FunkFreak75 If GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR went Zeuhl, the ever-evolving Zeuhl veterans have slowed things down, drawn them out, removed the vocals, and chosen to explore the sound that the space between percussive hits can occupy. Gone are the Crimsonian dynamics or Magma-esque constructs, welcome in the bluesy foundation of all rock 'n' roll, even to Zeuhl! Never before have the commonalities between Zeuhl and UNIVERS ZERO been so evident.

1. "Skin" (29:27) Zeuhl takes a trip to the deep bayou of Louisiana. The music and the performances are still stunning, virtuosic, amazingly tight considering the pace and spacing. Drummer Okabe Youichi is especially impressive for his solid ability to adhere to this very challenging pace while continuing to display his virtuosity. Huge chills when acoustic guitar strums enter at 17:00; great chord progression. Then, in the 20th minute, we return to awesome sparsity and restraint. Again, this drummer deserves to be credited with so much for this brave and spiritual performance. The finish is a kind of Post Rock coming together of all elements and instruments in a cacophonous anti-climax before solo bowed bass takes us slowly out. While not a real fan of Louisiana blues, I know when something special has been achieved, and this is special. I feel as if I have just been put through a religious ceremony; it's as if Miles Teller has reached that level of ecstatic mastery that he fought so hard for in the film Whiplash!. Wonderful stuff! (56.5/60)

2. "Frasco" (19:40) opens with the sound of a traditional Japanese stringed instrument called a "valiha" playing solo. Repetitive single muted electric guitar chord strum is repeated and somewhat arpeggiated while vibes, bass, heavily effected electric guitar, and hand percussion instruments play around above and beneath. Valiha continues to ejaculate riffs between those of a variety of electric guitar sounds and other instruments. In the seventh minute the electric guitar and violin begin to take over the main melody line and, as the other instruments all fall away, the musical fabric itself. By the halfway mark a kind of Japanified Latinized Mahavishnu Orchestra jam has been set in motion--violin and guitar, of course, taking the lead presentations. Interesting! The music then morphs into a more JEFF BECK-like jam with a fairly simple and straightforward melodic riff steering the course to the end. Nice but not my favorite stuff from Bondage Fruit. (34/40)

Total time 49:07

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of evolving Zeuhl and an excellent addition to the lexicon of progressive rock music. While the title piece is, in my opinion, a prog masterpiece, the second epic falls well short of these heights.

FunkFreak75 I don't get Japanese Zeuhl. I get French Zeuhl, Belgian Avant Garde, UK Rock-in-Opposition, Scandanavian Symphonic and Death Metal, Dutch Neo Prog, Krautrock and Berlin School Electronic, Polish Heavy Prog. I even think I get Rock Progressive Italiano, but I don't get Japanese Zeuhl. I understand that the Japanese are masters of imitation--that they are even capable of taking previously defined forms and elevating them in terms of precision with their virtuoso mastery of their instruments. But I don't get how Japanese bands like Happy Family, Koenji Hyakkei, Ruins, and these guys, Bondage Fruit, fit into the Zeuhl scene. I mean, is there a Japanese translation of Kobaïan? a blood/DNA connection to Egyptian king Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré? a notorized endorsement from Camp Vander?

1. "Odd-job" (11:40) opens like a ROLLING STONES sound check, sounds, pacing, rhythms, and even riffs sound as if they come straight from some Stones song(s). (It turns out that the song may have been recorded in front of a live audience anyway!) When things breakdown into quietude in the third minute, even the vibes seem to remind us that this is a "déjà vu" type of moment as he plays the famous "Twilight Zone" theme riff--which is later picked up and carried by the violinist. As far as I can tell, this is the strongest link to a structural thread that the song has (aside from the drummer's fairly faithful attention to carrying forward a beat on the "ride" or "swish" cymbal). More old 60s early blues-rock riffs are introduced and toyed with over the second half of the song with little effect in inspiring a whole-band ethic until, finally, at the end of the ninth minute, something clicks (sparked by Katsui vocalise?) and everyone starts to really jam--coherently and cohesively. It's truly magical, but really? Nine minutes of [&*!#] to get to this point? Have you ever heard of "practice"? or editing? Can't the drummer and bass player fly all-out like that all the time? (15/20)

2. "Kagee Ga Kieru" (8:18) opens with some very sensitive, melodic, and careful play from vibes, violin, electric guitar, and the occasional bass note. It's beautiful even if it does sound like a ROY BUCHANAN or JEFF BECK piece. And all band members are on the same page--playing what constitutes a loose, contrived weave. Even when drummer Okabe Youichi enters in the fifth minute he is restrained and delicate. (14/15)

3. "Shortwave From Outer Space" (2:52) is a contrived construct to fabricate exactly what the title says it is. Keys, electronics, percussives. I have to admit: it's pretty good. (5/5)

4. Frost And Fire (12:32) opens at a gallop (the drumming literally sounds/feels like a horse's hoofbeats at a running gallop). In the third minute Kido Natsuki's guitar and Katsui Yuji's violin synchronize (bass is mixed way in the background) and mirror one another in trampsing through some Fripp-McLaughlin-like scales of chromatic dissonance. In the third minute the duet becomes a duel as violin drops out and searing guitar surges forward. Very Mahavishnu-like until he starts playing chords, but mostly he's playing single-note runs at breakneck speeds. Six minutes into the song, the guitar solo stops, Kido pairs up again with the violin, until Katsui breaks free to solo over the bare-bones help of Okabe Youichi and Takara Kuimiko's percussion play. Starting out slow, even melodically, Katsui builds and shifts gears as the crazy guitar strumming and percussion play provide the impetus for what becomes an almost deranged solo. Pretty cool. (I still don't get how or why this is "Zeuhl.") The two come back together at the very end to punch and drop dead. (Crowd clapping at the end! WTF?) (8.5/10)

5. "Récit" (28:19) opens with some guitar riffs from YES's song, "Close to the Edge," played over electronic chirping bird sounds. Violin then takes the next shot, playing some Mahavishnu Orchestra-like riffs before the whole band engages in the third minute. As the title suggests, perhaps this song is merely a clever merging of the recitation of many of the most famous or impressive riffs and motifs from the "classic era" of progressive rock music. I cannot name them all, but each individual melodic riff put before the drums and Zeuhlish bass by the guitar, vibes, and/or violin seem so familiar that I feel guilty for not being able to name them immediately. The drum work, once it has begun, remains fairly constant in its breakneck, KEITH MOON-like pace and busy- ness. The other instrumentalists have merely to play whatever they wish--and they do, now mixing separate riffs as if standing alone with the drummer, oblivious to the other band members. I suppose some might find this entertaining, even an exciting intellectual challenge (to solve the "name that tune" mystery puzzle pieces), but I am not of this group. The test for me would be to see the band "recite" this song in full replication in a live setting. (Much of it seems as if it could have been improvised and would, therefore, be quite difficult to replicate. Ever.) Somewhere in the twelfth minute the sound engineer is suddenly called out of the sound booth. Seeing no reason to continue, the band drop their instruments and head off to the lunch room, Thus, around the 13:00 mark we, the listener, are treated to a spacious reprieve as all band members walk out of the studio for their lunch break leaving only vibes player Takara Kuimiko alone with the admonishment, "You need to practice!" After their bento boxes have been emptied, guitarist Kido Natsuki and violinist Katsui Yuji return to tune their instruments while bassist Ohtsubo Hirohiko takes extra time to get out his double bass--which he, likewise, has to tune. All of this, of course, is still being recorded as the sound engineer had to go get take out and forgot to push "pause" on the console. Drummer Okabe Youichi has to eat twice as much as the others as he is expending many more calories than the others, but eventually, in the eighteenth minute, he, too, returns and begins tuning and adjusting his instrument. Somewhere in the twenty-first minute the engineer returns so the band members start to jam just to let him thing that they've been working hard. The odd thing is--and this really surprises the band--is this time it really works! The whole "Close to the Edge" riff jam thing finally comes together into an interactive, full-band explosion. But, then, after about five minutes of that, the band has had enough and try to shut it down, but, as most musicians are rather hard-headed, they can't decide who gets to have the last word so they're all left there standing as the feedback from the amps and monitors slowly decay and fade. (45/60)

6. Kinzoku No Taiji (Live *) (8:39) opens as the whole band, Takara Kuimiko on vibes, bursts into form and function. Bass lines from Ohtsubo Hirohiko are flowing like machine gun fire, the violin sounds as if it's going to start smoking, while Kido Natsuki restrains himself (as long as he can) to wild flailing chord play. After five minutes of "holding space" for others, he can no longer restrain himself, joins the fray of soloists, gradually pushing Katsui Yuji out of the soundscape (he tries to re-approach several times but is thwarted each time--the third time by the vibes!) Now, this, might qualify as Zeuhl--though Mahavishnu Jazz Fusion is more like how I'd describe it. Special shout out: Well done, drummer Okabe Youichi! (20/20)

3.5 stars; an unusual album of Mahavishnu Orchestra-like jazz fusion. The songs often have trouble coming together--seemed improvised--as might give reason to doubt the truth that this was released under the auspices of being a studio album when all but two of the songs have audience clapping at the end. I rate it up for the high amusement factor.

FunkFreak75 Zeuhl, Japanese style. Some very aggressive, almost animalistic music.

1. "Mobile" (4:57) pulsing, throbbing rhythm section with busy violin and vibes and scatting female lead vocal = ZEUHL! A bit simplistic in its construction (this is no Magma), it does have the advantage of being accessible to the uninitiated listener from the get-go. I love the vocal work, both soft and full volume, in the final third--as well as the re-assessment of pace in the final 30 seconds. (8.5/10)

2. "Daichi No Ko" (7:23) punky-poppish with searing electric violin soloing in the first minute, the choral vocals (kind of call and response) throw a very catchy pop melody (almost AmerIndian) at you, carry it just the right length of time before going off into a wild animalistic frenzy in the third minute--which is then followed by an equally frenzied electric guitar solo. At the 5:00 mark there is a slowdown and shift into more sensitive, delicate passage of vocals, double bass, vibes, and multiple voices woven into a simple jazzy rhythm (the bass is actually doing a solo throughout) before a full kick back into the fast-paced melodic call-and-response movement from the opening minute (with violin seething and screeching in the background). (14/15)

3. "Caucus Race" (7:26) opens with drums and bass keyboard flying at Mach 2. Guitar, sax, and Yuki join in before giving way to marimba and male vocalist's animal noises. This is the pattern until 2:51 when everything drops back except for a super-fast rolling guitar note and accompanying bowed bass, cello and multiple violins(?) play a furious dual into a mutually satisfying group orgasm at the 5:10 mark. But does the pace let up? No! It speeds along as fast as ever until at 6:15 it stops, leaving behind one female voice to carry forward previous melody lines. Second female voice joins in and then the whole band rejoins for a frenzied animalistic finish. Another interesting and engaging song. (13.5/15)

4. "Cottleston Pie" (5:31) thought the acoustic music here sounds more SHAKTI (violin, acoustic guitar, and more traditional percussive folk instruments), the multiple vocal tracks are full-on Zeuhl. Nice performances by all! (9.25/10)

5. "Gel-Celloid" (3:27) awesome JANNICK TOP-like driving music with intricate performances from the vibes, vocalists, and violin--all brought down by the fairly standard super-speed classic rock electric guitar solo. (9/10)

6. "Kodomo No Guntoi" (10:00) opens with slow-moving female choir and plodding, militaristic drums while searing electric guitars flail away here and there. In the third minute the choral voices back off and all kinds of wild, animalistic sounds are thrown into the music from all directions--including individual voices. It's a funky, pre-historic free-for-all. (Could Yoshimi P-We's OOIOO have been born from hearing this tribalistic music?) (16.5/20)

7. "Terminal Man" (15:15) churning electric guitars, vibes, violin, choral voices, chunky bass, and metallic drums open this very Zeuhlish song. After the introductory first minute, some wild male vocalist shouts us into a more MAGMA-like section. The vibes are the only thing that make it sound different from Christian Vander & Co.--until the fourth minute when a very Dick Dale-like rhythm track takes over while the lead guitar, screaming violin, and vibes express their energy in a rather anger and aggressive fashion. This must have been very therapeutic and cathartic for the band members! In the sixth minute we get a break while wailing guitar feedback is toyed with. Slow guitar arpeggi are then played, as if seeking their TOOL-like melody, before violin begins a slowly building solo. This goes on for minutes, building into a frenzy (though not as frenetic as some of the previous music on this album!), until we finish with a celebratory Zeuhl dance of some of the music from the earlier Dick Dale section. (26.5/30)

Total Time: 54:59

Powerful music with a very aggressive, often tribalistic approach to Zeuhl, though still definitely within the "rules" of Zeuhl. B+/4.5 stars; a near masterpiece of progressive rock music and a shining example of Zeuhl taken seriously (or is it?) by a group of very talented Japanese artists.

FunkFreak75 The debut release from these high energy Japanese youth. Though this is definitely Zuehl (the vocals give it away), the tribal rhythms and prominent contributions of tuned percussives, violins, saxophone, strumming acoustic guitars, and really raunchy buzz-saw lead electric guitar give the music and sound an entirely different palette than Magma or the European Zeulers.

1. "Holy Roller" (3:54) tribalistic hand drums joined by scratchy electric rhythm guitar and then violin and voice. The vocals definitely have Zeuhlish feel to them, but the rest less so. (8.75/10)

2. "Arabia No Zou" (4:31) fairly simple, straightforward musical weave in which the wordless vocal weave switches from percussive "da-da"s to smooth "wee-ee"s and then to soul-operatic scatting of a solo woman. Interesting. (8.75/10)

3. "Kodomo No Torokko" (8:24) opens with fast driving, multiple layers of percussion and chunky bass which are soon joined by a choir of wordless vocalise establishing a very engaging series of melodies with harmonic support and counterpoint presenting in a verse and chorus format. Very cool! At 2:30 voices and bass take a break while violin takes the lead over cymbal play. Sounds like Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went to Georgia" or The Who's "Baba O'Riley" violin play over Laurie Anderson's "Blue Lagoon" tuned percussives. Voices join back in until the five minute mark when acoustic steel-string guitar takes a turn as the demon soloist. Voices join in during the seventh minute in a beautiful Paul Winter Consort kind of way. Simply an awesome, innovative song! (20/20)

4. "Rigo" (2:22) percussion and Bobby McFerrin-like voices create an odd, perky chordal weave before soprano female takes on the role as the breathy lead over the top. Halfway through the song stops and peeks through another door (vibes) before returning to the perky chords with horn added. (4.5/5)

5. "Octopus-Command" (7:16) opens with multi-voice vocal weave that sounds like something Bobby McFerrin might have constructed, but then full band bursts in with same bass, snarey-drums, vibes, edgy guitars, and multi- voiced choir, all scatting along at breakneck speed with each other, each following the same melody lines--until the third minute when everybody drops out except for the bass--who meanders slowly, snail-like, through a lonely murk of silence. He sounds a lot like Eberhard Weber or David Darling. At 4:30 everybody comes shrieking (on behalf of the guitar and high-speed vocalists--who alternate screaching at each other, this is literally true). At 6:00 everybody cuts out for a brief interlude of high end xylophone before the band members all rejoin--this time at normal speed. Not as melodic as I like, but very impressive performances. (13.25/15)

6. "Hiko Suru Ko" (6:45) opens with a weave, pace, structure, and vocalist and melody sounding very much like a song of theirs from the future. I love the hand drumming as the percussion/rhythmic foundation. Violin takes over the lead from the alto female voice in the second verse. Female voice rejoins in the third minute. both leads are smooth and fairly sedate. Acoustic guitars and bowed cello/bass become more prominent in the third section--and vocals get thicker with others joining alto. Next section has an Nassau N'dour-like African-sounding male singer. Very cool! Then other vocalists join in while song slowly fades. (13.5/15)

7. "Kaku No Sakana" (6:15) gentle, based upon a simple acoustic guitar arpeggio other instruments add gentle almost incidental sounds to it. Nice and interesting but a little long and drawn out. (8.5/10)

8. "Kinzoku No Taiji" (7:37) more full band frenzy on display, this time pursuing a more mid/alto range of pitches. Excellent drumming on display here as the chunky bass slides all over the fretboard, high and low ends. Violin, electric guitar, and single voice take the solos (and take their solos very seriously--and man do they cook!). (13.5/15)

9. "T-Rex" (6:01) from the first note this one definitely presents itself like some kind of wild orgy of soloists. The only thing keeping it all together is the tribalistic drum pattern. When things "calm cdown" and move into more vocal- centered deliveries, it reminds me of P-We Yoshimi's OOIOO project. I actually really like the second half of this song: it's much tamer and more melodic and cohesive than the initial food frenzy. (9.75/10)

Total Time: 53:05

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and quite a debut of Japanified Zeuhl.

FunkFreak75 I'm not really sure why this is categorized as Zeuhl (especially as GUAPO is not). To me this is Avante garde, at times free form jazz and even psychedic jazz rock. Two of the first three songs (bookending a quite Interesting version of The BEATLES' "Norwegian Wood" [7/10]) (6/10 each) are quite free flowing and incorporate a lot of seemingly random and improvised soloing from a plethora of instruments and effects. Unfortunately, this is just too much cacophony and screaming noise for my tastes, thank you very much. This isn't even cognitive dissonance, it's acid trip or Krautrock dissonance!

My favorite song is the one with the most structure, "Storm Bird, Storm Dreamer" (9/10). It's like hearing a jam war between 70s SANTANA and DJAM KARET. Many interesting sounds (Frippertronics, 'humpback bass,' TRAFFIC-like lyricon?or is it J-LP electric violin?, TANGERINE DREAM synth waves and arpeggios, and more). Great jam.

The wild and unmelodious "Sono-bank" (6/10) reminds me so much of TODD RUNDGREN's 36-minute "Treatise on Cosmic Fire" from 1975's Initiation. I'll take Todd. Sorry.

A good album, not necessarily recommended for all. If you like jam bands and/or free form jazz (not quite Ornette Coleman), then, by all means, try it, you might like it.