GA'AN

The second Zeuhl release from this lineup of young Chicago-based musicians (from whom nothing has been heard since) comes two years after their extraordinary debut. (I wonder if they were in fact outtakes from the sessions that produced the previous album--the sound is so similar.) The drums are so perfect and the bass and keys stay tightly in the fold. Lindsay's wonderful voice is, as it was on the other album, mixed a little too far back for my tastes. Still, the ethereal, "instrumental" effect this gives the vocals is probably part of the charm of the Ga'an sound.

1. "Arms They Speak" (9:54) is quite a bit more rich in terms of keyboard/synth layers than the songs of the previous album but the sound engineering and the way the vocal is mixed in is quite the same. Great drumming, cool bass and layers of keys make this one a keeper despite the melodies and chord progressions not quite being up to those of the previous album. The scaled down vocals and instrumental mix in the quieter seventh and eighth minutes are sublime--great finish! Great drumming! Papa Vander would be proud! (19/20)

2. "Servant Eye" (8:35) opens with an ANEKDOTEN-like thick/heaviness. Lindsay's entry with repeating vowel/syllables is fairly quick, but then there is a stop and restart at the one minute mark--a technique the band used to great effect on the previous album. Enter Mellotron choir. The keys are, unfortunately, a little too distorted and Lindsay's vocals a little too militaristic. Another directional shift in the third minute leads to a brief passage of Lindsay's lead vocals before the drums explode into a race around the sun. Awesome in the truest sense of the word. 'tron is replaced by saw-syth--to nice effect. New pace at the six minute mark--more insistent, resolute. This then morphs into another fast race with great synth and bass work over the frenzy of flailing drumsticks--to song's end! That went by so quickly! (On my disc there is an additional minute of silence after the music has ended.) Not as good as the previous song but still at a very high level. (13.5/15)

3. "Call Of The Black Equus" (18:44) opens with syncopated pulse of a synth bass note with floating, panning synth saw within which Lindsay interjects a single LISA GERRARD-like phrase, at first intermittantly and then nearly constantly. Drums and bell-keys arrive at the 3:05 mark prompting Lindsay to begin singing some actual lyrics--as if telling a story. Still, she is in the background, virtually yelling her words into the mix. For the second verse of her song she is accompanied by several tracks of her voice in harmonizing roles. Interesting. If the voices weren't so mirroring of the keyboard lines it might get more interesting--but, then, isn't that what the Magma choirs do: match the melodies set down by the keys and guitar? The seventh minute brings something new--a kind of choral chorus--before a dirty Canterbury-like keyboard begins playing a progression of ever-ascending chords. Lindsay continues trying to tell her tale--on multiple tracks-- as the drum plays beneath it all--kind of in a PHIL COLLINS way with many, many interesting fills and flourishes. Poorly mixed Greek chorus in the ninth minute before a break leads into a softer, more spacious "White Rabbit" like passage--which then gains power and momentum with the entrance of a very strong, very chunky bass and bass line. A Tony Banksian organ passage precedes another foray at support for Lindsay's plaintive vocals. Wild bass sounds in the twelfth minute precede a slow down, drop out section from which emerges an old synth, slow ascending bass line, and dirge-like LISA GERRARD-like vocal performance. LARRY FAST-like bass synth continues in the lead while drums and synth washes try to keep up (Lindsay takes a singing break). At 15:40 Lindsay's epithets are punctuated by synth and drums until 16:22 when the band kicks back into the previous fast-paced groove--this time with synth performing a melody line of descending steps. This continues until the final 45 seconds when the music blows up into whole band waves of power and awe. I don't know how to explain it. (I lack the musical terminology/language skills.) This is just an amazing song considering it came from three musicians. It may not be on the level of intensity or power of a Magma masterpiece, but it certainly has all of the elements to be one. (I imagine this song being performed with the expanded Magma lineup! Wow, wouldn't that be amazing?!) (36/40)

I've always thought this album quite a bit weaker than the band's 2009 debut but upon current investigation, I appreciate the creative and instrumental prowess that went into this--all three of the songs.

Five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music and one of the shining beacons of modern Zeuhl as created and composed by three youths from Chicago!!!

4.5 stars. GA'AN are a Zeuhl band based in Chicago and this is their second album released in 2011. We get female vocals with plenty of electric piano, bass and drums. There's lots of synths too and mellotron giving us some welcomed atmosphere.

"Arms They Speak" opens with that atmosphere and man this sounds good. Drums arrive after a minute along with some vocal melodies as it builds. Nice bass lines after 3 1/2 minutes and then it brightens after 4 minutes which is such a cool contrast to what has gone before. Great sound 6 minutes in with that mellotron. Oh my! A calm after 7 1/2 minutes with bass and atmosphere as vocal melodies and drums join in. So good! Powerful stuff 8 1/2 minutes in right to the end which is quite intense. "Servant Eye" has a powerful and dark sound to start and this continues until just before 2 minutes when it stops and the mellotron storms in as the drums pound. Nice! Keys eventually join in and check out the drumming after 4 minutes. Vocals follow as it settles back some.

"Call Of The Black Equus" is the almost 19 minute closer. A dark atmosphere envelopes the soundscape to start then sounds beat and spacey ones come and go before 2 minutes. The organ floats in around 4 1/2 minutes and you gotta like that Zeuhl rhythm before 7 minutes. Some in your face bass 9 minutes in as the drums pound and the vocals help out. These pulsating keys then join in and they are kicking ass right here. A calm arrives before 12 minutes but then it starts to build quickly. Great sound before 14 1/2 minutes as it changes with some killer bass lines, keys and drums. A calm with outbursts of vocals and keys before 16 minutes but then it kicks back in quickly.

I really thought about 5 stars but the vocals are keeping me from doing that. I like them but they could be better at times, still if your into Zeuhl you really need to hear this one.

I had only known of Ga'an for a few months before I decided to order both of their albums on vinyl around Mid may, despite only having had moderate interest in their debut. As a fan of the Zeuhl genre in particular, I couldn't resist getting my hands on some Zeuhl LPs before vendors decide to drive their values through the roof. So when the day of arrival finally came, I did not hesitate to give my new additions a first spin. Now I did not have particularly high expectations as I set "Black Equus" in on the turntable, (I didn't find their debut much better than average, so what reason did I have at the time to suspect that there'd be any massive improvement in their follow-up?). What I heard after I pressed play completely blew me away.

Now, anyone familiar with their debut will quickly notice some differences between the two albums. First and most obviously is the higher production quality of this album, lacking the murky sound of it's predecessor. But what really sets this album above their debut is the new focus on their composition.

This transition to a more symphonic style of Zeuhl and away from the murky gloom of their previous debut makes for a much easier listening experience over their previous album. The keyboards play a much larger role here than before, now acting as the main melodic force alongside Lindsay Powell's vocals instead of merely creating an atmosphere like in their debut. As a result, "Black Equus" feels much more fleshed out as they move further towards a more traditional Zeuhl sound.

This album was particularly refreshing for me due to my preference for the more symphonic style of Zeuhl, over the Jazz noodling of many of their modern contemporaries. Their dark and intense style of playing is put to much greater justice on this album than what we have previously heard; creating an eerie, (yet beautiful), sound.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is anything other than a modern masterpiece of the Zeuhl genre, and as such a must-listen for any fans of the genre.

I've been listening to this album for months now at first with utter amazement and now with total respect and admiration. That a group of young musicians from Chicago would latch on to the Zeuhl sound to such a degree as to create this amazing and refreshing album of upbeat, beautiful music is astounding but that they could actually add something quite significant to the Zeuhl lexicon is even more astounding. This is a collection of songs that, like the MAGMA discography, has a flow and continuity which makes it feel cohesive, comprehensive and conceptual. And, as I said, with their unique use of keyboards (including lots of mellotron!), excellent drumming, and wonderful operatic vocals from Lindsay Powell, Ga'an has added something new, fresh, upbeat and positive to the world of Kobaia. In fact, that may be what makes this album so listenable, so entrancing, and so addicting is its lighter, upbeat, 'optimistic' feel and sound. Though in reality I would have trouble telling one song from another--this is because I have never listened to them in isolation from one another; I always listen to the album start to finish--it just flows that way and once you start you just want to keep going till it's over! So, as I said, it's hard to distinguish one song from the next, I know that each song has its unique individuality. For example,

1. "Chasmaeon" (7:01) (10/10) has its awesome mellotron "Gregorian Chant" opening before TANGERINE DREAM keyboards join in. From 2:15 to 3:00 the full complement of instrumental structure is gradually put on display: keys, drums, guitar arpeggi, and Lindsay Powell's incredibly gorgeous voice. Then, beginning at 4:10 the pace is awesomely doubled, slowed down, doubled again, back and forth throughout the rest of the song in this amazing play on the listener's emotions. The bass, drums, mellotron Gregorian chant, and Linday Powell lead chant is rising and falling, twisting and turning, taking us on this rollercoaster of Zeuhl heaven. This must be Nebëhr Gudahtt's life after death place!

On 2. "Living Tribunal" (8:12) the mellotron voices are turned into the upper "female" octaves while the more vibrated, slow picked bass and militarized dance drumming take over three minutes to prep us for Lindsay's plaintive call--and mesmerizing is her summons! She is my siren! I will willingly do your bidding, Zeuhl Princess! Enter electric guitar to mirror and amplify Lindsay's hypnotic call all the while drums, bass, and keys maintain a constant thrum of insistent support. This is prog heaven, to be sure! Chicago! These are 'kids'--a new generation of prog devotees! Hallelujah! Towards the end the drums and especially the bass begin to embellish their play. Awesome! (10/10)

3. "I Of Infinite Forms Pt. 1" (5:00) opens, again, with keyboard chord hits most familiar to us from the 1970s work of TANGERINE DREAM before very quickly being joined by the bass and drumming so familiar to us from the Zuehl world. High octave keys and wildly motive bass play are the highlights to the first half of this song as Lindsay's gorgeous mid-octave chanting stays mostly in the background. (8/10)

4. "I Of Infinite Forms Pt. 2" (6:06) flowing continuously from the previous song, there is a noticeable shift in style and tempo, but it is really only a bridge before the song builds back into a more tightly woven version of the tapestry of the Part 1. Where the difference really begins to show is with the addition of tubular bells (!) and Lindsay's more frenetic insistent chanting. Mid song the rhythm section virtually drops out for a bridge in which Lindsay and the tubular bells take center stage. By 3:40 a new rhythm and sound has been established that is more keyboard centered and keyboard dominant while LIndsay and the rhythm section pretty much maintain their style and melodies if slightly slowed down. Amazing drumming in the last minute! (9/10)

5. "Servant Eye" (6:31) opens as if on a continuous thread from previous songs--kind of a melding of the opening song with the previous one. A brief bridge of "Gregorian Chant" mellotron chords at 0:45 allows for a complete transition into a new vocal chant pattern and a new keyboard arpeggio foundation. Then at 2:00 occurs another shift--establishing whole new pace and rhythm pattern from the rhythm section while also introducing a more "angelic" voice mellotron chord sequence pattern while Lindsay's vocal almost disappears for a while. In the final two minutes the bass and lead female chant step forward to take the lead while the pace behind quickens to a rhapsodic frenzy! Awesome! (9/10)

6. "Vultures Of The Horn" (7:16) is perhaps the most maturely structured, least frenzied and tempermental song on the album which makes it seem more sedate and less emotional yet the keyboard, drum and vocal work are incredible for their display of subtle mastery. (9/10)

I honestly cannot say that there is another Zeuhl album I've ever felt this kind of affinty and attachment to since I heard MDK. Eskaton, Xing Sa, and Universal Totem Orchestra are the only others that come to mind as having the kind of fresh beauty that I feel from Ga'an. As raw as it is for its being a debut record, this is without a doubt one of the premier Zeuhl albums I've ever heard. And from a group of young musicians from Chicago!! Bravo! I am so excited to see a new generation of artists latching onto and carrying forward the Zeuhl torch!

5 stars: Essential as a masterpiece of progressive rock music.

When the suggestion of Ga'an for inclusion arrived to the ZART team I was very surprised since the first notes.

"Chasmaeon" is opened by two minutes of progressive electronic that's one of my favorite prog subgenres. I wondered about why the band was suggested to Zeuhl but I understood immediately what the reason was just after hearing the operistic voice of Lindsay Powell. So imagine a repetitive hypnotic theme with a Zeuhl flavor very well played with a special mention to the drums. The music is quite melancholic instead of being dark as often happens with Zeuhl bands specially in the second half of the song when the repetitive theme is replaced by the compulsive drumming which accompanies a melancholic melody.

"Living Tribunal" comes as a natural follow-up. The very sad intro is quite symphonic. Even when the drums start playing compulsively I can hear echoes of Gustav Mahler or Albinoni. At least the music transmits the same sense of sadness of Mahler's 3rd symphony. When Lindsay sings her voice is monotonous and repetitive as a mantra. This enhances the listening experience. She sings in the best possible way for this track, a very excellent one. The final crescendo makes it grow even more. The variation is provided by a great bass line until the coda which occupies the last seconds.

"1 Of Infinite Forms" is immediately uptime. This time it's drums and piano which drive. The bass is compulsive and even on this track Lindsay sings hypnotically. The melody is very proggy. In some moments it makes me think also to Renaissance. The tempo is very fast and captivating and the operistic singing provides a fantastic contrast. Another reference? The choristic parts of Atom Heart Mother even more connected to classical symphonic music. There's no solution of continuity between part 1 and part 2 so it can be treated as a single track. The last three minutes make me remind Eloy's Ocean, that's one of my favorite space rock albums. Please note that even with all those references to classic prog this is still Zeuhl.

"Servant Eye" reminds me again to the psychedelic period of Eloy but thanks God with Lindsay as vocalist. There's a great synth work which provides the best possible layer for the performances of drums and bass in the instrumental parts. Try to imagine Frank Bornemann speaking on it with his strong German accent.... The music changes suddenly in the last two minutes as Ga'an wanted remin us that they are making what they call "minimalistic prog-rock". This is another very good track which ends with a vocal crescendo and ends suddenly.

Bass and drums to introduce the keyboards on the closer "Vultures Of The Horn". It's the most Zeuhl track of the album but it contains also other elements. In particular the drumming and the continuos minor chord played by the keyboard in the instrumental interlude have some of the Post Rock of bands like From Monument To Masses, but the vocal parts are always hypnotic. The changes in the theme male it sound like a small suite, a 7 minutes epic. I can't say if it's dark or sad or anything else. It's very dreamy. Have you present when you wake up suddenly in the early morning with still some images and sensations of your last dreams? This is how this track, specially the second part makes me feel.

Other than Zeuhl, people who likes Krautrock, Space Rock and Progressive Electronic will surely like this band and its very excellent debut.

4 stars that are probably rounded down....

New and delicious Zeuhl!

Ga'an is a new project by US musicians who in 2009 released their self-titled album which fortunately is a free and legal download, so by recommendation by the great Keishiro Maki, I did not hesitate and got it. Here, this band will delight you with 40 minutes of a dark, tasty and great combination of zeulh and krautrock hints that will make you have a mesmerizing time.

The first track is entitled "Chasmaeon". The first two minutes have a dark atmosphere created by keyboards, later drums and bass appear, and then female vocals join. Honestly, the name of Eskaton came to my mind almost immediately after the vocals appear, and though Ga'an are by no means a clone band, they do have some clear reminiscences of those older acts. What I love of this music is that though seems to be repetitive, it little by little is absorbing you and involving you to their realm. Worth highlighting the drums work here.

"Living Tribunal" continues with that dark and tense atmosphere created by keyboards. This is also the longest track here, whose eight minutes share that hypnotic sound where keyboards and drums make a wonderful couple responsible for our addiction. Though the music seems not to change and have a plan structure, it s actually perfect, no matter if one or five minutes have passed, one can truly enjoy every one of them and feel part of that hypnotic world. Later when the female voice enters along with a cool distorted bass, the music shares different emotions and creates addictive atmospheres that will not let us escape until the song finishes. A true and enjoyable zeuhl experience!

"I of Infinite Forms Parts I and II" is an eleven-minute track divided in two, the first one with five and the second with six minutes. The first part has fast and excellent drums since the very first minute, accompanied by wonderful keyboards as background, a repetitive and once again mesmerizing bass sound and of course, that essential female vocals. The addiction continues and never ceases, the song becomes faster and progresses little by little inviting us to a vertiginous and amazing trip. There is a minor change where a keyboard shares a different nuance, when that happens we are actually listening to the second part of the song.

"Servant Eye" has practically a very alike sound, actually, Ga'an as a band has already a particular sound that makes them different from the other bands, even from Eskaton who I previously mentioned. Here once again a cool communion between keyboards as background, nice bass lines, excellent female voice and fast and powerful drums is shared. There are some changes, one of them at minute two where the voice vanishes and a choir keyboard sound is now implemented, being accompanied by the terrific drums. Great song!

Finally, "Vultures of the Horn" closes this album. It opens with bass and drums making a raw sound, later keyboards enter, giving the correspondent atmosphere and the song changes. Then we can appreciate again different textures and nuances, as well as some minor changes that give dynamism to the music. So the song flows and just like in the previous five tracks, it involves us little by little.

I loved this album since the very first time I listened to it, and it is good to know the zeuhl influences have arrived to young US musicians, who I trust will be around in this musical scene for long time. This is an excellent debut by Ga'an, and though it is not precisely what would call a masterpiece, it is really solid and highly recommendable mostly for fans of this particular genre. My final grade will be four stars.

Enjoy it!

Blair Witch Project psychedelia

One of those wonderful free albums out there for grabs by anyone in the know. Let me tell you about the parallels between Zeuhl and Chicago people! What? Nothing? Oh well, I must confess that I had never ever in my wildest dreams thought of mixing the two, - that is before I heard this band. Chicago and Zeuhl...

If you are a big fan of The Blair Witch Project - and keep wondering how the creepy forest witch would have sounded like - had she been properly interviewed, or maybe you are one of those who just think that she'd prefer doing a wee banjo ditty with accompanying vocals. Anyways - you should definitely check out this album! The female vocals here are nonsensical, ethereal, diabolic, beautiful like ice crystals and haunting like a night spent in a black swamp. In other words: Welcome to the long lost soundtrack to The Blair Witch Project! This girl can sing - and she does so with the power of your most recent nightmare - inching her way back into your subconsciousness.

Gothic emanations, brooding atmospheres, teutonic drumming, enormous sound sculptures and this blood-red line creeping through the heart of the record, even if the voices it contains are incomprehensible and obscure.

When Ga'an first got suggested for PA, there was a lot of discussion about what genre - which box to throw them into, and I believe both Krautrock and Zeuhl were candidates at the same time. Now to me personally, I don't care about the categorisation of either carrots or sheepdogs - I just want one of those to be orange and the other to be fluffy. Ga'an have got some serious worm like synthesizers going for them - twitching and bubbling beneath the narratives of the tracks, but overall I do find the propulsive energetic bass work that trots away like an angry farmer in cement boots - to flavour this outing in a decisively more French attitude - harking back to both Magma and Weidorje. Even so - Zeuhl can be psychedelic, and this album is certainly proof of that.

One thing I've been thinking about lately, is the way most music divides itself into smaller groups within the bands they are born in. Partners in crime - tomatoes and salt - lions and tigers. On this debut album though, it struck me like a ton of bricks. I mean, If you listen to the vocals here, and how they sensuously slip into the choir mellotron - you get the impression of a match made in heaven - or maybe hell for that matter. Which ever sounds most promising to you. There's just something magical about the Gregorian chant emanations of the mellotron together with those diabolic vocals, which makes me think that they were made for each other from the get go. Pure fate. It's the same way with the bass and drums, but maybe that's why we call them the rhythm section eh?

If you are sitting around doing nothing - wooing your dog, throwing salt at the tv, eating cheese in your speedos, picking your nose with a hammer or just plain bored out of your skull, - then pull yourself together man and go download this magnificent gothic psych Zeuhl album in a hurry, before the icecaps melt and I loose my temper!

What a dark, graceful, and Krautrock-like experimental ambiance.

GA'AN got started firstly as a Chicago minimalistic rock quartet in late 2000s by Lindsay POWELL (voices), Seth SHER (drums), Jeremiah FISHER (synthesizer), and Jason SUBLETTE (bass, synthesizer). They launched their debut album "Ga'an" in 2009 as a limited edition cassette (and in the following year the album was released as a limited vinyl and downloadable material via an indepecdent label in South Bend named Captcha Records). After playing on various stages or radio shows, Lindsay and Seth have reunified GA'AN with another bassist / synth player Tyson TORSTENSEN and released their second album "Black Equus" in November 2011.

They've called themselves as a "minimalistic progressive rock" combo, that's well-said indeed. Not only for minimalists but also for all progressive rock freaks. Guess their soundscape deeply spread beneath a dark black sea can move everyone who listens to the stuff. Heavy riffs based upon deep synthesizer, dark bass, drone drum sounds. Lindsay's weird but graceful words (Zeuhl-ish slightly) and chorus. Both can easily grab our heart strictly. Gracious melody line with insistent, painful dubs and, on the contrary, desert and inorganic experimentalism can remind me something like melodic Krautrock projects like Amon Duul II. Regardless of their simple minimalism, we cannot get bored or annoyed at all ... their long long depth, profound and visible sound approach, and especially Lindsay's cold, dry-fruity, but hearty incantation upon us may squeeze our mind into amazement. In this debut album we can enjoy various appearances of minimal shower called GA'AN, yes, touch a real 'kaleidoscopic' minimalism.