Arnaud Bukwald - 2026 - Mars Caravan

(50:05; Arnaud Bukwald)






















Following on from 2024’s excellent ‘Moondragore’ album, Arnaud has stuck with the same line-up but moved in a very different direction again. He provides vocals, guitar, weissenborn, sitar, keyboards and arrangements while the incredible Didier Malherbe (Gong) has again returned on flute plus Cherry (vocals) and Cloudy Myster (drums, tablas) are back as well. What makes this album such a delight is the sheer variety of styles contained within – one could make a case for saying it has Canterbury at its heart, but from there it shifts in so many directions that one never knows what is coming next.

There are two lengthy tracks, “Mumble Jumble” (18:06) and “Xanadu” (10:34) while the rest are very much shorter, including some which are only just over 30 seconds long, but even the longer tracks move around so much that one can imagine they were originally many short pieces which were then brought together. Mostly instrumental, the album dabbles with Zappa and Gong (in particular), but we also get funk, horror, jazz lite, muzak, and so much more. It is weird and wacky, yet is also fresh and invigorating, taking us back to a time in the early Seventies when anything was possible and musicians followed their muse as opposed to looking to radio and chart success. Arnaud uses some wonderfully dated keyboard sounds which are so very much out of place in the 21st century yet assists in taking us on a journey in time and space.

There is a great deal of space within the complex arrangements, so we never feel claustrophobic or smothered, and while there are times when we may be uncomfortable (“Scotch Bonnet” takes me back to the disco funk era which I thought was left far behind), it all makes sense in the context of what is around it. Bukwald continues to delight, and his latest album is sure to please his older fans while those coming to his music for the first time will find much to enjoy and will surely use this as a starting place to investigate the rest of his catalogue. 

Kev Rowland, August 2026

Links:
https://arnaudbukwald.weebly.com/

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