GESTATION SONORE

One of those "legendary" French early 70's release from the no-less legendary Futura label (other releases include Triode and Travelling also present in our Archives), HCPLF's sole album is a very disturbing oeuvre that should deter most progfans from free-jazz and "musique concrete", being completely dissonant, atonal and downright obtuse. As their name might indicate (Catalytic Horde For The Apocalypse and their track titles (divided in four movements) Gestation Sonore (Sonic Birth if you wish), the acoustic quartet warned you ahead of time. So unless you are really masochistic (and it looks like I once was), you are well advised to stay away from this unless you like mid-70's Keith Tippett (from Ovary Lodge to his Mujician projects), or David Bedford's Star's End album.

The first three tracks are boring, chaotic, noisy, disjointed, there are moments when the music sounds descriptive, but it doesn't last more than a minute at a time. But just in case the first side was not enough and you wished to endure more sonic torture, you can actually flip the album over and enjoy another 20-minute epic of theirs. To be absolutely sure of the veracity of this review, I "indulged" into it. After all, I have paid the rental price for this rare vinyl. Cacophonous and unlikely to please progheads, even the most adventurous ones, such as me.

This is grim stuff indeed. From the outset there's 'skronk' jazz saxophone with a splattering of other tuneless instruments randomly fired at the listener. Bangs, crashes, tinkles and what sounds like someone using a rubber hammer inside a grand piano will give you some idea of what you're about to endure for the next 39 minutes .

If any similarities could be made - it would be with 'AMM' who sounded more sure of their abilities and were more precise in execution. I guess it's also similar to early 'Nurse With Wound', but without the black humour, vocals and tape manipulation.

Recorded in one night at the 'Theatre de Nice' on 26th February 1971, 'Gestation Sonore' is a very difficult listen. Only the bleak soundscapes and creepy flutes hold my attention here. They remind me quite a lot of my earliest childhood TV memory - 'The Clangers'. However if you forced 100 people to listen to this (it would have to be at gun-point, by the way), I can guarantee you that no more than five would reach the end.

There are no hooks, no tunes with just a grey smog prevailing. It's also quite flat sounding in its production, without any feeling of depth.

The dissonant approach does grow on me after 10 minutes. It helps if you can switch off that musical part of your brain and just take it for what it is - a random, garbled collection of acoustic instruments played without any sense of timing or purpose.

Some of the percussion work is quite interesting, sounding like it's being played on children's toys - a bit like the 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons. To tell you the truth, towards the end I was actually starting to enjoy this. However, the sheer alienness of sound will deter even the hardiest of Prog listeners.

This surely has to be one of the most inaccessible recordings in the entire 'Archive'. And for that simple reason it claws back one star.

This album "Gestation Sonore" created by a one-off project HORDE CATALYTIQUE POUR LA FIN (HCPLF) can be called as another free avantgarde jazz gem born in 1971 via one of French free-jazz label giants Futura / Marge, and not as progressive rock at all, let me say. Weird saxophone screaming, irregular critical drumming, tough flute (or bass flute) blows, or flexible vibraphone critical shots ... every single instrumental actor / actress cannot get harmonized with other ones like a rock stuff, but amazingly all of instruments get synchronized altogether. This sound texture exactly reminds me of an improvised jazz live 'New York Eye & Ear Control" (sounds like HCPLF might have got inspired by the album).

Generally speaking, the horn section is a hero, and wind instruments are heroines really, but vibraphone flexibility should confirm their improvised and crystallized music style especially in 1st or 4th movement. And of course assertive percussion like the stormy sea pulls themselves tightly together. Crazy flute explosions give demagoguery to our inner mind ... it's not easy to analyze such an inspiration into oxygen and hydrogen, but on the contrary quite facile to settle ourselves in comfort.

Whether it can be thought as "progressive rock" or not, this album is one of my favourite ones definitely. Pretty surprised to find I've NOT written my review for this stuff yet.