Get your Zeuhl fix here (new Setna clip)

[Udi Koomran]

https://youtu.be/3fsAHO8zCLg

[NogbadTheBad]

These guys are just great.

[notallwhowander]

Thanks Udi!

These guys are just great.

I wholly agree.

[calyx]

I was at the show (back in February). A rare occurrence, sadly, but well worth the trip to their hometown of Rouen for the occasion. They're playing at a jazz festival next week-end but sadly I can't make it.

[boilk]

Oh man, does that sound good! Loved them at the Soleil Zeuhl festival a few years back, and it was intense.

Let a new album be made!!

neil

[NogbadTheBad]

Oh man, does that sound good! Loved them at the Soleil Zeuhl festival a few years back, and it was intense.

Let a new album be made!!

neil

I was pretty much Zeuhled out by the end of that day, wonderful as it was, Setna were the highlight for me.

[boilk]

I was pretty much Zeuhled out by the end of that day, wonderful as it was, Setna were the highlight for me.

So, it is possible for you to overkill on both Neo and Neom....very interesting. Ha, I could have listened to them go on all night, lol.

neil

[Poisoned Youth]

New album please.

[chalkpie]

So I guess I might be the party pooper here...

Certainly good, but I can't say its any better than that for me personally. It seems a little "Zeuhl-by-numbers". I guess I can't help to compare these bands to the one and only greatest Zeuhl band ever, and compared to them it falls flat in just about every aspect, especially as a composition. Its pretty forgetful to my ears, and never really reaches any true pinnacle of excitement, including the blowing. If that is what they are going for, then cool, they achieved their objective. A lot of symph bands get slagged here for trying to play music in a certain style that was (for the most part) done better in the 70's, and to my ears I am seeing a correlation here as well - just replace zeuhl with symph. The other problem is that brother Udi turned me onto Nik Bartsch last week, and that music is akin to a religious experience, and although its perhaps apples-to-oranges, any band in a zeuhly/minimalist/proggy/jazzy aesthetic is going to fall short tonight....bad timing I guess

I guess I'm rambling, but I wouldn't buy their music based on this track. Perhaps another track would win me over? I Wish them the best of luck though, looks like they are trying to live the dream with a 'Z'

[boilk]

All fair points. I have a feeling that, that performance may be not what the final album version would sound like, but who knows. I loved their last, Guerison.

This is more representative of what they are capable of, including, to my ears at least, some beautiful bass work from the 30 second to 1:20 mark. They are certainly not going for a Magma aesthetic. It has it's own vibe.

[Udi Koomran]

I played Francis Linon some parts of Guerison and to my surprise he was genuinely impressed
Frankie do you know this album ?

https://soundcloud.com/udi-koomran/s...n-soleil-zeuhl

[calyx]

The first two albums have this spiritual, mostly ethereal vibe... They told me they want to try something darker for the next album. And as you see the reeds player from the 1st album, who wasn't present on the 2nd, is back now, and there is no lead keyboardist (they originally had a lot of Moog solos), so less of that. (The pedal steel player - now a fulltime member - does play lead synth parts, but written lines rather than solos)

Frank, you really must hear their albums in full before passing judgment... You'd miss some really great music, imho... Sure there's a strong Magma influence in the sound (Rhodes/bass) but they do their own thing with it. Not 100% original by any means, but still stands out.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Frank, you really must hear their albums in full before passing judgment.

Amen to that.

This is one of the reasons why I only spin Setna once in a while; I have to listen to the whole thing in a single setting - and then it absolutely floors me. Every bloody time.

[Phlakaton]

Any place to get the latest as a digital download?

[chalkpie]

Totally into hearing more of these guys. If you guys are all enthusiastic about them then I'm sure they are worth listening to. Just based on that one clip it didn't do much for me, but I'm not a quitter. Well, I am but in different things

[Poisoned Youth]

Totally into hearing more of these guys. If you guys are all enthusiastic about them then I'm sure they are worth listening to. Just based on that one clip it didn't do much for me, but I'm not a quitter. Well, I am but in different things

I think SS said it right that they really produce an "album experience" and you have to sit and listen to the whole thing in one sitting. That what I felt about Cycle I, but even more so about Guerison. The latter made my album of the year personally. They may be a bit too minimalistic or drone like for some - at least in what they expect from their Zeuhl, but it works extremely well for me.

Great to hear you're digging the Nik Bartsch albums though. Try listening to those when you have something to work on that has a deadline. It's like the soundtrack for subtle tension lol.

[notallwhowander]

This is the clip that drew me into the band. It's from the first album.

[Zeuhlmate]

The medley "Zappa pas à pas" - 2009 finished in 2016 (they dont ride the day they saddle up)

http://sesame7.free.fr/fr/setna/zappa.htm

[Splicer]

Excellent. Really enjoy this band a lot.

[notallwhowander]

Wow! A direction I did not expect, but great none the less.

[mellotron storm]

Most seem to prefer their second one to the debut but that debut floors me every time I spin it. The second one doesn't have those female vocals and it's not as ethereal in my opinion, the debut is like having a religious experience of some sort.
So it's interesting they are going in a different direction here as I usually prefer darker music but man a Cycle II would be right up my alley.
Thanks for the clip Udi!

[mellotron storm]

I wish Xing Sa would roll out another album, they are connected to Setna. I had Xing Sa's sole album as my album of the year for 2010, while Setna's debut I had at number two for 2007, so yeah I love these bands.

[Mascodagama]

Hmm, I didn't get Guerison because the female vox were such a big part of my enjoyment of the "lounge zeuhl" of Cycle I. But I see people mention it as a favourite so often that I think I'll have to remedy that.

Xing Sa is aces, too.

[notallwhowander]

The debut held me spellbound for a long time. However, when I first heard Guerison it immediately felt like this was where the music needed to go. So the spell of the debut was broken for a while. It has since reinstated itself, but that was interesting for a while.

I was also disappointed that Guerison didn't have female lead vocals. But, I really want this band to do their thing and not mine. Hopefully the female vox will come back around.

[Trane]