OCÉAN

Way back about twenty years ago (Has it really been that long? It doesn't feel like it.), I contributed reviews to a progressive rock newsletter called "On Reflection". The main benefit of this was receiving prog releases from around the world, that I would not have discovered otherwise. This was the finest of any of the releases I received and reviewed.

Somewhere between the music of the great seventies fusion bands, and chamber rock groups like Univers Zero, lies the music of Tiemko. The album opens with Épisode, a piece that flows effortlessly between energetic prog fusion that recall some of the upbeat Happy The Man tracks, and UZ style power RIO. And I have to point out that the guitar solos are out of this world.

The second track, Hypercontraste, amps up the style, with the fusion sounding verry Zappa influenced, especially with the tuned percussion. Bonbon Très Sucré is a more traditional fusion piece, based around some fine acoustic guitar work. The piece provides a bit of rest before the energy is back up with Vodka Frappée.

The title track closes the album in a twenty minute epic. It's a more nebulous piece, where the trio provide spacy atmosperic soloing, which somehow manages to remain intense the entire time.

After all this time, I still enjoy listening to this one frequently.