[2011] Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church of The Leading Hand + Aluk Tolodo - A Collaboration

Tight, syncopated drumming, wonky bass and martial industrial madness. What's not to love? The new collaboration between these two dark beasts is out, and as expected, it shows the best of both bodies of work and much more. Considered a continuation of Der Blutharsch's first release in this vein, in which the noisy psyschedelic-rock band White Hills participated. Outstanding release.



Buy it directly from Amortout here.

[1986] Shub Niggurath - Les Morts Von Vite (Reissue 1997)

More french avant-prog, and this time is the turn of the legendary Shub Niggurath. Inspired by Magma and Art Zoyd, their occult, haunting vibe typical of the french bands following the contemporary classical approach in progressive rock back then. It's not as energetic as Magma was (with its strong jazz elements), but it's as bombastic and full of the same free improvisation that characterized the bands from the well known Rock In Opposition movement.

Download it here: [V0][FLAC]


Buy it directly from Musea Records here.

[1978] Univers Zéro / Art Zoyd - Live at Theatre du Taur, Toulouse, France

A somewhat rare bootleg of a 1978 show in France, in which Univers Zéro and Art Zoyd shared the stage and even played songs together. This bootleg recording is not complete though (some songs are missing), but what most would look forward to hear (a collaboration between both bands) is present in Complainte.
Aside from that, this bootleg has songs from Univers Zéro's Heresie era, and Art Zoyd's first album played live; it's not the best recording ever since the mic pans from channel to channel and there's a few other flaws, but even then it's worth having, particularly for Univers Zéro's Jack The Ripper, excellent live rendition of one of their most famous songs.

Download it here: [V0][FLAC]


Unavailable for purchase.

[2010][REQUEST] Mop Meuchiine - Mop Meuchiine plays Robert Wyatt

Another Robert Wyatt tribute, and this time is the collective Mop Meuchiine, fronted by the prolific Pascal Maupeu, with an intense collaborative project which ranges from the jazzy feel of early Soft Machine to the intense, improvisational post-rock delivery of bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and similar.
Excellent material.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Le Chant Du Monde here.

[1976] Art Zoyd - Symphonie pour le Jour où Brûleront les Cités (2008 Reissue)

One of the few still existing bands that formed part of the legendary Rock In Opposition movement, which also managed to remain somewhat fresh after all these decades. Art Zoyd's debut already shows some of the traits characterizing bands like Magma and Univers Zéro: dark, gospel-like choruses, with a prominent strings section (mostly heard in Univers Zéro) and a strong jazz influence. While it's not as noticeable in this album (their first), it shows some of the dark ambient leaning that will later give them relevance within the french scene.
Comparatively speaking, Univers Zéro and Art Zoyd share plenty of traits, although the former delved more into avant-prog rock than the latter, which focused mostly on electronic arrangements. As with the other members of the Rock In Opposition original lineup, it'd be a sin to overlook.

Download it here: [V0][FLAC Part 1 Part 2] Updated!


Currently unavailable.

[2009] Orchestre National de Jazz - Around Robert Wyatt

A very interesting release, which gathers plenty of classic compositions from popular albums in which Robert Wyatt (such an inspiring figure of the canterbury prog scene of the 70's and beyond) contributed and took part of, ranging from his solo albums, the Blegvad/Greaves/Herman collab known as  Kew Rhone, to Matching Mole and many others, reinterpreted by the Orchestre National de Jazz, and even with his own participation in a good part of them. Without losing a bit of their original quality, the songs are embellished with noteworthy contributions, such as Rokia Taoré's soul-influenced vocals, full of warmth and innocence, or Yael Naim's folky vibe, giving it a kind, retro feel to Wyatt's compositions.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Abeille Musique here.

[2011] Thymolphthalein - Ni Maître, Ni Marteau

A somewhat unlikely ensemble coming from France and Australia, delivering a rhythmically complex sonic assault, revolving around electro-acoustic improvisation and electronic, self-made instruments to create tones hard to identify among the spastic array of fractured sounds. Surprising debut, recorded and performed live at the SWR2 New Jazz Meeting in France, 2009.

(meant to be played loud given its extreme frequency range, which perhaps could be benefited from a higher bitrate)

Download it here: [192][V0]

Buy it directly from Editions Mego here.

[2008] UFO Gestapo - Vatependr!

First full length of one of the greatest new acts coming from France I've heard so far. Somewhat resembling the hazy, slow-dragging riffing style of bands like Noothgrush, UFO Gestapo stands out with his mix of hardcore anger with dark, paranoiac humor.Overall bizarre band, with some drug-fueled moments from time to time.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Sold out in Streaks Records.

[2008] Gunslingers - No More Invention

Formed by one of the members of the krautrock band Aluk Todolo, Antoine Hadjioannou (drums), Gunslingers is an insane mix of psychedelic madness with the careless attitude of post-punk, which resembles in some ways the krautrock movement but retaining a garage/DIY aesthetic. At a first listen it reminds a lot of Aluk Todolo's Obedience, the same fast drumming along with the wall of guitars strolling around, but in this case vocals play an important role in the upbeat tone of this album. All in all a noteworthy debut, full of catchy songs and trippy vocals.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from World In Sound here (check the Catalog >> CD/Vinyl).

[2007] Aluk Todolo - Descension

Their noisiest album (also their first), a pure display of krautrock repetitiveness that reminds of their Tony Conrad influence. While not as cyclical and compelling in delivery as Finsternis, this album deserves a listen mostly because of the first and last track, its harsh wall of sound with fast drumming will definitely attract the followers of the genre looking for some recent works.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Public Guilt here (scroll down).

[1993] Vibraslaps - Vibraslaps

Ikue Mori, one of the most prominent Tzadik solo artists of the last decade and also with a reasonable number of collaborations, released a free improv collab along with Catherine Jauniaux (avantgarde singer, member of Aksak Maboul) back in 1993 under the name of Vibraslaps. This was back in the era when Mori focused mostly on drum machines, and Jauniaux had already established herself with Aksak Maboul and her solo work with the aid of Fred Frith, Fluvial. The result is somewhat similar to the latter, going a step further into the insanity by using completely improvised vocals, and there doesn't seem to exist a limit for how quirky and out there they could get. All in all a great release for the fans of their career (both Ikue Mori and Catherine Jeauniaux), and avant-prog in general.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from RecRec Music here.

[1999] NeBeLNeST - NeBeLNeST

Part of the main lineup of the Rock in Opposition reunion festival back in 2007 (alongside Present and Guapo, most recent representatives of the "movement"), this french band mixes the moog synths and blissed out psychedelic guitars from the 70's (Pink Floyd comes to mind) with the academic avant-prog from Present to create an original blend. For fans of the aforementioned bands, Dün, Astra, and T2.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Musea Records here.

[2008] One Second Riot - One Second Riot

My latest discovery, product of a split with Neptune, this french post-punk/noise-rock band really fits the association with Neptune. Released their debut in 2008, this band imprints a depressive take on the experimental post-punk coming from bands like Swell Maps and This Heat, while adding a heaviness not unlike hardcore. There's a The Cure cover floating around which is one of the best covers I've heard, since the vocalist sounds very similar to Robert Smith, which fits the vibe. Definitely check this out, hopefully you won't regret it.

Updated!
Download it here: [256][V0]


Buy it directly from Music Fear Satan here.

[2010] Saturnalia Temple/Nightbringer/Nihil Nocturne/Aluk Todolo - On The Powers of The Sphinx

My third favorite split of this year (first would be Lose / Lose / Lose, and second Dirtpill / Заводь / Zuboroth), this 4-way split delivers the best of occult-influenced bands I've heard so far. Saturnalia Temple's song (To Know) manages to sound even dirtier and obscure than their previous albums (specially UR), but enough to be a perfect mood-setter for this interesting release. Admittedly I'm not a fan of what they do, but at least I can say it might be of interest to those into the occult vibe of some recent doom metal bands (Moss and Dark Buddha Rising come to mind, for instance). Next we have Nightbringer (To Will), band already well-known in the orthodox black metal scene, with a song that I wouldn't really consider their best of their career, but at least goes along nicely with the concept. It does drag a bit, but this is normal with Nightbringer.
Next song would be To Dare by Nihil Nocturne, a german black metal band with a long career, with this song being one of the main highlights of this split. The prize goes, however, to Aluk Todolo with To Keep Silent, one of their longest songs, in which the mood set by Saturnalia Temple earlier in the album is improved by the syncopathed drumming and the heavy feedback that characterizes this band. It sounds as if it was recorded live, seeing as the production is not as good compared to their previous albums, although it doesn't affect at all their quality. Top quality release, as it's usual with Ajna Offensive.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from The Ajna Offensive here.

[1997] Stereolab & Nurse With Wound - Simple Headphone Mind

Stereolab's krautrock influences and Nurse With Wound's sound collages and manipulation  find a common ground in this underappreciated collaboration called Simple Headphone Mind. At Stereolab's motorik beats, Stapleton & Co. added warped vocals (Sadier's) and all sorts of crazy noises, along with a heavy load of bass, turning what originally was an upbeat song into a rumbling, unpredictable composition full of layers that weren't even present in the original arrangement. The motorik-fueled beat that serves as a base for this collab is actually an instrumental Stereolab song called The Long Hair of Death, which is later featured in the 2xCD compilation called Aluminum Tunes. Simply unique.

Download it here: [320][V0]

[2010] Deathspell Omega - Paracletus

The chaotic riffing of Fas, the motif structure of both Kénôse and Chaining the Katechon and the interludes of Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice, that's how the final chapter of the trilogy, Paracletus, sounds like, with an added complexity result of the natural evolution of a band that has remained in almost complete secrecy since their inception. Words alone can't explain how good this album is.
The Holy Ghost, the explicit reference on the album's title, is evoked in the album cover as a deformed black beast with thousand of tentacles and born from the above fire, Deathspell Omega exposes this true nature in a lyrical and musical frenzy, taking aback the listener in this revealing journey through chaos. The summarizing of their enlightning message comes with the final words of this album:

You were seeking strength, justice, splendour! You were seeking love!
Here is the pit, here is your pit! Its name is SILENCE…

Download it here [320]

Buy it directly from Season of Mist here.
Buy it directly from Ván Records here.

[2009] Aluk Todolo - Finsternis

Formed by members of Diamatregon, Aluk Todolo is a strange beast. Mixing some of the occult, dark aesthetics of black metal with the krautrock present in Faust and This Heat to create a chaotic dense atmosphere  in which the only grounding element is the syncopated drumming and whirling feedback coming and going. Aside from that, it's hard to describe; this is one of these bands capable of creating a timeless sonic experience, making it easy to completely forget about how long (or short) it actually is. In some circles it's considered as "black metal" but in reality I see this more as an alternative for fans of bands like This Heat or Camberwell Now, constantly craving for similar sounding music, inspiring the best post-punk/krautrock ever created.
Play it loud!
Download it here: [V0] Updated!

Buy it directly from Utech Records here.