ZEUHL

Its somewhat disjointed - I found it very difficult to work out where a track ended and another started as the instrumental styles change suddenly mid-track - given there are almost 20 musicians (mostly strings and percussion) there's a lot of people to give their time to shine. As well as some jarring passages there are moments of real beauty though, and it is worth listening to twice. Such is the variety, I don't feel like I can pick out anything specifically as everyone's listen would be different. That does mean I'd never be willing to listen to the album in its entirety. It's certainly not poor, but definitely only one for collectors.

Bondage Fruit's debut album is certainly Zeuhl, at the very least the vocals give it away. While not as dark and totalitarian as peak Magma, it has its brooding moments while being relatively accessible.

Holy Roller is a great opener, very tribal sounding thanks to the percussion. Operatic vocals on Arabia No Zou mix with some scatting and a simple but great guitar riff in what's a bit like a post-punk take on Zeuhl.

Kodomo No Torokko is a masterpiece. A variety of instruments across the track mean it seems to go on a global tour of styles without settling on one for too long. The fast percussion, the violin work, vocal harmonies.

Rigo is a bit of cartoonish filler of scatty vocals and percussion before the guitars explode back into the scene in Octopus- Command alongside fantastic bass and drums. The start of this track is a couple of minutes of fantastic head bopping material! Everything then drops away for a slow, deep toned bass solo before things are turned up to eleven again, all the instruments return, the vocals get extremely manic and the guitars are distorted. A brief xylophone interlude just about gets the heart rate down before a final rock head banger to the end.

Hiko Suru Ko is a return to the tribal sounds of Holy Roller, with the vocals also helping to create the atmosphere of an African tribal song. Kaku No Sakana is a surprisingly lilting acoustic guitar track with incidental noise and violin added. Its a slow burner, perhaps a bit too long, but a nice change of pace. If its caused you to drift of to sleep, prepare for a big jolt though as Kinzoku No Taiji starts with a big bang, perhaps the most manic and Ruins-like track on the album with some parts losing melody entirely and becoming a wall of noise. TRex is then mostly a showcase of drumming, with a lot of electronic distorted noise and a build up to a crescendo and a final, sudden stop.

A very strong debut!

Rhùn manages to thread that needle pretty well. Their 2013 debut, Fanfare du chaos, is a decent zeuhl record. It is very Magmatic, sometimes too much so. The band shows a lot of creativity on it, even if they do occasionally wander into some overly-well-trod zeuhl tropes. Tozïh, their ten-years-in-the-making sophomore release, shows some clear improvement over its predecessor. The astral, jazzy weirdness of Magma is still front-and-center, but they've managed to make this record sound more their own.

The album opens with "Ehmët Um Rhët Sam", a 21-minute suite that occupies the entirety of side A. It starts with a long, slow fade-in of chimes, guitar noodling, and light percussion. This eventually coalesces into a slow-moving, jazz-flavored line featuring prominent saxophone and some squealing bowed string instrument. 

When the vocals finally come in, the verse has an unhurried feel, but there's also a sense of drama. I really like the bass playing in this section: whole chords are strummed, giving an immense weight. It's followed by a passage that's perhaps a bit too evocative of moments in "Theusz Hamtaahk", but it interpolates with other, more original musical ideas. That "weightier" theme serves as something of an anchor point, which the band returns to repeatedly, lending a lot of cohesion to this epic.

"Sédalg Rhëvé (incl.Ygahpoporhtna Lrig)" opens much more immediately, with a weirdly peppy chant. This track's first half is consistently energetic, with glimmering electric piano and warm, reedy saxophone taking the lead for much of its 11-minute runtime. There's a strange, extended section of what at points can sound like aimless noodling, but the musicians are skilled enough to keep even this oddball passage interesting. Near the midpoint, things slow down, and there's a more ritualistic feel to everything. While distinct from passages in the opening track, there are certain echoes.

Tozïh closes on "Eripme Cirtcele". It's got a jagged main riff where bass, keys, and sax all get equal prominence, and it feels like a more muscular, darker version of a riff I might have heard on Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré. There's a sense of lurking, foreboding doom on this track, and it's a fantastic way to end the album.

Rhùn's sophomore album, though a long time coming, was worth the wait. It's a strong piece of zeuhl that nods toward the genre's past while remaining firmly rooted in more modern sounds and production.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2023/07/31/album-review-rhun-tozih/

Ten years is a long time and it's no surprise that TOZÏH features a completely different cast of members with not one returning except the good Captain himself that is. If you're looking for the real zeuhl deal in the vein of the more experimental section of the zeuhl supermarket then you can't go wrong with this fine 21st century release. TOZÏH only three tracks that slink over the 38-minute mark. The opening "Ehmët Um Rhët Sam" wastes no time going for the prog jugular with its 21 1/2 playing time. The second track "Sédalg Rhëvé (incl. Ygahpoporhtna Lrig)" follows with an 11 1/2 minute playing time leaving only the shorter 5 minute "Eripme Cirtcele" to close the album as a sort of outro piece.

This Captain really knows how to steer his vessel into the tumultuous zeuhl seas and directs his crew to crank out some seriously tasty chops that are based off the classic Magma sound (think "Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh" era) and then add heavy doses of psychedelia, jazz and proggier than usual for zeuhl time signature outbursts. The result is a very satisfying album that offers enough of the traditional touches to keep it firmly planted in zeuhl territory while taking bold measures to add unexpected twists and turns that break the hypnotic spell that this style of music excels at. The term playful has been applied to this band and that's actually a fitting description as the Captain loves to throw a wild zeuhl party, one where all the attendees are having the time fo their life.

The band pays homage to the great Magma with Kobaïan script and greater than average drumming prowess in the zeuhl context however RHÙN takes liberties Magma would never even consider making this band sound like a Magma cover band gone rogue by joining a jazz-fusion band and then taking many psychedelic detours. The variations in rhythmic drive and stylistic approaches too often deviate from the Magma playbook. While vocals are a vital aspect of RHÙN's style, there are not lush choirs to be heard here but harmonic counterpoints do grace the album's flow and the eccentric singing style of Ludal Le Chacal more than makes up for any of that. Overall this is a very satisfying zeuhl release and one of the best i've heard in a while but of course this is a style of music that only seems to attract the seasoned pros who are capable of breathing new life into it.

This has been a band who have intrigued me more than anything I suppose hearing them first back in 2007 with "Andromeda" and liking how they blended that gothic vibe with Zeuhl and Italian vocals. Abrasive guitar and keyboards, a metallic element for sure made them sound quite unique.

I have always had this question mark about them though just feeling something was "off" about the music but of the four records I own by them this is the one that stands out as my favourite. There's a psychedelic component to this one with the soundscape music and repetitive grooves and sounds. This has a lot of sampled mellotron on it and man this music is dense at times. A long one too at almost 70 minutes with only four tracks.

There's a fair amount of sampled instruments on here as well and I like the space that we get on this one instead of feeling like it's a chore to get through that dense sound for over an hour. A lot less Zeuhl on this record as well as those Blasquiz-like vocals from "Andromeda" are gone and while we don't get a lot of lyrics we do get plenty of vocal melodies and the vocals we do get they change them up enough to again make this an interesting listen. I like this one!

This album though.... what's the point. I'm sure everyone who's reviewed it has had to pad out what they right in order to meet the minimum word count (as I've just done here) because there's absolutely nothing going on. It's as if each instrument is being played in a different room without being able to hear the other. It's like someone has thrown a drum kit down a huge flight of stairs, and then let any child who has done Grade 1 in music have free reign on their instrument of choice.

At best its a 70 minute tune-up. At worst its a pointless collection of noise. It's not Zeuhl, its not ambient, its not industrial. The tracks have even been made more boring by just numbering them, and the album cover is just blank.

Testament to what exactly?

Perhaps its just one big joke, seeing how much money they could make out of absolutely nothing.