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Reviews

One Shot — Live in Tokyo
(Soleil Zeuhl 29, 2011, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2013-04-01

Live in Tokyo Cover art

At this point all our readers should be aware of One Shot, with several studio albums to their credit, an outstanding live album Vendredi 13 from around ten years ago, a DVD, and a North American appearance at NearFest a few years back. That they (at the time of this recording in August 2010) comprise three of the instrumentalists from Magma (James Mac Gaw on guitar, and Philippe Bussonnet on bass, and newest member Bruno Ruder on electric piano, replacing original keyboardist Emmanuel Borghi), plus drummer Daniel Jeand'heur, is also noteworthy, but it's also worth noting that One Shot sounds very little like current Magma, taking their sound further out into the realms of dark instrumental fusion, although Bussonnet's throbbing bass is one point the two bands have in common. The six cuts here, taken from their previous albums, were culled from three shows the band gave in Tokyo two years ago. The opener "URM" (originally from Vendredi 13) is given a heavy bottom-end treatment that recalls "De Futura" but Ruder’s piano sprinkles some bright colors on the otherwise sinister plot. Throughout this one-hour set the recording quality is superb, with every player getting their place in the mix. Closing the set is "Monsieur G," one of the most memorable cuts from One Shot's 1999 self-titled debut; here they are joined by Bondage Fruit's guitarist Kido Natsuki. Much more than just another album by these guys, Live in Tokyo is an updated summary of much of their best material. Essential.


Filed under: New releases, Issue 40, 2011 releases

Related artist(s): One Shot, Emmanuel Borghi

 

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