Following DJ Arc de Triomphe's introduction of Erick Cosaque here, the mysterious ways of second hands' fate lead my hands to another LP by Guadeloupean legend Erick Cosaque, here in company of the mysterious "X7 nouvelle dimension" unit: a progressive electric and percussive jazz nugget, which harmony could show some similarities with Lalo Schifrin or even François de Roubaix harmonies. Note that the first theme, Cliché, is composed by another guadeloupean composer Harold Abraham, while the other one is by Cosaque himself.
I have to say that this blog could dangerously dive into various electric jazz and mondo lounge excesses, a thrill that is worth begging the haitian Leon Dimanche to come and save us. Besides, his strangeness could also be our best support in these times of Christmas celebrations: beyond the lyrics, reminding us how we should take care of poor people in these times of excesses, this is so far the best bontempi chorus and charley mix you could ever dream of. Listen & buy the FULL MASTERPIECE HERE ! Gloria in Excelcis.
Believe me when I'm telling you that joining up the Consortium team is not an easy task - I've battled up for three weeks to come out with something that could fit in the "oddball" policy of the house (the fear over at the Bureau was that I would try and subvert their exacting, psyched-out editorial policy with deep house tracks or early IDM nuggets - something which I must confess I otherwise crave for) But I'm not of the terrorist type, rather of the compliant one, and I do want to fit in (I'm a social creature). And when the people at the Bureau asked me to focus on all things Brazilian as a way to start up our cooperation, I'm telling you, nothing could make me happier.
Now, one obvious understatement in their demand was that I couldn't bore you all with super classic misknown Bossa Nova or 1930s Nordeste Frevo shit (but trust me, I will when I'm more integrated). In the meantime, I've sifted through the swampiest territories of the Brazilian music part of my discotheque in search for something valid enough that wouldn't play the "you're not expecting this from Brazil" game in a too much obvious way (but super weird gems by industrial pop unit Harry and electroacoustic composer Jorge Antunes are piling up). So here are a few exploitation tinted tracks that could make Quincy go nuts like he's just had too many shots of cachaça (and I promise I'll keep the shut up next time).
First and foremost, Iet's take a fusion ride. I'm pretty sure all you prog-rock, electric jazz heads already know the super famous band Azymüth. Even their name was (still is, actually) terrible and a lot of their tracks could end up on a very ugly German lounge hip-hop compilations (for that matter, I just found out the international version of their first album was reissued by Far Out in 2007 with the unavoidable remix bonus cd). But they had grandiose moments, on their own or collaborating with Ana Mazzotti or ex-Bossa nova sweet-heart, later reborn as a bearded purveyor of funky, moog-y pop tunes Marcos Valle; and honestly, who cares about good taste when you can hear cuica playing the ominous part over trippy Moog escalations and Arp Solina pads in a gritty electric jazz tune?
Hidden deep down inside the fabric of their all-too-listenable first eponymous album, you can also find a funky, poppy tune sung in Marcos Valle style by a guy called Marcio Lott (a regular presence in the legendary Radio MEC studios in Rio, where the supergenius Edu Lobo - scroll further down for details - crafted some of his craziest pieces). It's called "Esperando Minha Vez" and don't tell me you wouldn't go crazy for it if it came from a super obscure library music LP.
Then, a true curiosity by a true pop genius, the super famous but largely misunderstood Chico Buarque (we Frenchies have to blame a soda commercial with sepia images of mulatto kids playing football on a beach for the confusion), from his "I'm a serious composer with a big moustache and I'm more politically involved than you are" period. I could have chosen any song from his amazing, amazingly challenging Construção of 1971 but they're probably too serious for the purpose of this post (you should just go and buy the whole LP asap anyway). Apart from the sublime nocturne ballad "Barbara", few people know his Chico Canta album, or rather most people stay away from it, because of its typical 70s fusion arrangements. It's a shame. Despite the fact that most songs were co-written with Brazilian Nouvelle Vague enfant terrible Ruy Barra, it's really the arrangements by Edu Lobo which make it unmissable. The instrumental tracks are cinematique, pure blackspoitation dope:
Chico Buarque "Ana de Amsterdam" And to end on an ominous, grandiose note, I give you the opening track of Edu Lobo's most ambitious work, the christic Missa Breve. Born in 1943, Lobo had the most interesting of careers: a sophisticatingly smudgy singer, a revered composer of the second wave of Bossa-Nova (he composed classic tunes like "Candeias" or "Corrida De Jangada", famously sung by Nara Leão - we'll come back to her - and MPB postergirl Elis Regina) and author of some of the most gorgeous MPB albums of the end of the 60s, he took things to another level after studying orchestral arrangements in Los Angeles (while sleeping on a mattress at the house of his friend Sergio Mendes). Many parts of Missa Breve are instrumental, some of them verging on modern classical, Xenakis-sian moments, but I really needed to stick to the crossover, exploitation thematic of this post and have you hear his voice, too.
Syrian born producer & musician Henri Debs played a major role in the 60's & 70's French Carribean music scene. Raised in a record shop-owning family, he is known as the first middle east oriental interpreter of creol music & proclaimed himself the new Antillean music savior:
"Disques Debs sauveur de la musique antillaise. Si on la défend de nos jours c'est que Debs l'a sauvée jadis"
Here on a Baden Powell cover, along with singing partener Serge Cristophe with whom he recorded several 7" singles & LP's...
To end comes a latin infused track with insane & chanting scat from martiniquean pianist Marius Cultier. Depsite the fact Cultier never reached popularity, he was the first artist to employ the "ZOUK" term. At last, I sincerily advice you not to start with the only cd rendition entitled "morceaux choisis vol. 1" which disppointed me quite much as more versed on the jazz virtuoso side of the artist.
---------------------------------------------------------------- > Read First Part (Philogene Astasie & Kassav) > Read Second Part (Les Vikings & Eric Cosaque) ----------------------------------------------------------------
Some music artefacts are small by the size, but may concentrate in 7 inches so many elements, that they can easily turn into an iconic crossroads for those who care.
Related in many ways to the world of Tenjosajiki / Terayama Shuji, this EP was reissued in 2004 as a bonus cd to the Baramon LP edition: Baramon, "The Pink Portal", or a provocative gender-troubling poisoned sonic storm run by a group of gay and transgender comedians, with compositions by J.A.Seazer or Kawachi Kuni.
Yamashita Takeo, mighty figure renowed especially for some anime soundtracks such as Lupin III, or Sabu to ichi torimono hikae, scored this Togo Ken EP, built all around the crude yet sensible lyrics and striking singing of this long-time activist in the gay and queer scene: famous for relentlessly challenging the elections and experiencing various troubles with the censorship, it is not a surprise that Togosan crossed the way of Terayama's group, which was a nest at the time for many wild children as much a source of worries and investigation for the police regarding the high degree of social critic generated by its activities, movies, happenings and theater experiences.
I'd like to recommend the lecture of Togo Ken's detailed portrait avalaible for readers here.
Also, take this post as a first opportunity to modestly introduce here the wide world of Tenjosajiki related records: these precious testimonies for adventurous and sincere times you sometimes feel lost are avalaible thanks to the efforts of White Noise records and Belle Antique. Check the haunting Hatsukoi Jigoku Hen, or the collaged Shintokumaru, alongside the countlesses contributions of composer J.A. Seazer to other artists' records such as Carmen Maki: must-have items, burning gems.
New stunning Philip Cohran's (Ra's Arkestra's trumpeteer) record, containing all three 7's that were originally released back in 1968 on the Zulu label. You might notice for the use of the Frankiphone, an electified Kalimba (Philip's own invented "Space Harp")on the eponyme second extract, sounding like a "Konono N.1" trancey piece of music.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this one, Mr Computer is described as someone who doesn't know how to laugh and sing as children!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last but not least, this jazzy piece was used for a film with Alain Delon titled "Pour la peau d'un flic". There is however no computer in history !
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Detailed links (in french) regarding these historical artists: >>> Patrick Abrial >>> Noel Colombier
Underevaluated figure of the french free jazz scene, Jacques Thollot is mainly recognized among these networks for being the guy who played drums with various legendary figures such as Barney Willen, Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, but also occasionally with Bud Powell or Chet Baker, when they sometimes were having a night in Paris.
A fascinating documentary on the very official Mezzo tv testifies of a golden french age made of hip appealing clubs, neverending musical emancipated stream, and the more or less legal substances gently powdered on it... You could even accidentally get stuck on the way discovering french variété singer Claude François' connexions with the free music world.
Some other people heard of Thollot through a very different entry, as one of the protagonists of Jac Berrocal's 1991 album La Nuit est au Courant, and more generally as part of the Berrocal fellowship.
But appart from this drummer identity, he's also a fantastic composer who released two especially fascinating albums in the 70s that settled the basis of a strong personnailty with a blend of electronic experimentations interspersed between drum tracks and sophisticated melodies.
Extract from Quand le son devient aigu, jetez la girafe à la mer, this 1971 tune crazily contains all the manipulations and structure work, derivated from the concrete approach, that you will hear again more than 20 years later through the plugins of so many laptopers.
Watch devil go, released slightly later and enlightened by flute and synth player Francois Jeanneau, contains on its side various haunting themes set along pure analog synth layers and drum elements.
A fascinating very complete interview here, and complete albums may be caught as often on the Holy Grails France Musik and Mutant Sounds.
