VAZYTOUILLE

VAZYTOUILLE was an adventurous musical collective that utilized fourteen musicians from the greater larger collective Zoone Libre in the city of Lille, France. Fourteen members of the greater ensemble got together to record this single eponymous release and then apparently moved on to other projects. This is one of those totally bizarre conceptions of everything plus the kitchen sink approaches however it revolves around simple zeuhl type rhythms that flow through the eleven tracks on the album but differ in style and presentation. The orchestra pretty much experiments with every type of time signature and timbre as well as playful dynamics including different vocal styles. There is heavy emphasis on avant-prog types of angular rhythms that provide a counterpoint to the smoothly flowing zeuhl.

While the band is large in and of itself, the musical sections are divided into a string quartet, rock trio and a cappella vocal ensemble that merge their subsets of the equation into one. The fourteen musicians cover the rock instruments with guitar, double bass and drums, a horn section with trumpet, alto and baritone saxophones and alto horn, woodwinds with two flautists and a string section with violin and cello. There is also a pianist. This album is incredibly diverse with each track sounding totally different from the next as the band or ensemble rather construct complex microcosms that slowly drift and merge into the next. There is a clear sense of composition but it also sounds like a lot of improvised playfulness is allowed to flourish. Since this album is impossible to classify as a whole, a track by track description seems to be warranted.

'Du Jour' starts out with some excellent a cappella vocal interplay and then is joined by a jazzy Canterbury sound that exists in a totally different world as supplemental instruments add little jolts of freakiness. This pretty much sets the tone for the wild adventure that constitutes this album.

'Orgiak Suite (Part II)' is completely different with a faster tempo and rock energy infused into a jazzy horn section. The bass line is unrelenting while the treble parts are little jittery. Still has somewhat of a Canterbury meets avant-prog type of groove with noisy parts dropping in randomly. Becomes sort of avant-garde big band jazz with prog keys and rock guitar riffs. What happened to Part I?

'Orgiak Suite (Part III)' changes it all up once again with a very abstract piano part leading the way while atonal atmospheric tones emerge. Sounds like one of the wind instruments doing weird antics. The piano becomes more aggressive like an angular Art Tatum piano riff that turns into a more Chopin-esque type of ambitiousness. It finally emerges from the darkened freak zone and becomes a nice lounge jazz type of sound with a Canterbury flavor. 
'La Chute' starts off with a plucked violin and some chimes. Almost sounds like a Christmas tune. The winds and horns chime in to give bring more of a Canterbury counterpoint as the rhythm churns along at a fairly fast pace and angular avant-prog type guitar riffs steer it into a complete crash that allows a period of quietude with cymbal action, bop style bass and random sounds erupting from different instruments. It continues with a distinct groove and random flavors added.

'Titicaca' is a nice mellow avant-prog type of track with Stereolab type vocals

'Babiole' is a jittery, oddly timed Canterbury type of jazz rock with Dimanda Galas type of vocal wackiness

'Masay Christ, Pt 1' sounds somewhat like one of those playful xylophone led Zappa tracks that turns into a weird free-form third stream jazz that battles to stay in the classical world but ends up sounding like a violent rape of a violin accompanied by a cheerful keyboard bit that leads into the next track 'Masay Christ, Pt 2' which picks up more of a brass rock type of beat with a catchy melodic development that eventually breaks down into a very sinister ambience with crazed avant-garde keyboard freak outs. It changes things up again after a while into a Canterbury happy sounding jazz-fusion type of track with a fuzzy filthy guitar solo along for the ride. This track is all about extreme contrast that displays polar opposite moods battling it out in a mostly melodic way.

'D'gel' sounds like a Hatfield and the North Canterbury type of tracks with Northettes style of vocals with happy loungy jazz music only with all those trumped up off-kilter time signatures. This one is extremely slow and nonchalant as it slowly parades along. A frenetic flute line weaves around and creates an unnerving dissonant effect at times although it often finds resolution.

'Si' si'' sounds more like an avant-garde 20th century classical piece in the vein of Stockhausen with pointillistic sounds painting an piece of sonic impressionism but a frantic Zorn type of sax run starts to get the natives restless and a jazz bop type of bass line enters as does random percussive beats and a plethora of noise. It continues to devolve into pure chaos however a complex system of percussive tradeoffs keeps a groove beneath the angry hornet's nest of buzzing instruments. A brash brass riff bursts into the mess and steers it all back into jazz territory.

'Bill' changes it up big time with a single piano leading the way displaying some sort of Thinking Plague type of rhythm followed by the same sort of female vocal style with fidgety time sigs and avant-prog urgency. In fact it sounds like an avant-prog vocal jazz standard with some extra weird sounds thrown in. Despite it all, possibly the most normal track on the album.

This is quite the album. Only recommended for those who like a nice helping of diversity and some of the most ambitious musical undertakings. While primarily underpinned by zeuhl type rhythms, it seems like the Canterbury jazz type of sound is the most common thread as the tracks jump around between styles, moods, timbres, tones and dynamics. There is some outstanding musicianship amongst these fourteen performers who have complete control over their instruments of choice. This is so complex in scope that it borders on classical music. A very satisfying array of compositions that satisfying the itch for the unpredictable and excessively bombastic covering every known area of progressiveness. A brilliant mix of accessible rhythms and angular counterpoints. Despite fourteen musicians involved it never feels too busy or that too many chefs are in the kitchen.