GUILLAUME PERRET & THE ELECTRIC EPIC

Before I leave France behind for the yellow brown soil of Italy, I suddenly realize that I haven't made any mention of the modern French music scene. So as a result of this, I think it fair to talk a little of what I personally consider to be one of the most shining beacons of the current scene - as well as finishing off the French trek of my world-wide road trip with my all-time fave French prog album(No I'm not telling yet, I have bunnies in the oven).

Guillaume Perret & The Electric Epic is one of the most interesting names who's merged the wild and frivolous nature of the early fusion scene with modern avant shadings as well as a big scoop of Zeuhl teutonics. With raw hard hitting guitar riffs, screaming saxophone licks and double pedal rumbles coming from underneath the soles of drummer extraordinaire Yoann Serra's feet, you too sense a familiarity about the hard edges of the music - the big swooping gulps of metallic counter-pointing.

As many probably will have picked up by now, it is indeed King Crimson and especially the latter day projects with their huge heavy rocking clashes, that I am referring to here. Of course the French aren't new to picking up the sweet nectar of Monsieur Fripp - as first with Richard Pinhas and later on with the likes of the Maurin brothers' bands NIL, Thork and Syrinx as well as Nebelnest and One Shot, but with Perret the focus is mainly kept on the surreal and quite yearning qualities of the saxophone. On this selftitled debut this rather charming facet to the music starts out in the presence of industrial uncouth guitar riffs, that wouldn't feel out of place on a Neurosis album. Together with the big steel boots drumming, it's not a far stretch to the dangerous black pounce of Mastelotto and Levin.

Poured on top of these crêpes - the cockadoodledoo tweets of main man Perret fly like a beat dream of Canterbury, colours and Mel Collins. This makes the music develop a softness and a wonderful opposition to the harshness of the kaleidoscopic metal fusion preceding it. With the aforementioned rumbling onslaught mostly leading things on, it is a most welcome change now and again to experience wisps of velvety sound slurping up against the metal bucket.

Lastly I really dig how the bass is so slappy, flappy and fascinated with the thumbing ways of Zeuhl. Mixed up with the clever kids from down the block - it bobs its way through the beatnik Canterbury fellas and the modern avant crowd with its black clothes and skeleton tattoos.

I hope for great things in the future - music will never stop, and especially the bands who find new ways of throwing old and antiquated spot lights on the past entice me - pull me in in a manner that has me looking forward to all the coming peacock coloured branchings of a style of music, that not only changed paths several times on its way, but literally made the people making it question the possibilities of patterned sound.

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