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FFL 044LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Jean Cohen-Solal's Flûtes Libres, originally released in 1972. In a dreamlike fictive and windswept Brittany, hippy pirates and wild women more or less inspired by Gérard de Nerval fight it out in a theater, the magic of which brings to mind Cocteau, and where musical improvisation has an important role: this is Noroît, a cursed film which was never released in cinemas at the time (1976), directed by the great Jacques Rivette, where Jean-Cohen-Solal, his brother Robert and Daniel Ponsard can be seen and heard playing. The scene is every bit as inventive as that featuring the Art Ensemble Of Chicago in Les Stances à Sophie (1971). The same magic and invention can be found on this first album by Jean Cohen-Solal: Flûtes Libres. A magic which can be keenly felt on "Quelqu'un", a long contemplative mantra which takes up the whole of the B side and which anticipates the future collaboration in the mysterious universe of Jacques Rivette. Jean Cohen-Solal studied flute from all angles, and became one of the great French virtuosi, along with Michel Edelin who at the time was with Triode. This was a period (1972) when flutists were very popular with the public, most of whom had been influenced by Roland Kirk, including Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Whereas Jean Cohen-Solal tells a different story, richer and centered on the instrument itself, using the magic (yes, that again) of overdubs. Perhaps Paul Horn rather than Roland Kirk could be an influence but stripped of a classical background which was too audible and a tendency for easy listening. In fact, in terms of comparison, "open music" by Bob Downes would be the closest to the electroacoustic experiments of Jean Cohen-Solal, who, by the way, was also close to the GRM and Bernard Parmegiani for whom he occasionally provided sound sources. These are the qualities which probably explain why Flûtes Libres figures (and justifiably) on the famous Nurse With Wound list. Licensed from Jean Cohen-Solal. Includes eight-page booklet. Highlighter yellow vinyl; Obi strip; Edition of 700.
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FFL 045LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Jean Cohen-Solal's Captain Tarthopom, originally released in 1973. "Nothing can stop a flutist. We can do whatever we want, whatever we feel. My flute, is a mirror of myself. I express feelings more easily with the flute than with language." This is what Jean Cohen-Solal said on the cover of his first album released in 1972, Flûtes Libres (FFL 044LP), renowned for its adventurous overdubbing of alto, piccolo, and bass flutes, in treble or in C and ocarina. Mentioned on the famous Nurse With Wound list, the path followed by Jean Cohen-Solal included many exciting adventures in the 1970s, from his participation in the cult animation series Les Shadoks where his voice can be heard alongside the actor Claude Piéplu, to his proximity to the GRM where he worked alongside Bernard Parmegiani, François Bayle, Luc Ferrari, Guy Reibel, and Béatrice Ferreyra, or his involvement in progressive music with Captain Tarthopom, an album very much in the same style as that featured in Europe on the Vertigo label, but in an instrumental form, and even more audacious, without turning its back on the same classical influences as everyone else. It is impossible to pin a label on Jean Cohen-Solal, he is the equal of his Anglo-Saxon counterparts Bob Downes, Harold McNair, Jon Field (Jade Warrior), and Jeremy Steig, just to mention the most creative of the bunch. His affinity with strings, already heard in his work with Serge Franklin (author of the ineffable Free Sitar) on Flûtes Libres, is perfectly echoed here by the work of Jean-Claude Deblais, himself author of one of the little-known summits of sound illustration and French underground music: Le Miroir Du Fantastique (1977). Licensed from Jean Cohen-Solal. Includes eight-page booklet. Clear vinyl; Obi strip; Edition of 700.
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FFL 043CD
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Areski's Un Beau Matin, originally released in 1970. Only those who read all the credits on record liner notes will know the full details: Areski is of course Brigitte Fontaine's partner in life, but also her creative alter ego, and the composer of the music of most of her songs. Even though it was his wife Brigitte and not him who wrote the lyrics, Areski is a poet in his own right. Furthermore, he is polyvalent: composing, arranging, singing, improvising, playing every possible instrument, and even acting. Areski, to sum up, is the perfect mix of the tradition of Munir Bashir with the European "sophistication" of someone like Jean-Claude Vannier, one foot permanently in Versailles (where he was born) and the maghreb. Areski, is left bank French songs without the stylistic effects, revised and updated through contact with Arab-Andalusian music. He is a Living Theatre style happening with a dose of cosmic free jazz; surrealist poetry viewed through the prism of Kabyle culture... Areski honed his talent observing the stars of traditional chaâbi, testing it out in bars and dives before meeting, during military service, the singer Jacques Higelin with whom he would record his first cult album (1969), and who would present him to his wife-to-be, Brigitte Fontaine. Between 1969 and 1980, with Fontaine, Areski would contribute an essential chapter to French underground music including classics such as Comme à la radio (with the Art Ensemble of Chicago) (1969), Je ne connais pas cet homme (1973), L'Incendie (1973), Le Bonheur (1975), and Vous et nous (1977). For all that, Areski has never really tried to have a career under his own name, in spite of the wonderful Un Beau Matin first published in 1970, and which it is high time to (re)discover. Those already in the know will not be surprised to see, especially, Jean-Charles Capon, author of the inspired L'Univers-solitude (1972), Brigitte Fontaine of course, or Daniel Vallancien, author of a no-less inspired duo with saxophonist Philippe Maté. All contributing to an acerbic poetic universe, concerned but never militant, and open to worldwide influences long before they became a fashion. Inspired, poetic, in a word essential: Un Beau Matin is one of the best albums of the French underground produced by Pierre Barouh on his label Saravah. CD version includes a four-page booklet; obi strip.
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FFL 043LP
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LP version. Comes on clear vinyl; obi strip; Edition of 1000. Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Areski's Un Beau Matin, originally released in 1970. Only those who read all the credits on record liner notes will know the full details: Areski is of course Brigitte Fontaine's partner in life, but also her creative alter ego, and the composer of the music of most of her songs. Even though it was his wife Brigitte and not him who wrote the lyrics, Areski is a poet in his own right. Furthermore, he is polyvalent: composing, arranging, singing, improvising, playing every possible instrument, and even acting. Areski, to sum up, is the perfect mix of the tradition of Munir Bashir with the European "sophistication" of someone like Jean-Claude Vannier, one foot permanently in Versailles (where he was born) and the maghreb. Areski, is left bank French songs without the stylistic effects, revised and updated through contact with Arab-Andalusian music. He is a Living Theatre style happening with a dose of cosmic free jazz; surrealist poetry viewed through the prism of Kabyle culture... Areski honed his talent observing the stars of traditional chaâbi, testing it out in bars and dives before meeting, during military service, the singer Jacques Higelin with whom he would record his first cult album (1969), and who would present him to his wife-to-be, Brigitte Fontaine. Between 1969 and 1980, with Fontaine, Areski would contribute an essential chapter to French underground music including classics such as Comme à la radio (with the Art Ensemble of Chicago) (1969), Je ne connais pas cet homme (1973), L'Incendie (1973), Le Bonheur (1975), and Vous et nous (1977). For all that, Areski has never really tried to have a career under his own name, in spite of the wonderful Un Beau Matin first published in 1970, and which it is high time to (re)discover. Those already in the know will not be surprised to see, especially, Jean-Charles Capon, author of the inspired L'Univers-solitude (1972), Brigitte Fontaine of course, or Daniel Vallancien, author of a no-less inspired duo with saxophonist Philippe Maté. All contributing to an acerbic poetic universe, concerned but never militant, and open to worldwide influences long before they became a fashion. Inspired, poetic, in a word essential: Un Beau Matin is one of the best albums of the French underground produced by Pierre Barouh on his label Saravah.
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FFL 041LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Dharma's Archipel, originally released in 1973. "Do your own music!" was Albert Ayler's advice, received loud and clear in France. Cohelmec Ensemble, Workshop de Lyon, and the Dharma Quintet, three groups close in spirit, which would each illustrate, in their own way, a local principle: to get some distance from American free jazz. As far as Dharma is concerned, the community-based approach was put in place to escape from any academism. This may draw comparisons with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, but they were also influenced by Gong. The events of May '68 were fresh, and protest was still in the air: no leadership structure was possible, and personnel could change with each recording (on Archipel, a new drummer makes an appearance; however, there is no recorded trace of the group with Jean Querlier and François Méchali). Like its predecessor End Starting (FFL 040LP), Archipel is a constructed album, mixing free rock and European free jazz in a series of collective explosions based on abrupt and contrasting improvisations. For much of the time, piano, guitar, and saxophone intertwine over intense rhythms, with everything and anything being electrified. Retrospectively, such remarkable timbral combinations, evoking sometimes the freer passages of Cinemascope by Joachim Kühn with Toto Blanke (1974), make the demise of Dharma in 1974, even more regrettable. Their modernity has nothing to envy of the later advances of Paul Bley with guitar (Pat Metheny, John Scofield), or of OM on 1977's Rautionaha, Patricio Villarroel's electric piano adding a nonetheless surprisingly singular touch to Dharma. This is without mentioning a kind of incisive violence when things sped up, which was unique to the Dharma Quintet, or a sound as dense as that of On The Corner by Miles Davis (1972), or Stark Reality, John Abercrombie's group from around the same period. Who else could seem approximately close to the Dharma Quintet at the same time... Emergency, a quintet which had played and recorded in France. Masabumi Kikuchi in Japan also deserves a mention. Along with the Cohelmec Ensemble, the Workshop de Lyon, the Full Moon Ensemble, Perception, Armonicord, or the Michel Portal Unit, the Dharma Quintet stand out as one of the most important examples of free jazz as it was played in France at the beginning of the 1970s. Licensed from Dharma. Obi strip; 12-page booklet; Edition of 700.
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FFL 040LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Dharma Quintet's End Starting, originally released in 1971. For Gérard Marais, guitarist with Dharma (the quintet), from this third album -- in fact he replaced Gérard Coppéré, one of the two saxophonists present on the first album (FFL 038LP, 1970) -- Albert Ayler's instruction to play your own music was the detonator. This did not fall on deaf ears, and was particularly appropriate as it would have been difficult, even for a musician attracted to free jazz, to make something of his own from the esthetic and political direction taken by Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, or Sun Ra. What could be summarized as ethnic differences. The quest was to find one's own music, whatever the more or less apparent roots. For, at the beginning of the 1970s, Gérard Marais and his comrades in the Dharma Quintet were overwhelmed by electric period Miles Davis. Not the band with Pete Cosey, which was still gestating, but the one fascinated by electronic keyboards and the famous Fender Rhodes which added so much to the atmosphere of In A Silent Way (1969). From the beginning of Dharma, but without ever copying anyone, Patricio Villarroel played the role of Chick Corea with Miles Davis. While Gérard Marais, whose fulgurate playing added another dynamic to the group, was at the level of John McLaughlin, or Sonny Sharrock at the same period. Another important soloist, alto saxophonist Jeff Sicard was as inventive as Byard Lancaster, Noah Howard, Gary Bartz, Marion Brown, or Sonny Simmons. Questioned by a critic, years after the group split, Gérard Marais insisted on it being an idea born of the seventies, which seemed the only creative way to enable written music and improvisation to coexist. This was a philosophy that he would continue to develop within Michel Portal's group, on Splendid Yzlment (1972), but also in a great duo with Joseph Dejean (of Full Moon Ensemble), and yet again in a trio led by drummer Stu Martin, with two guitars the other being Claude Barthélemy. The Dharma Quintet, made their mark, appearing under the letter "D", between Dedalus and Dies Irae, on the list of major influences created in 1979 by Nurse With Wound. Licensed from Dharma. Obi strip; 12-page booklet; Edition of 700.
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FFL 038LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Dharma Quintet's Mr Robinson, originally released in 1970. In an interview with Jazz Magazine in the early 1970s, Dharma, as a collective voice, outlined their method: "we try to reach, within free jazz, the same sort of rhythmic cohesion as in bop, a cohesion based not exactly on tempo, but something which feels like tempo. A kind of underlying pulse." Evidence of these ideas can be heard immediately on listening to Mr Robinson, the first album by the Dharma Quintet, for whom community living seemed obvious, in order to add to the aforementioned cohesion. Through this, the group members played together on a daily basis, trying out things which were worked on day in, day out. They also listened to a lot of records, with of course a preference for free jazz, but not forgetting Miles Davis in his electric period, notably for the keyboards of Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea. To which should be added esthetical-political concerns based on a refusal of hierarchy, and a desire to escape from a restrictive academic approach... It was within this framework that Jef Sicard and Gérard Coppéré (saxophones, flute, bass clarinet), Patricio Villarroel (electric and acoustic piano), Michel Gladieux (bass), and Jacques Mahieux (drums) formed the first version of a collective united by structured intentions. The result is a beneficial cohesion, and moments of great beauty born of a collective excitement and giving rise to ambiances which seemed almost possessed. The use of modes could seem to link Mr Robinson to the spiritual jazz of the past but that is without taking into account the fact that the benevolent spirit of Eric Dolphy seems to watch over this album. In France, a similar desire for cohesion could be found in the Cohelmec Ensemble, who had parallel preoccupations, to the point where their bassist, François Méchali, ended up by joining Dharma. As a quintet, with however some personnel changes, Dharma recorded three albums (one as a trio, under the name of Dharma Trio), which are all of fundamental importance (Dharma also accompanied the songs of Jean-Marie Vivier and Colette Magny). Individually, the members would record with musicians passing through (notably Anthony Ortega, Dave Burrell) and participated in other key groups including Machi Oul and Full Moon Ensemble. Licensed from Dharma. Obi strip; Includes 12-page booklet; Edition of 700.
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FFL 039LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Dharma Trio's Snoopy's Time, originally released in 1970. Dharma as they were simply known, at the time when they were still playing, englobed all the incarnations of the group, trio, quartet (essentially as a live band), and quintet built around the stable core of pianist and bassist Patricio Villarroel and Michel Gladieux. Snoopy's Time is their second album, concentrated on the rhythm section including the ever-faithful Jacques Mahieux on drums, and recorded three months after Mr Robinson (FFL 038LP), the first album, made as a quintet including Jef Sicard and Gérard Coppéré, both at the time saxophonists with Claude Delcloo's Full Moon Ensemble. It is the most classic album in their discography, marked by the influence on Patricio Villarroel of the electric explorations of Miles Davis's pianists from 1968, that is to say Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, and Keith Jarrett. Indeed, the use of echo, reverb and saturation by Patricio Villarroel is similar to that of his famous counterparts. It would be a year later in France, but with a sound all his own, that Siegfried Kessler would undertake similar experiments playing with Perception, a group similar in spirit to Dharma. Specialists may also evoke Paul Bley, notably on Scorpio (1973) and Sweet Earth Flying (1974), or even Richard Beirach with Dave Liebman on Drum Ode (1975), but these albums came out a few years after the innovative Snoopy's Time, surprisingly released in 1970. Even amongst all the instrumental funky music of the time, it is rare to find such a communicative energy, magnified all the more by the subtle use of effects and an innate sense of groove. Licensed from Dharma Obi strip; 12-page booklet; Edition of 700.
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FFL 035LP
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Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Heldon's Heldon . 6 . Interface, originally released in 1977. The idea in the mind of Richard Pinhas, the driving force behind Heldon, was to produce music "as cold as a huge block of ice" a vertiginous experience, of course influenced by the King Crimson trilogy, from Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1973) to Red (1974), except that Heldon represents an electrified version, leading to a perfect rapport between thought and emotion, perhaps going even further. It's Only Rock'n'Roll (1975), the appropriately-named third album, is in its own way -- already -- a turning point in Heldon's oeuvre, witness the acid and corrosive "Zind Destruction (Bouillie Blues)". Once the next one was released (Agneta Nilsson, 1976), just after Disjuncta, the first French independent label, had been sold to Urus by Richard Pinhas in order to buy the aforementioned Moog 3 from the Beatles, the music became even more uncompromising. The group delved, like King Crimson, into a kind of trilogy, the middle of which was Interface in 1977, a year after Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale (FFL 034LP) which was, thus, the first part. At this period the group's music, as Gérard N'Guyen wrote in the fanzine Atem, was like "a guided tour through the ruins of a civilisation." In the middle of the punk wave, the universe of Heldon indeed became more threatening and heavy, echoing the novel by Norman Spinrad from which the group took their name, The Iron Dream (1972). This was also the point at which Heldon became a genuine group, centered around Patrick Gauthier (synthesizers), Didier Batard (bass), and François Auger (drums), which allowed Richard Pinhas to focus on the real motivation behind this audacious undertaking. Like its predecessor Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale, and then 1979's Stand By (FFL 036LP) which followed, Interface, the second album of the "trilogy" recorded at studios Davout, represents a sonic culmination, even a climax, its violence coming from the machines and delving into notions of repetition and scansion, prefiguring a lot of the music that was to follow, whether it be electro and industrial or post-rock and noise. It goes without saying: seminal and always innovative! High quality mastering from Richard Pinhas's original masters; Licensed from Richard Pinhas. Obi strip; matte printing. Swamp green vinyl; Edition of 700.
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FFL 036LP
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Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Heldon's Stand By, originally released in 1979. Richard Pinhas began by absorbing Jimi Hendrix as an adolescent, leaving that behind at the beginning of the 1970s, after having heard what Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock were doing with synthesizers, and then discovering the seminal duo Fripp and Eno. It was one year on from this epiphany that the first album by Heldon was released (1974). The main idea was to rock and roll on electronic machines. Richard Pinhas was of course playing electric guitar, but was also interested in the A.R.P. and VCS 3, to the point of purchasing the Moog 3 owned by the Beatles. In order to do so, he had to sell of the Disjuncta label -- the first totally independent French label -- he had created in order to release Schizo (1972), Alain Renaud and Heldon. This was the beginning of the 1970s. Heldon had already released four key albums and left their home studio for Davout, beginning a trilogy starting with the sound of 1976's Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale (FFL 034LP), continuing with 1977's Interface (FFL 035LP), and concluding with Stand By. When Stand By was released, the press had already labeled Heldon as the first electric punk group. There is nothing silly in that, Heldon having quickly moved away from the spacey German influences which were not to Richard Pinhas's taste. This can be heard on Stand By, the lynchpin of which is the twenty minutes of sound and fury of "Boléro", something of a high-point from the group which owes much to the sequencers of the "technician" Didier Badez. As on the two previous releases, the ever-faithful Patrick Gauthier, François Auger, and Didier Batard were present. For one track, Klaus Blasquiz sings and highlights the underlying links between Heldon, Magma, and Weidorje, but also a shared past experience in Blues Convention with Richard Pinhas. After two solo albums, East West (1980) and L'Éthique (1982), Richard Pinhas dropped everything, through fear of repeating himself, even selling off some of his equipment, before coming back to center-stage with DWW (1992), following a sabbatical decade centered on philosophy, skiing, and paragliding. Thus, Stand By can be seen as the end of an era for Heldon. High quality mastering from Richard Pinhas's original masters; Licensed from Richard Pinhas. Obi strip; matte printing. Sea blue vinyl; Edition of 700.
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FFL 034LP
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Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Heldon's Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale, originally released on Cobra in 1976. In Heldon, nobody particularly likes liner notes. However, although the group's albums have none, they abound, from the very beginning, with clues and often cryptic references. The name of the group, obviously, comes from a science fiction novel by Norman Spinrad, but perhaps it is less well known that the title of the album Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale is taken from a pirate recording of King Crimson made in 1974, an elegant way to state the possible lineage between guitarist (and synthesizer player) Richard Pinhas and Robert Fripp, his peer in the British band. Likewise, Richard Pinhas values the philosophers Lyotard, Nietzsche, and Deleuze, and the cover of Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale quotes theology specialist Pierre Klossowski, according to whom all creators owe it themselves to provoke a "state of insecurity straying from the oppressive regime of mediocrity". Having been a precursor of the home studio, Richard Pinhas came to the Davout studios to record the fifth Heldon album Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale. He had a special space reserved for him, where there was a Moog 3 which had belonged to Paul McCartney. Intense, violent, bitter, abrasive, uncompromising: the first on-site recording is in keeping with the four predecessors, prefiguring both industrial- and post-rock, showing once again that the early references to "guerrilla electronics" (and to William S. Burroughs) were not in vain. The newcomers to this universe, bassist Didier Batard (Coeur Magique, Triptyque), on one track, and drummer François Auger (heard on the fifth album by Gérard Manset) finally transform Heldon into a fiery power trio for the inspired "MVC II". Without forgetting that the faithful Patrick Gauthier is also on board, as is Jannick Top (Magma), each on one track. Listening to the result it is easy to understand why Merzbow, Wolf Eyes, and Oren Ambarchi, in the 2000s wanted to record with Richard Pinhas. It must also be noted that the often-made comparison between Heldon/Richard Pinhas and King Crimson/Robert Fripp, while still pertinent, if insufficient, as Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale breaks much new ground beyond those horizons. High quality mastering from Richard Pinhas's original masters; Licensed from Richard Pinhas. Obi strip; matte printing. Clear purple vinyl; Edition of 700.
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FFL 031LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever vinyl reissue of Free Jazz Workshop's Inter Fréquences, originally released in 1973. The Free Jazz Workshop came into being in 1967 but their first album, Inter Fréquences, only appeared in 1973. Unfortunately there is no recorded trace of the group including the first drummer Pierre Guyon before he was replaced by Christian Rollet in 1970. One of the slogans doing the rounds at the time sets the tone: "Aesthetic liberation is but a prelude to the liberation of humanity." The trajectory of the Free Jazz Workshop (which became the Workshop De Lyon in 1975 with the arrival of clarinetist-saxophonist Louis Sclavis) is emblematic of the emancipation of the mindset of certain French musicians during this period. It has been an exceptionally long-lived trajectory a "half-century" as the members say, during which the group -- in Christian Rollet's own words -- went from being "an exploratory workshop who claimed to take no account of the musical certitudes of the majority" to becoming something of a classic institution. Right from this first album it is clear that the group would function as a collective with no designated leader. The legacy and influence of American free jazz can be heard throughout: Albert and Don Ayler, or Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry for the horns of Maurice Merle and Jean Mereu; Cecil Taylor for the pianist Patrick Vollat, absent from the group after the second album released in 1975 La Chasse De Shirah Sharibad (FFL 032LP); Gary Peacock and Barre Phillips for the bass; Sunny Murray or Milford Graves for the rhythmic agitation; but also the Art Ensemble Of Chicago for the collective aspect. This lyrical, incandescent album, alongside those released by François Tusques and the Cohelmec Ensemble at the same period, represents one of the high points of free jazz produced by French musicians. Licensed from Bisou. Reverse printing; 12-page booklet; Obi strip; Edition of 700.
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FFL 032LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Workshop De Lyon's La Chasse De Shirah Sharibad, originally released in 1975. In France, in the years 1960-1970, musicians pondered over how to transpose the political struggle of free jazz onto a completely different political terrain. One of the first to do so was pianist François Tusques (agitator, theorist and militant) who recorded 1965's Free Jazz (CACK 020LP), and then continued with Le Nouveau Jazz (1967), French equivalents to the American "New Thing". The word spread, and was picked up by the Free Jazz Workshop which became the Workshop De Lyon in 1975 with the arrival of clarinetist-saxophonist Louis Sclavis. Still a source of joy, this lyrically feverish second album maintains a narrative dimension however subtle the textures developed through the contrasting collective improvisations. With their ever-inventive melodicism, the Workshop De Lyon invented an imaginary folklore on this album which is unlike any other. It is a knowing mix of the avant-garde and the traditional, collective playing vying, with panache and complexity, with the inspired urgency of the soloists. Even without filmed images the theatricality and humor of the group's live performances, essential components of their identity can be felt during the long thematic suites which are both expressive and full of joy. What better way to honor their imaginary mentors, Albert Ayler or the Art Ensemble Of Chicago! More, More! Licensed from Bisou. Reverse printing; 12-page booklet; Obi strip; Edition of 700.
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FFL 033LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Workshop De Lyon's Tiens! Les Bourgeons Eclatent..., originally released in 1978. The collective methodology of the Workshop De Lyon led to the creation of the Association Searching for an Imaginary Folklore (ARFI) in 1977, their aims were very much a mission statement "encourage improvisation, spread diverse musical styles and provide means of expression to others with similar ideas, establish a folklore..." Their reference was the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (A.A.C.M.) created twelve years previously with the similar idea of providing material assistance to and defending the interests of creative musicians, in order to encourage the emergence of new music. The open-structured ARFI self-produced their music thanks to their own label, on which almost all of the albums of the Workshop De Lyon appeared, from Concert Lave (1980) onwards. Their third album, Tiens! Les Bougeons Éclatent... is a perfect example of how the group sounded when it was released in 1978, about a year after the studio recording. Pianist Patrick Vollat had left but was still very much a part of ARFI (in particular as part of the excellent La Marmite Infernale), so the Workshop De Lyon stabilized to a quartet of Louis Sclavis, Maurice Merle, Jean Bolcato, and Christian Rollet, and already had at the time an unparalleled repertoire. This never ceased to expand, through the meetings and personnel changes, while losing nothing of its generosity, nor showing any signs of aging. This proffers on the Workshop De Lyon a certain universal dignity which honors their original models, Albert Ayler or the Art Ensemble Of Chicago to name but two, transfiguring them into a new, exciting aesthetic approach bursting with openings and exchanges. Irresistible. Licensed from Bisou. Reverse printing; 12-page booklet; Obi strip; Edition of 500.
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FFL 028LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first vinyl edition of Jac Berrocal's La Nuit Est Au Courant, originally released on In Situ in 1991. Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" on the radio, Renaissance motets, his grandfather in a Zouave military band, Syrian deserts... Columns of tanks in the streets, the soundtrack to Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped (1956), Juan Manuel Fangio's car, the fall of the Berlin wall: from the first and fantastic Musiq Musik (1973), this is where Jac Berrocal's trumpet comes from -- an indescribable cataclysm to which he constantly returns for inspiration. When he published, at the beginning of the 1990s, La Nuit Est Au Courant, Jac Berrocal had already recorded his famous "Rock'n'Roll Station" and collaborated three times with Nurse With Wound, he figures on their 1979 list as an important avant-garde influence. In Situ, the French label which published this album, produced several other historically important albums in the same year by people like Steve Lacy, François Tusques, Un Drame Musical Instantané, and Daunik Lazro in a duo with Joe McPhee: such were the times. Backed by two bassists (including the jazz critic Francis Marmande) and a drummer, Jacques Thollot (who recorded Jeter La Girafe À La Mer (1971), one of the highlights of the French underground), Jac Berrocal does here what he does best: defy labels and slalom between genres; constructing a strange kaleidoscope of enchanting mish-mash. "What is vulgar... ", he states, "... is to refuse what pleases you". Jac Berrocal refuses nothing and tries everything he can imagine. With the trumpet multiplied here and there by reverb, the nocturnal perambulations for insomniacs of La Nuit Au Courant make it an ambient album with Prague, Sartrouville, Ivry-sur-Seine or East Berlin amongst the backdrops... An album of what Fernando Arrabal called "panic music", an elegant term for "no wave"... Listening to it over and again, it sounds like Don Cherry jamming with David Bowie and Brian Eno in Berlin. There is one thing you should know: Jac Berrocal is an intrepid man. He stands exposed -- and "sullies his soul", on the edge of the precipice. The nights are all-knowing. Licensed from In Situ. Obi strip; Reverse printing; Includes four-page booklet; Edition of 700.
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LP
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FFL 026LP
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Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Jean-Francois Pauvros and Gaby Bizien's No Man's Land, originally released on Un-Deux-Trois in 1976. Whether it is with the label Palm, or for Un-Deux-Trois, Jef Gilson has produced some of the best albums of French free jazz and improvisation. But that's not all: he also offered perfect recording conditions enabling some of the fresh young talent to emerge, including Daunik Lazro, André Jaume, and Jean-François Pauvros, all three of whom released their first recordings on one of those labels. Recorded by Jean-François Pauvros (guitar, but not only...) alongside Gaby Bizien (drums, percussion, aquatic trombone, marimba, bird calls), and, of course, produced by the audacious Jef Gilson, the appropriately named No Man's Land had virtually no equivalent in France (nor worldwide) when it came out in 1976. Radical, free, primitive, timeless: in the image of the musicians, it is not for nothing that it appears in the famous Nurse With Wound list of major influences concocted in 1979. No label can be placed on this vertiginous sensory adventure: an explosive flow of shrapnel and tearing intensity, full of mystery and life. To be clear, No Man's Land is the key recording of French improvisation. So much so that it is difficult to imagine it coming out of nowhere, the two musicians must surely have been listening to the latest forays of the British Music Improvisation Company and decided to reply in their own way. But not at all! If you believe what the protagonists have to say, these experiments were carried out in secret isolation, and with a total lack of awareness of everything that was going on in the avant-garde of improvised music. Indeed, it was only after the album was published that Jean-François Pauvros and Gaby Bizien learned that there was a movement going on with similar ideas. That tells us something about the level of invention of this album, which comfortably bears comparison to other similar duos such as Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley, Fred Frith and Chris Cutler, John Russell and Roger Turner, or Gary Smith and John Stevens... The Frenchmen were well served by their unbridled variety and poly-instrumentalism. Licensed from Jean-François Pauvros. Obi strip; Reverse printing; Edition of 500.
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LP
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FFL 027LP
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Previously unreleased, the three tracks on Pays Noir come from recording sessions held at the same time as those for the cult album No Man's Land (FFL 026LP), produced by Jef Gilson in 1976, and published on vinyl by Souffle Continu Records in 2017. Singled out at the time of its release by Actuel, Rock & Folk, and Melody Maker, the tabula rasa of No Man's Land is the result of free-flowing experiments born of chance, if the two musicians are to be believed. Indeed, their approach to free improvisation was uninfluenced by those in the know of what was going on in such circles, which makes it even more incredible. To emphasize the point, the saxophonist Evan Parker (already a leader in the field) remarked on the album at the time, surprised by the innovation of the two Frenchmen. Brimming with the same fervor as No Man's Land, mainly on guitar and drums (but once again, not only...), Jean-François Pauvros and Gaby Bizien invent an amazing unbridled chaos of instinctive combinations, which are the fruit of their immense complicity, born of days on end playing together, trying to transform the rebelliousness of rock into free-form sparks unlike anything heard before, and which are often poetic -- ah, that final song! Carried along by the frenzied clatter of Gaby Bizien, Jean-François Pauvros emerges without doubt as one the great French improvising guitarists, alongside Gérard Marais (Dharma Quintet, Stu Martin Trio), Joseph Dejean (Cohelmec Ensemble, The Full Moon Ensemble), Raymond Boni (who, like Pauvros and Bizien, is present on the Nurse With Wound list), Dominique Répécaud, Noël Akchoté, and Jean-Marc Montera. Furthermore, the duo has a crazy intensity heard only on recordings by duos such as Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano, Arto Lindsay and Paal Nilssen-Love, Thurston Moore and John Moloney, and Mesa Of The Lost Women. A kind of French no wave ahead of its time. Licensed from Jean-François Pauvros. Obi strip; Reverse printing; Edition of 500.
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LP
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FFL 024LP
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RSD 2017 release. Late addition. Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Emmanuelle Parrenin's Maison Rose, originally released in 1977. An album such as this obviously owes a lot to the atmosphere in which it was recorded. It took place in Fromentel, Normandy, in a farm converted into a studio by the producer Jacques Denjean, known for his work with Dionne Warwick or Françoise Hardy, as well as having been a member of the Double Six. It was also in Fromentel that Denjean would record two fantastic albums with Albert Marcoeur. When Emmanuelle Parrenin followed in his footsteps a year later, she was in good company: the sound engineer at the studio was her partner. Five years before, Bruno Menny, the sound engineer partner, recorded his first and only album, but what an album: in electroacoustic terms we can hear things which make him appear as the spiritual son of his mentor Xenakis. What makes Maison Rose unique is exactly this fusion between the two conceptions of Emmanuelle Parrenin and Bruno Menny, creating a perfect marriage of tradition and experimentation. The tradition comes from the songs collected by Emmanuelle Parrenin in rural areas, in a similar vein to the work carried out by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins. The experimentation is in the sound captured by Bruno Menny, who both arranged and recorded the album. This is not to forget those who came with their guitar (Denis Gasser), or their lyrics (Jean-Claude Vannier). Humble and non-demonstrative singing, with melodies are reminiscent of songs to calm a child's nightmares, side-by-side with a pronounced rhythmic intensity at certain points, such as on "Topaze" where the drums in particular evoke the motorik of Faust. A real haven of peace, Maison Rose is enchanting with its aura of mystery and spirituality, with soft, gentle songs which seem both ancestral and futurist. Originally published by Ballon Noir in 1977, this album follows on from other folk marvels such as Le Galant Noyé (1975) from the pre-Mélusine period. If comparisons had to be risked, Vashti Bunyan, Linda Perhacs, Joanna Newsom, Collie Ryan, Shirley Collins, Trees Community, Sourdeline, and Véronique Chalot would come to mind. High definition remastered audio from the original master tapes. Licensed from Emmanuelle Parrenin. Includes four-page booklet on 200gsm art paper, including liner notes by Archie Patterson and Maxime Delcourt. Gatefold LP; Obi strip; Pink vinyl; Edition of 700.
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FFL 025LP
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RSD 2017 release. Late addition. It was some line up, even for the most open-minded: Emmanuelle Parrenin and her musicians, in 1981, opened for the Clash in Paris, at the Zénith! Unsurprisingly, the crowd roared the name of the English band as soon as the French musicians appeared on stage. Didier Malherbe responded with a saxophone improvisation with all the others joining in behind. If we believe the musician improvising, rather than following the cult playlist of 1977's Maison Rose (FFL 024LP), was what saved them. Created from previously unpublished recordings from 1978, 1981, and 1982, Pérélandra is a wonderful array of the experiments so unique to Emmanuelle Parrenin. Rather than being improvised, like the legendary show at the Zénith, these experimental tracks have a more composed instrumental form and were conceived for choreographers: mainly Pérélandra, staged with dancers from Carolyn Carlson's troupe, but also Nomade, some of the sonic environment of which can be discovered here in (superb) bits and pieces found on cassettes. In total, just under a dozen tracks are presented, including contributions on bandoneon from the Argentinian Juan José Mosalini, electric piano from the ex-Double Six Jacques Denjean, or elsewhere great electroacoustic work from the wonderful and ever-faithful Bruno Menny. All of this steeped in a sonic mix typical of the most way-out acid-folk freak-outs of the 1970s. Didier Malherbe (who just before was still playing in Gong with Daevid Allen) is on three tracks, his heady graceful agility instantly identifiable, adding to a magical and spiritual universe created with spinet dulcimer, flute, hurdy-gurdy, and other-worldly vocals (amongst other ingredients). Though very difficult to label, Pérélandra could evoke a meeting between Trees Community, Heron and Robin Williamson with Ellen Fullman, Meredith Monk and Ligeti. The whole thing is steeped in an atmosphere as intense as the ecstatic hymns of Hildegard von Bingen. Licensed from Emmanuelle Parrenin. Includes four-page booklet on 200gsm art paper, including liner notes by Emmanuelle Parrenin and Archie Patterson. Obi strip; Green Vinyl; Edition of 700.
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2LP
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FFL 021LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first vinyl reissue of Cohelmec Ensemble's 5 Octobre 1974, originally released in 1974. Out of the musical effervescence in post May 1968 France were born the labels BYG and Futura Records. The concept of collective creation appeared as essential, of which Cohelmec Ensemble was a typical example: in such procedures, individual identities can of course still express themselves but framed within a non-hierarchical common thought process with the emphasis on experimentation. Music making becomes a shared pleasure with an established vocabulary, and is often accompanied by militant left wing activism; which feeds into an ethical form of creation. For their third, and what would turn out to be final album, the Cohelmec Ensemble chose to save for posterity their live performance work, on which their reputation was based. A concert recording was made, notable for the inclusion of trumpeter Jean-François Canape, and the group lost none of its subtlety in moving from studio to stage. On the contrary, the situation galvanized them on to higher energy levels, without leaving behind the typically complex structures, to which were added potent, flowing improvisations, longer than usual, confirming the high standard of free jazz being played in France in the 1970s. This was demonstrated not only by the Cohelmec Ensemble but also, in similar or quite different registers (who cares), by formations such Perception, Dharma Quintet, Free Jazz Workshop, Machi Oul, or Armonicord. Licensed from Cohelmec Ensemble. Deluxe reissue with high definition remastered audio; 12-page booklet on 200 gsm art paper. Includes liner notes and rare pictures; Gatefold double LP with obi strip; Edition of 500.
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FFL 019LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first vinyl reissue of Cohelmec Ensemble's Hippotigris Zebra Zebra, originally released in 1971. The Cohelmec Ensemble celebrate, above all, the pleasure of collective music-making. A group without a designated leader, they base their approach on reciprocal listening, but also on a dialogue between written and improvised material, in which all members have an equal responsibility whatever their instrument. This is even demonstrated in their name: COH as in Jean Cohen (saxophones), EL as in Dominique Elbaz (piano) and MEC as in the brothers François and Jean-Louis Méchali (respectively, amongst others, bass and drums), joined for this album by Evan Chandlee, known for his participation in Love Rejoice (1969) by Kenneth Terroade, and accepted, of course, as a full group member. Fitting together like hand in glove, the five musicians build something together, rather than trying to destroy an established order, as was the thing to do at the start of the 1970s, leaving the expression of an openly political agenda to others. In France, there was a tendency to explore an imaginary folklore which allowed certain elements of free jazz to be circumvented without being ignored. Which is why it is reminiscent of, in the melody of "Hippotigris Zebrazebra" when played with collective intensity, the best of American cosmic jazz, while also occasionally hearing McCoy Tyner or even Cecil Taylor under the fingers of Dominique Elbaz, or the vibraphone of Walt Dickerson evoked by Jean-Louis Méchali. Globally, however, their identity is original (even seminal), a fact which was to be confirmed by their next two recordings. For the record, it should be noted that the first album by the Free Jazz Workshop (from Lyon), another French group with a similar approach, would only be published two years later. Licensed from Cohelmec Ensemble. Deluxe reissue with high definition remastered audio; 12-page booklet on 200 gsm art paper. Includes liner notes and rare pictures; Gatefold LP with obi strip; Edition of 700.
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FFL 020LP
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Souffle Continu Records present the first vinyl reissue of Cohelmec Ensemble's Next. The Cohelmec Ensemble celebrate, above all, the pleasure of collective music-making. A group without a designated leader, they base their approach on reciprocal listening and equal responsibilities. This is reflected in their name, created from the first syllables of the founding member's names, which would remain unchanged in spite of the subsequent personnel changes: COH as in Jean Cohen (saxophones), EL as in Dominique Elbaz (piano) and MEC as in the brothers François and Jean-Louis Méchali (respectively, amongst others, bass and drums), Evan Chandlee joined them after they had already been playing together for a while, at the time they recorded their first album, 1971's Hippotigris Zebra Zebra (FFL 019LP). The follow-up (appropriately named Next) saw the original pianist leave, to be replaced by guitarist Joseph Dejean, who had already played with the Full Moon Ensemble, known for having accompanied Archie Shepp at the Antibes Jazz Festival in 1970. In spite of the personnel changes, the understanding and cohesion remain total within Cohelmec. They also maintain their trademark ambitious mix of written and improvised material. From this point of view, Next is even more audacious than its predecessor Hippotigris Zebra Zebra. Relatively brief tracks follow hot on the heels of one another, bolstered by a poly-instrumentality which stands out even more than in the past, giving the album the feel of a contrasting suite. There is a lot going on, leading to evocative atmospheres in which rigor and fantasy go happily hand in hand. Which is enough to say that this album should please fans of a style of free (chamber?) jazz which includes intelligent composed structures, a form in which French musicians have always demonstrated a personal approach, as in the example of Oeil Vision by Jef Gilson in 1964 (OI 012LP). Profoundly original and, it has to be said, seminal. Licensed from Cohelmec Ensemble. Deluxe reissue with high definition remastered audio; 12-page booklet on 200 gsm art paper. Includes liner notes and rare pictures; Gatefold LP with obi strip; Edition of 700.
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2LP/DVD
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FFL 015LP
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2018 repress. Deluxe remastered reissue of Barney Wilen's 1972 album Moshi, featuring additional artwork and a 20-page booklet of rare pictures, sheet music, and the original liner notes. Includes a bonus DVD (packaged with exclusive artwork) of Caroline de Bendern's 1971 film à l'intention de Mlle Issoufou à Bilma, documenting this amazing African journey. "In 1970 Barney Wilen assembled a team of filmmakers, technicians, and musicians to travel to Africa for the purpose of recording the music of the native pygmy tribes. Upon returning to Paris two years later, he created Moshi, a dark, eccentric effort fusing avant jazz sensibilities with African rhythms, ambient sound effects, and melodies rooted in American blues traditions. Cut with French and African players including guitarist Pierre Chaze, pianist Michel Graillier, and percussionist Didier Leon, this is music with few precedents or followers, spanning from extraterrestrial dissonance to earthbound, street-legal funk. Wilen pays little heed to conventional structure, assembling tracks like 'Afrika Freak Out' and 'Zombizar' from spare parts of indeterminate origins." --Jason Ankeny, AllMusic
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FFL 022LP
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First time vinyl reissue of the eponymous classic debut album by Mahjun, one of the most innovative French prog underground bands, on the productive Saravah label in 1973. Their music, as you can hear on tracks such as "Les Enfants Sauvages" or "Chez Planos", is a subtle mix of spiritual jazz, pop music, folk and avant-garde reminiscent of Full Moon Ensemble, Brigitte Fontaine or the Thêatre du Chêne Noir. Standard black vinyl LP version is in an edition of 500. Comes in 350 gram, gatefold sleeve with an obi strip and matte printing.
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FFL 022LTD-LP
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Solid orange vinyl version. Edition of 200. First time vinyl reissue of the eponymous classic debut album by Mahjun, one of the most innovative French prog underground bands, on the productive Saravah label in 1973. Their music, as you can hear on tracks such as "Les Enfants Sauvages" or "Chez Planos", is a subtle mix of spiritual jazz, pop music, folk and avant-garde reminiscent of Full Moon Ensemble, Brigitte Fontaine or the Thêatre du Chêne Noir. Comes in 350 gram, gatefold sleeve with an obi strip and matte printing.
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