POLYGLÖT

French band VOLAPÜK is a trio formed around the drummer and composer Guigou Chenevier, formerly known from ETRON FOU. They are using instruments such as clarinets, marimba, violoncello and flute to create a music that blends chamber music, Jazz, progressive rock and the bands in the RIO movement. The compositions are complex with lots of improvisations and the musicians are virtuosos. With the addition of accordion many of the tracks sounds as if they could've been taken from a Lars Hollmer album. In fact the track "Voilà Pük" are a Hollmer composition written for VOLAPÜK, and listening to it you can hear that it has the unmistakable Lars Hollmer touch to it. This is a really interesting album, and I think that many Lars Hollmer fans will appreciate it. Highly recommended listening!

This excellent album by French band Volapük led by Etron Fou drummer GUIGOU CHENEVRIER is one of the best and most accessible Avantgarde/RIO albums I've ever listened to. The mixture of world music and odd Avant stuff presented here is just perfectly done. They are using some rather uncommon instruments like the taragot, which is a bit similar to oboe or the African sanza which is composed of a series of flexible tongues of uneven length, made of metal or bamboo, fixed to a wooden plate or trapezoid sound-box.

There are no real highlights on this album which doesn't mean that it is boring but rather because all the tracks are so great and wonderful that it actually defies any description. It's not one of those RIO albums that are full of weirdness, actually the only more crazy one is the last track but nevertheless it does not lack exciting moments at all. Overall it's a very enjoyable and versatile listen with a certain amount of oddity, maybe not necessarily to be recommended to those fellows who love their RIO as crazy as possible but I'd call it an excellent addition to any prog collection and I'd like to advice anyone who is looking for some special uncommon music, not exclusively RIO-fans to check out this album. It's worth for many many enjoyable listens.

It was really good to finally hear this band and this album in particular. Logan has mentioned this record several times so it's about time I took the plunge. I'm very familiar with the great French Rio band ETRON FOU LELOUBLAN, and it's the former drummer for that band who leads VOLAPUK.This band is a trio with the other members playing clarinet, flute and violincello. Guigou the drummer also plays marimba and there is a guest violin player helping out and adding her vocals on one track. I like the bio here that describes the music as abstract yet melodic, catchy but pushing the envelope.

"Vieux Futur" sounds very interesting to start. What are those sounds ? Then bass clarinet, violincello and violin lead as drums beat away. I like the dissonant violin after 3 minutes. "Nusrat" opens with clarinet as a full sound kicks in quickly.Vocals before a minute. Great sound before 2 minutes with the violin and drums standing out. Flute follows. Vocals are back later. "Voila Puk" has a catchy rhythm to it as flute and violin play over top. "Sanza" is different sounding as marimba and taragot lead. "Tante Yo" opens with bass clarinet and violincello. Deep bass sounds are the result. Drums and violin join in. Great sound here. The violin gets a little crazy 2 minutes in. "Entre 2 Zoo" features relaxed horns leading the way. Violin then becomes prominant too.

"Technovo" is more uptempo with lots of intricate sounds. So much going on. "Marimba" is much the same but with marimba standing out surprisingly. I like when it changes around 1 1/2 minutes as the sound gets fuller. "Des Liens Invisibles" is uptempo with violin, drums and bass clarinet leading.The violin gets a little dissonant a minute in. Nice.Then it turns catchy again. "Valse Chinoise" has a clarinet led rhythm. Violin late. "Pablo" is mournful early with the strings and clarinet. It kicks in after 1 1/2 minutes. Much better ! "Medication & Yoghurt" opens with marimba and other intricate sounds as violin joins in. "L'oeuf D'apuk" is better as strings lead along with clarinet in this catchy rhythm. Spoken words come in when the music stops. Funny. This continues on and off. It turns insane after 2 minutes. Killer stuff right there. Hilarious too.

A solid 4 stars although I must admit it's going to take a while for me to fully appreciate what's going on here.