ESKATON

4 Visions is one of those albums that hits the floor running. A heavily pulsating distorted bass guitars and commanding pounding jazz-drums wipe out any doubt about this bands message: "We're here to take Kobaia by storm!"

It took Eskaton 8 years to record their debut and 2 more years to get it released, as a result it sounds very indebted to Magma, but upon closer inspection there are some elements setting it apart from Magma and announcing a tighter and more rocking type of Zeuhl/Avant-Rock, reminding me as much of Magma as of more recent bands such as Guapo, Nebelnest and Nil who gave the heritage of Magma a new breath of life in the 00's.

The basis of the sound borrows heavily from Magma: prominently pounding drums, a frenzied bass attack, 2 piano's, organ, synths, female vocals and tasty guitar accents. There are no trumpets, no male vocals, no violin. Nevertheless it's an impressive orchestra and the best thing is how Eskaton managed to make it sound tight and direct. Eskaton put much more focus on the songwriting and chose to only develop their best ideas instead of throwing in every idea at hand. Of course, words like 'tight', 'direct' are relative things in a Zeuhl context.

The dual soprano vocals are decisively Zeuhl but are more accessible then Magma. I wouldn't say 'catchy', as classic pop formulas don't dare to come anywhere near to this album, but due to the use of French and the slightly more melodic approach, they are certainly more digestible. Again, take 'accessible' and 'digestible' for what they are with regards to Zeuhl

A last note to point out is the spacey atmosphere of this album. The organs, synths and guitar give the music a more psychedelic feel then Magma and turn this album into prog heaven for me. Just imagine, a hybrid of Zeuhl, dark rock and space-rock. On top, each of the tracks has a very distinct character, making for a varied listening experience. There's even some synth work in Le Cri that sounds like Marillion's Mark Kelly joined for a jam. Great work from keyboard player Gilles Rozenberg who shines on all moments that he touches on this album.

Highly recommended, both as an introduction to Zeuhl or as an extension beyond your Magma records.

Their first recording if I am not wrong. This EP is totally sold out, according to the band. But both tracks are included as bonuses on the widely available Ardeur album so do not panic.

Both tracks here is pretty much like Magma type of Zeuhl. A formula Eskaton partly used on their style setting 4 Visions album before they went their own way and created their own universe.

What does this mean ? The two tracks here are jazz based with disharmonic female vocals and hammond organs. The rhythms are a bit repetetive and stakkato. This is very typical Zeuhl and can be compared to the first Magma album.

The quality is pretty good. I quite like this EP although the quality is merely good. But given that both tracks are available as bonuses on Ardeur, forking out a fortune on Ebay for this EP is a waste of money. It is a collector's item and only that. Therefore; two stars would suffice.

2 stars

These two songs actually did appear on 'remastered/expanded' Ardeur as bonus tracks. Still, I have something to say about exactly this, first official Eskaton's release. Let's start with the cover...

What. Is. This? Some kind of French joke that I don't know about? An Avant-Garde statement? An attempt to confuse future generation, say like "look at me, I'm either "industrial" or "acid house"" and further reaction like either "what a crap" or "WOW! It's Zeuhl!"? Seriously, I do not understand and do not appreciate band's use of the radiation motives in some of the artworks, and particularly, this, ummmm... skull. Maybe the key is the lyrics ("The song of the earth". Who knows?...) I don't care though. Eskaton's music is creative and not destructive one. Now, let's forget it. I didn't see anything, and haven't said anything.

So, two official first Eskaton's songs. The sound is quite close to their future masterpiece, but this single shows that the band still was growing up at the moment, although already existed since early 70's. Both songs are quite different to each other, and each one is good, memorable and enjoyable in its own way.

Le chant de la Terre. Somehow, this managed to be something between 'adventurous' and 'mellow' musical experience. There's nothing exactly outstanding in arrangement's quality and musicianship, it's just well-played, but the composition is definitely good. In fact, style of the composition's structure is very close to 4 Visions' compositions, which is mostly expressed in use of nonrecurring themes. It's a very pleasant listen, despite the highly unexpected and ambiguous final, directly after the part with the beautiful vocal solo.

If ...Something familiar, right? No, I'm not about PF's song (bah, I prefer Eskaton's 'If' to PF's one, FWIW). Actually, if I was reviewing Ardeur now, I'd point out that the If's melody at the first part is very similar to Couvert de gloire from Ardeur. So yeah, this is stylistically rather Ardeur's song. Again, a very good and pleasant composition, with wordless chanting this time and some good nonrecurring parts as well.

3.7/5 for the both songs. I decided that 4 stars would be a bit more reasonable rating to reflect my point of view. If you're not a fan of Zeuhl, imagine 3 stars. Nevertheless, it's an excellent addition to any Zeuhl collection which you can get on Ardeur.

An underrated album. Thanks to PA, 4 Visions was my first Zeuhl album and I'll never regret that I started my exploration of Zeuhl universe with this and not Magma. This is actually one of the best records I've ever heard so far, Zeuhl or otherwise. Being obviously influenced by Magma*, Eskaton managed to create their own original, unique sound. The result is subtle interplay of stunning music and charming female vocals. It Is Magic. And I love it. Very much. It's true that Eskaton is far more accessible than Magma, and the main reason is the music being very expressive. The reasons that made 4 Visions exactly expressive music are extreme quality of arrangements, outstanding musicanship, softer vocals (compared to Magma of course), and absolute lack of flaws on the whole album (try and you won't find anything that seems or sounds 'wrong'). Plus, the overall effect somehow managed to be not as weird and out-of-this-world as it was with Magma. Actually, it came up as a surprise to me, because I do think that actual musical content here is, at the very least, not less complex than Magma, definitely more complex than, say, MDK, which was a totally opposite case - quite simple in terms of musical structures, but extremely difficult to listen to (for many, not for me though; in fact, I 'got' MDK at second listen, 4 Visions - at third one). Faster musical development, lots of non-recurring themes (as opposed to repetitions) and overall effect being pleasant and 'weird' in positive way rather than scaring and 'weird' in neutral way at best, so isn't Eskaton's music less 'deep', but more 'progressive' and complicated? From a certain point of view, maybe. Nevertheless, the truth is that Eskaton's music is easier to listen to and to get into, and I already explained why (music being expressive), so the true is also that 4 Visions is a PERFECT introduction to Zeuhl genre. If I needed to scare or really impress someone, I'd go with MDK. To get into Zeuhl? 4 Visions. That's it.

* - Continuing comparing Eskaton to Magma, the closest Magma's album I can think of, regarding actual music, is Udu Wudu. Ultimate comparing? I prefer Eskaton's masterpiece much over that Magma's album which was nevertheless an oustanding one.

I'm going to try to explain how this works by going track-by-track.

Eskaton. How would I describe this in one word (and the whole album as well)? There's a word - 'Psychedelic'. Eskaton isn't going to bore you. This music and these women, being an organic part of the music, will not only make you an active listener. In fact, if you're like me, the bass line will make you move. Bernardi is an outstanding bassist and the other musicans are more than compitent as well. The vocals sound rhytmic rather than melodic. Groovy, rhytmic, and 'weird' (in the best possible meaning; but again, it's not out-of-this-world weirdness). 4,5/5

Attente. I have no suggestions regarding 'conceptual' value of the first 'spacey' minute. The rest is amazing. This is probably the most complex composition on the album, regarding whether musical complexity or hard-to-get aspect. The composition can be possibly divided into four conditional parts and the best one is definitely third part. At this time, the vocals are more melodic and start to reveal their beauty. The mood of music vary from charming beauty (cortesy of vocals) to subtle weirdness, whether it is about how intsruments/vocals sound or what they play/sing. I do not insist that the greatness is this, "only" that this composition is great. 4.7/5

Ecoute. Somehow, a tremendous blend of the first two songs. All the best is here, in these 13 minutes of pure Joy/Zeuhl/Prog/Music. Maybe a bit too weird 'joy' for some, I don't know. A detail for an Eskaton hardcore (if one exists): listen to the melody at the intro (0:00-0:33). Did you ever notice that at the central part, where the composition starts over, at 7:30-7:59, she* sings exactly same melody? The reason why it was so hard to notice is that there was no rhytm at the intro and thus the melody was being perceived in absolutely different way. That was an amazing discover for me at the time. And finally, once you've passed that amazing chord progression... what can I say about the obvious emotional pinnacle, part at 4:46-6:13 and its further even more tremendous repetition at the end? This is some of the most charming, catchy and hypnotic things I've ever heard (the reason is the way voices sound and the melody they sing). While my mind still considers it being emphasized on form rather than content, this is one of the few things that likely got stuck in my mind forever. A part like this was enough to make this album masterpiece. 5/5

* - What a magnificent duet, the singing graces, Amara and Paule. One has...'stronger' voice, and the other one - 'softer' one. Their voices interplay with each other just as perfect as they do with the music. The shame is that I actually don't know who sings what. So that's it.

Pitie. Slower, softer, even more melodic, vocals start to play almost dominant role. For me, it is an ideal example of 'relaxing', and yet the music. 4.5/5

Le Cri (as a 'bonus' track; it shouldn't spoil the 'Four Visions' concept). Still a great pleasure, even if lesser than the four previous terrific visions by any means. 3.5/5

4 Visions has been recently reissued by Soleil Zeuhl label. All the tracks have been remastered from the origianl master tapes (so I guess the 1995 release was based on that 1979 tape and not the master tapes then), the reissue also includes four previosly unknown bonus tracks from the Icare era. I have to get it soon.

If this is not a masterpiece of Zeuhl, then only MDK and nothing else is. The reason why 4 Visions is exactly masterpiece is that, no matter what you talk about - superb musicanship or outstanding compositions' structures, beautiful vocals or 'weird' mood, the result, being definitely progressive, manages to remain The Beautiful Music, from my point of view. Undoubtful 5 stars.

This is one of the albums recommended to all Zeuhl newbies. So I went ahead and bought this album.

Easy listening, it ain't. That Dun album is far more accessible than this album. The opening track Eskaton is almost opera with some insane jazz and marching band rhythms thrown in. Zeuhl in other words and pretty similar to what Magma is doing. Attente is a typical piece of Zeuhl. Ecoute has a good jazz theme as it's major asset. Pitie is much more a pastoral piece of music than a Magma clone. Le Cri is also a good jazz/zeuhl song.

My gripes......... Nothing really. Maybe the Zeuhl genre is a bridge too far for me. Jazz and Post-Metal is OK for me. Zeuhl.......maybe not. I still think this album is good though. Ecoute, Eskaton, Le Cri and Pitie is for me the best tracks here on an album I have spent a lot of time on. I do not fully understand Attente and I have some problems grasping the whole Zeuhl genre. That is my problem and not Eskaton's problem because 4 Visions is in essence a very good album. I give this album three stars and reserve my rights to come back and up it to four stars if I finally grasp this Zeuhl thingy.

3.5 stars

All right, so what we have here is a little Magmaesque Zeuhl brought back to planet Earth. I hear reminders of second generation King Crimson throughout as well, so in that respect, I'd say that Eskaton expands outside of the Zeuhl realm in a way that Magma does not. Some people with an immediate detection of good experimental rock will like this album right away, others will need some time to develop an appreciation. The compositions certainly are good.

3.5 stars really!!!

First album proper (read: released as a vinyl and marketed properly) from Eskaton, Ardeur (fervour) takes from where 4 Vision had left things. The group has lost guitarist Blésing and keyboardist Guillaume as members, and failed to replace them, which actually limits the group's capacities in terms of variety, even if violinist Lemercier comes in on two tracks. As opposed to the debut album, the lion's share of the songs is written by Marc Rozenberg, leaving just two songs to bassist Bernardi. But counting the two bonus Bernardi tracks from a previous EP, the balance evens out a bit more.

What we have here is a Magma-derivate and unfortunately Ardeur, unlike 4 Vision or Fiction later, it fails to build its own personality, especially in the vocals dept, where you'd swear Stella and the gang finally had time to take up French to sing on this album. Music-wise Ardeur is closest to Udu Wudu with a huge bass sound, and the usual Zeuhl traits without any surprise, if you'll except the unusual intro of Pierre Et L'Ange and some bits of the otherwise too-long Dagon. Lemercier does bring in a much-needed breath of fresh air with his violin in Un Certain Passage, but this is the only noticeable contribution of his. Apparently the group wasn't happy with their eponymous track on 4V and decided to give it another shot. Can't tell you which is better, though!

Included here are two bonus tracks from a two-tracks EP Musique Post-Atomique that was released prior to Ardeur and recorded with the full 4 Vision line-up. Chant De La Terre (Song Of The Earth) is a funky version of Zeuhl, stylistically halfway between their debut album and this one. If starts on windy sounds then flies on a war march at speed of light, with entertaining patterns with both Rozenberg brothers soaring with their respective organ and electric piano and wordless scats from the two singing graces Amara and Paule.

This might come a bit as a surprise, but I think Ardeur is Eskaton's weaker album, preferring Fiction's unconventional and innovative Zeuhl or the debut album. What strikes most with Ardeur, is that the group makes no effort at all to distance themselves from the Kobaian galaxy, except in the two bonus tracks.

Eskaton is probably regarded as the best Zeuhl band after Magma, and it's haed to deny that they are indeed among the better ones in the style, but if you are to include Art Zoyd, Univers Zero and Present into the ball game, this position is likely to be challenged. The group was named after an old Germanic legend of god's cyclical creation of humankind, and their first album, only ever released in cassette in the 70's, was reputed really rare. Until the mid-90's when the mis-titled Ad Perpetuam Memoriam label (now long defunct) released a Cd version of this album, which has become almost as rare since. Apparently (I have no confirmation of this, but APM had not found the master tapes, so their reissue was taken from a cassette. Graced with a superb artwork and lyrics sheet, Four Visions has yet to receive another legit release (a boot version is out there)

If musically Eskaton is undoubtedly Zeuhl, and their themes are not exactly about the joy of sunbathing (more like bathing in the Sun), the tome of their music is not nearly as oppressive as in Magma's albums. Starting with the eponymous track, the group plunges into a mas world of crazy bass thumps, topped by some of the most bizarre lyrics (just Imagine Gong's Camembert gone French), Eskaton brings a much wider spectrum of mood than Magma's terribly fixed, sombre mythology. Don't get me wrong, Eskaton has its own mythology, but it's more accessible, partly because sung in French (instead of the seldom-used Kobaian) but the music is more moody as well and this group pretends to some real solos from the front instruments, namely Blésing's blazing and fiery guitar. Attente is another 10-minutes epic, which will ravish Zeuhlheads. Both the lengthy Ecoute and the shorter Pitié are again small tour de force where the Fender Rhodes layers help hide and conceal the powers of Eskaton unleashing mayhem with Bernardi's bass sounding like cannonball blasts whizzing by your head. Both Paule and Amara's voices manage to pull their own advantages over a raging background as well as in the quieter moments.

Clearly one of the evident flaws of Four Vision is the lack of real good production, but there is absolutely nothing shameful on the album proper. This is however not the case with the bonus track (from a first session) where it sounds like a really dirty vinyl playing with the stylus needle filled with dust and hair, even stopping at once. And the real sad part is that Le Cri is yet another beautiful moment and the real audible problems occur in a solemn and quieter moment. Whether APM could've done it better in restoring the track is up to the listener, but overall, the album proper is indeed well transcript-ed enough to digital for most Zeuhleads to achieve a least a few Aural orgasms.

4.5 stars.This does sound a little different than the first two albums.The deep male vocals are more prominant,as are the angular guitar and keys/synths.I don't know, but to me all three albums are excellent and must-haves for Zeuhl fans.Don't just get "Four Visions" get them all.This release even has their final album "Icare" on it that was never released.The final song "Le Cri" from that record is as good a song as they have made. "FX" opens with a one minute wall of synths and organ sounds before we get a melody.The bass,drums and synths dominate this good uptempo song.Organ joins in later. "Les Deux Trucs" features those deep male vocals that are helped out by those amazing female vocals.The angular guitar is fantastic! The bass is so fat.No offense.Great catchy tune. "Automute" has a strange intro before vocals,keys,bass and drums take over.More angular guitar on this one.Yes! The vocals and rhythm section are so impressive.On the original album this was the first track. "Simplicius" opens with synths and drums.Guitar and a full sound arrives before 2 minutes.Female vocal melodies a minute later,and they are ingenius and wonderful.Terrific sound 5 minutes in. "La Danse Des Feux" opens softly before drums and vocal melodies change that.Keys and heavy bass follow with guitar and organ in tow.Great sound.The song ends as it began. "La Mort De Tristan" features waves of synths and slowly played keys.This is dark.Reserved female vocals come in and piano later.Cool song.Something different for this band. "Le Cinema" is an uptempo song with drums,keys and vocals.The deep male vocals are helped out by the ladies.This is a fun song.Organ comes in later. "Plus Et Moins" is another song with a catchy melody.Kind of jazzy with female vocals.I like the way they change their vocal tones after a minute.The drums,keys and bass are outstanding. "Parenthese" is the final and shortest song on the album.Such a beautiful song with wonderfully played keys on it.Pastoral, with bass helping out.I won't touch on all of the 5 bonus tracks,except for "Le Cri".This is a slower paced tune with synths,keys and drums leading the way instrumentally.Female vocals are restrained.The song does build to a powerful sound before becoming calm again.This contrast continues. Later the vocals become almost frenzied. This band may not have the body of work that MAGMA has,but they have the quality of work that MAGMA has.Great band!

Really good surprise from another Zehul band named Eskaton. The sound is very clear. I'm able to recognize here a lost of influences (jazz, electronic or opera) but not in an evident manner and more in a smart and elegant way. From the first moment I was able to listen to this beautiful album I was sure that it will became a favorite and so it is. Every songs follows a certain pattern by mixing female voice driven parts(a la Carmina Burana) with very good rhythmic parts or other electronic/jazzy/improvising like sections. Every band or musical styles is based on something which already exists by combining the old elements with some new ideas and sometime using new instruments. Sometimes an idea could generate a new style and sometimes the introduction of a new instrument. Apparently Eskaton on this release were able to mix with enough power and imagination different influences and the result is a very well done album which deserves your attention especially if you never listened to Zeuhl music before.Highly recommended !