Tiemko

[Progbear]

Often mentioned in the same breath as their Muséa contemporaries—Minimum Vital and Edhels—for some reason this 80s-90s French band has been forgotten. I think that’s a grievous mistake. Yes, they have that very “glassy” digital sound of their era, but they developed a unique musical language that transcended their poor production. They had a very adventurous and dark sound, obviously influenced by King Crimson and heavily leaning towards the avant-garde direction, loaded with dissonances and sharp twists and turns. In retrospect, I can see them being somewhat of an acquired taste, but a band this forward-thinking and original deserves canonization.

Of their first four albums, I’d say Parade is the most satisfying; all the songs are short, and their sound works best in bite-sized chunks, as opposed to the sprawling epics of Océan (which I still love). Espace fini, their official debut, is also worthy if you like their sound. Clône commits the error of adding vocals to the mix, but the lengthy instrumentals are Tiemko as we’ve come to know and love them.

Still haven’t heard the late Eric Delaunay’s debut solo album, the fiendishly rare Antagonisme! Nor have I heard the posthumous release, Ça tourne... Can anyone shed some light on those?

Any other fans out there of this underrated band?

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Often mentioned in the same breath as their Muséa contemporaries—Minimum Vital and Edhels—for some reason this 80s-90s French band has been forgotten. I think that’s a grievous mistake. Yes, they have that very “glassy” digital sound of their era, but they developed a unique musical language that transcended their poor production. They had a very adventurous and dark sound, obviously influenced by King Crimson and heavily leaning towards the avant-garde direction, loaded with dissonances and sharp twists and turns. In retrospect, I can see them being somewhat of an acquired taste, but a band this forward-thinking and original deserves canonization.

Of their first four albums, I’d say Parade is the most satisfying; all the songs are short, and their sound works best in bite-sized chunks, as opposed to the sprawling epics of Océan (which I still love). Espace fini, their official debut, is also worthy if you like their sound. Clône commits the error of adding vocals to the mix, but the lengthy instrumentals are Tiemko as we’ve come to know and love them.

Still haven’t heard the late Eric Delaunay’s debut solo album, the fiendishly rare Antagonisme! Nor have I heard the posthumous release, Ça tourne... Can anyone shed some light on those?

Any other fans out there of this underrated band?

luv me sum Tiemko!

I finally got me a copy of Eric Delaunay's solo album and it is pretty good. I was not too thrilled with the 'unfinished' recordings called Ca Tourne

[calyx]

I remember spending an evening with the band in 1995. For some reason the long interview we did never saw the light of day, but I still have the tape somewhere - I think. I met Eric Delaunay again a few months later when he was looking for collaborators for his "Clones" project. I think Jean-Pascal Boffo was already on board at the time, but Patrick Forgas was considered and that's why the meeting took place. Eventually Thierry Payssan of Minimum Vital became the third man. At the time I remember one of his fingers looked really bad, partly black - I believe it was some sort of tumor, as I understand he died (the following year - 1996) as a result of something brought about by this infection/cancerous "thing". When Pip Pyle was still alive, I remember him telling me that he was sometimes playing with Rémy Chauvidan and JJ Toussaint, the guitarist and keyboard player. I found Eric Delaunay's 1980 album on a blog somewhere and had a couple of listens - didn't leave an indelible mark. On the whole I think Tiemko was a very interesting and talented band, but as you say, their insistence on not using "vintage" prog sounds wasn't matched by a satisfying alternative soundworld. It does sound very dated to my ears, now, which is a shame.

[Sputnik]

I have all their albums, and like them all to some extent. I agree, Parade is probably their best, and certainly my favorite. But all their albums have interesting moments and are decent listens. They embraced the digital sound and that both defines them, and limits them. Their compositions probably deserve a better legacy, but the recordings are what they are, and sometimes you just have to live with the consequences of your decisions.

Bill

[rockcup]

Use a translator:

http://babyblaue-seiten.de/index.php...=genre&genre=1

[MJBrady]

Wow, I nearly forgot about this band, and I really was into them for a time. Here is an archival review:

"Reviewed by MJBrady on 07 Nov 2001"
What a refreshing cd, Tiemko is yet another French band that has captivated my attention with intelligent and melodic, subtle technicality, and very far reaching style incorporations. And they are a three piece, it is rare to hear this kind of a full sound from such a band, they do have a distinct sound that reminds somewhat of other French progressive bands I have heard lately: Priam, Xang, and Xaal, and perhaps a bit ofZe Morglbl Trio, albeit not nearly as heavy. It's the kind of progressive, you simply fall into and get taken away, mostly instrumental, they place an emphasis on structures and melodies, not giving into masturbatory scale excercises, very peaceful, and at the same time powerful and energetic, it's a very unique combination I know, but it is something that seems to be exclusive to these French prog/fusion bands. Each successive listen rewards with new discoveries that may pass you by on your first experiences, which makes for a cd that will remain a timeless treasure. After hearing this cd, I was drawn back to it again and again, and it's familiarity became a knowing Deja vu - like experience, that is a sign of a great one for me. And now I am left to dig into the depths of the obscurities of progressive rock to see if there is more! And there is!! "

[MJBrady]

And another from 2002:

"Reviewed by MJBrady on 13 Jan 2002
In progressive rock, certain countries have adopted a sound if you will, that is distinctly identified with other bands that have this certain sound, like when people mention bands with Canturbury influences(British), or Zeuhl(German), and the same could be said for Japan, and Italy, Sweden, and on and on. I won't be so naive to say every band from these countries sound like eachother, as there are always other bands that are going to be entirely unique to this stigma. As I discover more music from France, I am being entertained with this same stigma, and this is a good thing to me. In the last year I have had the pleasure to hear many French prog bands, both old and new, such as: Cafiene, Ange, Atoll, Arachnoid, Edhels, Shylock, Xang, Taal, Priam, Xaal, just to name a few. And a common thread seems to run throught these bands as far as style and sound are concerned, though every band listed here is excellent, and is deserving of their own accolades.

Tiemko is a three piece band consisting of guitars, keyboards and various percussions(xylophones, vibraphones, drums, etc.) Their sound is very full and dynamic, blending layers of synths with cleanly distorted guitars, a couple songs are very atmospheric, bordering on new age, but for the most part it is full symphonic progressive, with pizazz. The band plays these more progressive pieces with a lot of rhythmic syncopation, all while filling the voids with interesting synth and guitar sounds. The use of xylophone, vibraphone adds a certain something to this bands music, it's as if they are employing two keyboardists, all are fantastic musicians, in full command of their instruments, and never seek to be center stage as soloists, in true progressive rock fashion they are concerned with personifying an overall effect through intelligent compositions, and the end result is great progresssive rock, deserving to get more attention outside their own country to be sure. "

[Scrotum Scissor]

They were a solid act. It's hard to say what may have caused the more or less uniform ignorance towards them, other than the obvious and usual pointing to their "digital sound design"; their music was never extraordinary in either experimental reach or sonic power, but still way more compositionally refined and daring than many a well-known similar artist of the day. Like other French bands back then (Eclat, Versailles, Edhels, Halloween, Minimum Vital), they often tended to fall in-between chairs with what appeared to be a disrespect for the conventions of the traditions to which they still adhered. I'm not really fond of their debut album (and I never heard Delaunay's solo, which according to rumour has more Zeuhl in it), but I quite like Ocean, Parade and even Clone - give or take the vocal tracks on the latter. Hell, I even find a couple of those vocal numbers somewhat amusing...