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PAZOP

Canterbury Scene • Belgium


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Pazop biography
Active between 1971-1974 (without releasing any record during its existence)

Formed out of the ashes of Belgian bands such as WALLACE COLLECTION, WATERLOO and ARKHAM , PAZOP was heavily influenced by Frank ZAPPA, Canterbury bands but also classical composers such as Tchaikovski, Dvorak, Mozart, Verdi etc.. PAZOP is a typical Belgian zany group of those years and they fit quite nicely into the Belgian more experimental tradition that will later include AKSAK MABOUL, UNIVERS ZERO, COS etc.. Frank Wuyts on KB, Dirk Bogaert on vocals and flute, Patrick Cogneaux on bass and Jacky Mauer on drums and percussions of all sorts, were joined by Polish member Kuba Szczepanski on violin.

Their sound is rather unique due to the fact that no guitars appear on the album. Although they had no problems getting a record contract and they recorded quickly they had all sorts of problem to get the album released due to commercial potential in France and had to copy their master tape to be able to release it. A second album was also partially recorded (included on the Musea release) before the band folded.

PAZOP's music is likely to appeal strongly to all Canterbury sound fans as well as ZAPPA. Much recommended.

: : : Hugues Chantraine, BELGIUM : : :

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PAZOP discography


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

3.77 | 13 ratings
Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius
2016
3.05 | 10 ratings
Pazop
2016

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

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

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

4.03 | 64 ratings
Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius
1996

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

PAZOP Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Pazop by PAZOP album cover Studio Album, 2016
3.05 | 10 ratings

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Pazop
Pazop Canterbury Scene

Review by Beautiful Scarlet

2 stars A short album alike other quirky jazzy progressive rock from the Netherlands/Belgium/France coming from the 70s. Pazop is pretty silly, I quite like the instrumental work, nice drumming/bass and impactful keyboard. On the other hand the vocals can be rather odd. Male vocals like Tom Walts and alot of jokey shouting/talking.

Bami, Lychee Si opens with what the instrumentals one can expect from this album, stellar e piano, squeaky violin, versatile flute and funky/driving bass/drums. The only female vocals on the album come in at around two minutes and remind me a lot of Pascale Son of Cos. Then one gets their first dosage of the albums carnival music. Then the music ends and French (?) comes in then wordsalad chanting "Bami Lychee Si Don't Call Me Chicano". This song does a good job summing up everything one will find on the album.

Harlequin Of Love is a very old sounding song, mid 60s? Vintage yet quite catchy, "I'm the HA-A~A-laquin of lOve! Of looove." The singer does a good job, there English is impeccable. The track also features some nice e piano and segues into the next song.

Can It Be Sin begins with ominous flute over distortion. The song gets calm after this with cymbals emulating waves as violin plays. After male vocals come in to croon "Can It Be Sin~". Then the song erupts and heads into a bombastic piece that quickly returns to the vocals. The bombast returns but this time the the singer sings along with it using equal grandeur.

And The Hermit Will Be The Master kicks off with piano then heads into the kind of instrumentals that colour this album. The vocals on this track are not as distinct as on the previous tracks. There is also saxophone with some kind of effects giving it a plastic quality, lovely. Towards the end of the track one is graced with the tracks title being shouted out and some laughter which does not kindle joy for me.

M. M. M is a pretty instrumental where the keyboard and flute really shine. There's even a bass lead part towards the end.

In The Army (Devil Likes Smoke) opens with shouting then enters a military March and talking. I hate this song, makes me feel like I'm watching a movie or listening to a musical.

Track 7 opens with a solid rhythm over which a tapestry of keyboard magic is weaved. Two minutes in the flute takes the lead in all its overblown glory. At four minutes the song has a chaotic breakdown and enters a spoken section, again atrocious.

It's the end is as the name says the closing track. It's pretty much echoey vocals bidding the listener goodbye, cute.

Overall If you like artists such as Kandahara, Frank Zappa or Supersister you should definitely check out Pazop. I for one find the vocals to be a massive obstacle on the album as when the human voice appears on Pazop it is usually quite ugly.

 Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius by PAZOP album cover Boxset/Compilation, 1996
4.03 | 64 ratings

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Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius
Pazop Canterbury Scene

Review by Gatot
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars My prog friend informed me about this band and I was not aware at all about it and the name did not ring any bell at all in my mind and I tended to neglect it. But I remember vividly the same thing happened to me when another friend of mine informed me about vintage band named as Nosferatu which in turned I liked the music. So is this case I don't wan to make any exclusion as who knows that it gives me something new. He did tell me at my personal blog that the band in some ways has some influences from National Health, Soft Machine those of Canterbury Scene. Hmmmm ... I pondered my head and was curious to know about the music.

Oh no .... Where have I been so far that I have never known PAZOP at all? In fact the music is really unique and it has a class of its own. A category of its own. Oh yeah ... I can find some falovors of Soft Machine, hatfield an The North, Egg or National Health ....but hold on ... Pazop is a bit different. I tell you what, when I first listened to the opening track "Le la Loo Loo le La" (2:29) it reminded me to the kind of circus music where it has all energy and dynamics to open the show at particular evening. With dynamic piano work this opening track sets the overall tone of the album. The following "Harlequin of Love" (2:50) has dynamic vocal in it and I really enjoy the strange music they make especially with the use of flute and violin! It then slows down with "Crying for Disaster's Hand" (4:08) demonstrating the kind of vocal that does not seem to follow memorable melody but it still very enjoyable.

The jazzy track "What Is the Further Purpose" (3:10) is a funny song and I tend to smile listening to how vocal harmonies work their ways to its best combined with dynamic basslines as well as inventive flutework. Wow man!!! Marvelous! It then slows down again when it enters "Swaying Fire" (3:32) using flute as main instrument on top of rhythm section accompanying the strange vocal screaming nicely: SWAYING FIRE!!!! Woooow .....!!! It's really wonderful man!

Let's reflect ...

I am not going to review at track by track level but I want to do some sort of reflection about this band. This only album was released in 1972 - an ultimate year in the history of progressive rock. Why? This was the time when Genesis crafted Foxtrot where they included an epic Supper's Ready with 20 plus minute duration. And we had also Yes penned their lose to The Edge album which this site by today makes it the number ONE prog album of all time. Yes, Yes also made epic track with duration approx 20 minutes. And then we had Jethro Tull who claimed themselves as teh first band who produced song with duration at the maximum space of one side of an LP: Thick As A Brick,

What did it tell you my prog head friends around the globe?

When all progressive bands made solid efforts in making concept album with epic tracks, PAZOP came into play with SHORT duration tracks but they are all one another make some sort of "links" that the transition from one track to another sounds like seamless eventhough they are not. So in this case .. PAZOP is a true prog band as they did not follow what happened in the market - in this sense ....

Overall, I highly recommend you to have this hard-to-find album especially those of you who enjoy the vintage sound and unique musical composition. To kill your curiousity, go to you tube and type PAZOP .. Boom! You got it full fledge album. Enjoy! This album deserves 4.5 stars rating. Keep on proggin' ...!!!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

 Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius by PAZOP album cover Boxset/Compilation, 1996
4.03 | 64 ratings

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Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius
Pazop Canterbury Scene

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Pazop's sole album shows a flair for the comedic, fun-loving end of the Canterbury spectrum and a healthy Zappa influence, of a sort which if the album had been produced a mere year or two earlier would have probably done quite well. Alas, the album was recorded at a point when prog appetites were turning towards more serious fare, such as the symphonic masters of ELP, Genesis and Yes and the more serious-minded fusion bands, and so it ended up falling through the cracks a little. A shame, because this is an extremely competent debut - enough so to make me wish we had more from this band than this slim archival release.
 Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius by PAZOP album cover Boxset/Compilation, 1996
4.03 | 64 ratings

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Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius
Pazop Canterbury Scene

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius is belgian band Pazopīs sole album. Allthough Pazop is listed here as Canterbury Scene there is much more to their sound than that. Admitted there are lots of Canterbury influences here but there are also definite RIO tendencies. Pazop owes some dept to Zappa for instance. Pazop has the same kind og crazy humour. There is also a Jazz/ fusion element in some of the songs. This CD reissue of Psychillis Of A Lunatic Genius contains the tracks from the original LP and some songs recorded for their second album which was never released. There is not that much difference in sound or style so this album seems like itīs meant to be this way.

The music is very intriguing and at times mildy complex. In addition to drums, bass and keyboards there are lots of flute and especially violin on Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius. There are no guitar on the album, but donīt worry you wonīt have time to miss it as there is always something exciting going on. The most Canterbury influenced songs are What Is the Further Purpose, Mirela, Bami, Lychee, Si ( even though it has a weird RIO like ending), Can It Be Sin and M.M.M. while the RIO influences can be heard in songs like Harlequin of Love, Freedom Dance, And the Hermit Will Be the Master, In the Army (Devil Likes Smoke) and Airport Formalities and Taking Off... All Songs are very good IMO. There are no weak songs on Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius and as a consequence this is an excellent album that comes close to being a masterpiece.

There are a few flaws that doesnīt suit my taste though. A lot of the songs fade out which I find annoying. SOngs should be finished properly IMO. Itīs very seldom fading a song out works for me.

The musicianship is outstanding on this album, so look forward to listening to the many details these musicians play. This is really great. I have to mention Dirk Bogaert as he is an excellent musician. He has got a really good voice and he masters many different singing styles. His accent is hardly hearable and when it shows itīs kind of charming IMO. The polish violinist Kuba Szczepansky also has to be mentioned as he is great too. Listen to some of those fast runs and strange sounds he makes. Just brilliant.

The production is good. It has that soft Canterbury sound that weīve all come to expect from bands within that genre.

Iīm very impressed with Psychillis Of A Lunatic Genius and if you like your Canterbury prog rock with a weird twist this should also appeal to you. This is highly recommendable IMO. It īs definitely one of the more original albums I have heard in a long time. At this time there are very few ratings on this album which is very undeserved if you ask me. Try this one out you wonīt regret it. The 4 big stars are well deserved.

 Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius by PAZOP album cover Boxset/Compilation, 1996
4.03 | 64 ratings

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Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius
Pazop Canterbury Scene

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars I couldn't agree with Sean Trane more, that this is a lost gem from 70's Belgium, and it's worth 4.5 stars. In typical Canterbury tradition there is so much humour on this album. Even when the song seems serious you just have to read the lyrics to see the silliness. Zappa had to be an influence on these guys.The first 8 songs are from their first album recorded in 1972, while the last 8 songs are from an incomplete recording session from 1973. They used a mellotron in studio during the second recording, so it's nice to hear that at times during the second half of this disc. Interesting that the bass player Patrick Cogneaux previously played in ARKHAM which also boasted drummer Daniel Denis who would of course go on to form UNIVERS ZERO.

"Le La Loo Loo Le La" is a good, uptempo, instrumental track with keys, violin and drums leading the way. "Harlequin Of Love" is where we first hear vocals, and it took me a while to get past how much they sound like David Clayton Thomas from BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS. This is a complex track with lots of tempo shifts. It's Zappa-like at times with lots of flute. "Crying For Disaster's Hand" features a jazzy sound with fragile vocals to begin with. Organ, bass and flute lead the way. Cool song.The tempo picks up after 3 minutes when drums and piano become prominant. "What Is The Further Purpose" is very jazzy with fast paced vocals. Great sound. Nice bass lines. "Swaying Fire" features outbursts of violin that come and go in contrast with the soft vocal passages. Vocals do get stronger, and the drumming becomes more prominant. "Mirela" is an instrumental that has Canterbury written all over it. Nice. "Freedom Dance" opens with flute and theatrical vocals trading off before an uptempo melody arrives. "Lovelight" has some very JETHRO TULL sections on it. Great tune !

The next half starts with an instrumental called "Bami, Lychee, Si." I was reminded of ZAO as it is very smooth and jazzy. Some vocal melodies come in. Some mellotron as the sound is building. Crazy spoken words to end it. "Harlequin Of Love(second version)" is like a reprise of the first one. "Can It Be Sin" is the longest track at almost 7 minutes.This is a slower paced, solemn song but with funny lyrics. Mellotron on this one as well. "And The Hermit Will Be A Master" opens with keys. Violin, drums, bass and vocals soon join in. Jazzy. Vocals get theatrical after 4 minutes. "M.M.M." is an uptempo instrumental with lots of flute. It calms down before 2 minutes with flute still leading the way. It becomes quite jazzy later. "In The Army(devil likes smoke)" would make Zappa proud. Hilarious lyrics and a crazy instrumental background. Well played of course. "Airport Formalities And Taking Off / Stewardess And Breakfast" is a true Canterbury song title no ? It definitely sounds like classic Canterbury anyway. I love this track. Check out the organ work ! Spoken words to open and close the song. "It's The End" is a silly little number that would have been perfect to end a concert with.

This is one of those obscure albums that makes the search all worthwhile. A must !

 Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius by PAZOP album cover Boxset/Compilation, 1996
4.03 | 64 ratings

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Psychillis of a Lunatic Genius
Pazop Canterbury Scene

Review by Sean Trane
Special Collaborator Prog Folk

4 stars 4.5 stars really!!! WATCH OUT!!!!! This is the translation of the band's name from Brussels Flemish dialect. You might guess from their album title that these guys were wild and crazy enough that you better watch out they did not drive you crazy!!

Another pristine-perfect re-issue from Musea records with a thorough search on the life of the band's adventures both before , during and after PAZOP's short life. Musea even pushes the honesty by not including the four commercial tracks they had recorded before their first album (one of which was called Merry Jungo) because they thought this might ruin the enjoyment of the album. They do however include many tracks from their second unreleased album and I cannot thank them enough for it. Pazop came to form out of the ashes of Wallace Collection, Waterloo and Arkham but never really managed any real success because of bad management and non-respectful records label managers.

The music developped here is somewhere between Canterbury and some fusion bands of those same years and they are fairly distinctive-sounding because they have no guitarist in the line-up. The lead instruments are the flute, violin (played by polish origin Kuba Szczepanski) and keybooards. In the vocal dept , Dirk Bogaert is simply one of the better rock singer from Belgium at the time along with the lead singer from Irish Coffee. Jacky Mauer is a fantastic percussionist using all sorts in this record. Pazop is a perfect example of Belgian Zanyness on record and obviously they listened to Zappa and Robert Wyatt's Matching Mole. Crying From Disaster's Hands is an early peak in the album , Can It Be Sin nother and the hilarious In The Army another soon followed by Airport Formalities .

A real lost gem from 70's Belgium.

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

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