UPPSALA

This record took longer than most do for me to really get into. I think part of the reason for that is the fact that this is not like any of the Zeuhl i've heard so far. This is lighter, with mostly slower to mid-paced songs. A lot of acoustic guitar as well, and the electric guitar is very well done I might add. Also this band is a trio instead of the usual "many" members that make up a lot of Zeuhl bands. UPPSALA played over 40 concerts before finally recording their first (and so far only) album in 1983. They had a terrible car accident in Belgium in 1979 in which the bass player lost the use of both his legs, and the drummer was seriously injured. Fortunately the main man Philippe Cauvin the guitarist / vocalist was unscathed. Dany Marcombe the bass player bravely returned, even though he would play bass in a wheelchair. My cd has three bonus live tracks on it that were all recorded in 1995 when they reunited to open for a band called FUSION that consisted of Christian Vander, Janick Top, Didier Lockwood and Benoit Widermann. Nice.

"Algarade" has an island feel to it at times. Vocal melodies, bass, drums and guitar lead the way until a minute in when the song calms down. Vocals are back before 3 minutes, and the guitar is great. "Coste And Jukka" is named after two Swedish guitarists they met while vacationing. Coste Apretrea from SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA and the great Jukka Tolonen. Actually they named the band after the Swedish town (Uppsala) that these two guitarists are from. It opens with the band having some fun as they are carrying on. There are some spoken words that come and go while we get some singing a minute in that turns into dual vocals. Some higher pitched vocals later. This is a very good tune. "Les Nouvelles" has a RUSH vibe to the guitar sounds.This song has such a relaxing melody with vocals after 5 minutes.

"Boucle Aux Oiseaux D'en Face" is another highlight with the acoustic guitar, vocal melodies, bass and drums. "Coup De Folie" has a good beat along with some steller vocals.This reminds me a little of THE TALKING HEADS. Some scorching guitar 2 minutes in. "Etude N 1" has some great guitar and bass work. The vocals are getting close to theatrical. "Uppsala" is the longest track. It is mid-paced as they just jam for over 12 minutes.The three live bonus songs also feature a guest trumpet and synth player named Freddy Buzon. "Antrada" has some serious atmosphere in the beginning before giving way to a nice acoustic guitar melody that is RUSH-like. Trumpet comes in after 4 minutes as the song becomes jazzy until bass and guitar take over followed by the drums 7 1/2 minutes in. "Chant De Nuit" has some strange vocals with not much in the way of a melody. "Entrechocs" has an impressive drum solo for 2 1/2 minutes that is followed by the crowd cheering. The guitar and bass then share the spotlight, with the guitarist playing a few bars from the happy birthday song.

This has grown into a 4 star record for me, but just barely. I really think all Zeuhl fans should check out this bands take on Zeuhl music as it is both refreshing and very well played. Well done !

Uppsala, this unknown zeuhl band from France with only one album released in 1983 and re issued on CD by famous Musea label in 1995. I'm totaly agree with previous reviewer who said that he needed more time then usual to get into, this selftitled album is a real hard to follow from only 2-3 listings, because the music is quite complex, very unusual arrangements, very jazzy sometimes, in other segments is avant gard but melted as a whole with zeuhl elements. Also the album is very mid tempo most of the time, with some more lighter moments then on usual music like this, not bad of course. The head of the band Philippe Cauvin , guitarist and vocalist here did a great job, but as a whole the album is only ok and nothing more. The band name and the longest track from here named aswell Uppsala is taken from the town with same name from Sweden. Other piece is called Coste and Jukka, named after two famouses musicians Coste Apetrea and Jukka Tolonen. So overall a good album, hard to digest in only few spins, but after more then 5-6 listning I begun to realy find the hidden great moments. 3 stars to this album , quite unnoticed by many, even zeuhl fans don't know and heared about this band who manage to make some ripples around them but only for little time.

This was actually a French band, found in 1976 in Bordeaux by guitarist Philippe Cauvin, bassist Dany Marcombe and drummer Didier Lamarque.They were named after the birthplace of Coste Apetra and Jukka Tolonen, two great Scandinavian musicians the trio met during their vacation.After series of concerts, in 1979 a tragedy almost struck Uppsala after a car accident, where Lamarque was severely injured and Marcombe lost use of his legs.Two years later Uppsala were back and in the fall of 1983 the trio recorded its self-titled debut at the Carat Studio in Bordeaux, distributed the following year by the Madrigal label.

Actually Apetrea not only influenced the name of the band, but SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA -Apetrea's group- seem to have been a huge inspiration for Uppsala.This is quirky, inventive and often complex Jazz/Fusion with big time breaks and impressive rhythmic patterns all the way.The adventurous musicianship is usually supported by the somekind theatrical and even humourous vocals of Phillipe Cauvin, which are definitely an acquired taste.The music on the other hand is mostly interesting.The album contains plenty of changing tempos, the slower ones having some sort of a psychedelic vibe, the longer ones though are even better with very deep bass lines, solid drumming and Cauvin's Fusion-esque guitar hooks.

17 years later the album was reissued by Musea and contained three live (and unreleased) tracks of Uppsala's comeback concert in Bordeaux in March 1995, where the group was accompanied by trumpeter/synth player Freddy Buzzon.Uppsala's sound had now a more jazzy vibe due to presence of Buzzon's trumpet, but their style still retained strong psychedelic passages, quirky Fusion guitar-driven themes and of course Cauvin over the top vocals.

A solid release for fans of fiery, slightly loose and very technical Jazz/Fusion.Warmly recommended.

One of the many French acts to follow in the footsteps of Magma but took the zeuhl style into strange new worlds, UPPSALA was formed in Bordeaux in 1976 after founder / guitarist Philippe Cauvin met bassist Danny Marcombe in 1974 and the two played together briefly in an experimental band called Musiques d'Ici. The band's name was a tribute to Sweden's Samla Mammas Manna who came from the Swedish city of UPPSALA. Cauvin had also been in the psychedelic rock band Absinthe (1969 - 1974) and glam rock act Papoose (1972 - 1973) both of which set the stage for what UPPSALA had to offer. After the duo met drummer Didier Lamarque, UPPSALA was born and existed for 10 years despite only releasing one official album and a later cassette only recording. A brief reunion also occurred in 1995.

Although the band formed as far back as 1976, it wouldn't be until 1984 that the first album was released. The pre-album years were dedicated to numerous rehearsals and live settings and by the time the band recorded its self-titled debut it was a well-oiled machine. Originally consisting of seven tracks at over 38 minutes playing time, the Musea reissue CD versions also featured three bonus tracks. UPPSALA developed a style of its own mixing zeuhl rhythms and falsetto vocal utterances with jazz rock and even Talking Heads inspired new wave. UPPSALA's varied ability almost makes the album seem like a completely different band at times with tracks like the opening "Algarade" clearly looking back to the 70s world of zeuhl and jazz fusion while others like "Coup de Folie" sounding like a more frenetic version of David Byrne and a funk-fueled 80s guitar pop band.

Unlike the serious nature of most zeuhl bands, UPPSALA was actually pretty whacky in a Frank Zappa type of way with silly vocal styles (especially over the top falsettos which do evoke the Samla Mammas Manna antics), strange guitar playing methodologies and crazy bursts of energy fortified with extra demanding time signature workouts. The album was actually recorded in 1980 but took required three years to find any label willing to release it. The band ultimately self-released on Cauvin's Ki Records label. While all the tracks are strange with references to Devo, 80s King Crimson, Talking Heads as far as new wave goes and of course Magma and jazz fusion acts of the 70s in terms of prog, the act was quite unique and didn't sound like any other band i can think of with perhaps the closest coming from another French band Super Freego who too engaged in the chimeric hybridization of 80s new wave with 70s prog.

The strangest track of all is the 13-minute track "Uppsala" (gotta love track names that are the same as the band and the album!) which tackles some of the strangest soundscapes on the entire album with seemingly meandering musical aimlessness in myriad directions but yet all held together by accessible fretless bass grooves and pockets of melodic developments that come and go. The three bonus tracks on the Musea releases are actually live recordings of the band's brief reunion in 1995 and although the band went for a more accessible style after the release of this debut album, these tracks are in the spirit of the freaky music presented on this 1984 release and encompass Musea's sales pitch of "a very original, devastating, powerful, and technically perfect music, with a lot of intensity and passion." These words ring true. Extreme in every way possible this band stretched the limits beyond the acceptability range of most traditional proggers.

A true noteworthy addition for any outsider weirdo music lover's collection, UPPSALA truly excelled at crafting a bizarre musical monster all its own. Perhaps the most idiosyncratic of all zeuhl bands, the music is clearly what any lovers of melodic prog would call a complete mess but if whimsy and brash deviations from the norm are what the doctor ordered then this one will surely offer some of the most outrageous displays of unconventionality. It's one of those albums you must surrender to and accept on its own terms as it demands you be sucked into its reality and absorb the new musical language being presented. While zeuhl itself was a wild deviation from the norm, it's amazing how so many bands that followed Magma found clever and unthinkable new ways of expressing the seemingly straightforwardness of its premise. Highly recommended for lover's of the difficult music section at the prog superstore.