MIXTUS ORBIS

This is Clivage's unmistakable awesome release. Definitely a reminiscence of best things ever offered in fusion jazz but all the elements are sublimated into a high class ethno-epic symphony. This is almost exclusively instrumental, making a large part to a brass ensemble. Technical, jazzy felt piano playing also have a great mention. Andre Fertier's keyobards parts are very similar in style to Cyrile Verdeaux's (Clearlight) in his most symphonic moments. This musical adventure is divided into different movements but composed as one long title, without transitions. It starts as a structured, catchy epic symphonic, majestic composition (with classic piano playing, almost medieval brass sequences) then it carries on an obsessed, uncontrolled jamming session, including ethnic percussions, splendid, grandiose oboe / sax combinations, always in a very symphonic, prog-y jazz mood. Some "spectral" female voices are added to the mix during the last movement. The tension gets higher, the trip out musical background reaches the soul to finish in an orchestral "orgy". Freak out symphonic rock that can ravish all progressive fans (from space rock, to fusion jazz and symphonic).

Sonic Cornucopia

I´ve tried writing this review a couple of times before, but each time I chickened out after the 3rd or 4th paragraph. I lost the power of speak, and my fingers went limp like flappy bony sausages hanging down from my wrists with no willpower whatsoever. Trying to describe the music within Mixtus Orbis, is rather like communicating to a monkey what oysters taste of. Futile! This album is beyond classification, and just like some of my most beloved progressive gems - it mixes everything into one big casserole - shakes it up nonchalantly, and bam! Dinner is served!

Now, there are a lot of albums which are like that. You may get some that blend psych with folk, or Krautrock with fusion - and hooray we say and clap our little hands in amazement. Mixtus Orbis however goes even further and takes this to the extreme. I mean, sweet ford!! Let me just put into perspective, how many different styles that are represented here, and then that doesn´t even begin to describe how it sounds. There´s pounding doomsday pianos, psychedelic effervescent jazz, Indian tablas, yearning violins, great big orchestral sweeps of sound, Zeuhlish thunderings, late 70s blaxploitation soundtrack music and Eastern folk sprinklings - all of this crammed into a tiny album - and it sounds truly magnificent!

The first track is a monster. Gigantic in every way. Take some demonic women chanting sensuously over these chugging bassline riffs, which are magnified a thousand times by a belting raw piano. Then add a great big coating of orchestral music, you know the kind you´ve heard from movies like Shaft (-often used in Motown productions to sweeten the coarseness of the gritty and earth toned beats) - and the basic structures of the song are ready. Every component slips into the others and back again - and so it evolves into this towering monstrosity that demands attention. The track continues to climb on top of itself with its attached Zeuhl motor and reaches some form of plateau, where everyone of the different styles fuse together and suddenly sound like they´ve been joined at the hip for decades. It´s funky, jazzy, psychedelic and disturbingly beautiful - like some giant colossus of blood and gold.

Second one brings in the flute, and takes the listener on a more relaxed venture into these bizarre musical blends. The 70s movie soundtrack is still there, but leans on a decisively more staccato approach with tooting horns and ethereal violins - adding to the centre score that little bit of extra swoosh. Running along the side of this spectacle, we´ve got some serious percussive splashes with bongos maniacally pacing away, taking you into a warped crime movie score back from the days of trumpet trousers and microphone dues.

Third track. This time around we hit the meditative state of the record, and things get quite folky with the violins, and those tablas get all earthy and woody in their textures. It sounds friendly, gracious and altogether accommodating - like had a Bedouin sheep heard opened up his arms to you, after you´d just crossed the mighty planes of the Gobi desert. Water!!! Maybe I´m mad, but when the flute joins in, the music does seem to mimic the flow of a natural stream. The track turns Asiatic with some deep almost menacing strokes of the violins, and had it not been for the genius of those joyously played guitar shimmers - the feel would have been one of fear - instead of what it is: magical and elusive.

At the very end we are flown to the far East, and some weird and abnormal sounding string instruments strum a mantra like raga, that gets spiced up with a mad and furious saxophone. Together with a couple of monks chanting what must be the bass theme here, the music again sounds like no other. Experimental fusion from an Indian bazaar?

I can´t recommend this album enough, and if you guys are looking for music that is progressive and knocks down walls between the different genres, then look no further - because what we have here is something quite special and unique. I´ve certainly never come across anything that sounds even remotely close to Mixtus Orbis. So give it up for the ever changing, multicoloured, mosaic, shape shifting, tunnel burrowing, cross dressing and all encompassing Clivage, that quite possibly will forever change how you look at music.

I'll jump on the masterpiece bandwagon with this one. It is truly musical ecstasy from beginning to end. This is very much Indo-Raga, but the jazz-fusion element is just as if not more prevalent. But it is also minimalism as it reminds me of Terry Riley, Steve Reich or Philip Glass because it is very drone-oriented and the complexity comes from the sheer number of sounds overlaying each other including haunting female vocals of the sort you would hear on the original 60s Star Trek theme.

It starts out innocently enough with just a piano but then is joined by a violin, then a tabla. Every instrument repeats in loops. As more instruments come in, it allows other ones to go into variations. With nine different instruments on the album you can imagine how rich it becomes. The tension builds and builds into a sonic frenzy. The last track has the same formula but some exotic chanting is included.

Wow. At just over 30 minutes long divided into two longer and two shorter tracks, it goes by way too fast. It seems like it's just getting started and then it's all over leaving you torn between the ecstasy of having heard such beautiful music and the meloncholy of knowing this is so obscure it hasn't seen the light of day on CD and that this was a fleeting moment in time that will never be repeated exactly like this again.

Imagine the Mothers of Invention at their most serious and technical - say, as on the King Kong suite on Uncle Meat - and sprinkle on Indian instrumentation and musical traditions to back up the jazz fusion foundations, and you might arrive at something close to the furious workouts captured on Clivage's Mixtus Orbis. Andre Fertier's group share the billing with an orchestra, which lends some classical sweep to the intense playing on offer here. I often find progressive rock incorporating elements of Indian music to be a clumsy, hit and miss affair, but here Fertier seems to hit on a more successful version of the approach John McLaughlin took with Shakti - combining fast-paced Indian music with similarly rapid fusion to create an intriguing mix. Could do without the orchestral embellishments, mind.

This is an Indo-Raga recording by France's own Andre Fertier. Andre plays Grand piano, acoustic guitar, synths and adds vocals. I count 12 individual musicians/vocalists plus an orchestra and a choir. Lots of ethnic sounds with the tablas, santoor, kemonche and other percussions. Man this is such a stew of sounds and the blending of styles. We get sax, flute, bass, cello, violin, drums and oboe besides the ones I've already mentioned. This is almost impossible for me to describe because of the ethnic instruments and not knowing what I'm hearing with so much going on.

The title track is almost 15 minutes long and divided into six parts as they all blend into each other. It gets pretty crazy by the fourth part where it sounds like the sax and orchestration are trading off and even more insane on the next section and ends hard on part six. This needs to be heard to be believed.

"Eudjal" is pretty cool with the flute over all those beats then some orchestration and vocals too. Nice bass as well. Sounds like "Shaft" before 2 minutes. Next we get a three part piece with violin and acoustic guitar starting us off then flute before an ethnic instrument making bass like sounds arrives. The tempo picks up on the next section as violin plays over top. Flute replaces violin as the lead on the last part. It ends in a very ethnic way with "Youssoufia" as deep male vocals join in and atmosphere. Flute and percussions too. Very cool sounding. Is that oboe before 2 minutes? Check out all the sounds here.

Just a great album to listen too, as in a feast for the ears. So impressed.