Zeuhl and related

"...a turbulent masterpiece that leaves a residue of angst lingering long after the CD ends." – Alternative Press...

This relatively young band from Normandy, France, makes their debut on disc here, with a CD that has six tracks; three from new recordings by the current line-up of the group (drums/lead vocals, bass/vocals, guitar/vocals, alto & baritone sax/alto...

Captain Flapattak drums & vocals
Retsim Käh bass & vocals
Charlotte Pace violin
Chfab Kaouenn keyboards & vocals
Jean Bonëth saxophones (alto & baryton)
Ludal Le Chacal keyboards & lead vocals

Rhun are a French sextet playing zeuhl and avant progressive-influenced music. Their first album came out a decade ago on AltrOck and they’ve just resurfaced with their excellent second album here.

The band say:
“Emëht Um Rhët Sam (the devil emits and shines)

Captain Flapattak : drums & vocals
Retsim Käh : bass & vocals
Charlotte Pace : violin
Chfab Kaouenn : keyboards & vocals
Jean Bonëth : alto & baritone saxophones
Ludal Le Chacal : keyboards & lead vocals

Tozzos is the third album from this very good, French zeuhl/avant-progressive group who first came to our attention with their release on AltrOck.

“Rhùn, a band from France, released their album "Tozïh" in 2023, and presented an excellent combination of avan

"Reissue of a rare as hell lp from 1978 (reaches $1,000 + on eBay) issued in micro quantity only in Corsica (a French Island located between France & Italy). Strongly rooted into mediterranean culture, Rialzu's sole recording is a highly original fusion of progressive, Corsican songs & zeuhl sounds (track 1 starts with a glimpse at Magma by playing briefly the opening section of Kohntarkhosz!).
Both music & vocals evoke the classic Italian progressive school. The original lp had 3 tracks, this...

Some of the very best musicians in Japan, veterans of such bands as Bondage Fruit, the Boredoms, Bazooka Joe, Demi Semi Quaver...have come together in Rovo, a virtuosic trance-rock group based in Tokyo. This dynamic set collects the best of their legendary two-night run at New York City's premier new music club, Tonic. Beautifully recorded and impeccably mixed by Rovo mastermind, violinist Katsui Yuji in Japan, Tonic 2001 captures the firey brilliance of this dazzling band like no studio recording ever...

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this when I heard about it; was it going to be a solo drum release from Yoshida? Anyway, my concerns were allayed when it arrived and I got to hear it. It's a fully orchestrated, (I suppose with computers and...

This is something like their 16th CD, I think (!) & represents a strong return to form, as the duo of Yoshida Tatsuya (drums, percussion, vocal) and Sasaki Hisashi (6 string bass, MIDI controller, vocal) just TEAR through it all, mixing thrash, Zeuhl, ...

"Runaway Totem is proud to announce that the third and final movement of 4 Elements 5, Le Roi Du Monde will be published in March 2011. This album marks the end of the First Symphony NOUS. In order to complete the album, given its complexity and...

Francois Thollot-bass
Antony Pontet-electric piano, organ, synths
Grégoire Plancher-electric piano, mellotron
Clement Curaudeau-drums

This is the fifth release by Scherzoo, the excellent band helmed by multi-instrumentalist and composer Francois Thollot.
This continues in the same vein as the last one but goes further towards the Canterbury sound; you can still hear the group’s zeuhl roots, but a lot of this reminds me a bit of “Mainstream” by Quiet Sun (minus Manzanera) with a

The latest by Yochk'o comes out at the same time as his old bandmate's François Cahen's last; a bit of a sad coincidence. This is more of a jazz release than some of this works, with a fairly standard line-up of Sebastien Lovato-piano, Didier Levallet...

James MacGaw, the great guitarist of Magma and One Shot, has been struggling with illness for some time. And due to the illness, he is struggling financially. This is a release that he worked on and finished in 2010, but hadn't done a final mix of, but when he got ill, his friends all pitched in and finished for him and that his friends all pitched in to release, with all proceeds going to James.

"Seven independent souls - a septet of mercenaries without a map or compass, let loose in the studios..

Shub Niggurath were a brilliant, very dark, French Zeuhl band. The original line-up (the only line-up that matters, imo) featured Alain Baullaud-bass, Franck Coulaud-drums, Franck Fromy-guitar, percussion, Jean-Luck Hervé-piano, harmonium, Ann Stewart-vocals and Veronique Verdier-trombone.
They seemingly burst out of nowhere with their stunning debut album on Musea (Musea's first release) "Les Morts Vont Vite" and then disappeared back into whatever dark hell had inspired them in the first place...

I have long enjoyed the work of Simon Steensland, a Swede who has released a number of very good albums over the last 15 years or so. He is a multi-instrumentalist and releases heavy, zeuhl/Univers Zero-flavored heavy and dark progressive albums. This...

I have long enjoyed the work of Simon Steensland, a Swede who is a multi-instrumentalist and releases heavy, Zeuhl/Univers Zero-flavored heavy and dark progressive albums.

“Simon Steensland is an outstanding musician and composer. He delivers yet another sonic gem!!!”-Quentin Nussbaumer

“Simon Steensland is one of my favorite current artists, his last few albums have been outstanding. He must have the worst public relations department in the world as he pretty unknown even in circles...

"Sub Rosa present a reissue of Univers Zero's second album Heresie, originally released in 1979. 2010 remixed version (Cuneiform Records). A classic of chamber rock music, featuring heavy use of dissonance and dark, brooding, and extremely complex melodies. Includes insert."

"This music on this LP might have little to do with rock, and might also be a massive downer, but the quality of the writing and playing is extremely high. Michel Berckmans' solo work on oboe and bassoon work is magnificent...

"Since the late 70s, Univers Zero composer and drummer Daniel Denis has been pursuing his vision of a chamber music that borrows the energy and production of rock, especially working with stereo extremes, but with a classical ambiance."-John Diliberto/...

"Univers Zero's new album follows the lineage of Phosphorescent Dreams, the group’s last album. Lueur is the fruit of two years' work and reflection, the foundations of which were laid by Daniel Denis (keyboards, drums, percussion), then enriched by the contributions of Nicolas Dechêne (guitars), Kurt Budé (clarinet / bass clarinet) and Nicolas Denis (bass, percussion, vocals), all three present on Phosphorescent Dreams. With this reduced line-up, Lueur offers a dense journey, rooted in the balance...

"Univers Zero's new album follows the lineage of Phosphorescent Dreams, the group’s last album. Lueur is the fruit of two years' work and reflection, the foundations of which were laid by Daniel Denis (keyboards, drums, percussion), then enriched by the contributions of Nicolas Dechêne (guitars), Kurt Budé (clarinet / bass clarinet) and Nicolas Denis (bass, percussion, vocals), all three present on Phosphorescent Dreams. With this reduced line-up, Lueur offers a dense journey, rooted in the balance...

“While ensembles like the Kronos and Brodsky quartets have filtered into the rock world by way of guest appearances or loosely adapting rock music, Univers Zero have been single-handedly bridging the two disparate worlds by integrating a frontline rhythm section into their dark scores. And what a powerhouse pulse machine it is..."-Focus

This is UZ's 2nd release since reforming in the late 1990's. and leader/composer/drummer/keyboardist Daniel Denis builds upon the rich legacy of Univers Zero's...

Over 30 years ago, after 3 years of work and rehearsals, a group of seven unknown Belgian musicians gathered in a small basement studio to record their first album, which they released themselves in a tiny edition of 500 copies. The album was untitled...

"...a must for lovers of adventurous music" – Keyboard

"A remarkably subtle weaving of rock, classical, & avant garde tactics..." – Alternative Press

"If Stravinsky had a rock band, it would sound like this. Blazing, white hot, medieval" – Advocate Newspapers

"Univers Zero's vision (is) pretty much unique & for those touched by it, nothing else will quite do...a sound that really couldn't be any other band in the world." ...

Well, first off, you need to know that this isn't a Zeuhl album. Stella sings beautifully a number of French-style chansons, with backing by a number of the Magma & related musicians (James Mac Gaw, Frederic D'Oelsnitz, Didier Lockwood, Simon Goubert, ...

"Stella speaks of dreams, children, love, innocence, light... After many years sharing the spotlight with Christian Vander, she steps up and takes center stage. From the very beginning of her performance, she manages to create a double climate...

“Faithfully remastered from the original mastertapes.”
This is a rather important and also rather unexpected release! Vortex are an under-known and underappreciated band who combined jazz rock with zeuhl and avant-progressive tendencies and recorded two rather rare albums in their lifetime (Vortex and Les Cycles De Thanatos). The first album featured Fender piano, saxes, flute, bass and drums, while the second album eliminated the flute, added more reeds, as well as oboe, English horn, mallet...

“Faithfully remastered from the original mastertape. High quality gatefold cover. 4 page insert with rare photos and liner notes.”

This is a rather important and also rather unexpected reissue! Vortex are an under-known and underappreciated band who combined jazz rock with zeuhl and avant-progressive tendencies and recorded two rather rare albums in their lifetime (Vortex and Les Cycles De Thanatos). This, their final album featured Fender piano, two reed players, bass, drums, oboe, English horn..

“Faithfully remastered from the original mastertape. High quality gatefold cover. 4 page insert with rare photos and liner notes.”

This is a rather important and also rather unexpected reissue! Vortex are an under-known and underappreciated band who combined jazz rock with zeuhl and avant-progressive tendencies and recorded two rather rare albums in their lifetime (Vortex and Les Cycles De Thanatos). This, their first album featured Fender piano, saxes, flute, bass and drums.

“Vortex...

Benoit was the keyboardist for Magma from 1975 to 1978. Additionally, he released a few solo albums in the mid/late 70's, of which this was the first. A keyboard/Moog-dominated record that at times gets amazingly heavy in a wild screaming synthi fusion way and at other times is very wonderfully atmospheric. It is perhaps comparable in timbre and tone to Jan Hammer's best work post Mahavishnu. Some of the material is solo and some features some unbelievably great guests.
If you are a fan of 70s music..

Benoit was the keyboardist for Magma from 1975 to 1978. Additionally, he released a few solo albums in the mid/late 70's, of which this was the first. A keyboard/Moog-dominated record that at times gets amazingly heavy in a wild screaming synthi fusion way and at other times is very wonderfully atmospheric. It is perhaps comparable in timbre and tone to Jan Hammer's best work post Mahavishnu. Some of the material is solo and some features some unbelievably great guests.
If you are a fan of 70s music..

Benoit was keyboardist for Magma from 1975 to 1978. Additionally, he released two solo albums in the mid/late 70's, of which this was the second, originally released in 1979. A keyboard/Moog-dominated record that at times gets amazingly heavy and at other times very wonderfully atmospheric, this is sorta comparable in timbre and tone to Jan Hammer's best work post Mahavishnu.

“French keyboard wizard Widemann's (ex-Magma) Tsunami is an incredible mix of electronics and jazz-fusion with prog/avant..

Xalph are a semi-legendary Zeuhl band who never released anything during their lifetime (1974-1980 or so) but who recorded demos which were met with some positive acclaim, even though they did not ever lead to an actual signing and which is what this lp is, finally given life beyond the cassette demo world.
In the mid 80s, they had one track from their demos (included here) released on the Magma-themed Enneade compilation by Musea.
For the truly zeuhl amongst us, this is a surprising and very...