ProgQuébec
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=105744
Printed Date: April 28 2024 at 13:43
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: ProgQuébec
Posted By: FragileKings
Subject: ProgQuébec
Date Posted: February 03 2016 at 18:45
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I've just recently become aware of the rich vein of progressive rock coming out of Québec in the 1970's. Harmonium is the most well-known but there were dozens of bands during the peak years of seventies prog. I've been using the site progquebec.com to check out bands. http://www.progquebec.com/artistlist.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.progquebec.com/artistlist.html CDs can be tracked down at http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Departments/Featured-Labels/ProgQuebec.aspx So far I've been able to find the albums at Amazon too, though. ProgQuébec has been reissuing these old recordings in the very recent past and so far most of the albums sound surprisingly good. I have albums by Harmonium, Et Cetera, Morse Code, Vos Voisins, and Pollen and Offenbach and Sloche are on order. I'm looking at a couple more bands as well. Though said to be highly influenced by British prog, I often feel there are strong similarities to RPI. Most of these bands remain obscure because of the French lyrics. It was difficult for them to break outside of French Canada. A lot of excellent material. Highly recommended for expanding any seventies prog collection! ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Replies:
Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: February 03 2016 at 20:12
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Yeah, they are doing a great job. A bit pricey but worth every penny as far as I am concerned. Don't forget to check out Maneige and Excubus. ------------- |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 03 2016 at 21:27
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Excubus is next. Maneige I find is a bit outside of my taste. Thanks for the comment, Barbu. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: February 03 2016 at 23:35
| My favourite is Dionne - Brégent. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: February 03 2016 at 23:50
| If you like the prog folk, then try Garolou. They were Quebec's answer to Steeleye Span or Horslips |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: February 03 2016 at 23:52
| It wasn't just the local artists that became bigger in Quebec than anywhere else. Artists like GENESIS, SUPERTRAMP, and CHRIS DE BERG broke early in Quebec, years before anywhere else, and others like STRAWBS were more popular in Quebec than anywhere else. They even had cults for obscure artists like SHAWN PHILIPS, a Texan largely shunned in his homeland |
Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 00:55
| L'Orchestre Sympathique and Conventum are both excellent, among those not mentioned so far. |
Posted By: Kotro
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 05:11
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Love the Quebéc scene and the work ProgQuebec has been doing reissuing some. Hope they do June Wallack soon.
------------- Bigger on the inside. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 05:53
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Noted, Logan. I'll try to find them on YouTube and give them a listen. Thanks! ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 05:55
I will certainly give them a listen. A lot of bands are on the heavy guitar Hammond organ side so something gentler would give balance. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
kenethlevine wrote:Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 05:58
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Keneth, that's how I started to find out about the Prog Québec scene. I found an article about how big prog was in that province. Some bands were mentioned and I looked further and found this whole treasure trove of prog. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 06:01
I was looking for Conventum on YouTube. And Contraction too. I'll look into L'Orchestre Sympathique. Thanks for the suggestions. I spent the first four years of my life ('71 to '75) in Montreal so I'm interested in what was happening in the local music scene at the time. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 06:04
I've read so many RPI reviews on PA. I'm glad to see there's an interest in French Canadian prog too. Yes, I'm glad to discover ProgQuebec is a recent phenomenon so new releases are still coming. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: TeleStrat
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 07:24
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I have had "J'un Oeil" by Sloche on original vinyl since the seventies but I wasn't aware of "Stadacone" until I found it on CD last year. I recommend both.
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Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 07:54
I love those albums, so much exuberance, invention and sheer sense of fun about them. You can just tell they were having a blast. I wish they had done more. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 08:18
I have J'un Oiel on order and will be listening to it in a week or so. If I like it, I may just track down the other album. Thanks for the input! ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 14:24
Cool. If you have a link to that article please share it! There was a brief period back in the day when I clipped articles from the Montreal papers. One was called "Quebec: Vive le British cosmic rock" that offered theories why this style was so popular there. I won't be back home till March but I will try to scan it and post it. Sadly, the stations that used to promote prog became more mainstream near the end of the 70s and abandoned a lot of their bands, while similar stations in Ottawa and Toronto continued to give prog its due throughout the darkest days. Thanks to prog quebec, it's good to see the scene in the province revived
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Posted By: TeleStrat
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 14:36
It would have been great if they had put out one or two more albums.
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Posted By: TeleStrat
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 14:38
Enjoy listening to it when it arrives. If you decide to try Stadacone I'm sure it's still available on CD.
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Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 15:56
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Keneth, it was an article on the Net. Here it is plus one more I found. http://www.alanrhodes.com/journals/appendix1.html" rel="nofollow - Alan Rhodes http://www.canada.com/mobile/iphone/story.html?id=58bbfc0a-f005-4286-a189-ee9f68a5395f" rel="nofollow - canada.com ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 18:04
cool! It mentioned Shawn Phillips as well! it also quotes Juan Rodriguez who was one of the authors of the 1975 article I clipped, and the mention of the organ dominated sounds resonating with people who spent their youth in the Catholic church. Thanks for posting!
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: February 04 2016 at 20:54
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of course, this is my favorite quote 3. Supertramp. Some would quibble with the inclusion of this British pop outfit in the progressive category, but the band was an essential ingredient of the city's arty musical landscape in the late '70's. The songs have not aged well, though, and no one should have to hear Dreamer ever again. yeah
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Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 03:57
I'm maybe pessimistic, but Stephen Takashi has more or less given up hope to release more prog gems from La Belle Province, given the context of diminishing sales He's reconverted in organizing prog concerts
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Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 04:40
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I take back what I said about Maneige. I just ordered "Ni Vent Ni Nouvelle". ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 04:44
I only know Harmonium and Miriodor 
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Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 04:45
I have avoided Supertramp all these years exactly because of Dreamer. But I did always like The Logical Song. Recently I started reading PA reviews of Supertramp and I've decided at last to give them a chance later this year. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 04:47
That would be a shame. Then I'm glad I caught on in time to order at least some of the old gems before they become high-priced rarities. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 04:48
Then now's a great time to check out some other great music while it's still available, Meltdowner. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 04:53
| ^ It's a really big list. What do you recommend? |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 05:10
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That depends on your taste. I like the prog ROCK (distorted guitars, Hammond organ) of Morse Code. Vos Voisins, Offenbach, and Pollen also rock out often enough but keep some piano and acoustic handy. Et Cetera is said the be the French Canadian incarnation of Gentle Giant. Octobre and Maneige are more jazzy and instrumental. L'Orchestre Sympathique is experimental and a bit over my head. Early Dionysos more psychedelic. Conventum very acoustic with violin. Contraction maybe like Maneige and Octobre but with vocals I think. Beau Dommage and Garolou are more song oriented and have some nice melodies but strike me as less proggy, based on what I've heard. That's as far as I've come so far. You can find all these bands on YouTube. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: Kotro
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 05:20
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Maneige's song Les Porches de Notre Dame is maybe the most beautiful thing ever put on record.
------------- Bigger on the inside. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 05:29
Argh! So now I need to look deeper into this one, too? Finding a rich vein of music is expensive. But I will listen! Thank you! ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 05:36
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm listening to Morse Code's "La Marche Des Hommes" right now. Great music so far  I'll check Maneige next, I can't ignore that comment 
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Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 06:04
Cool. I hope you find something you really like, Meltdowner. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 06:47
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Miriodor. Enough said. One of the few Avant bands that appeal to more "conservative" prog fans, and one of the best live outfits I've had the pleasure to see (twice). Moreover, a great bunch of guys, very friendly and very dedicated to their music. In my view, Avanti! (2009) is one of the top 10 albums released since the beginning of the 21st century. |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 06:52
I wouldn't call Octobre instrumental... Pierre Flynn's vocals are all over the place. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 07:04
I've probably got the confused with Contraction or somebody else. I've checked out nearly a dozen bands in two days. Thanks for the clarification! ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 07:05
ProgQuebec says great things about them, too. Now my curiosity is piqued. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: Sagichim
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 07:30
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I love the Quebec prog scene and love all the bands you guys mentioned. I don't want to repeat bands that were already mentioned so I'll just add a few that weren't talked about. Pangee - Instrumental prog one shot from 95', this is great stuff very Crimson influenced. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_zNhEW_Ra4" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_zNhEW_Ra4 The Box - They've been around since the 80's but you should really check their latest 2009 D'Apres Le Horla De Maupassant album, beautiful beautiful Crossover prog, not poppy at all and quite unique IMO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG7SAg7my2w" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG7SAg7my2w Michel Madore - This is a great addition to your collection if like your prog on the psychedelic side. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMnA_1jYPCU" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMnA_1jYPCU
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 08:39
yes, the album "Les Porches" is a must
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Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 09:00
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I have missed a lot and focused only on the letter H: Harmonium, Hamadryad and Huis, of which only the first one has lyrics in French. ------------- 
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Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 09:40
and Libre-Service is even better! ------------- |
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 10:25
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Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 12:07
It's really good, but to my ears the first album is even better. It's generally a little more classical and avant-biased whereas Porches has more rock, so a matter of taste really. Le Rafiot, the epic on that one, is something totally unique though - and worth hearing for everyone. I'd recommend all the first three Maneige albums without reservation and Libre Service with some reservations. If you just can't stand that "eighties" approach to production you may have a problem with it.
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Posted By: backtothegarden
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 14:28
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I know this thread is focused on 70s prog, but there's a currently active prog band from Quebec called Inner Odyssey that's well worth a listen: |
Posted By: rdtprog
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 14:49
This is a good representation of the new wave of progressive bands from Québec. In the 70's we had more avant-garde, jazz, folk and symphonic, as today, we have more new bands playing Progressive Metal.
------------- Music is the refuge of souls ulcerated by happiness. Emile M. Cioran |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 14:51
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Being off-topic, but at the 5 minute mark that "Retrospection" piece is really reminiscent to me of Aranis' "Mythra". |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 16:02
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Sagichim, thank you for the links. Looks like the seventies were just the beginning. There's music to explore beyond the classic years. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 16:08
It looks like I'll really have to give Maneige a second chance. But now I have the one album ordered. I'll have to wait before getting the other two. In the meantime I'll check them out on YouTube. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |
Posted By: FragileKings
Date Posted: February 05 2016 at 16:46
Thanks for the video, backtothegarden. I like the studio work look. They're quite young and play really well. The only Québec band I knew before was Voivod, though recently I've been checking out Gorguts. ------------- I used to be a fan of particular bands like Rush, Yes, and Deep Purple. Now I travel the Proglands, exploring a little bit of everything. I have become a Prog Voyager. |