Soleil Zeuhl / Mutant news

[ashratom]

Frank told me the SHUB N. tape had been made as a help for finding concerts, being sent to club owners etc..
But of course, it may have been sold too...

Recording dates of APSARA : Frank first said the late 70s... but it could be as well from the first half of the 80s. As far as I know the music papers here never published anything at the time about these bands, so tracking the truth is really difficult (these were the days before internet, before the explosion of fanzines...).
What is left is human memory...

A.

Haha... As Calyx noted about the Shub Niggurath date, a topic which you and I went back and forth on as well recently. No matter, I look forward to hearing the Apsara material (and the Altais is very good in its own right). I'll buy it as soon as it arrives here in the States. Thanks for the additional info guys!

[Soleilzeuhl]

The 4 new CDs are now available (Scherzoo / Unit Wail / La STPO / Nadavati).
Within 10 days or so, they will reach the other side of the big pond :-)
A.

[TheH]

The 4 new CDs are now available (Scherzoo / Unit Wail / La STPO / Nadavati).
Within 10 days or so, they will reach the other side of the big pond :-)
A.

Great, are you still selling those over CDandLP? (don't see them there)

[NogbadTheBad]

The 4 new CDs are now available (Scherzoo / Unit Wail / La STPO / Nadavati).
Within 10 days or so, they will reach the other side of the big pond :-)
A.

Sweet, will order on arrival

[Soleilzeuhl]

Great, are you still selling those over CDandLP? (don't see them there)

The are listed since a couple of hours.... you don't see them ?

[TheH]

The are listed since a couple of hours.... you don't see them ?

Now I do! Thanks.

[calyx]

Hi,

For those who read French or can stand (or possibly enjoy, in a perverse way) the approximations of automatic online translators, I have just had Alain add to the Soleil Zeuhl website the interviews I did with all five former members of Nadavati - Jacky Liot, Alain Lecointe (Hamsa Music, Alain Eckert, Strave...), Mico Nissim, Patrice Quentin (Crium Delirium, Nyl, Urban Sax...) and Didier Hauck (Triode) - for the booklet bio.

http://www.soleilzeuhl.com/fr/catalo...ions/nadavati/

I have prepared a similar document with the interviews I did for the Alain Eckert Quartet CD, which is now online too.

http://www.soleilzeuhl.com/fr/catalo...ckert-quartet/

I hope to do the same for Apsara/Altaïs and, since the latter involved considerable discussion of Shub Niggurath, something about Shub too.

Sorry that this is only in French. It would be considerable work to do a proper English translation. I hope with the available tools those interested can at least get a vague idea of the story !

AL

PS: Try, for instance : https://translate.google.fr/translat...%2Fnadavati%2F

[Poisoned Youth]

Sweet, will order on arrival

Glad the thread got bumped. Just place an Wayside order.

[NogbadTheBad]

Glad the thread got bumped. Just place an Wayside order.

That happens to me all the time

[boilk]

Just ordered Scherzoo 3, from Laser's Edge. Yes, I did.

neil

[Sputnik]

Just ordered Scherzoo 3, from Laser's Edge. Yes, I did.

neil

I got the Scherzoo, Unit Wail and the Nadavati from the same place. Should arrive soon. Looking forward to them.

Bill

[Rio-grant]

Hi Alan,
Great news! And they all sound great, in its own way.
Are you by any chance going to the Rio fetival in september?
I'll start saving money....
Cheers, Peter

[Soleilzeuhl]

Hi Alan,
Are you by any chance going to the Rio fetival in september?
I'll start saving money....
Cheers, Peter

I'll be there - as I am every year since the 1st ed. in 2007

Alain

[Magic Mountain]

Bravo! This is indeed ALTAÏS.
That band has a unique story : it was born on the ashes of another zeuhl band named APSARA who split when 2 of its members left for joining another zeuhl band, then named GORGONUS. Very quickly afterwards, GORGONUS will be renamed ....SHUB NIGGURATH...!
On the other side, the remaining members of Apsara, renamed the band ALTAÏS.

Our issue will gather the official ALTAÏS maxi (3 tracks, 14 minutes - 1 track already available on Musea's comp. "Enneade") + the sole studio track ever recorded by APSARA (10 minutes, never released) + live APSARA tracks (40 minutes).

The complete story of the 3 bands will be detailed into a booklet written by Calyx.
In short, it's gonna be the early days of Shub Niggurath and its short-lived twin band (Altaïs) ...

What ever happened with this release? Did I miss this?

[calyx]

What ever happened with this release? Did I miss this?

The CDs have been manufactured (I got my copy from Alain before he left for an extended holiday), but will only be available to the public in September.

[Udi Koomran]

https://youtu.be/ZQLSBjlf5Ew
https://youtu.be/GUV1ZGZpxLQ

[Steve F.]

They go up end of the day on Monday, Sept 7.

[NogbadTheBad]

They go up end of the day on Monday, Sept 7.

Guess I have a Cuneiform and SZ order coming up.

[Soleilzeuhl]

Yes, both releases will be available sept. 7th :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqm0...ature=youtu.be
VAK
1st album of this french band whose sound & compos are firmly rooted into Zeuhl. Line-up of guitar, bass, drums, synths, vocals & flute.
Vak started in 2008, centered around the prog/zeuhl compos of Vladimir Mejstelman : repetitive patterns, asymetric measures, crafted melodies and emphatic moments. After several musicians changes over the years, further influences completed the melting pot from the progressive metal rhythmics reminding Tool or some of Mike Patton's projects, to experiments echoing the Rock in Opposition scene (Guapo). Female vocalist Aurelie Saintecroix does a great job, her wordless vocals strongly evoking Eskaton's early works. This first album has been recorded between 2011/2014, destined to be issued as 2 EPs (6 long tracks) - which never happened.
Vak is nowadays heading towards a new kind of zeuhl with broad perspectives, notably metal & space-rock touches (a 2nd album should be issued in 2016!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUV1...ature=youtu.be (extract)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQLS...ature=youtu.be
ALTAIS / APSARA
This double cd documents the pre-Shub Niggurath era. In short (the 12 pages booklet written by Aymeric Leroy -aka Calyx here- details the whole story, with photos), in the early 80s two bands (Apsara & Gorgonus) from the same geographical area (Paris southern suburb), met & quickly became friends as they shared the same concern : their common Magma influence. After a while, the idea of merging the two combos into a big band emerged. Some of Apsara musicians rejected the idea & decided to continue on their own while Franck Fromy, Ann Stewart & Veronique Verdier joined Gorgonus that was quickly renamed Shub Niggurath. On their side, the remaining members of Apsara renamed the band Altaïs (with Eider Stellaire members soon joining & supporting).
Until now none of Gorgonus & Apsara musics was ever issued ; only Altaïs released a maxi single vinyl in 1986 (whose long track forming the complete side 1 was later included on Musea's compilation "Enneade").
CD 1 contains the sole studio track ever recorded by Apsara (clocking over 11 minutes) + 4 live tracks recorded in 1983 (43 minutes). The sound quality of the live tracks is unfortunately mediocre but we thought that their historical importance justifies their official publishing.
CD 2 is the first reissue of the complete Altaïs maxi single (3 tracks for a total of 14 minutes).
All together the complete set includes 68 minutes of music, of which 25 are professional quality and 43 are (decent imo...) bootleg sounding.
Each CD comes in an individual cardboard cover, the Altaïs one being the repro of the original vinyl. With the 12 pages booklet, the whole thing is wrapped into a double sided plastic bag. Strictly limited edition of 500 copies.

[oilersfan]

Yeah, going to have to pick up both of those.

[Trane]

Alain, will you be in Carmaux in two weeks??

[Soleilzeuhl]

Alain, will you be in Carmaux in two weeks??

Yes... as every year

[Trane]

Yes... as every year

unlike moi... sadly!!!

[NogbadTheBad]

Finally managed to give the VAK and the Altais / Apsara a good listen since getting back from RIO. I like the VAK, it seems on a par with other good modern French Zeuhl such as Rhun. Nothing that knocks it out of the park but a good album I'll get plenty of listening out of. The Altais / Aspara is exactly what Alain described, an interesting historical document that opens a window into the pre Shub bands. If you are a Shub fan then its pretty much essential, I like the quality recorded material a lot even if there is only 25 minutes of it. The live material is certainly bootleg quality though I have listened to a lot worse. Once you get into listening to it the flaws drop away into the background while never going away. I certainly agree with the decision to include that material, it's good enough to be there with the warning. Overall very happy with the release. I still need to read the booklet.

[calyx]

Altais / Aspara... Overall very happy with the release. I still need to read the booklet.

Just a note here to say that the interviews I did with the former band members that I used as the basis for the booklet bio will eventually appear on the SZ website [as promised in the French liner notes...], as - a reminder for those who missed them but might be interested - with the Nadavati and Alain Eckert Quartet interviews. These are in French only, but if you run the page through an automatic translator, for all its limitations, you could be in for some interesting reading. I'm just too busy at the moment to finish editing the interviews, but hopefully in the not too distant future... I interviewed all former band members and even the sound engineer !