RËLISP

A wonderful and promising debut!

It is not a common thing to see people making zeuhl music in this side of the world (Mexico), actually I would say there is only a few amount of us who listen to this genre on a frequent basis, so to know there is a new project releasing original music, is really exciting.

Rëlisp is the name of this Mexican zeuhl project that has seen the light for over one year now, created by talented minds Demian Burgos and Carlos Greco, musicians who love zeuhl, rock in opposition and avant-garde, and who gathered a nice amount of musicians that could understand their quirky world, so together they could start composing and giving positive results. So now in this end of 2023, the band has shared Aktïw1, their first EP, and as I said in my opening line, a truly promising debut.

This release consists of 3 tracks that offer around 21 minutes of excellent music, in which legendary French musician Patrick Gauthier (who has played for Magma, Weidorje, Heldon) is also featured. I recently read in an interview with Demian Burgos, that he met Gauthier on Facebook, where he praised him as one of his idols, and then they became actual friends and nowadays, I could say even band-mates, which is awesome.

Well, this EP opens with 'Arrakis', and since the very first second we can hear that explosive sound that every band from the Kobaian planet has. Saxophone, several vocals at unison, drums and strings. Then it vanishes and the band slowly start building-up a new structure, where we can appreciate its beauty with the addition of flute and violin. The song continues like this for around 3 minutes and then it makes a sudden pause and then explodes again with such energy that will have your ears and eyes wide open, reminding me of course of Magma, but also of band such as Koenjihyakkei and even King Crimson in the last minute's instrumental part.

The next track is 'Sündïa (rest in peace in silence), and here we can hear to Gauthier's piano from the very first time. I love this track, probably my favorite from this release; I love all the nuances created by the musicians, I mean, it is great to hear that constant electric piano but also enjoy the sound of the violin, bass and drums, the looney sax and of course, that repetitive and hypnotizing female voice. At minute three the music explodes, guitar appear producing energetic sounds that is contagious; but then it vanishes and a different passage is created, where cadence and delicacy appears in a delicious way, letting us know they, of course, have some jazzy influences. And later at 5:30 they give us another change in sound and mood that runs for a couple of minutes, ending this track in a wonderful way.

Finally, we can appreciate 'Zenösyne', and I love that it starts with some bass notes, an instrument that is frequently highlighted on zeulh bands. Then it takes us to a journey, little by little the musicians add new and different sounds that produce a nice diversity of nuances and textures, the music creates tension in different passages, but at the same time, the listener becomes hypnotized, addicted to it, so one cannot escape from that journey because once we are immersed, we will feel enchanted. I love that if finishes with so much energy, with those zeuhl vocals at unison.

Well, as I understand, there will be another EP before they release a full-length album, and while it comes, I would like you to hear this band and spread the word, they will blow your mind.

Zeuhl has long escaped the clutches of France where it still is the stronghold but Latin America hasn't exactly jumped on the bandwagon. RËLISP comes from Mexico City and features ex-Magma and ex-Weidorje keyboardist Patrick Gauthier. This band has cranked out its first EP in late 2023 and features three extremely strong tracks.

As expected AKTÏW1 is heavily inspired by the inventors of zeuhl themselves, Magma and given Gauthier's presence makes it even more so. "Arrakis" opens with a strong choir presence with a contrapuntal guitar line adding a bit of extremity to the classic sound. The track meanders into different territory with a frenetic guitar, bass and drum section that ventures into metal as far as the tempos go but ends in a wild Rock In Opposition free fall.

"Sündïa (Rest in Peace in Silence)" starts off a bit on the melancholic side with a moody viola but gives way to the classic female vocal led cyclical loop style of Magma but then adds some jazz with a feisty saxophone presence. The track remains cyclical and simply ratchets up the tension until it all breaks into freeform and picks up speed. Just when you think it gonna get even wilder it completely shifts gears and offers a soft Canterbury Scene electric piano excursion. It's then joined by a female vocalist and picks up steam

"Zenösyne" jumps back into zeuhl territory with a mellower Magma sound but slowly ratchets up the tension. This band has mastered the art of slow and seductive mood changes and then can revert back again at the drop of a pin. The band keeps the mellow female zeuhl parts but then adds layers of chaotic viola before erupting into one of those classic Magma outburts of a stentorian choir and hyperactive bass, key and drum attack. The viola adds a whole other layer of dissonance and the keys retain a bit of Canterbury flair.

This is an amazingly great album only kept from masterpiece status by the blatant borrowing of Magma influences. In fact if someone were to tell me this was a lost Magma artifact from the past i'd probably believe them. It's so authentic it's eerie yet it's not Magma. It's more like Magma in another parallel universe. Needless to say that this is a band to watch out for. If this is what they can achieve on their first release then i'm extremely anxious to see what's next. An amazingly fresh take on Magma that offers more than enough twists and turns to keep the hardened progger engaged!