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Sean Trane 
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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 Topic: Xaal and Wapassou
Posted: July 26 2006 at 05:07 |
Happy to see two more reviews of Wapassou 
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: July 20 2006 at 07:02 |
Thanks Tony!!!!
Edited by Sean Trane - July 20 2006 at 07:03
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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Tony R
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
Joined: July 16 2004
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 11979
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Posted: July 20 2006 at 06:56 |
Xaal and Wapassou anyone? 
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: July 19 2006 at 03:52 |
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: July 17 2006 at 10:25 |
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: July 13 2006 at 05:52 |
Thanks, cesar
I'll create the entry next week (the review has been written already)
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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Cesar Inca
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: May 19 2004
Location: Peru
Status: Offline
Points: 4888
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Posted: July 13 2006 at 00:14 |
I hope the preceding text is useful for the Archives. Please, any other one familiar with XAAL, feel free to correct any mistake in the text.
Kind regards.
P.S.: Lima, after 11.00 Pm, listening to XAAL's "En Chamin".
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Cesar Inca
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: May 19 2004
Location: Peru
Status: Offline
Points: 4888
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Posted: July 13 2006 at 00:12 |
With only two albums in their curriculum vitae, released in a 2-year span, it’s incredible how the French power-trio XAAL managed to leave such a rich testimony for contemporary prog rock. Formed by guitarist Jad AYACHE, bassist Nicolas NEIMER and drummer/percussionist Patrick BOILEAU, XAAL offered an exciting, stylish mixture of KC-meets-CAMEL oriented sound (not unlike their legendary compatriots of SHYLOCK) and RIO at its least inscrutable (imagine PRESENT with a more patent dynamics and a bit less sinister), craftily seasoned with noticeable touches of jazz-rock. The trio decided to increase their sonic spectrum via the help of guests - on wind instruments mostly - for some extra colors, but all in all, the threesome were exclusively responsible for their own sound’s core.
The paradoxes of mixing roughness and sophistication meet an amazing fruition in XAAL’s two only albums, “On the Way” [a.k.a. “En Chemin”] (1992) and “Seconde Ere” (1993). It is a general consensus that the rough aspect is more pronounced in the latter album, sadly their last one for good.
Recommended to fans of King Crimson’s legacy, RIO with a more accessible vibe, as well as lovers of psychedelic-oriented prog (NeBeLNeST) and jazz-rock with proggy twists (BRAND-X, RETURN TO FOREVER, TRIBAL TECH). Those nostalgic of SHYLOCK and PULSAR are potential lovers of XAAL, too.
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Cesar Inca
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: May 19 2004
Location: Peru
Status: Offline
Points: 4888
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Posted: July 12 2006 at 23:34 |
Hi Sean... maybe I do, well... yes. How long do I have?
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: July 12 2006 at 07:06 |
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Cesar , Feel like writing a bio for Xaal
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
|
|
Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: July 01 2006 at 13:09 |
 Cesar Inca wrote:
As opposite, I'm not familiar with Wapassou (it sounds really interesting), but I happen to own XAAL's first album "En Chemin"... and let me tell you, they're amazing. They anticipated that KC-meets-Present modern soundging prog that NeBeLNeST, some years later, would take to its almost-perfection. XAAl should be here for yesterday, so to speak...
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Thanks Cesar
Here is the review I cooked up for this album
XAAL – On The Way (En Chemin)
In the lenghty French prog tradition of heavily Crimson inspired bands (such Carpe Diem, Shylock and recently Nebelnest), came out in the early 90’s Xaal, a guitar-lead trio that gets some help either from a keyboardist on some tracks and some brass section in other (and both on the second last track). Clearly this instrumental trio was at the top of their game and from these years, there were not many new generation groups that were able to top them.
Starting out on three very familiar APP notes, the album is a conceptual piece about a Child’s way to his destiny and the tricks, traps and other obstacles of life on his road to fulfilment. Yes, these guys have clearly heard some King Crimson, but they are jazzier than the Fripp boys, but there are ever-so subtle hints of Magma also.
Not everything is perfect on the album, most notably the weak KB on the closing moments of the title track but on the whole, the album holds its own without ever being really brilliant either. The climax of the album comes with the second-last 11-min Byblos (and its incredible middle section where the brass section is contributing to the madness that Alamaailman Vasarat would make theirs a decade later, and the incredibly violent Final.
Not an easy listen for casual progheads, partly due to the instrumental nature of their music, Xaal’s first album is certainly worth a spin, but nothing absolutely essential either.
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
|
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Cesar Inca
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: May 19 2004
Location: Peru
Status: Offline
Points: 4888
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Posted: July 01 2006 at 09:16 |
" Out of those two bands I know only Wapassou - I have their "Messe En Re mineur" and find it to be an excellent album.
Xaal sound very interesting from the description above. "
As opposite, I'm not familiar with Wapassou (it sounds really interesting), but I happen to own XAAL's first album "En Chamin"... and let me tell you, they're amazing. They anticipated that KC-meets-Present modern soundging prog that NeBeLNeST, some years later, would take to its almost-perfection. XAAl should be here for yesterday, so to speak... but hey, what the hell, Queen and use are in the Archives, so we're OK, right?
Kind regards.
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Raff
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 29 2005
Location: None
Status: Offline
Points: 24391
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Posted: June 30 2006 at 05:00 |
So, it seems I was right on that issue.... Showing off my literary knowledge, as usual!  It does sound extremely intriguing (not to mention worthy of inclusion in the mighty PA), but I cannot refrain myself to recommending the book also. It's a superb read - especially if you can read it in the original (and of course, Hugues, you can!  ). Very, very decadent and blood-drenched...
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: June 30 2006 at 04:54 |
Wapassou – Salammbô
Taken after Gustave Flaubert’s book, this is the group’s third album and as you might have guessed a conceptual one. Two tracks only each filling up a side of vinyl, both of them highly theatrical musically speaking, and no bass and drums, this is a rather puzzling but very charming, oscillating between classical music and rockier moments (the synthesisers moments). If the words descriptive music can ring you something, this might just a fitting definition of it.
Enhanced by another Gustave’s artworks (Doré on this one) as a sleeve, this trio (violin, (sometimes) fuzzy guitars, KBs ranging from piano, organs and synths) augmented by Mrs Fizelson’s vocals here and there, is achieving quite an impressive show of mastery of their musical propos. The music peaks between the 11 th and 13 th minutes of the second track, sometimes reminding you of a much-happier Univers Zero.
If you love grandiose ambiances, with aerial atmospheres, this little gem can be right up your alley, digging up a highway to your musical orgasmic fields. Do I make sense? No? Blame on this album ;-)
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
|
|
Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
|
Posted: June 29 2006 at 10:01 |
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Wapassou is actually quiite interesting , but this salammbô album is not that rock >> very progressive and classical though.
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
|
|
DallasBryan
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 23 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3323
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Posted: June 29 2006 at 09:57 |
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chill, they will come around! TIME
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avestin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: September 18 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 12625
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Posted: June 29 2006 at 02:45 |
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Please, dear admins, could you either bring this thread back to its original place or at least move it to suggest new bands section?
Edited by avestin - June 29 2006 at 02:46
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19620
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Posted: June 29 2006 at 02:40 |
edit
Edited by Sean Trane - July 20 2006 at 05:55
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
|
|
eugene
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 30 2005
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 2703
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Posted: June 28 2006 at 13:59 |
I still believe it's very wrong to move threads like this one into "Assorted & miscellanious / Non-prog music" department. There should rather be an area called "Prog music, not in Archives yet" here.
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carefulwiththataxe
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avestin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: September 18 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 12625
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Posted: June 28 2006 at 13:31 |
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^^^
That is why we have several key members here, such as Sean and yourself, to strengthen this weaker point and make the different musical domains in the archives represented as it should suitably be.
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Xaal and Wapassou
