FEATURED CD: Miriodor - Mekano

[battema]

First time I saw them was supporting Univers Zero at the French Embassy in DC in '10. Always great live. I like this one a lot, everything from Jongleries Elastiques is great, Avanti! is probably my favorite.

I was lucky enough to see them at NF and the Sonic Circuits show in DC. Both were great, for whatever reason the Embassy show just slayed me outright. Such an incredible set.

Happy to hear a new one is due to be released soon! Always room for another Miriodor CD at Chez Batts...

[Trane]

Three pages for a Mirodor album feature thread...

I do not have all Miriodor albums (yet) but of they never disappoint. This one is as good as the others i have; which means pretty excellent.

Well TBH, I caught up with them with Jonglerie, and worked my way though since, but I have a preference for the last two (Avanti and Fakir) and the Live 89 archive album.

I loved Jonglerie back then, but was slightly disappointed with Mekano

Oops yes, my bad. Had the timing mixed up with Jongleries Elastiques.

Actually, I also confuse the two albums

Avanti! is probably my favorite.

Not all that representative of their usual stuff, IMHO

I don't really care for any of the earlier releases all that much. And I have also not really identified with Cobra Fakir yet. Mekano and Parade are my favorites. Avanti and EJ are also quite tasty to these ears.

But seeing them live was the real deal. I felt they were even better live than in the studio myself.

my library system had their first few albums, but I can't say I was completely convinced enough to buy them.

And yessss... If I go to Carmeaux this year, Mitiodor will be the main reason why.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Not all that representative of their usual stuff, IMHO

This is an understanding I see quite often; that somehow Miriodor has a core of "usual" or "typical" and then somehow the odd release comes along to break with it. Have to say I disagree.

There's a prominent divergence between Rencontres and Miriodor, for instance - albeit released just two years from each other. Of course it was due to the lineup reduction, but there were several other factors too, some of them concerning the creative aspect. And then Jongleries came along with the electric guitars and a somewhat less "technology-based" sound overall, continued through Mekano.

Parade was altogether folkier and lighter, yet still more sombre in tone - obviously marked by the presence of Lars Hollmer (on some tracks) and sometimes nearing the likes of Hamster Theatre and Nimal. Avanti offered much more space and air in extended arrangements and more of an organic "live" feel, with Cobra turning quite the degree and racing inwards.

I think they are masters at trying different angles to an audio personality which is all their own. Along with Thinking Plague they arguably make for the ultimate "gateway" act into the malicious and uncertain void of the dreadful AVANT.

[Oops]

[Mascodagama]

Mostly true. One of the closest things they had was the Papa Boa album (Téte a Queue) back in '99, featuring Falaise and Leclerc of Miriodor, but this turns towards the freely improvised side of stuff as much as the "song form" approach. Of course, there WERE releases such as those by Les Poules, Wondeurbrass, Justine, Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso Bar, Rouge Ciel and Interférence Sardines, yet I believe Mascodagama would know of these already.

Thanks for these suggestions! I fear you do me too much credit - of the artists you name I'm only really familiar with Rouge Ciel and Interference Sardines. The others shall join my list for investigation.

Wait, Rouge Ciel might have released their two records on a subsidiary, I'm not sure. They were briefly involved in the Victoriaville workshops anyway. Still, AM was/is very much a label in the mold of Tzadik or Sonore (or even ReR nowadays); loosely based around various concepts of contemporary music as a fundament rather than as "genre". Jean Derome (of Conventum extreme fame) became one of their flagships during the early 90s, not least given his high acclaim as ensemble composer for stage, film and multimedia performances.

It occurs to me that I have not heard any work from Derome after Conventum. Considering the very high esteem I have for that group, this is something that I need to put right.

[Mascodagama]

Steve is right - most of AM's roster is more jazz-based. Or at least Quebec's peculiar home-grown version of jazz, which contains a certain amount of Quebecois folk music, an occasional echo of Zappa, and sounds rather Gallic in the mold of Poulenc. (For that matter, so do Miriodor.) It's definitely a type of progressive music, but not exactly "prog". Before I started going to NearFest, I was a regular at the Vancouver Jazz Festival; every couple years they'd bring some of the Montreal crowd in, so I got used to that particular sound.

Well, I've been a jazz fan for almost as long as I've been a prog fan - so about 30 years now! - and this mixture sounds enticing. I'll dig into the AM catalogue.

[Scrotum Scissor]

It occurs to me that I have not heard any work from Derome after Conventum. Considering the very high esteem I have for that group, this is something that I need to put right.

He's got a truly diverse and quite extensive catalog of releases and projects. I've only barely dug my toes in myself. But his overall oeuvre always struck me as intimately personal and beautiful, sometimes rather introspective and "mental" yet always emotionally engaging. For his (somewhat) more "rock" approach, the album he did with Cutler and Lussier nearly 20 years back, Three Piece Suite, is actually very good. He's extremely diverse stylistically, though.

[eporter66]

Saw them at NEARfest 2002 in Trenton, I've been hooked ever since. I love these guys.

[nosebone]

I have every album by them ,but can't for the life of me remember one melody.

[Baribrotzer]

I have every album by them, but can't for the life of me remember one melody.

Debussy is like that as well - beautiful, evocative sound-painting, but no hooks.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I have every album by them, but can't for the life of me remember one melody.

I've heard many folks say that about Miriodor.

I remember many a Miriodor melody, and I'm a fan - albeit not primarily because of their melodies (which are often not rooted in conventional articulations of ostinati). There are on the other hand dozens and dozens of bands I'm not a fan of even though I remember their desperate attempts at specific melodies just perfectly.

[chalkpie]

Debussy is like that as well - beautiful, evocative sound-painting, but no hooks.

Speak for yourself Johnny - I can "hear" a good amount of Debussy pieces in me head. If you listen long and attentively enough, there are oodles (first time using that word on PE) of melodies and bits. The most obvious is the intro to Prelude l'apres and Nocturnes. Sometimes melodies become more of a rhythmic thing and that's what we hear or remember. Sort of a fascinating topic, and there must gave been studies that either prove or disprove certain notions regarding melodic material and the brain.

[nosebone]

To further articulate, Miriodor's albums tend to coalesce in one swirling circus of "sameyness".

[Facelift]

To further articulate, Miriodor's albums tend to coalesce in one swirling circus of "sameyness".

I definitely don't think of them that way. I hear the albums as having their own character (within the overall thing they are doing). Your comment is something I absolutely would attribute to Hamster Theatre, however.

[Sputnik]

To further articulate, Miriodor's albums tend to coalesce in one swirling circus of "sameyness".

I definitely don't think of them that way. I hear the albums as having their own character (within the overall thing they are doing).

I agree with both of these statements. Miriodor's sound definitely fluctuates from album to album, each album having something of its own character. That is something I can definitely hear. But within each album there are, to my ears, often long stretches of "sameyness," and at the end of an album there is usually little I walk away humming or that stays with me. When I spin an album like Mekano, that I'm really familiar with, I remember the parts while they are playing, but few stick with me. Parade is almost a total mystery to me. For some reason that album has never clicked with me, and I have trouble focusing on it when it's playing; it just sort of morphs into the background. It happens on Elastic Juggling too, until Eric the Dancing Bear (or whatever it's called) comes on and wakes me up, and that buoys me through much of the rest of the album. I wish they had more material like that song.

I even have the same issue with parts of Mekano, which is why I felt lost 10-15 minutes on a 60+ minute album wouldn't be such a loss. A little of this super-dense music goes a long way for me, and less is often more for my ears, though clearly not for others.

Bill

[Trane]

I have every album by them ,but can't for the life of me remember one melody.

To further articulate, Miriodor's albums tend to coalesce in one swirling circus of "sameyness".

I understand where you're going

Same thing can be said of the other two Quebecois band Interférence Sardine and Rouge Ciel

However I do find Avanti fairly différent

[nosebone]

I'll spin Mekano and Avanti today to see if I can tell them apart.

[nosebone]

A lot of modern RIO type bands sound the same to me lately. They seem to only listen to each other .

[Steve F.]

A lot of modern RIO type bands sound the same to me lately. They seem to only listen to each other .

Miriodor were founded nearly 35 years ago. They aren't a 'modern' band. Their albums might sound 'samey' to you, but, imo, they don't sound like anybody else.

But I will say that I mostly agree with your statement about 'modern RIO-type' bands sounding like they only listen to each other.

I got out of the 'modern RIO racket' at least a decade ago, when it occurred to me that the demos I was receiving by many bands sounded like all they had ever listened to was the other bands on my label....

[Scrotum Scissor]

A lot of modern RIO type bands sound the same to me lately. They seem to only listen to each other.

Some of them probably do (I know of at least a couple myself, having actually spoken to the musicians in question about it), but there are two immediate objections at hand; a) Miriodor were pretty much originators of what they are doing - i.e. merging earlier RIO antics (1980s UZero come to mind), various folk- and ethnic musics, some modern jazz and contemporary composition, Quebecois "classic prog", Gentle Giant and more; b) the RIO tag has long since skewed off its initial maps and today encompasses so much and still so little that I find the term itself a bit obsolete. If you take primal "avant-prog" artists of the last decade - Kayo, SGM, Redfearn, Zs, Cheer-Accident, Time of Orchids, Extra Life, Algernon, PoiL, Aquaserge, Schnellertollermeier and so on - their impulses are swaying from post-/mathrock and indie-rock/pop/folk through extreme metal, grindcore and even a kind of mutated "symph" rock at times. The followers are always present, but they're not at all dominant and sometimes even barely visible.

[nosebone]

A lot of modern RIO type bands sound the same to me lately. They seem to only listen to each other .

Miriodor were founded nearly 35 years ago. They aren't a 'modern' band. Their albums might sound 'samey' to you, but, imo, they don't sound like anybody else.

I didn't say Miriodor was a modern band.

But I agree they sound samey to me!

[mellotron storm]

Recontres is my absolute favourite from them so it's good to hear Steve say that there's some of that flavour on their up coming release. I'm going to try to spin this featured album today or tomorrow, it's been a while.

[Gravedigger]

they don't sound like anybody else.

As I've said before, that is the highest compliment (imo) that any band could receive,
no matter what genre.

[mellotron storm]

Just finished spinning it and it's even better than I remembered. I love those experimental bits and darker sections, that first track kills in that regard. Just a very consistent record all the way through.

[Baribrotzer]

A lot of modern RIO type bands sound the same to me lately. They seem to only listen to each other .

But I will say that I mostly agree with your statement about 'modern RIO-type' bands sounding like they only listen to each other.

I got out of the 'modern RIO racket' at least a decade ago, when it occurred to me that the demos I was receiving by many bands sounded like all they had ever listened to was the other bands on my label....

I wonder how much that's true, though, and how much it's a coincidence. If a progressive band uses vibes as a lead instrument , they'll sound like Zappa, or at least seem sound like him. If they use counterpoint, they'll sound like Gentle Giant, or at least seem to. And so forth: If they have a strong Stravinsky influence, particularly from Rite of Spring, they'll sound like Present or Univers Zero. If they have an advanced, "difficult" harmonic language, they'll sound like Henry Cow or Thinking Plague - particularly if they also have a female singer. If they have folk influences, they'll sound like Stormy Six or Samla Mannas Manna.

In other words, even if they make a point of listening to primary influences - to modern classical music, to folk music, to jazz, to many things that aren't rock and aren't RIO progressive - they may wind up sounding like other RIO bands. Between adapting those musics to a rock band's sound and instrumentation, and associations in the listener's mind, a similarity appears, even if it wasn't meant. Or even known of.

If you take primal "avant-prog" artists of the last decade - Kayo, SGM, Redfearn, Zs, Cheer-Accident, Time of Orchids, Extra Life, Algernon, PoiL, Aquaserge, Schnellertollermeier and so on - their impulses are swaying from post-/mathrock and indie-rock/pop/folk through extreme metal, grindcore and even a kind of mutated "symph" rock at times. The followers are always present, but they're not at all dominant and sometimes even barely visible.

And that's very true. Some of those bands - SGM come to mind - are very aware of their Seventies predecessors. But I'm not sure whether guys like Zs ever heard, or even heard of Henry Cow et al, or whether they're combining studies in formal composition or in jazz with the metal/hip-hop/indie rock they grew up with. To them, old-time prog, even RIO, may just sound too old-fashioned to be of much interest. For a parallel example, I know one very capable avant-prog musician who simply cannot listen to jazz, even compositionally sophisticated jazz like Mingus or Third Stream, because the conventions of jazz apparently just sound too corny to him.

[Steve F.]

I wonder how much that's true, though, and how much it's a coincidence.

John, since you didn't hear the demos I heard that caused me to say that, and since I have had more to do professionally with RIO-styled rock music than possibly any other person in the world during the period of 1986-2006 or so, I would politely just say that you're wrong.