Michel Madore is a painter, sculptor, and musician from Quebec. He recorded two albums of progressive music in the late-seventies. On this one, the first of the two, he plays guitar and "string synths," and is joined by Ron Proby on moog and soprano sax. The music is a distinctive take on prog: spacey, a bit jazzy, and very melodic. There is somewhat of a new-age bent here, but the music isn't trancey or catatonic—it's energetic (but not exhausting) and dynamic, consisting of shifting harmonic plates of layered sound. The crystalline, finger-picked guitar is stabilizing, metronomic, merging with the rhythm section, complemented by the swooshing synths and soaring woodwinds. Beautiful, refined, compelling, highly listenable Canadian music.
Michel Madore - Le Komuso à Cordes LP, Barclay, 1976 A1 Calligraphie / Mac A2 Ballade A3 L'Avant-Dernière B1 Stanley B2 Rush B3 Juggernaut B4 Bâli Link
This is somewhat to continue in the vein of the liminal musical space between 70s prog and 80s AOR audible in the Eskaton and Trevor Swadling posts. Here we have a solid and strange adult-rock album recorded by two legends of Italian prog: Paolo Tofani, the guitarist from Area, and Claudio Rocchi the bassist from Stormy Six. Tofani and Rocchi each pursued increasingly experimental solo projects towards the end of the seventies: the psychedelic cut-ups of Rocchi's Rocchi and the electroacoustic compositions of both Rocchi's Suoni di Frontiera and Tofani's Indicazioni. The strangeness of this collaborative effort lies partly in its normalcy: that after such far-out experiments, these two friends would turn towards traditional song-forms, harmonies, and instrumentation.
Because of the complications of the communal creative process, bands are never able to completely wipe the slate clean and start anew. Anyone who has composed music as part of a band knows how decisions are made that no individual member would/could ever make—and which are often the "right" decisions. When a musician breaks away from a band to do a solo album, that album is likely to be something original, innovative, or adventurous compared to the band's creative progression. This does not imply that solo albums are better, just that they should be seen as the expression of repressed creative urges that don't find their way into a band's musical development. Tofani's Indicazioni is the perfect example of this. Area were one of the most adventurous Italian prog bands, but there was no way they would be able to make the communal decision to make such an experimental record. Towards the end of the 70s, I've found that prog bands tend to continue in more or less comfortable musical territory, making less drastic alterations to their sound and style. The solo efforts from members of prog bands around this same time are often where you'll find the more avant-garde and experimental developments happening.
With this record Tofani and Rocchi—working collaboratively, but not as a band, with an established musical style to consider—make another drastic shift, towards conventional rock songwriting. As with most cases of prog-to-AOR conversions, there is a heavy presence of progressive ghosts amid the 4/4 rhythms. Laced with flashy synths and compelling harmonies, the songs refuse to slip into banal formulas. It is easy to dismiss this album as a "commercial" effort, but this notion is disproved by the heavy Krishna vibes permeating the album—culminating in the final song, a long and repetitive Krishna chant with sitar and guitar—which certainly weren't included to sell albums. Rocchi and Tofani both joined the Hare Krishnas during the late-seventies, I think, and Rocchi was apparently living in a Krishna commune when this record was released. The influence of Krishna doctrine on the lyrics and artwork of this record adds to its interest, further complicating the simple surface of these humble songs.
Unfortunately the sound quality of this rip (originally posted on Mutant Sounds back in 2007) is pretty bad. The sound resemble that of the Eskaton post—like recorded off a VHS. This one's real fuzzy, but if you're favorably disposed to lo-fi sounds you'll still appreciate it. (A nicer rip would be appreciated if anyone wants to link one in the comments...)
Paolo Tofani & Claudio Rocchi - Un Gusto Superiore LP, ISKCON Records, 1980 1 Jaya Srila Gurudeva Bhagavan 2 O Sei Parte Del Problema O Sei Parte Della Soluzione 3 Dio 4 La Macellazione 5 Un Gusto Superiore 6 Introduzione 7 Muoiono 8 Jiv Jago Link
Thomas Diethelm is a Swiss jazz/prog/pop guitarist and singer. He would later form the Thomas Diethelm Band and play in a duo with keyboardist Santino Famulari. Bruno Brandenberger was a Swiss upright bassist. I forget where I grabbed this (bad of me, I know) but it doesn't seem to be unavailable anywhere online now, so I'm putting it up here.
The music is somewhat reminiscent of Führs & Fröhling, in that it is melodic, moody, spacey progressive music structured around nylon-string guitar. Instead of synthetic accompaniment as in F&F, Diethelm's guitar is coupled here by Brandenberger's warm bass counterpoint. Guitar and bass are sent through various echo, delay, and phaser units, giving the album a simultaneously acoustic and electronic texture. Far from being jarring, the sound is insanely comfortable on the ears. On several songs the instruments are accompanied by Diethelm's surprising and strangely beautiful falsetto vocals, consisting of wordless vocables. Extremely listenable. Some parts of rare beauty. Singular sound quality.
Duo Diethelm Brandenberger - Didi L'Amour LP, Gold Records, 1978
A1 Didi L'Amour A2 Dvorak A3 Oktober A4 Basso A5 Maisprünge B1 Peperonata B2 Vergnügt B3 Tagtraum B4 Herbstwanderung B5 Toni N. B6 Viva La Marie
This was also originally posted on mysteryposter in 2006, then re-posted 2009 (according to Wayback Machine). Eskaton, from the Paris area, were one of the best Zeuhl groups towards the end of the 70s. Their three main albums (from 1979, 1980, and 1983) were all reissued by Soleil Zeuhl in the past few years. This record was their last effort, and was never released. A few songs were included as bonus tracks on the reissues, but the whole thing has only been passed around as a bootleg. I have no idea where the original came from (before it got to Mystery Poster), or how it made its way onto the internet as 320k mp3s, but I am pleased to have it, and happy to pass it on again. More info on Eskaton can be found in an interview with guitarist Andre Bernardi here.
This is real-deal 80s prog. If you're a 70s proghead ideologically opposed to 80s prog, this may not be for you. If you're open to 80s sounds but not that into prog, you might still be into this. I personally love 80s prog. Although much of it can be pretty bad, there are tons of gems to be discovered (Prog Not Frog has featured a few great ones recently). The good stuff usually shows a pop influence, giving up some of the more esoteric prog extravagances, highlighting some of the more melodic and groove-oriented features. The recordings often sound bizarre: 80s prog bands seemed to be really open to new synths and digital effects, but the way they used them sounds nothing like what you hear in new wave or disco music from the same time. This strangely affecting synthetic sound is definitely present on this recording, but is made weirder by the lo-fi transfer quality of this copy. Super fuzzy, always making me think of it as "VHS sound quality." The versions of these songs included with the reissues sound a lot clearer. I've also noticed that the versions on this copy are pitched up. The tracklisting is also a bit dicky, with the endings of two songs separated for no reason. I love the way this copy sounds, though.
The music is unorthodox prog with a pop tendency, without sounding commercial (at all). That is to say: mostly 4/4 rhythms, catchy hooks and nice riffs, but mixed with dissonant harmonies, strange chord voicings, spacey synth sounds, intricate fills, drones, strange lyrics. Synths, guitars, and dual female vocals are the prominent sounds. The lyrics are in French, and the mood varies from upbeat and joyous to hypnotic and brooding. Great album meriting deep listening.
Eskaton - Icare Unreleased, 1985 1 Marcel 2 Autant le temps 3 Le gros délire 4 Le bruit 5 New-York 6 Le chant 7 Le cri 8 Unknown track 1 9 Unknown track 2 10 Unknown track 3 11 Unknown track 4 Link
This is a re-post from the late, great (perhaps the best) Mystery Poster blog (now defunct). This was par for the course of what one could find on that goldmine: a completely unknown, unavailable, mysterious gem, usually of top quality, or at the very least interesting. I remember downloading this one in late-winter, listening to it in front of the fireplace while house-sitting in the country. It took a few listens, but it finally won me over.
Here's a recent blurb about Trevor, who still performs around Sydney:
Trevor
is a Australian singer/songwriter and has been writing and performing
songs for many years at various venues around Sydney. Recently he
produced an album titled The Reason. Trevor’s songs tell a story and
convey a message. The lyrics cut deep into the realm of human condition
and social issues crossing the age boundaries. The combination of
acoustic guitars, bass and piano, with three part harmonies blend
together to create a compelling and unique sound that many have
described as “fresh folk”.
The music on this LP is less in a "fresh folk"-vein, and more in a lo-fi ramblin' rock & roll mode, melancholic, melodic, a bit psychedelic, with a heavy loner vibe, reminiscent of Anonymous, Relatively Clean Rivers, early Fleetwood Mac and Bob Welch—somewhere between the Dead and Felt (the organ tracks especially remind me of "Me and a Monkey on the Moon"). I always assumed this was a one-man, multi-track recording, but this popsike posting claims the band features "MULTI INSTRUMENTALIST JEFF MERCER WHO LATER WENT ON TO THE HAPPENING THANG." The pleasantly fuzzy sound may be down to the mystery poster's ripping technique. Regardless, the keyboards layer nicely over the smoggy rhythm section, paired by a solid lead guitar and Swadling's tremulous vocals. Good songs, great sound, 100% earnest: I love listening to this record.
Trevor Swadling - Endless Surprise LP, Midway Records, 1982 1 Waiting For The Night 2 Lady Blue 3 One Day 4 Give It All You Got 5 Look Out Jack 6 Time Wasters 7 Wheel Of Fortune 8 What's Going On 9 Merylyn 10 Endless Surprise Link
LOSP (or Losp, or L.O.S.P.) is another name for the group Los Paranos, an underground new-wave band from Lyon featuring Christophe Petchanatz, who would later found the Klimperei project, alongside Françoise Lefebvre/Petchanatz (also of Klimperei) and sometimes "M. Ferrero", "R. Sapin", and Laurent Fauconnet. This C60 was put out by Medicinal Tapes, a label which, according to Discogs, was "the house label for the Urbain Autopsy project." 1986 is my guess for the release date, since that's when most of the other Medicinal tapes were put out. Losp/L.O.S.P./Los Paranos were active from the late-70s through the 80s. I unfortunately don't have a scan of the cover, and my copy of the tape is in storage in another country. The tape was given to me by José (who ran NANINANI mail-order and the Paha Porvari label) when I visited him in Nassandres back in 2006. This rip has been sitting on a hard drive since 2007 or so. The tape is a mixture of several different styles prevalent in the 80s underground tape scene: lo-fi synth-pop, atmospheric industrial, acoustic vignettes with guitar or piano, children's melodies, field recordings, noise. The faux-naive instrumental style of Klimperei is definitely visible here, but mixed with equal parts punk attitude and psychedelic weirdness. More info here and here. If you feel so inclined, you can make a donation to Christophe Petchanatz here.
LOSP - Poules Mortes C60, Medicinal Tapes, 1986? A1 Moor I A2 Bavière A3 Each Element A4 Trottinette A5 Factory A6 Bibopeuloula A7 No Narrow Nights A8 Après Le Tilleul A9 Moor II A10 Mobile B1 Nappins! B2 A F. B3 Médecine B4 Le Ponton B5 Vox B6 Assiette B7 Gloude B8 'Feel Like B9 Mystery B10 Au Bois B11 Ma Copine (Short Piece) B12 Exode B13 Tempête B14 Finale
