Röda Kapellet "Röda Kapellet" {Sweden} [1974] (Progressive Rock - Working Class - Communism)

This kind of music was very popular in Sweden during the 70's. It was not band like Mecki or Råg i Ryggen or November, Träd Gräs och Stenar that was selling big amounts of records and earned a lot of money. It was the bands with political music and a left oriented political thougts that did it. Bands like National Teatern, Blå Tåget, Knutna Nävar was very popular in Sweden.
Röda Kapellet was formed in 1972 in the city Gothenburg and the members was also members in the communist party(VPK) and there youth section (KU). And on their first record you can read that it is " our mission to spread the thoughts from the party". This album is the first one they did their second is named "Party Musik-Parti Musik". And are really good it includes the 22 min track "Lärling". Something intresting is also that the band was split in one electric part and one acoustic part.
Ok now you maybe think "Why he is giving us these communist shit?". Well I think that you think to see a another part of Sweden not all the hyped band that I have mention in the text. And this is really good music. You don't have to be political intrested to like this kind of music.



Download link in comments
Best wishes from Sweden

...Some folk and pop music from {Burma-Tibet-Bhutan-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan}

Well I think we should give the music from different countries a chans so I give you these three VA albums
I dunno anything about the musicans and wich year some of the recordings have been made. I do know that they are med between the late 50's and early 70's . I think that it is pretty cool stuff.

Dün "Eros" (Zeuhl) {France} [1981]

The French Soleil label has once again reissued a rare and wonderful recording by a little-known band playing avant-progressive rock. Evolving through several players, Dün began life as Vegetaline Boufiol, became Kan-Daar, then Dune, before finally settling on Dün. The various members' influences included Mahavishnu Orchestra (as Kan-Daar they were something of a Mahavishnu cover band), Frank Zappa, Henry Cow, but mostly Magma. The band's active years were from 1978-1981 during which they played shows with the likes of Magma, Art Zoyd, Etron Fou Leloublan, and almost became a part of the short-lived Rock In Opposition (RIO) grouping of bands in Europe, which gives a good idea of the adventurous nature of Dün's music. In 1981 they recorded an LP that apparently never secured proper distribution, and as a result is probably quite rare. The "Eros" reissue includes the four tracks from the original LP plus four bonus tracks, three of which are early demo versions of the tracks on the LP release.

"L'epice" declares the trademark Dün sound, being an enjoyable blend of fusion and progressive rock. There are majestic moments that recall Dün's Magma influences but also fiery rocking segments as well. The music segues through multiple movements some of which are carried by the floating qualities of flute and piano, and others that are aggressively led by searing guitar. The compositions are complex and played to perfection by this tight ensemble. Imagine a more orchestrated version of Henry Cow or Univers Zero and you'll get something like Dün.

"Arrakis" begins as a melodic, but still complex, progressive rock piece. Flute and piano carry the main themes for the first several minutes until unexpectedly launching into an intense full band jam. I love hearing piano alongside rock guitar as the instrument is clearly equal in power and potency. One of the bonus tracks is a demo version of "Arrakis". The basic theme is apparent, though saxophone is present and is a more prominent instrument than the flute. The band isn't quite as tight here, the sound being somewhat rawer, but it's still a fiery tune. "Bitonio" is a similar track but includes vibes and cool spacey synths. There's also a demo version of this track, but unlike "Arrakis" I found the demo version of "Bitonio" to be stronger than the LP version. The arrangements are more intricate and the music generally more developed than the LP version.

"Eros" is an aptly titled track. A beautiful flute melody takes the lead, but soon develops into a whimsical segment in which each band member plays repeated patterns. The pace slowly picks up though each member is still jamming away in a world that is both cooperative and their own. When the band explodes it's quite intense, and again the Magma influences are apparent though not in a way that overtly sounds like Magma. TIGHT playing from the musicians on this one! The demo version of "Eros" was recorded during the same session as the demo of "Arrakis" and is similar in sound due to the prominent saxophone and style that is closer to jazz than that heard on the LP. Kind of reminds me a little of Gong without the space element.

There are lots of these gems from the 70's and 80's collecting dust and thankfully there are labels like Soleil out there digging them up and making them available. Great care is put into the liner notes which include a detailed band history in English and French, and several photos. Recommended to all fans of the RIO scene and avant-progressive rock in general.

(from: http://www.aural-innovations.com, by Jerry Kranitz)

Tracklistings

1. L'Epice (9:25)
2. Arrakis (9:36)
3. Bitonio (7:09)
4. Eros (10:17)
5. Bitonio (alternate) (10:20)
6. Arrakis (alternate) (5:07)
7. Eros (alternate) (7:11)
8. Acoustic Fremen (unreleased) (6:17)

Total Time: 65:22

Line-up/Musicians

- Laurent Bertaud: drums
- Jean Geeraerts: electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Bruno Sabathe: piano, synthesizers
- Alain Termol: percussions
- Thierry Tranchant: bass
- Pascal Vandenbulcke: flutes

With:
- Philippe Portejoi /sax

Bitonio

link in comment

Chakra-Chakra (1979) US

This is another rarity for all you froggers, this an almost impossible to find album by the american band Chakra, i didnt found too much info about this so all i can say is that very mystical lyrics and excellent and rare prog is waiting for you ...enjoy!

luz, amor y vida

Black Zé - "Só Para Loucos.. Só Para Raros.." {Brasil} [1975]

Black Zé is a group of friends, living at Petrópolis. It is a rock band with progressive and blues touches in an alternative rock mood. As far as i know this album never reissued as cd, however the cd-r copies of the album is distrubuted with the fans of band. i am happy to have one of this cd-rs and to share from here.

I invite friends to discover this hidden treasure. Enjoy! :)

Só Para Loucos..

Evolution "ST" {Spain} [1970] (Heavy Psych)

Long time no posts but I will start now again I promise.
How ever I will start to post this good spanish band that I found for not such a long time. And I was suprised by the heaviness and the wah wah. Evolution initially arrived in Spain from Germany as beat/soul band Los Vampires, who overtime changed direction, lost members and regrouped at the end of the decade in Barcelona to become the cities hottest soul act. When the psych-prog boom took off influences such as Santana, Spirit, King Crimson, Traffic and Blood, Sweat & Tears also began to play a crucial part in their sound. The band originals combined incredible psych-rock dance floor fillers - notably 'Dr. Vazquez' - which were packed with fuzz guitar, Hammond and Det Ferring's impressive vocals, with more introspective rock. From 1970 Is Another One Of The Most Sought-After Records From Spain's Rock Heritage. This effort are including 4 bonus tracks and 2 covers on King Crimson 21st Century Schizod Man and In the Court of King Crimson.

So if you're into heavy early psych dont get afraid to get it!



Download link in comments
Best wishes from Sweden

Kobza - "Kobza" {Ukraine} [1971] (psych folk rock)

Kobza was established by several students of Kyiv School of Music as an instrumental folk music band in late 60s. Having been unable to win much fame, the band started experimenting with new music formats and eventually moved closer to more popular rock sound, while still retaining its focus on traditional music and the respective repertoire. The debut album by Kobza, recorded in 1970, is one of the earliest documented examples of Ukrainian folk-rock. As a matter of fact, it is is said to be the very first long-play record to have been produced in Ukraine.

Despite being deeply rooted into the 'folk art' soil, the music on the Kobza's maiden album has a distinct psych feeling which probably reflects the musicians' keen interest in the modern Western rock scene. Half of the tracks are folk songs carefully arranged for electric organ, bass, drums, woodwinds, and three banduras (traditional Ukrainian string instruments). The other half are pop/folk songs composed by contemporary local authors, and stylized to fit into the same traditional vs modern compositional and sonic framework.

Available here is the rip of the old vinyl release (I think it dates back to the early 70s or so), the quality is not that great, but that's all I currently have. I may be able to locate and eventually upload a remastered CD version of this album which I heard was released recently.

Line-up:

Oleksandr Zuyev - keyboards
Kostyantyn Novitsky, Volodymyr Kushpet, Oleksandr Rogoza - banduras
Georgiy Garbar - flute
Valeriy Viter, Valentina Kuprina - vocals
Anatoliy Lyutyuk - drums
The link is to be found in the comments.

Anaïd - "Four Years" {France} [1991] (jazz fusion)

If I remember correctly, a request for this album appeared some time ago at the PnF forum, in the thread related to zeuhl. Despite being included into several zeuhl reference lists on the web (which, I think, is exactly what arouses the interest on the part of zeuhl lovers), this album rather falls into a jazz category. There are occasional slides into heavy jazz-rock - especially on the tracks featuring Hugh Hopper and his distinguished bass work - but overall it is inventive, bright and limpid jazz fusion with some funky touches and very strong and artistic vocal appearence by Emmanuelle Lionet. "Four Years" is the band's only CD release. It includes the complete "Belladonna" LP album, as well as two tracks from an earlier cassette release named "Vêtue De Noir". Jazz fusion lovers will probably find it pretty enjoyable.

Line-up:

Emmanuelle Lionet - vocals
Jean-Max Delva - drums, keyboards, vibraphone
Patrice Meyer, Rick Biddulph - guitar
Pierre-Marie Bonafos - saxophone
Sophia Domancich, Patrick Morgenthaler - piano
Hugh Hopper, Rick Biddulph, Jean-Marc Houssepian - bass
Christian Hossaine, Jean-Luc Ditsch - drums

Tracklist:

1. Azalia 4:50
2. Belladona 9:23
3. Arabesque 5:42
4. Vetue de noir 7:18
5. Ikebana 4:44
6. Heart break 4:25
7. Spa 7:21
8. Nord-Sud 4:49
9. Clementine 5:10
10. Sea and saw 5:13

The download link is to be found in the comments.

Musica d'Repuesto - "Av Abuc" {Cuba} [1993] (avant rock)

This is a mostly instrumental album of rather unusual and innovative avant-garde rock music originating, surprisingly, from early 90s Cuba. This one took me by surprise completely, as it was completely out of line with what I knew about the progressive scene of Latin America. 'Av Abuc' is a hardly describable brew of progressive rock, electronics, and chamber music. The closest matches I can possibly name are, on the one hand, the French band '000' (who explored the terrain of restless 'crimsonicity' superimposed on the dense background of electronic beats and haunting synth chords), and, on the other hand, the Russian band 'Horizont' (who successfully blended progressive symphonic rock and edgy RIO-styled avant-garde). Despite its utter weirdness and complexity, the music by Musica d'Repuesto is not particularly challenging. It is composed thoughtfully, performed lively and brightly, and does not yield a bit of itself to atonal and unstructured experimentation. Overall, I hold a very high opinion of this album, and I strongly recommend it to fans of unconventional rock music.

Line-up:

Lino - keyboards, bass, drums
Landy - guitars, keyboards
Pedro Pablo - cellos, keyboards

Tracklist:

1. Parche 4:17
2. La Cabeza, cto + roja, + verda la jaqueca 1:37
3. La tristeza es una enfermedad d'transmision sexual 6:57
4. D'cada 10 hombres q' miran TV, 5 son la 1/2 5:34
5. Suite #3 7:07
6. Hierba maia 6:00
7. Anunciacion y danza d' los cordoros 6:32
8. Baile d' payasos 5:53
9. Av abuC 1:23
10. El involucrado (bonus) 7:32

The link is to be found in the comments.

Maphia - "Hans im Glück" {Germany} [1978] (krautrock)

We are in a good syncronization with Serhiy to select albums from same countries :) The album i am posting now is also new to me. Not more than a week, i met with one of faithful pnf visitor friend (strmshadow), and i was amazed with his vinyl rips, collections. For a long time i wanted to hear a good quite uncommon krautrock, and my medicine came. Maphia; Maphia is an obscure krautrock band from seventies, especially i like somesongs on it. For the friends who would like to listen some cute krautrock album, may try this one. I looked for some information for the band at net, but couldnt successful. So any information welcome.

Mary Smith..

My thanks goes to strmshdw :)

May every living being,
Our minds as one and radiant with light,
Share the fruits of peace
With hearts of goodness, luminous and bright.
If people hear and see,
How hands and hearts can find in giving, unity,
May their minds awake,
To Great Compassion, wisdom and to joy.

May kindness find reward,
May all who sorrow leave their grief and pain;
May this boundless light,
Break the darkness of their endless night.

Because our hearts are one,
This world of pain turns into Paradise,
May all become compassionate and wise,
May all become compassionate and wise

Dedication of Merit..

*Song by Heng Sure, Berkeley Buddhist Monastery

Nekropolis - "Live" {Germany} [1983] (avant / kraut)

Nekropolis was an outfit of changing line-up spearheaded by Peter Frohmader, an artist, a composer, and a notable figure at the German electronic and experimental scene. Nekropolis started in mid-70s as a kraut-rock band, and moved towards more adventurous kinds of music by the beginning of 1980s. This live record is a good display of what the band evolved into by the 1983. Sparcely arranged for guitar, bass, drums and tape effects, with occasional violin addition and bizzare voiceovers, the music ranges from improvisational, heavy and angular spacy kraut-rock to sheer sonic experimentation to harsh jazz fusion with occasional zeuhlish touches. Lovers of kraut, experimental rock, as well as some fans of Magma may enjoy this one.

Tracklist:

1. Hölle im Angesicht 3:45

2. Tekeli-Li 6:34
3. Neutronen-Symphonie 7:33
4. Knochenmark I 2:18
5. Knochenmark II 5:46
6. Kleine Aster 6:40
7. Psychofarm 3:08
8. Seuchenschatz 3:02
9. Vorstadt im Föhn (bonus) 11:11
10. Tote Stadt (bonus) 9:12

Psychofarm

The link is to be found in the comments.

STS (Seva, Top & Salmieri) - "Systeme Solaire" {France} [1997] (jazz fusion)

As requested by one of the friends at the PnF forum.

"Here's a disc that shows what bassist extraordinaire Jannick Top (best known for his proto-Ruins composition "De Futura" on Magma's 1976 album "Udu Wudu") has been up to lately. STS is his trio with sax player Eric Seva and drummer Claude Salmieri, and "System Solaire" is a live concert recording from '97, for which they were joined by guest guitarist Thibault Abrial. The nine planetarily-aligned tracks are both moody and energetic, dark jazz fusion with heavy Magma touches (Top and the drummer lock into some unmistakably Magmoid grooves), and the guitar adds a definite psych-rock element" - Aquarius Records.

The line-up is obvious.

Track-list:

1. Terre

2. Lune

3. Mercure

4. Venus

5. Soleil

6. Mars

7. Jupiter

8. Saturne

9. Kether

The download link is located in the comments.

PS: Additional link added to a different file hosting service.

Rodan - "Rodan" {USA} (1974) (prog funk)

Acid archives says; "Private 200 press, Pretty good LP ranging from prog with ripping guitar to horn-laden ballsy funk. The vocals are pretty out there. It appears that this band had roots with the Elastik Band of "Spazz" infamy!" I would never imagine a funk album with that coverart. For the lovers of santanaic music. Thanks to my friend Cassandra Witch :)

Enjoy!

Soldier of Fortune..

Metanomia - "Un Punto En El Universo" {Argentina} (prog) (exclusive for pnf!)

Here is Metanomia, a colorful prog band from Argentina. There waits you, good musicianship and hiperactivity on the album. That guyz make me happy to give me a chance to introduce this album to you. Especially for the friends who like to listen new sound of prog will enjoy this album more. for some songs at the album, i like to listen over and over.

Feel free to send your opinions,reviews & comments to efavaro@gmail.com

Sentir Pasar..

enjoy! :)