Tago Mago for Krautrock
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Suggest New Bands and Artists
Forum Description: Suggest, create polls, and classify new bands you would like included on Prog Archives
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=135011
Printed Date: July 23 2025 at 10:11
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Tago Mago for Krautrock
Posted By: Gordy
Subject: Tago Mago for Krautrock
Date Posted: June 01 2025 at 16:04
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Tago Mago are the guitar-free French neo-krautrock band of keyboardist Joris Prigent (of Nebia and Nombre Z) and self-taught percussionist Léo Leroux (of Initials Bouvier Bernois and formerly the Madcaps). The Rennes duo began playing together in 2018 after meeting at improvisation workshops in which musicians intuitively followed the movements of guided dancers, with Prigent and Leroux additionally bonding over their love of jazz. The pair's groovy psychedelic flow is inspired not just by krautrock greats Can, Kraftwerk and Neu! but also French and American hip-hop (especially A Tribe Called Quest), hard bop artists Elvin Jones and Art Blakey, and jazz-rock like Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt and the Canterbury Scene. Both musicians handle vocals and keyboards, with Leroux known for juggling the latter in tandem with drums at live shows. The band self-released their debut album, Traversée sauvage, on CD, vinyl and Bandcamp in early 2023. Tago Mago are stylistically similar to K-X-P, Weite, Ashinoa, Ex Canix and Zombie Zombie.  "Traversée Sauvage" (2023) https://tagomago.bandcamp.com/album/travers-e-sauvage" rel="nofollow - https://tagomago.bandcamp.com/album/travers-e-sauvage |
Replies:
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: June 02 2025 at 03:41
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Sorry for leaving a bit of a dork/negative nothing-comment here... but you really shouldn't start a Krautrock band and name yourself Tago Mago (or Tago Maga, which I first wrote by mistake:). It's just so lazy that it's off-putting. Like "we're In the Court of the Crimson King - and we play classic Prog Rock, yeah!". Try harder, please:( Admin can remove it, if they want. |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: June 02 2025 at 05:44
I thought the same, but then again, there's a neo-prog band called Foxtrot and a few bands called Relayer. 
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Saperlipopette! wrote:Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: June 02 2025 at 06:44
As somebody who always had difficulties naming instrumental tracks and even projects I can identify with them being lazy here. I mean you're not wrong just regarding the name, but an attitude like "it's the music that counts and oh sh** we still need a name so let's take the first damn thing that comes to mind no matter what" can be a winner!  ------------- I make typos so you see I'm not a machine, but I may be a machine pretending to not be a machine. |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: June 02 2025 at 07:17
| ^Really Tago Mago? I would at least gone through some tracklists and landed on something like Graublau or Millionspiel instead. Then you might get the positive bonus of fans recognizing it, and going like "yeah that's taken from "The Can Tapes". Instantly a lot cooler. |
Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: June 02 2025 at 08:37
It's the kind of band name that a tribute artist might use. Not a fan of it, but whatever. I was laughing the other day after seeing an ad for Elton Rohn who is playing here locally. ------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: June 05 2025 at 00:23
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I felt bad about making this whole suggestion into sh*tting on their band name, so I actually took the time to listen to their album. It's good stuff, solid and certainly "PA worthy" material. But band name aside I don't think this brand new French duo share enough common ground with "classic", German Krautrock. I certainly hear the influence, but find their music a little too straightforward and planned out - like many of their contemporaries. Not meant as a critique. Simply an observation. It's never really out there, improvised and loose. At least it doesn't feel that way to me. It's not like I would oppose a Krautrock-inclusion. I mean Trees Speak are there, and I could have said the same thing about them. I'm still a fan of the latter band's music though. Sonically and stylistically I think Tago Mago are a better fit in "regular" Psychedelic/Space Rock. Krautrock is also partly geographical. If Älgarnas Trädgård were a German band, they would have been placed in Krautrock by default. -and btw, I wrote one "song title suggestion" wrong, it's Millionenspiel:) |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: June 05 2025 at 09:42
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Hi, I don't have a decision on this, though I find that the original had a lot more free form stuff, at least in the 2 long pieces, and in some ways, while listening to this one, I think it is not as free form as we think and them sticking to the drums a bit too much for my taste, kinda takes it away from the "krautrock" thing, though there is plenty of drums in the original as well, however, I do not recall hearing Jaki play to a "beat" other than the stuff that became a song, like "Mushroom", but, other than that, my comment seems petty and unclear, and I might like to hear more of their stuff before making up my mind. I do agree with Saper's recommendation as to where this fits better. It is a good listen, not great in my estimation as it doesn't blow your socks off, like the original did. However, that might be because we have heard a lot during the last 50 years, and being able to agree on the idea of it fitting or not, takes another thought or two. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: June 07 2025 at 10:35
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I had a listen; enjoyed it. I think it could be in Psych or Krautrock, but music-alone (not band name) I feel it works better for Psych. ------------- Watching while most appreciating a sunset in the moment need not diminish all the glorious sunsets I have observed before. It can be much like that with music for me. |
Posted By: Gordy
Date Posted: June 07 2025 at 13:09
| I appreciate the spirited discussion! I'm down to change their subgenre to Psych/Space once they're approved. |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: June 25 2025 at 03:31
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I can't vote yet, but Kaptain Kurk by Tago Mago sounds more Zeuhl than Kraut to me. Dark and repetitive. It reminds me to Xing Sa. ------------- I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: July 13 2025 at 03:47
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Currently is a Move to zeuhl, but if there's a majority for the YES I can change my vote ------------- I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution |
Posted By: Gordy
Date Posted: July 14 2025 at 16:21
| https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=13002" rel="nofollow - Tago Mago added (the team ultimately settled on Krautrock after all) |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: July 15 2025 at 09:30
Hi, While I'm glad to see these folks added to the bunch, I'm disappointed in that it is added to the "krautrock" thing, which simply shows how much disconnect is made by the definition of the term, and how folks being added today, can do a 5 minute improvisation, instead of a riff song, and they get added just because ... the idea and definition of "krautrock" is not understood or appreciated. I'll still welcome their entry and work, but I think that it is not well represented and in the future it will likely change away from "krautrock" altogether and more to something that has some guided elements for an improvisation, but lacks the free spirit that drove the originals more than 55 years ago. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: July 15 2025 at 11:59
| ^ Yes. I don't understand how they came to the concusion that Krautrock was the best fit when Psychedelic/Space Rock is an actual option. But life goes on, and I've forgotten all about it tomorrow - or in an hour. |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: July 15 2025 at 18:03
Hi, I'm not some kind of moralist at all ... and sometimes, what is not right needs to be cleaned up or remedied in my book. Sometimes, the more we leave it behind and alone, the more the dis-ease fosters, and eventually destroys the whole thing. I, honestly, do not wish to see the "progressive" thing left behind, because of ideological thoughts that have nothing to do with the original. But, as you say, tomorrow, I'll forget this, and go worry about the music that gets ignored along the way as even greater representatives of the real thing. Just weird for me, with 55 years of Progressive Music, and how it came to be from the Art Rock thing, and how much it grew so fast, along with a movement that also included many other arts ... something too many rockers continually ignore, in my book. It was not a Variety listing at all ... and it finally broke through, but what it was, and MEANT, has long been forgotten and left behind ... I can't help thinking how much we love the incomplete, and cardboard version of history during our time ... and it was the same media that still trashes a lot of that time period, specially in America! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |