LA MARMITE COSMIQUE VOLUME 2

I thought I'd been following Arnaud's output fairly closely since I discovered his music in 2016, but somehow I missed this one--his obvious tribute to Gong guru Daevid Allen--whose passing surely prompted Arnaud's creation of it. Though the opening song, "children of the full moon," opens as a near-perfect WEATHER REPORT replication, it soon shifts into total and complete GONG You "Isle of Everywhere" territory. Arnaud's solo production is such a near replication, his own instrumental performances so striking for their smooth accuracy and soul-ful conveyance, it can't help but beg the question, Can Arnaud really play all of those instruments with the accuracy, dexterity, and virtuosic fluidity as Steve Hillage, Didier Malherbe, Pierre Moerlin, Tim Blake, and Mike Howlett? It appears so!

The second song on this brief EP is entitled "to Daevid." It is an Eastern Indian-influenced space meditative piece that serves perfectly as the appropriate sendoff for our Magick Brother. It makes me smile with joy at the reaction I imagine Daevid would have to this piece.

As always, brilliant work from this master of many styles and sounds.