish - "Jealousy" / Unitopia - "The Way The Waters Are Moving" / Vanilla Project - "Serious Dreamers" / Yesterdays - "Cosmic Cover (I. My Lover From Outer Space / II. My Cosmic Lounge)"

Motis - Ripaille: "Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentist, Emmanuel Tissot is at the origins of Motis, an interesting French band from the Franche-Comté region. His musical influences are to be found in his own curriculum vitae: Progressive rock with Oceane or Musical Box, independent rock with Les Coprins, jazz with Madjarocka and Le Raving's Club Big Band, French chanson with Les Wagons De Queue... His [then] new project will show a special love for medieval, etnic and traditional music: the A Chacun Son Graal concept-album sees the light of day in the year 2000. Motis develops an unique universe, at the crossroads between Malicorne, the famous compatriot Ange and Minimum Vital. So, after several self-produced releases, Prince Des Hauteurs naturally became the next Musea Parallele release, at the end of the year 2004. An innovative discovery, coming from the Middle Ages... The second album L'Homme-Loup (2007) is in the same vein as the first one, but with more elaborate arrangements, melodies and production. Motis creates a medieval Progressive rock, deeply influenced by the Middle Age's literature and myths (The Knights Of The Round Table, La Chanson De Roland, Chrétien De Troyes...). [Oooh. One more to add to the overview I did years ago when I wrote for Progression - ed.] Poetic French lyrics deal with wolves, Merlin the Wizard, ermits [or hermits, methinks], dragons, lords and castles, treachery... The music of Motis offers a wide range of instruments, traditional (Mandolin, epinette, flute...) or rock (Mellotron, Moog, Hammond organ...). The musicians' music is a mix of medieval and rock music, with Progressive rock sounds and influences, not unlike Ange's milestone Au-Delà Du Délire, or Tri Yann. A nice album, typical of the French Progressive rock style.

Moonsatellite - Missing Time: Moonsatellite is the nickname chosen by a young French musician, keen on Seventies electronic musics, a huge Jean-Michel Jarre lover above all. After having started playing by ear while entering his teenage days, he progressively built his own studio, with computers, sequencers, and last but not least, a large array of analog keyboards. Among a dozen of pieces of work published this far, his calling card is the complete cover-version of "Oxygène" (Jean-Michel Jarre), published in the year 2007. The five long tracks on Missing Time (Dreaming, 2011) are obviously a faithful tribute to his all-time idol, but also to a certain Klaus Schulze, the whole being packed with a true personality. To be discovered!

Claude Demet Introversion - Vues de l'Intérieur: "Former guitarist of Introversion then of Ange, Claude Demet is an old campaigner of the French scene. Our man has made of himself a bard of electric blues-rock, with a jazz and chanson française influence. Published in 2008 on the Bluesy Mind label, L'Instinct is already his tenth solo album! With a vocal timbre reminding of Alain Bashung's, Claude Demet presents fourteen new compositions from his pen and his guitar. To be noted: one revisited version of 'Une Cha&icaret;îne Neuve A Mon Vélo,' a song that was co-written with a certain Christian Decamps in the Le Mal D'Adam era (1979). Isn't that enough to stand and shout 'Ye-hooh'?"

And to round out this round up, we have several distributed titles from Gonzo Multimedia (a member of the Voiceprint family): Yes - Union Live CD and DVD. From Gonzo about the deluxe DVD/CD package (although both the DVD and 2CD are sold separately, too): "This concert film of the band was made on August 8th 1991 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. It was subsequently only released in Japan on video and then on the briefly new format of Laser Disc. This fantastic film however, was not widely available for a long time and has since become a much sought after artefact amongst Yes fans.

"This exclusive deluxe package [only available via Gonzo Multimedia] includes the original film from the Shoreline Amphitheatre (taken directly from the master tapes), reproduction tour program, deluxe "digi-pak" packaging, replica tour passes, along with a debut release of the soundtrack from the Shoreline Amphitheatre show, as a two CD set. If that wasn't enough, there also a bonus DVD featuring some bootleg footage of the band. It must be stressed however that the bootleg footage is raw and the sound and picture quality is not to the standard of normal commercial releases, but has been included for collectors and completists.

"This disc also includes some bonus audio tracks, three of which are 5.1 and four are stereo mixes. The whole package comes housed in a slipcase with artwork approved by Roger Dean and is an official Yes release." [read more]

Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe - Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe (Special Edition): "[...]This re mastered and Deluxe edition of the debut album now includes a second disc of bonus material which includes rare mixes and single edits and more importantly three live tracks recorded on the British leg of the band's world tour [...]"


Daedalus - Motherland: "[...] Motherland, their third album, [was] published by Galileo Records on May 02, 2011. It contains 11 songs pervaded with strength, melody, contemplation. The lyrics offer different points of view concerning the uneasiness in today's world and analyze some peculiar elements that may lead to an inexorable crumbling of the modern society.

"Roland Grapow (Helloween, Masterplan) mixed the album and played a killer guitar solo, Trevor (Sadist) and Elisa Montaldo (Il Tempio delle Clessidre) appear respectively as guest singer and main keyboardist. The artwork has been drawn by Nerve Design (Threshold, Extrema, Vision Divine, Sadist). Motherland got a very accurate production and is a fresh-sounding, heavy and enthralling album. [...]"

Strontium 90 - Police Academy, noted as the first recordings of Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers, the band was formed by former Gong bassist and producer Mike Howlett. "[...] The band were formed in early 1977 and played at the Gong reunion concert in Paris France in late May 1977. The band however is important due to the fact that the other three members of the band Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers would go on to work together in the Police. [Though elsewhere, I've seen noted the three already were working together and had been for a few months -ed.] The band recorded some live tracks at the Gong Reunion Concert in May 1977 and just prior to that concert recorded a number of tracks in a studio in London. The resulting album which was released twenty years later was titled Police Academy and obviously plays on the fact that the three members of the Police were involved in the band although at the time of these recordings Strontium 90 was probably considered nothing more than a side project than a long term venture and at the time of the recordings Andy Summers had yet to join the band. [...]."

And, to conclude this roundup, Jon and Jane Anderson - Earthmotherearth: Released originally in 1997, it was reissued by Gonzo in 2009. Gonzo doesn't have much info on this title other than the tracklist and release details, but... reading a pair of reviews at Ground and Sky... they uh... don't have nice things to say about it. On the other hand the reviews at ProgArchives have kinder things to say...


*and my first attempt at posting this whole item went fzzt in the middle, after carefully cleaning up the Google translation of that bio...

[Source: Musea, band websites, Gonzo]

Posted in Album Release News