Ibliss - German jazzrock for the Archives

HI PROG FRIENDS, THIS IS CÉSAR INCA.

 

The band I’d like to talk about now is IBLISS, a short-living band from Germany that released one album titled “Supernova”, very much in the ethnic side of krautrock. Major references are early AMON DÜÜL II, YATHA SIDHRA, GILA and early EMBRYO. So here you are, a German band with lots of ethnic fusion and jazz-rock elements, yet remaining very bound to that particular German kind of psychedelia. Clearly this is more fusion than krautrock, but the krautrock element is still there, so don’t expect something as refined as WEATHER REPORT, it’s more on the rough side of experimental jazz-rock. Oh!! I forgot to tell you than an early Kraftwerk member ended up playing in this band.

 

Here’s a link for band info and download: http://sometimeworld.blogspot.com/2008/03/ibliss-supernova-1972-192k.html (hopefully, the links are still active).  

 

Other links about IBLISS and their sole album: http://www.discogs.com/release/710561, http://tmachine.chat.ru/germ/I1.htm

 

And of course, the Babybalue review: http://www.babyblaue-seiten.de/index.php?albumId=7747&left=genre&genre=18&content=review  

 

 

   Kind regards.

   Special regards to jazz-rock/fusion team members.

better suggest it for Kraut. I'm sure Philippe already knows this, and would vote yes. Like you said, it is incomprehensible why they still aren't in.

P.S. The "early Kraftwerk member" Cesar told about actually played in Organisation, proto-Kraftwerk band (which is already in the archives, within Kraftwerk's discography I assume). That said, Ibliss' sole album also has the same characteristics of the earlier Organisaiton album, experimental flute playing etc.

Sorry for the very late reply; actually I composed the message below last week (2 days after Cesar's last post), but I felt it wasn't complete enough; however, apparently I won't have the time & peace of mind to perfect it, so let me post it as it is...
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Let's agree to differ here

1- First, I'm happy that we at least agree on the fact that Ibliss should be included in the archives (regardless of the genre)

2- I'll be insistent on Krautrock, without any claim whatsoever to be an expert of either genre... Philippe is the ultimate authority on Krautrock in progarchives, and there's a competent Jazz-Rock team; I'll be the last person to say any decisive word on Jazz rock, though I have a bunch of German and non-German jazz-rock favorites... (German ones are mostly filed under "Kraut-Jazz" in my hard drive )
I rest my case upon two distinctive features of the band in question:
- Kraftwerk-Organisation connection; though the former moved on to progressive electronics, bringing the latter with itself, Organisation was surely a psychedelic/experimental band, reflecting a sort of "proto-kraut" style.
- I won't deny the jazzy tunes in Ibliss's Supernova, but I hear more to that. A very prominent organ, and experimental flute playing, not unlike that of the very Kraftwerk's records released that year and a year before... In fact, had they not been German, I could have voted yes for their inclusion in psych-space... (most German psyche bands have more to experimentation than mainstream psych-space; so they end up in Kraut. those which do not, like Eloy and Streetmark, showcase a distinct "British" sound, unlike many of their contemporaries...)

3- It should be noted that almost every single person related to psychedelic & experimental music has their own definition of Krautrock! In general, you see every single German rock (in some cases, even Jazz) band dumped in the general Krautrock basket, even the aforementioned Eloy, Streetmark, and obvious Jazz-fusion bands such as Out of Focus, Missus Beastly, Exmagma etc. (I'll come to Embryo example specifically later) Progarchives accepts a view defined and described by Philppe, and it is consistent within itself. I'm very curious to hear what he has to say in this regard.

4- re: the bands mentioned:
Embryo is rightfully kept in fusion, because of their bulk of work in their entire career; in fact, starting right after their first album. Opal is a psychedelic masterpiece, having little (if any) jazz influence, which might have justified Embryo's inclusion in Kraut in progarchives sense... However, increasing jazzy sound in each album, reaching to a full extent by their fourth, make Embryo essentially a fusion band. Not to mention their "world-fusion" approach since late '70's. If they only released the early '70's albums, they could have been included in kraut, or, discussed because of the jazz factor in some albums (Father, Son..., We Keep on, Rocksession...)

Nosferatu is a tricky one for me, because the first time I heard them they sounded an obvious heavy prog band to me... A second listen revealed some of the jazzy aspects (saxophone etc.), but the sound still seems too heavy to be jazz-fusion to me... it is possibly this eclectic style (plus, their nationality) which made Philippe tag them as krautrock. I'll be eager to hear his opinion on this, too...

Lastly (5), I'd like to mention other tricky bands which are -righteously- included in krautrock:
Guru Guru: this band started out as a freak-out trippy (heavy) psych band, which makes kraut tagging an essentiality. However, you can see their sound turning into a kraut-jazz style starting from mid-'70's. Based on a couple of albums (Tango Fango, Mani und Seine Freunde, Live 1978) Jazz-Rock would not be an awkward place for them! Yet, considering their entire output, and never leaving aside their tripped-out roots (Electrolurch and LSD march popping out every now and then!), krautrock still counts.
Electric Sandwich: single album, yet, multiple genres... some heaviness, slightly psychedelic, and the saxophone is certainly jazzy. This album may be the "representative" Kraut-Jazz album for me, standing right in the middle of the two subgenres. However, Philippe opted for Kraut (maybe because he was entitled to add the band from his territory ) and that seems a valid solution to me!
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just my 2 cents!

thanks for not just backing me up, but providing more insight into the issue... apparently you agree having Ibliss into Krautrock; since we have little (if any) possibility to include them in Canterbury list (besides, the word "cosmic" appears three times in your post, always in an affirmative sense )

I may help you with the bio if needed; but first I must replenish the "You" bio, which seems to be added by me! (it's a shame for me not having a bio of a band proposed & co-added by myself! Besides, this is one of the few chances which I may leave my print in the glorious prog-electronic subgenre )

next, I'll bring together my ideas about this "kraut-jazz" thing these days... there are more than those I mentioned in JRF/C thread, notably Exmagma, Xhol, Out of Focus (superb!)... I leave it to the respective team thread(s)...