Zeuhl

Fans of King Crimson, Univers Zero and Magma, pay attention: Happy Family is one of the best bands currently happening in Japan right now. Furious riffing, noisy angular drumming, intense energy and top-notch musicianship is what they're about. Their guitar work is in the vein or Robert Fripp; the keyboards recall either Univers Zero or Magma (depending on what passages you're hearing); the fretless bass work will no doubt remind you of the Magma/Zeuhl fusion sound; and the drumming will instantly recall Bill Bruford or Daniel Denis of Univers Zero. Throw in a bit of heavy metal, some Japanese goofiness and you're in for quite a sonic ride.

Dün came from Nantes in France, an instrumental sextet with ambitions of uniting all "known" types of prog. Dün were the bastard offspring of Frank Zappa and Magma, with a heavy dose of RIO sensibility. The result was a 100% successful mix of Canterbury-, Zappa-, RIO-, Zeuhl- and symphonic impulses, music on a technical and theoretical level far above the main bulk of the average artists.
Eros was the group's only album. Recorded in 1981 and based on a popular concept written by Frank Herbert, "Dune" would become as some sort of references with the track "Arrakis". All the tracks are consistently good, even on through the bonus tracks. The four studio tracks smoke from beginning to end. But, like most Zeuhl music, the bass and drums play a very dominant role…

Reissue of an obscure underground French album from 1980. Noa features a histrionic female vocalist, piping the French language and enunciating syllables just like another instrument. The music of Noa is of the jazzy Zeuhl variety, with plenty of sax (some shrieking), soaring flute and the expected rhythms of the genre. Although the general mood of the album is Zeuhl-influenced (the dark vibe & the female voice that reminds Eskaton), the main influences claimed by the band are Henry Cow & Art Zoyd. The fact is that the use of the female voice has something to do with HC's Dagmar Krause era. Line-up includes guitar, bass, flute, sax, drums, percussions & female vocals. This album, sadly the sole recording of the band, is a real curiosity, a pretty experimental record that could have only come out in France during this period, at the turn of the 70s.

MAGMA have influenced quite a number of bands since the 70's. However, if most zeuhl artists tend to focus on this band's martial rhythms and dark moods, MUSIQUE NOISE concentrated on their lighter side. They took shape in 1986 with some ex-ESKATON and AUTOPSIE members, namely two keyboards players, a bassist and a drummer; then came a sax player, a trumpeter and two classically trained female singers…

A Finnish vocalist / bassist Atte KEMPPAINEN, who had been inspired by 70s British progressive rock scene like Pink Floyd, radically transformed and innovated his musical style into Zeuhl, just when he stumbled upon Magma via Ruins' medley. He's invited three musicians of the same 'Zeuhl-ish' spirit - Ville SIRVIÖ (lead guitar), Tommi RUOTSALAINEN (rhythm guitar), and Osmo SAARINEN (drums, voices) - and DAI KAHT was born in 2013. Atte, Ville, Tommi, and Osmo have changed their name into Cobaian ones - Alemaahr KEMPAH, Willargh SHIROW, Zwerie STÖBAH, and Ozamö SHARIF, respectively, and finally their debut eponymous album was released in April, 2017 … as another sunrise upon Finnish Zeuhl Turf.

Formed in 1970, the Eskaton Kommandkestra continued the Zeuhl tradition spearheaded by Christian Vander's Magma. In an move towards accessibility they discard the Kobaian lyrics, opting instead for their native French. In 1974 original members Xavier de Raymond (Fender piano), Gerard Konig (drums), Marc Rosenberg (bass guitar), and Alain Blesing (guitar) are joined by Paule Kleynnaert (vocals), Amara Tahir (vocals), Eris Guillaume (keyboards), and Andre Bernardi (guitar) becoming simply Eskaton. 1979 saw the release of their first single "Musique Post Atomique", and the recording of their first album "4 Visions" (which would remain unreleased until 1981). Personnel changes (Alain Blessing, Eric Guillaume and Xavier de Raymond out, Gilles Rozenberg and Malicorne's violinist Patrick Lemercier in) resulted in shorter songs, tighter arrangements and their next release, 1980's "Ardeur"…

Potemkine's third and final album is their strongest, and is something of an overlooked classic of late 70s prog. Following Triton the band became a quartet again with Michel Goubin back on keyboards, and there had also been a period of intense gigging including opening for Magma on several occasions. All this made for a much tighter and more confident band than previously, both in terms of writing and playing.
The sound of Nicholas II takes the Zeuhl of Magma's Attahk and adds the jazz fusion of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Brand X and Billy Cobham circa Spectrum. The arrangements are dominated by the interplay of electric piano and guitar, with Charles Goubin turning in some excellent lead guitar work - he may not have been in quite the same league as John Mclaughlin or Alan Holdsworth, but he was no slouch either…

And now again, after tremendous Angherr Shisspa, the incredible band Koenjihyakkei release another masterpiece which is called to become very soon a new zeuhl classic and - with some time - a prog classic…

Corima is a new Zeuhl/R.I.O. band based out of Texas very influenced by Magma, Koenjihyakkei, and Present at times. Formed in the year 2005, they started out with 4 musicians: Sergio Sanchez on drums, Juan Tarin on bass, Jaime Silva on guitar and Erik Martinez on guitar as well. They started out playing music very influenced by King Crimson and ELP. About a year later Francisco Casanova joined the band in keyboards. They remained together for about a year and a half and after that Erik Martinez was forced to leave the band for personal reasons and soon after Jaime Silva left the band as well. It was during this period that Corima found out about the Zeuhl and R.I.O. genre and fell completely in love with it.

François Thollot (Scherzoo) is a talented French multi instrumentist (guitar, bass, drums and piano) deeply influenced by the Zeuhl school, especially by Present in its more recent incarnation. “Ceux d’en face” is his first recording ever published, recorded in 2000. The music is dark and tormented, propelled by heavy and throbbing basslines, in the Zeuhl tradition we enjoy! The piano gives both the melody and the rhythm. François’ guitar (his primarly instrument) is over the top, dark, menacing. All tracks are very composed and played with passion. A total of 7 tracks (47 minutes), all instrumental. Highly recommended to fans of Present, Univers Zéro, early Peter Frohmader, Simon Steenland and in general to any Zeuhl fans.