Ame Son - Catalyse

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AME SON - Catalyse

If you'd like a psych trip with great jams (including a flute), then this might be your thing...

BIo:
In 1967, Marc Blanc and Patrick Fontaine were introduced to Daevid Allen after his departure from Soft machine. They both played in its Bananamoon band in Spain during summer ’68 and in the south of France at the beginning of ’69. They formed Ame son in June ’69 with François Garrel on flute and Bernard Lavialle on guitar. The “Catalyse” album has been released in 1970. Ame son played in all the greatest festivals like Amougies, Les halles, Biot, Le Bourget and had a lot of success from both the audience and critics. The music was strongly influenced by early Gong with long psychedelic jam- sessions leaded by flute and guitar. They split in June’71 for the first time. They start again with a different formation in 1973 and are still playing together from time to time.

Reviews:

Collaborators Reviews

AME SON — Catalyse
Review by oliverstoned 
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Krautrock Specialist 
 Ame son was a late 60’s, early 70’s french underground band influenced by early Gong as two members were part of Daevid Allen’s Bananamoon band. They released this unique album in ’70. This is genuine psychedelism, with long jams leaded by a thrilling flute, loads of excellent psychedelic guitar and even some wha wha on electrified flute. The instrumental moments are excellent, whereas the moments featuring (approximate) singing are more painful and reveal a pop and raw side. Fortunately, the “jam” moments predominate. The album suffers from an amateurish sound and poor production, but remains a very good testimony of the early french progressive scene, with the debut’s freshness, when psychedelism and progressive were closely melted. 
Posted Monday, August 21, 2006, 05:59 EST | Permanent link

AME SON — Catalyse
Review by Sean Trane (Hugues Chantraine) 
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog-Folk Specialist 
 Ame Son’s only album is one of the earliest “prog” French record (Sept 69) but really it is still very much a psychedelic thing, but undeniably progressive. This groups had roots in the mid-60’s under the name of Les Primitiv’s and were playing all over France and had been exposed to early Soft Machine on these last’s frequent tours of France, especially on the Riviera. As one of their members got drafted in the army, the group went in lethargy and some members started playing with Daevid Allen’s Bananamoon in 68 and 69. Upon the return of the drafted, the group reformed and changed their name to Ame Son with flutist Garrel. Signed to Byg Records, Ame Son’s album was recorded in two days in London (French vocals later added in a Paris studio) and has Allen and early Soft Machine written all over it, without appearing like a derivate product either. It was generally well received by the press and the public, and they participated in most major festivals in France and Belgium. 

To describe their music to progheads is not that easy, because their particular type of psych rock is often truly improvisational, but if dissonant, it did not go in the free-jazz and is much wiser/pleasant than Crimson’s Moonchild (note: they don’t sound like them at all). Basically a guitar trio with a signing flutist (but not our Tull Mad Flauter, more like Bloomdido Bad De Grass Malherbe), their sound approaches a Floyd-ish (circa Saucerful or live Ummagumma), a calmer Guru Guru (UFO and Hinten) and early Gong (Continental Circus OST), even if vocally they might have been stronger (but as I warned above, recording vocals in a different studio than the music, probably caused difficulties). But Ame Son managed to remain accessible by never over-stretching their talents or their improvisations. In many ways, Catalyse reminds me of Dashiell Hedayatt’s jaw-dropping Obsolete (which is also Gong-related) with their raw hippy dreamy rock. Most of their tracks (none shorter than six minutes) are subdivided into sections of which Coeur Fou and Reborn This Morning are the highlights, but there are some real flaws: Coup De H/Sable Mouvants is not only slightly weaker, but definitely not well recorded. Two bonus tracks from a single are added on the Spalax Cd reissue, and they are fairly well in the spirit of the album (even if shorter), but a good remastering job is more than needed for that single and the full album.

After touring extensively France for two years, the group split up in mid-71, after some recording sessions to reform in 73 with a different line-up and made recordings, which also did not materialize, in a second album. AS’s only album is one of those French pearl that qualifies as psych proto-prog and is very much recommended to anyone into Gong, Daevid or early Softs and untamed Floyd. For my part, I find this album stunning and in my French top 20 - Zeuhl notwithstanding. 
Posted Monday, April 09, 2007, 09:16 EST | Permanent link
Guests Reviews

AME SON — Catalyse
Review by Doobie (Daniel Vallejo) 
 this is another great find, the lyrics are simple and, well the ones you can undersand because the rest are in french, very well placed with in the musical composition. the full albums follows the same "ring" that could be perceived from the fist couple of tracks, the play between the guitar and the flute, what was not mentioned above was the very well defined very well played set of drums, wich is a definite point of setting the spacey, raunchy mood for the whole album, specially in tracks like "Coeur foue....". this albums is very free and fluid and I would amply recomend it. 
Posted Thursday, August 24, 2006, 02:12 EST | Permanent link

Track Listings
1. Seventh Time key/ I just want to say (6:14)
2. Eclosion/ Marie aux quatre vents (6:58)
3.Coeur fou/Le globule/ Le mal sonne (8:49)
4. Reborn this morning on the way of.../Unity (6:15)
5. A coup de H/Les sables mouvent (6:56)
6. Hein, quant à toi/Comme est morte l'évocation/Hommage (6:42)
7. Je veux juste dire (2:52)
8. Unity (3:56)

Total Time: 78:12

Line-up/Musicians
- Bernard Lavialle / guitar
- Patrick Fontaine / bass guitar
- Marc Blanc / voice, drums
- Francois Garrel / voice, flute

Releases information
LP Metronome 15373 (1970)
CD Spalax

 http://gnosis2000.net/reviews/ameson.htm