C Cat Trance – “Les Invisibles” [1989] @256 Spectacular and Intense World Music Flavoured Post-Punk

There are things in the history of music that I just can’t understand. Why has this band been so utterly forgotten? How is possible that they never achieved any decent degree of international recognition? The only possible explanation for this is that their albums distribution was done really bad, or possibly, the late edition of the cd’s was too limited. Otherwise I will need to lose the little hope for humankind that’s left in me. (At least in terms of our race’s musical tastes)

But well… life’s unfair…but C Cat Trance … they were incredibly, spectacularly intense.

This is the story: during the mid 80’s singer and sax player Rees Lewis was in a band called Medium Medium which had some success with the punk anthem So Hungry, So angry, included in the legendary Glitterhouse album. With this cult hit Medium Medium toured extensively around Europe although in small venues and punk hang out bars. Eventually, as any dweller of the small but good side of punk, Rees wanted to do more serious and complex stuff and left Medium Medium with drummer Nigel Stone to form the fantastic muslimrock combo that we came to know as C Cat Trance. (which I am most pleased to present you today)

They retained the dark, strong mood of Medium Medium but added middle eastern scales and tempo to the mix and gave a much deeper starring role to Rees fierce, teeth grinding and very wicked saxophone playing.

The result is stunning, unexpected and amazing. In my never so humble opinion, they became one of the most energetic, effective and peculiar bands in rock history. C Cat Trance gave us the oppressive atmosphere and mood of a big Islamic metropolis in the future, under layers of a great rhythmic section. They sound like a band of renegade hip muslims gone wild in a bar in Mars. They sound like a calvary of Sarracens on speed. They sound like the King Crimson, playing Ladies on the Road in a hash den in Morocco accompanied with an intoxicated Arabic ensemble.
But, sadly, they were ignored and misunderstood. Actually, C Cat Trance was years ahead of its time and that’s another reason for they not having the success they deserved.. They introduced Gregorian Chant in rock, years before The Prayers or Enigma. They drank from the waters of Algerian Rai, or Pakistani Qawaal, before we even start thinking about world music.

They did a kind of post punk that no one dared at the time, taking their anger beyond the western world.

They explored not the crappy nice side of new age & world music but the sound and vertigo of the crowded streets of big modern cities like Cairo or Baghdad. They sound honest and very mad.

Welcome to the craziest hours of the 1001 nights. You can dance if you need to.

Extremely recommended. Open your ears.
And…

Keep Listening…!!!

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C Cat Trance - Shake The Mind...