Zeuhl

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…

Zëss had long been plagued by its incompleteness and its recording was deferred for years. Four decades after its first draft, the work has finally been recorded in an orchestral version that gives it both its true dreamlike dimension and its transcending power. For Zëss is above all the visionary reflection of an immemorial dream haunting the most obscure part of our souls. Zëss treads a line between a vital overflowing and the edges of the unlivable. It is an incandescent and heady oratorio where consciousness questions its other side in a measureless journey. Zëss indicates the ultimate reversal out of which bursts a beyond of music that only music can reach. Magma’s whole story condensed…

Yochk'o Seffer is a Hungarian born musician who is among the finest winds player (mainly alto saxophone) in the history of progressive music…

Dai Kaht, a progressive rock band from Finland specialized in the Zeuhl genre, has announced the upcoming release of its album Dai Kaht II. Dai Kaht creates works known for their epic and dark visions of humanity’s future in the age of space colonization. Tthe saga continues as the crew of spaceship "Doover Üouh" finally arrives ro its destination, the great planet Dai Kaht.

The band from Paris combines zeuhl and a pinch of jazz-rock with 70's progressive rock. Guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals and flute act predominantly in a zeuhl robe. Even if it's often built on complex rhythmic structures, the music always stays melodic without getting imprecise. The concept is that every track lives from a mixture of a certain lightness or even happiness getting regularly replaced by more intensive dramatic passages. Undoubtedly Magma and Eskaton are the biggest influences. But the typical rumbling bass sound is omitted here. The female singing lacks the emotional intensity of the aforementioned bands, instead it lifts the compositions with beautiful melodies into dreamy regions. This works best in duet with the flute.

French one-shot (from 1977) Rahmann plays in a fairly unique style, mixing fusion and Arabic flavours with a slight zeuhl feel courtesy of explosive bass lines and repetitive rhythmic patterns. Their music could be characterized as jazz fusion with zeuhl-associated musicians performing on it (Didier Lockwood and Liza Deluxe (Magma), and Gerard Prevost (Zao). The central point of all music is Mahamad Hadi's guitar sound, heavily influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra. Another musical layers are bouzouki and oud sounds. The mix is finished by energetic drumming, keyboards and some North African percussion. Whenever pure instrumental, it could be named as "instrumental Zeuhl" with Middle Eastern influence (what isn't strange, whenever band's leader is of Algerian origin)…

Eros" is an incredible album, and ranks as some of the best prog to come out of France. DÜN's brand of prog is complex, aggressive, and fast of ideas. It owes plenty to Zeuhl, but listeners will find tons of ZAPPA, Indonesian gamelan, and fusion-jazz influences. The CD consists of four 10-minute epics from the original album, and 4 bonus tracks (3 of which are early live versions of album tracks). Some of the featured instruments include flutes, vibraphones, and synths. But, like most Zeuhl music, the bass and drums play a very dominant role. The guitarist even adds a fusion sound to the compositions that is rather unique. Overall, "Eros" ranks right up there with ESKATON's "4 Vision".

The most obscure Magma offshoot ever is also the most underrated one…