Tag Archives: zeuhl

Ryorchestra – DMK

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

It’s already quite a year for Zeuhl and other types of avant-prog, with the due comeback of Japanese act 高円寺百景 (Kōenji Hyakkei) and their album ドリンビスカ (Dhorimviskha), French supergroup Piniol and their stellar album Bran coucou. Of note, there are also Moteur!, Protoplasma, and Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere for good measure. This is quite a crowded year for such a niche genre, and Ryorchestra is yet another voice that tries to be heard. DMK is the Japanese band’s debut album, and it was released in June without any promotion whatsoever, and … Read more

高円寺百景 – ドリンビスカ

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

It’s been thirteen years since the Tōkyō-based avant-prog ensemble released Angherr shisspa, which was widely praised as the culmination of progressive rock. In the current year, 高円寺百景 (Kōenji Hyakkei) started a crowdfunding campaign for the release of their fifth album, ドリンビスカ (Dorimbisuka), mostly seen written as Dhorimviskha, and they not only met, but surpassed their goal! As such, the complete album was released on July 11 via bandcamp, and physical orders are being completed as of now.

The music on this new spawn of madness is in line with what we know Kōenji … Read more

Inhumankind – Self-Extinction

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

The Spanish duo of Pablo Selnik and Àlex Reviriego, Inhumankind, was one of the surprises of the Spring. It would seem indeed rather bare to have a flute and double bass duo alone play songs inspired by black metal! Fortunately, the two musicians are joined by three competent singers: the harmonized vocals of Celeste Alías and Marta Valero, and the growls of Eric Baule. At first, I didn’t expect much — many projects claiming to bridge classical music and metal have come and gone without any memorable release —, but Inhumankind are able to keep … Read more

P.O.N. – P.O.N. (1995)

by Dæv Tremblay

The Words

P.O.N. was a Japanese jazz fusion band active in the ’90s, and whose only release is this obscure self-titled album. I wanted to talk about it, however, because it is still relevant in today’s world due to its high production value and contemporary sound. P.O.N. features forty-five minutes of blazing saxophone, guitar, and vibraphone on top of a Zappaesque backing band.

How so? Well, if the regular rhythmic modulations — frequently shifting from straight eighths to many different n-tuplets — didn’t tip you off, you might as well be deaf. However, it is, in my opinion, much more … Read more

We Pyrrhic Conquerors – The End Is Nigh

by Matt Matheson

The Music

The Thoughts

The general free-flowing complexity of zeuhl music and the band name We Pyrrhic Conquerors suggest a sizable ensemble of musicians, performing with some level of loose improvisation. Yet Bandcamp informs us that the richly composed The End Is Nigh is the product of one Joey M. Bishop. That’s about all the information I can glean about the artist; there’s no Facebook page to refer to, no specific location given (Bandcamp tags the project as United States, but the drums were recorded at a studio in Indonesia?), and even Google currently returns zero results for the band … Read more