Maneige and Conventum released by ProgQue

 

 

Everyone (or a lot of progheads) know of Maneige, and both Ni Vent Ni Nouvelle and Libre Service are truely superb. These two albums had received a previous release on the small and defunct Kozak label, but there are live bonus tracks coming from the live album Composite (probably means that this album will not get a re-issue, though)

 

Those not familiar, please check out my reviews to those albums

 

 

More confidential but just as essential are the two albums Conventum released  in the late 70's. These guys were an impressive cross between chamber music and prog folk.  Both A L'Affût D'Un Complot and Le Bureau Central Des Utopies are absolute must if you love pre-classical music and Gryphon or Anthony Phillips. Both albums come with many bonus tracks , but if you had the previous Kozak

 

Entered two weeks ago in the Archives with the help of Proglucky (thanks Ron) , I have reviewed the albums this week

 

 

CONVENTUM — À l'affût d'un Complot

Review by Sean Trane (Hugues Chantraine)
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog-Folk Specialist

While this debut album was released on Le Tamanoir label, it received two CD release both with the original stupendous debut album, but also the much weirder live show they held on April 17, 1977. For this album, Conventum presented themselves as a sextet, but were often enhanced by many more – including Kaczinsky, Forestier and Leger (Orchestre Sympathique). Their mostly acoustic sound is very impressive, highly cultivated (very inclined on semi-medieval and old folk music), half of it instrumental, and is best described as avant-folk-prog.

So this release could be presented as two different albums and actually are quite different. As much as the original album is superb, full of delicate ambiances and delightful folk and classic fusion and can be used by any proghead to clear his mind of his problem and escape into a wild world of beauty, as much as the live album is demented, demonic, weird, lurking, somber , macabre (at times), demented and frightful, but very impressive and theatrical.

After a short intro, where Coventum ask you if you are comfortable (you are in for one hell of a ride), a flood of guitar arpeggios is overwhelming you as the small piccolo flute and alto sax are accompanying the superb vocal duet (Les Criticotteuses is a superb play on words combining criticizing and knitting) when two violins are underlining this bed of desire: spine-chilling, yet, no-one will resist it. The following title track is much in the same vein, but become slightly more urgent and inquietant, but the lyrics are about as grandiose as Gabriel or Hammill could ever get, and the guitars oscillate between Anthony Phillips and Fripp’s The Crafty League Of Guitarist. La Bataille (the battle), the next track is also the poignant theme track from a movie from a member of Le Conventum artistic circle. The mood is dark, grave and beautiful, with the strings setting such a splendid bed of dreams for the guitars to lay it on thick the drama. Le Piège (the trap) is also from the same movie, but is rather quieter but still quite impressive although, it is quite schizophrenic too, with its wild choirs appearing from nowhere, blowing up a storm and disappearing as quick as they came. The next three tracks are instrumental and still in the line of the album reaching from chamber music to slightly modified jigs. Last track was also a theme for yet another colleague’s film and it is yet another flamboyant success around a very modified jig>> absolutely masterful.

The second part of the record is a live concert and presents a very different facet of Conventum, much more tense, nervous, slightly more aggressive, very theatrical, but also just as dramatic (if not more) than the studio album. Although still excellent, (but maybe less immediate without the accompanying images), these tracks suffer from the proximity and superb beauty of the studio album tracks. Here the mood is more to a nervous Stravinsky or psychedelic Prokofiev (Peter And The Wolf). Very impressive, but for this party, French language becomes almost mandatory, but their prose is impressively poetic. Clearly Conventum was a forerunner of sorts for future Quebecois groups such as Miriodor and Interference Sardines. Their capacity at making this acoustic chamber music but rendering incredibly rock with just a few ingredients is immense and Conventum deserves to be re-discovered to its true value.

CONVENTUM — Le Bureau Central Des Utopies

Review by Sean Trane (Hugues Chantraine)
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog-Folk Specialist

Down to a quartet, Conventum attacked this second album is the same verve as they had, their first and the results are as flamboyant as on their debut. As their previous album had gathered a confidential success, conventum persevered in the direction they had chosen, but they avoided making a carbon copy of the debut. Gone are Bouchard and vocalist Painchaud, but the overall sound remains unchanged, almost completely acoustic. This record was recorded just a month before the first Independence referendum regarding the Quebec separatism, and one can feel that “utopist” issue dominates this album (at least partly).

Lead off track is halfway between a jig and a Ritournelle and outlines the definite Folk flavour that will characterize this album from its predecessor. Atelier is a delightful piece very reminiscent of the medieval ambiances heard in the previous album, somehow fairly close to Anthony Phillips’s late 70’s works on arpeggios. Fondation is a rather arduous (and lengthy) piece with an uneasy construction (reminding you of the nervous live bonus tracks of the debut), and not my favorite track even if the progression is impressive. Next up is the cornerstone Choregraphie Lunaire, which starts very slowly, hauntingly and creepily grows to a solemn atmosphere that maybe only Harmonium in the Histoire Sans Paroles could approach crossed with a Frippian electric guitar and a Hackett acoustic guitar >> awesome and spine-chilling! Ending on a short jig-like trad folk, this first side offers moments of pure delights, but it is uneven.

Fanfare (opening side 2 ) has a deceiving name , but is well in the line of the album as well as Trois Petit Pas (more reflective and somber). The music sometime comes to early Univers Zero’s chamber music, or more likely Julverne. Tic and Tacs actually wake you up from a certain torpor, that you had settle you, but the tracks quickly turns into the least interesting and folkiest track of the album. But soon comes the title track that is certainly the centerpiece of the album. A rather gloomy landscape unfolds in front of yours ears, with a haunting cello, a few vocals (another change compared to the debut album: the vocals are much less present) and a splendid atmosphere. Once again the album has some bonus tracks which are valuable (they come from Conventum’s 82 reunion, recorded live) and as interesting they might be, could’ve been coupled with the previous album’s bonus tracks to make a full album. I believe this is important to mention, because the worthy bonus tracks are however breaking away from both album’s spirit. If PaysDu Bryuit isvery much a theatrical thing much the same way the other bonus track of the debut album Commerce Nostalgique is a superb track meddling medieval guitars , a jazzy bass and a solemn cello. Overall, this album is slightly less superb than its predecessor (less accessible also), but still very much worth your investment. Both albums have been recently re-issued by ProgQuebec, which all progheads will agree is very much worthyof supporting. Run for it!

 

 

I think that they (PQ) are blocked by financial discussion with EMI for the first two albums (which were released on Harvest)

 

Your company did a very good job reediting classics Quebec Prog albums.I have a couple of reissues (Contraction,Pollen) and your products are always good.

 

Since Sean is a member of this forum,I will take this opportunity to ask him a question.Do your company(ProgQuebec) plan to release other albums?The two albums that I would like to be released on cd are Franck Dervieux "Dimension M" who is supposed to be the blueprint of the Contraction sound (the majority of the musicians of Contraction plays on that album) and the other is Vos Voisins "Holocauste à Montréal".Those 2 albums can be considered the roots of Quebec progressive rock mouvement and even if they were not as influential as group like Harmonium and Maneige,it can be interesting to have these albums available on cd's.

 

Thanks a lot.

 

That's a great news,Thanks for your respond,Sean.

 

Yes,I heard the rumours that Jacques Perron, the keyboards player from "Vos Voisins" had left without leaving any trace.Some people said that he died.That's really sad.The rest of the band could also be difficult to track down since they are not part of the music industry anymore.I hear their album "Holocauste à Montéal" and it's a great album.It's also the first Quebec album that used mellotron, long before Harmonium who claim to be the first user in Quebec.They used the rare model,the M300 that belong to their friend and occasionnal employer at the time,Yvon Deschamps(the well known Quebec humorist).I was suprised that comedian Marcel Sabourin actually wrote all the lyrics from that album.That guy is still around and maybe he could help(with Mr.Deschamps)tracking some guys of the band,if it's not already made.

 

As for Franck Dervieux,I'm really happy that you will reissued the album on cd.I will buy it for sure.I will surely check out the Lasting Weep album too,seem interesting.

Thanks Sean and ProgQuebec!

 

as I only had the Kozak releases, I made the mistake also >> I will try to correct it though

 

Would be absolutely delighted if this Pre-Conventum tape could be made public, even if different

 

Are you sure the third one ''Eclipse'' is out on CD?

Never seen it.