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Reviews

Rhùn — Tozïh
(Bandcamp Baboon Fish BFL16, 2023, CD / DL)

Rhùn — Tozzos
(Bandcamp Baboon Fish BFL18, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-10-03

Tozïh Cover artTozzos Cover art

Way back in 2013 when I wrote about Rhùn’s debut and early demos, I ended the review thusly: "This is fairly promising all around, and I look forward to hearing what Rhùn comes up with in the future."  It took a while, but the future came in 2023 with the album Tozïh, and again in 2024 with the album Tozzos. The original plan, apparently, was to release a two disc set — both albums were recorded at the same studio session — but instead the band decided to release one disc’s worth of material in June 2023 and the another in March of 2024, and it’s only yours truly who is a year late bringing the reader this good news. These two sets are truly worth the wait. On the debut, there were about nine regular members plus a guest wind quintet to boot. Over the years the group has shrunk in size down to a compact sextet, led by drummer, lead vocalist, and primary composer Captain Flapattak, with bassist / vocalist Retsim Kah, keyboardist and lead vocalist Ludal Le Chacal, keyboardist and vocalist Chfab Kaouenn (real name: Fabrice Chouette), saxophonist Jean Bonëth (Jean-Baptiste Rubin), and violinist Charlotte Pace. No guests this time. Tozïh leads off with the near-22-minute “Emëht Um Rhët Sam,” a piece that takes nearly four minutes to get off the ground, slipping into a comfortable jazz groove, sounding somewhat improvised, with several minutes again before the vocals and madness begin; yes it’s pretty intense at this point, but quickly backs off for another interesting instrumental romp. I recall the first album had a strong Magma feel to it (mainly in the vocal department), and that carries through to both of these, but the band seems to have found their own identity instrumentally as well inside the Zeuhl community of bands. The second track, “Sédalg Rhëvé,” starts at the end of the first with no break, and the shorter “Eripme Cirtcele” follows that — they would all fit nicely on an LP but neither of these received a vinyl release, unlike the debut. While there are no gaps between the pieces, they sometimes pause in the middle just to confuse the listener a bit.

Tozzos has four cuts, beginning with the magnificent “Xïem (Où les Troubadours Nus Mitraillent les Babouins Morveux)” at thirteen minutes (that long title means “Where Naked Troubadours Machine Gun Snotty Baboons”), starting with a jazz groove where multiple layers of saxes splash color on every wall until the vocals start, then cycling through a number of unusual changes that are nothing short of mind-boggling. “Henc,” which follows the opener begins as the most Magma-like track on either album, but quickly changes direction into something new and unheard. “Theusz Amstrad” and “Zofm,” two shorter pieces, round out Tozzos, the former being particularly energetic, almost like art-punk, while the latter wraps the album up nicely. Both Tozïh and Tozzos should be considered essential listening for fans of the Zeuhl sound, taking it in some surprising new directions.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Rhùn

More info
http://rhunmusic.bandcamp.com/album/toz-h
http://rhunmusic.bandcamp.com/album/tozzos

 

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