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GARGAMEL

Eclectic Prog • Norway


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Gargamel biography
Founded in Norway in 2001 - Activity unknown as of 2019

Gargamel was formed in the spring of 2001 by Tom Uglebakken, Bjorn Viggo Andersen and Morten Tornes. Jon Edmund Hansen and Geir Tornes joined in the summer and they held their first concert in November of 2001. They proceeded to record two songs which they released as an cd-r EP in the autumn of 2002. In the atumn of 2002 the band recruited Leif Erlend Hjelmen on cello, and went on to record three more songs, which together formed the Watch for the umbles album.

The music has clear roots to the experimental and progressive rock from the period of 68-75, and has a sound that reflects this. The band takes you into the sombre, powerful prog-landscape, with melancholic moods and psychedelic atmospheres. Often taking unexpected turns, adding surrealistic and peculiar touches. Drenched in heavy hammond organs, gloomy mellotrons and jazzy el-piano; combined with classical instruments like cello, flute and saxophone.

The debut album entitled Watch for the umbles was released on swedish Transubstans records in february of 2006 and recived great reviews in the international prog press.

Gargamel has since 2002 gone thru some changes of members. Jon Edund quit in the autmn of 2002 before the extraordinary H&M gig. Bjorn Viggo left in the winter of 2003 to move abroad. Geir left in the summer of 2003 to work abroad. Leif Erlend left in the summer of 2004 to work abroad. Geir returned late 2004, and Arne Ton joined the band on keyboards at the same time. Then Geir left the band again in the spring of 2006 and was replaced by Stig Joran Rygg.

Gargamel has played at both OsloProg festival 2002 and 2005.

Here are a couple of quotes from reviews:

"We noticed elements from Van Der Graaf Generator, combined with krautrock; of the Amon Düül II type, together with loads of keyboards (rhodes, organ and analog synths) that added a sophisticated jazz touch." (Concert review in Tarkus magazine)

"My associations goes in the direction of Van Der Graaf Generator, early Eloy and some other german bands from the 70s." (Water EP review in Tarkus magazine)

Current lineup:
Tom Uglebakken: Guitar, vocals, flute and saxophone.
Morten Tornes: Drums, vocals, glockenspiel, theremin and synth.
Arne Ton: Keyboards.
Stig Joran Rygg: Bass guitar and bass pedals.

==This biography was taken with permission from the Gargamel's website (now inactive)==

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GARGAMEL discography


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GARGAMEL top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.74 | 83 ratings
Watch For The Umbles
2006
3.81 | 105 ratings
Descending
2009

GARGAMEL Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

GARGAMEL Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

GARGAMEL Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

GARGAMEL Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

4.50 | 2 ratings
Water
2002

GARGAMEL Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Descending by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.81 | 105 ratings

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Descending
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by sgtpepper

3 stars Gargamel returned with their second and last album (as of 2024). The album is a continuation of their style with a mixture of VDGG, some King Crimson. Overall, the pace is slower and there are excursions outside of prog such as the bluesy rock of the first track in its instrumental part. This one doesn't capture my attention until the 8th minute when the music finally starts to lift up.

"Prevail" feels like a very long track, with kind of a jamming feeling. "Trap" is my favourite track thanks to the Hammond and great symphonic melotron in the end.

"Labyrinth" starts in the King Crimson vein, very serious but too my dislike, soon turns into a non-melodic VDGG singing. The instrumental mid part is OK but to me, feels like a filler (let's create a 17-minute last track like on the previous album). It's the 11-th minute when all hell breaks looks finally and all band players showcase their skills.

If I should compare it to the previous album, this is a slight bit weaker. Singing appears more often (not their strength) and the instrumental contributions are less significant. Still a 3,5 star album.

 Watch For The Umbles by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2006
3.74 | 83 ratings

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Watch For The Umbles
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by sgtpepper

4 stars At the time when this album was released, I was very enthusiastic about what I could expect. The album cover reminded me of a winter place in Sweden which hosted a student campus (Ostkupan) and based on the good reviews and origin I was awaiting a typical Scandinavian prog with hints to the past.

The first minutes by the first tracks confirmed by initial thoughts - great keyboard-driven symphonic prog partly inspired by King Crimson/Anekdoten, no vocals and quite a good level of dynamics despite repetition. The great Moog solo with the heated up drumming followed by competent guitar even graduated my level of joy.

"Strayed again" provides a completely different view of the band, though keyboards are still omni-present, there is a VDGG-like vocal, great acoustic moment with flute and avantgarde experimentation, later we can hear a jazzy organ which demonstrates high keyboardist' competence.

"Below the water" is a relatively down-key track, based around 3/4 rhythm though singing puts me off. "Into the cold" fixes the things for me but ingesting a dose of Anekdoten and have a dreamy atmosphere thanks to flute and mellotron.

"Agitated mind" is a long track and things take a long time to develop but it's not a complaint. It is quite well structured and contains reflective parts too.

To sum it up, vocals are the weakest element on this album but the instrumentation and good creativity drag this album up the bar. 4 stars

 Descending by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.81 | 105 ratings

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Descending
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by TenYearsAfter

3 stars Norwegian prog band Gargamel their debut album entitled Watch For The Umbles was released on Swedish Transubstans records in February 2006 and received great reviews in the international progrock press. Since 2002 Gargamel has gone through some changes of members. Gargamel has played at both OsloProg festival 2002 and 2005. In 2009 Gargamel released their second album entitled Descending.

1. Descending (9:55) : First a slow rhythm with distinctive electric piano runs and passionate English vocals, then a Pink Floyd sounding organ joins the party, followed by mellow synthesizer flights. Halfway a propulsive bass with a distorted, spacey guitar solo and a warm organ sound, culminating in a compelling final part that sounds like "Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green guitar) meets early Pink Floyd (dynamic drums and hypnotizing organ layers)", a good start!

2. Prevail (13:59) : A bombastic atmosphere with raw electric guitar riffs and powerful saxophone that first turns into mellow and then experimental, pretty adventurous but to me it sounds a bit fragmentic. In the second part I love the acceleration featuring violin-Mellotron, fluent drums and fat guitar riffs, it reminds me of fellow Skandinavian Anekdoten. After a psychedelic interlude with soaring organ and a great Hammond sound, this track is concluded with, surprise, a trumpet solo!

3. Trap (5:31) : This song (evoking early Pink Floyd and King Crimson) is wonderfully coloured with vintage keyboards like the Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano and Mellotron along powerful electric guitar solos.

4. Labyrinth (17:40) : After an intro with the unsurpassed Mellotron, we can enjoy a lot of variety, from a slow ? and swinging rhythm to experimental with strong work on harder-edged guitar and vintage keyboards (Hammond and Mellotron), the final part is Prog Heaven featuring a bombastic climate with choir-Mellotron, propulsive drum work and fat guitar riffs, Gargamel at their best!

Unfortunately it turned out that this was their final effort, from promising Norwegian prog band with an adventurous and varied approach.

My rating: 3,5 star.

 Watch For The Umbles by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2006
3.74 | 83 ratings

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Watch For The Umbles
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

4 stars This sinister album from Gargamel is retro-prog which doesn't sound very retro - perhaps because the most obvious classic-era prog touchstones the band draw on are mid-1970s Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson, bands which sounded miles ahead of their time in their heyday. With sneering vocals which at points remind me of a less garishly theatrical Alice Cooper (circa Billion Dollar Babies) and brooding soundscapes which include plenty of modern influences (there's more than a touch of post-rock at points), Gargamel create an album which is at once true to its symphonic forebears and yet at the same time is very forward-thinking and advances the genre substantially. Despite the retro-prog tag, I'd say Gargamel are doing much, much more than simply pandering to nostalgia.
 Watch For The Umbles by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2006
3.74 | 83 ratings

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Watch For The Umbles
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by Bonnek
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

2 stars Gargamel is a Norwegian modern Prog act with a vintage 1975 VDGG sound, complete with Hammill-alike vocals. The music is largely 'Symphonic', but it moves in diverse directions and can be 'Heavy' as well as 'Spacey' on occasion. So it's not a mere VDGG copy-cat. The vocals however are the weak link, being too indebted to Hammill's approach but without the melodic qualities or fervor of Hammill himself.

The instrumental 'Tics' is easily the highlight, starting with a dark organ sound that sounds more Hugh Banton then Banton sounds himself nowadays. The track continues through multiple sections with brilliant heavy-ish prog, with influences from VDGG, Anekdoten and Genesis. 'Strayed' opens strongly with a melancholic cello part that recalls the mood of Crimson's 'Islands'. The effect lasts till the atrocious vocals join. Really, trying to mimic Hammil if you haven't got the qualities to pull it off is sacrilege. This mainly instrumental track remains strong but the grating vocals largely spoil it. 'Below the Water' is even worse. 'Into the Cold' fares better due to being largely instrumental again. 'Agitated Mind' is an attempt at writing an epic. A failed one because it goes down entirely with the preposterous vocals. Really, why didn't anyone mute the volume level of the microphone.

This kind of album automatically makes me reach out for the real thing and unfortunately Gargamel doesn't come out well from the comparison. The music on this album is excellent but with a 'Hammill' in such poor shape, it doesn't touch anything released by VDGG. The next album has a distinct improvement in the vocal department and is much better by consequence. 2 stars, 4 if you can tune out the vocals.

 Descending by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.81 | 105 ratings

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Descending
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by Bonnek
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Gargamel is a Norwegian modern Prog act with a vintage 1975 VDGG sound, complete with Hammill-alike vocals. There is not much saxophone on it, but flutes, organs and mellotron more then make up for that.

They remind me of Sinkadus and Wobbler as well. Having the same combination of forceful vintage rocking Prog with that dreamy melancholic mood. In case of Gargamel the vocals are also not the greatest asset (too much of a Hammill copy, I prefer the real thing). On the other hand the vocals have largely improved compared to the band's debut, where the vocalist could hardly keep his pitch. There's plenty of room for instrumental passages, such as the spacey second half of "Descending". It's at those moments where the band really shines for me. "Prevail" has better vocals, followed by a long proggy instrumental middle section. It all builds up to a great finale. The stronghold is the 17 minute long "Labyrinth".

I wouldn't say Gargamel is as good as Wobbler, Sinkadus or Anglagard, but they get close on occasion and they are certainly talented. If you're a fan of named bands and also dig Hammill's vocals then you should definitely check out this album.

 Descending by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.81 | 105 ratings

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Descending
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by nandprogger

4 stars My first experience with the band GARGAMEL, impressive as it got assimilated content, which did not happen with my favorite prog bands. The sound here is full of retro prog: KING CRIMSON and VdGG, fully exploiting the most nostalgic sounds of his vintage synthesizers. In times of TFK, THE TANGENT and the like; GARGAMEL by surprise with so little to achieve what these others did not. The simplicity where the complex is shown in subtlety, the change of course all this can be likened to an extension of the albums of great prog bands of the '70s. The only fault I point that should be your excess resemble with them, which makes me not put all star. 4,5 stars
 Descending by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.81 | 105 ratings

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Descending
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by Windhawk
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Competent workout from Norwegian act Gargamel on this sophomore effort of theirs.

Those who fancy a slice of art rock with it's feet firmly placed in the early 70's should feel right at home with this effort. From the opening number and title track's Crimsonian touches on vintage symphonic space rock from the Eloy/Floydian school of compositions to the dramatic vocals Peter Hammil style, the references to the great acts of yesteryear are plentiful.

First and foremost to Van der Graaf Generator it seems, but also to the artists already mentioned, while the guitar and flute solo instrumental piece in the middle of second track Prevail the Sea should feel familiar to fans of Jethro Tull.

Vintage in sound and dark in mood, with an eclectic take on retro prog, this disc offers much to those who can't get enough of early 70's inspired ventures. Personally I felt that the tracks didn't quite manage to grasp me though, and the two long epics in particular felt too drawn out. This is a matter of personal taste though, and for others this album should be a true joy from start to finish.

 Descending by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.81 | 105 ratings

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Descending
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by Sean Trane
Special Collaborator Prog Folk

4 stars Second album from this Norwegian group and FWIW, second gem of ac retro-prog album. As much as I am careful with the initial enthusiasm that most retro-prog album evokes in me, I usually come down from my cloud fairly quick, but with Gargamel, I must say that the excitement lasts on quite a bit longer, mostly due to different influence or models taken. And just like the debut album, the group seems intent of playing up VdGG's aisles, with a twist of Crimson

Indeed, some of the most obvious VdGG moments come from Uglebakken's vocals, strongly inspired by Hammill's gutsy delivery, but the songwriting sometimes dares also a few Graaf- esque The group's vintage instruments is the standard one, including a guest cellist and two horn player, since Uglebakken also play sax and flutes. Just four tracks on this second album but two lengthy epics including the excellent and moody Prevail The Sea with the guests doing their bits to make it truly interesting: when the trumpet comes in, the drama is at its utmost; but the awe starts right from the opening power lines: you'd swear you're onto ITCOCK's lost track.

The short trap presents almost a burlesque face with its extremely bizarre time sig and presents a slight Gong/circus atmosphere with a Hackettian guitar and a closing Banks- ian 'tron line to die for. The other epic is the 18-minsLabyrinth, a much calmer and spacier track, but unfortunately its intro is marred by a Watcher Of The Sky sequence (double infamy it is repeated another time), but once the intro dealt, the track settles into a space void where the Theremin induces scary voids and Floydian guitars (circa Saucerful Echoes) evoke time warps, than a rising saxophone is paving the way for a wild instrumental feast where the organ is blasting its power, urging the guitars to spit out the venomous chords, until the whle thing drifts into chaos and then into oblivion

Gargamel's second album confirms their debut's success and the group is now solidly in the Scandinavian circle of great retro-prog bands and can look up Anglagard and Anekdoten from eyr-tu-eye.

 Descending by GARGAMEL album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.81 | 105 ratings

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Descending
Gargamel Eclectic Prog

Review by Marty McFly
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Interesting, but not so interesting at the same moment. When I hear this completely and by this I mean when I get myself to hear this at all, I'm pleased a lot. But their dark sound can be quite annoying for starters (and for others too, I'm not starter with Gargamel's music [hello Smurfs], but repeated listens aren't easy for me). But when you get used to it (will I ever?), it's great, dimly lit symphony like music made from long orchestratic passages. But OK, this music is quite recognizable.

4(+), as even their music is faithful continuing of 70's (favourite trend in modern prog, I don't have much prejudice against it), and presents us "their" sound, it can be boring a little bit. Repeating some motifs.

Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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