Miriodor - 2025 - Live 97

(53:03; Cuneiform)






















Here we have a live recording taken from the tour to promote ‘Elastic Juggling’, which was the last album to feature Sabin Hudon (saxes, accordion) and the first to include Bernard Falaise (guitar) who along with Rémi Leclerc (drums) and Pascal Globensky (keyboards) is still there to this day. The trio were unable to play all the instruments required in a live environment so here they have been joined by Stéphanie Simard (violin) and Nicolas Masino (bass, keyboards). Given that the most recent album had been a concept about a rather strange and demented circus (albeit instrumental) it is perhaps unsurprising that all the material comes from that, with the set recorded directly to 2-track in Quebec City on January 17th, 1997.

What we have here are five musicians who clearly demonstrate just how much understanding and control they have over a seemingly chaotic world where everyone can be using music as a weapon in the way it is directed at each other, yet there are times when they can all be closely linked and working in the same direction, always coming together in the end. This is a version of RIO which can be even more challenging than normal and somehow very French, taking influences from the likes of Art Zoyd and Univers Zero and then combining it with King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator. There are times when the guitar feels almost like a wild animal with plenty of feedback and distortion but then it can suddenly move into a direction which I think of as pronk, picked and very effective. We keep getting circus melodies coming to us from the keyboards, but this is not the sort of world where children will be happily laughing at the clowns but instead will be running away in horror, as if Pennywise is after them.

There are passages of sheer beauty which are in total contrast to the chaos, each making the other feel even more so. While this album will not be for everyone, anyone who likes this style of music will find this an incredible piece of work where every musician knew the destination, even if there are times when they are taking quite different paths. 

Kev Rowland, October 2025

Links:
http://miriodor.com/
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tonnen von Hall - 2025 - Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen

Image
(61:45; Iapetus [Unsung Records] ) Track list: 1. Erdmantel 4:05 2. Vorhalle 0:40 3. Antlitz 4:12 4. Stahlhalle 1:01 5. Kraken 5:02 6. Mitralsaal 0:55 7. Kanister 5:56 8. Sockelwald 0:49 9. Kaiserlicht 5:46 10. Schacht 0:43 11. Zivilisationsfolie 4:27 12. Nebelgarten 0:58 13. Donnermesser 6:41 14. Blutrille 1:01 15. Rauschmitte 5:22 16. Klingensaal 0:50 17. Endgegner 3:39 18. Ätzung 0:41 19. Thronfolge 3:09 20. Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen 4:55 21. Herzkammer 0:53 Line-up: Markus Reuter - guitars, loops, sounds Alexander Paul Dowerk - guitars Asaf Sirkis - drums, percussion, vocals Prolusion. Germany based band Tonnen Von Hall was established back in 2022 or thereabouts, and the threesome consisting of Marks Reuter, Alexander Paul Dowerk and Asaf Sirkis has been developing the style and sound of this new formation ever since. The results of that process first came to light on an EP released towards the end of 2024. A few months later the band have now released their debut album ...
Read more

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more