Picture an album with the most perfect balance between upbeat, classical, folk, and liquid, vaporous, dark, intriguing, romantic atmospheres. This album is nearly entirely instrumental, with the absolutely surreal layers of sound speaking enough. Ever-evolving, never repetitive, always nostalgic, narcotic, cosmic, and full of a magical spice. Now picture you are one of the few people who know this genius album. You would not be in a much different situation than I am when considering French-Canadian Conventum’s magnum opus, Le Bureau Central Des Utopies.

This album, as I see it, is a canvas on which to paint your thinking. It is one of the most thought-provoking, genuinely atmospheric series of sounds I've ever experienced. The vast majority of the tracks contain no singing, but eerie, captivating, intriguing, (chiefly) acoustic gripping instrumentals. With some electric guitar reminiscent of Larks’ Tongues era Fripp or Tales from Topographic Oceans era Steve Howe on tracks such as Choreographie Lunaire, this musical creation is perfected. Throughout the somber tracks is a spacey, sedating, in short, psychedelic feel. The sound quality is not perfect, but the infinitely captivating playing more than makes up for it: great violin, haunting flute, and lush bass.

As I mentioned, some tracks are more upbeat and nearer to standard folk, such as Le Reel Des Elections and La Belle Apparence, which do not feature the Frippian guitar or the sinister and/or melancholic atmosphere that the others generate. Though these songs are still very good, and are greatly unalike anything else I’ve heard, they don't approach the profundity, the uniqueness, or magic as other solemn tracks, such as Fondation, Trois Petit Pas, and the phenomenal bonus track Le Commerce Nostalgique (which is dominated by evolving symphonic flutes). Speaking of bonus tracks, Le Pays Du Bruits is a hilarious, interesting theatrical live performance. Unfortunately, the majority of the song is vocals, and unless you speak (or at least understand) French, this song will do nothing for you (which is a shame, because it's really entertaining.) Le Bureau is undoubtedly a great piece of prog folk greatly under-appreciated.

I'll go with some 2007 songs/tracks:

 

Tango Mango in the s/t album of Senogul

Into The Deep from Grayceon's s/t album

Goodbye City Life from Deadsoul Tribe's album, Lullabye for the Devil

In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster from Shining's album Grindstone

I början och slutet by TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET from the album with the same name

The Tomb Song from The Pax Cecilia's album, Blessed Are The Bonds

Roulette from Beardfish's album, Sleeping In Traffic I

Flora/Fauna from the album Symetria by Hidria Spacefolk

Prima - Blessed Paul's Phantoms from the album Rokus Tonalis by Aviva

Microdeath Softstar by Phideaux from the album Doomsday Afternoon

 

That's all I remember for now... If I'll remember more, I'll post them.

 

 

 

The Edgar Broughton Band's self titled 3rd album (aka as the meat album).  I would think they are the most glaring ommission from the prog archive. The opening track, Evening Over Rooftops, is one of the forgotten peaks of the genre.

 

Roy Harper - McGoohan's Blues from Foljokeopus.  15 minutes of acoustic guitar and paranoid vocals with a rousing and prolonged finale.

 

Capability Brown - both albums (From Scratch and Voice) are high quality.  With tight and complex arrangements and vocal harmonies.

 

Keith Christmas - Pygmy. Ultra-beautiful folk songs on side one and extended, complex songs with a heavy backing on side two.

 

East of Eden - Mercator Projected. Quirky and experimental but also accessible.

 

Quintessence - Self. This is the best religious based album i've heard with lots of  virtuoso guitar.

 

Blodwyn Pig are well known by name but i think largely unheard.  Their two albums are seriousy good in every department. "San Fransisco Sketches" on "Getting To This" is Jazz rock at its very best..

 

Brinsley Schwarz's first (self titled) album.  The last track in particular is a classic heavy rock track . 10 minutes of keyboard driven goose bumps.

 

CMU - Space Cabaret - no more than average except "A distant thought, a point of light" which sounds like top quality VDGG

 

Fruupp - Future Legends.  A concept album with strong melodic themes and complicated arrangements in all the tracks.

 

New Trolls - UT.  Beautifully arranged Italian songs with a unique blend of crooning vocals and heavy rock instrumentation.

 

Sebastian Hardie - Four Moments.  A rare Australian contribution to the genre.  Extended pieces with lots of intricate guitar arrangements.

 

 

 

 

Celeste - the whole album

Oaksenham - The Way Back Home

Areknames - La Chambre

Bubu - El Viaje de Anabelas

Beardfish - Sunrise

Ubi Maior - the whole album