Exposé Online » Issue 18

Date : November 1999
Pages : 80
Summary : Nearfest '99, The Residents, Richard Pinhas & Maurice Dantec, 5th International Progressive Music Festival - San Francisco 99, Bill Bruford's Earthworks, Iconoclasta, Atavism of Twilight, Michael Stearns, Steve Hahn, Tempano, Architectural Metaphor, Mirage Label
Items found : 74

Alrune Rod - Alrune Rod

This is the first of about seven albums by this Danish five-piece. Their sound at this early juncture is a mix of nimble heavy organ progressive rock and trippy spacy, sometimes plodding,...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1999-11-01)

André Andersen - Changing Skin

Anderson is the keyboardist of Royal Hunt, a progressive metal band from Denmark that released the album Paradox on Magna Carta a couple years ago (and four more on other labels before that)....  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1999-11-01)

Ash Ra Tempel - Schwingungen / Seven Up & Join Inn / Starring Rosi

Here we have domestic releases of the consummate Krautrock band’s early albums. Though not as quotable to neo-Kraut hipsters as Can, Faust, Kraftwerk and Neu! — Ash Ra Tempel were...

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(Posted by Tom Hayes 1999-11-01)

Azigza - ...Whose Portals are Night and Day

Azigza was the big surprise of Progfest ‘99, playing an intense show in the lobby that attracted a lot of spectators. Their sound is typified by a fusion of progressive rock and Eastern world...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Beyond-O-Matic - Sonic Reclaimator

Sonic Reclaimator is the second release of improvised space music from San Francisco’s Beyond-O-Matic. They use a wide variety of instruments, both electric and acoustic, some of them...  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Corrosive Media - Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a maxi-CD single of three techno-house tracks from German duo Benedict Wyneken and Uwe Wienke. Tracks 1 and 3 clock in at just over fibe minutes each while the centerpiece,...  » Read more
(Posted by Paul Hightower 1999-11-01)

Daevid Allen's University of Errors - Money Doesn't Make It

I’ve had the privilege of seeing this new hybrid project live at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco a few months ago. I was surprised both then and now as to how fresh and vital the new...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Dave Weckl Band - The Rhythm of the Soul

Back when I was in college, Weckl was God to every star-struck drummer who ever picked up a pair of sticks. His years behind the kit in both of Chick Corea's bands allowed him ample opportunity to...  » Read more
(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1999-11-01)

David Thomas - Mirror Man

From a dizzy blurring pastiche of commentary and cadence comes a curious project, extremely artsy with obscure socio-overtones. The former lead vocalist of Pere Ubu, David Thomas has assembled one of...  » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Deathwatch Beetle Repairman - Hollow Fishes

Debut albums from obtuse solo acts can be difficult to ascertain on the surface. The first few listens of this disc from the Toronto based artist sound very much like an alternative to some of the...  » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Delivery - Fool's Meeting

The roots of Canterbury lie in albums such as Fools Meeting, an LP which has been unavailable for many years only now surfacing on the Cuneiform label. The album is particularly notable...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Djam Karet - Live at Orion

With the band having recorded little and performed even less in the past five years or so, questions existed about the ability of Djam Karet to deliver the goods in concert. Those who were present...

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(Posted by David Ashcraft 1999-11-01)

El Reloj - El Reloj & Second Album

El Reloj is an Argentine group influenced by the more harder rocking bands of the early 70s like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Their sound on their first album is a dual-guitar rock that keeps a...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Energipsy - Tamborea

This one sounded quite promising... a mixture of flamenco and fusion? With a wonderful heritage of bands such as Iceberg, Triana, Guadalquivir, and Gotic the Spanish fusion scene has been extremely...  » Read more
(Posted by David Ashcraft 1999-11-01)

Ensemble Nimbus - Scapegoat

Ensemble Nimbus plays a sort of electric-acoustic chamber music. Percussionist Hasse Bruniusson of The Flower Kings and Sammla Mammas Manna is joined by Håkan Almkvist on guitar and other...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Final Tragedy - Trial of Tears

Once upon a time there was a French thrash metal band called Etheric Soul which included among its original members multi-instrumentalist Jean-Luc Millot. Then one day, singer Delphine Cochand...  » Read more
(Posted by Paul Hightower 1999-11-01)

Five Fifteen - Six Dimensions of the Electric Camembert

For their fourth album (the first I’ve heard), Finland’s Five Fifteen continue their tradition of long psychedelic titles. Gong fans don’t be fooled, the mention of the French...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Fläsket Brinner - Fläsket Brinner

This Swedish instrumental five-piece features organ, sax, drums, bass and guitar, and delivers a solid jam based groove with a slight jazz-rock influence, all in a live setting. The bottom end is...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1999-11-01)

Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Osorezan / Doh No Kembai

Geinoh Yamashirogumi, also known as the Yamashiro Group, is a Japanese choral group made up of amateur musicians who are a remarkable ensemble and perform the distinctive, compelling, and fantastic...

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(Posted by Dean Suzuki 1999-11-01)

Gerard - Live in Marseilles - Battle Triangle

Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts before pressing PLAY. Live in Marseilles - Battle Triangle captures the band live in France on the fourth of June, 1998. Gerard deliver...

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(Posted by Dane Carlson 1999-11-01)

Gnidrolog - ...In Spite of Harry's Toenail

While Yes, King Crimson, ELP, and Genesis went on to considerable fame, there were a good number of English bands that didn’t fare so well as far as output goes, but were equally as...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Happy the Man - Happy the Man & Crafty Hands

Readers of Exposé will be more than familiar with this seminal American quintet, as we have given them lavish coverage in these pages. Having been available only intermittently on...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Hawkwind - Golden Void 1969-1979

Hey look, it's another Hawkwind compilation! I hope they got paid for this one. For your information, the band is as unhappy as the fans about the crop of Hawkwind reissue albums that pop up,...

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(Posted by Dane Carlson 1999-11-01)

Hawkwind - The Elf and the Hawk

This is a must have, Hawkfans. The Elf & the Hawk is a reissue of Brian Tawn’s fanzine Hawkfan (No. 12 to be precise) from 1986 plus a few bonus tracks. Hawkfan...

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(Posted by Dane Carlson 1999-11-01)

Hedningarna - Karelia Visa

The Heathens’ fifth album continues their vivid interpretation of Scandinavian folk delivered with a contemporary edge, yet without betraying the deep antiquity of its musical roots. The...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Henry Cow - Unrest

While the late 80s reissue of Henry Cow’s second album was not accompanied by a large dose of irregular remixing (as had been the case for the first and third), it still suffered from some...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1999-11-01)

Hugh Hopper Band - Alive!

After his glory days with Soft Machine, Hugh Hopper went through some lean times (musically at least), until the mid to late 80s, when he hooked up with a crew of Dutch musicians for a number of tours...  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Hughscore - Delta Flora

Delta Flora is the third project from the marriage of Hugh Hopper with Pacific Northwest group Caveman Shoestore recorded in both Canterbury and Seattle last year. Across the previous two...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

I.E.M. - I.E.M.

The Incredible Expanding Mindf*ck is one of Steven Wilson’s (Porcupine Tree, No-Man) side projects. The goal of the original IEM album from 1996 was to do an anonymous Krautrock project. The...

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(Posted by Dan Casey 1999-11-01)

Ian McDonald - Drivers Eyes

Let us take a long journey back through the ether to advent of progressive rock. Who do you see lurking around in the shadows? Well one person was Ian McDonald whose group, King Crimson, was a...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Jeff Greinke - Lost Terrain

This is one of Jeff Greinke’s best releases to date and definitely worth the words “an ambient music classic.” Greinke’s inspiration comes from both Brian Eno and Jon...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

John Tavener - Eternity's Sunrise

The British composer John Tavener has struck a chord with a significant cross-over audience. Like Arvo Pärt, Tavener creates a sumptuously gorgeous music infused with his belief in God and a...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dean Suzuki 1999-11-01)

JPP, Troka, Loituma & Frifot - History, Smash, In the Moonlight & SummerSong

Here we have new releases by some of the more traditional of NorthSide’s Scandinavian artists, three from Finland and one from Sweden. You’ll find no electronic textures on these discs,...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Ken Pedersen - Deja Views

Deja Views is a collection of 12 piano instrumental pieces based upon various classical themes. Many of the tracks are piano solos, and some have wind or string accompaniment. The songs...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike Grimes 1999-11-01)

Kennelmus - Folkstone Prism

Something of a last gasp for psychedelia, this Phoenix quartet’s self-released 1971 debut proved to be their sole vinyl offering. Though originally conceived as a rock opera, most of the...

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(Posted by Michael Draine 1999-11-01)

Kenziner - Timescape

Remember when a "shredding" guitar player was the exception? Seems you can't turn around these days without knocking one over. Kenziner is another one of these small-label guitar bands. The focus is...  » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1999-11-01)

Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 2

Remember that old adage about the sequel never being as good as the original? WRONG! Case in point. While LTE #1 had many fine moments, the overall approach seemed a little jammy and...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1999-11-01)

Mani Neumeier - Terra Amphibia & Terra Amphibia II

Man this guy never quits, does he! For every two CDs that come our way, Mani jumps into two more projects, that is not counting his collaborations with Engler and Moebius on the incredible...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1999-11-01)

Marillion - Clutching at Straws

This EMI reissue has given me an opportunity I thought was long past: to review what I consider to be Marillion's finest moment. When I first discovered Marillion, I was dying for something new to...  » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1999-11-01)

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood

[Regarding the 1998 reissue]

Marillion's opus Misplaced Childhood is about as perfect a specimen of the neo-progressive genre as you'll find. I am no adherent of...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Marshall / Travis / Wood - Bodywork

Guitar, sax and drums: an unsafe collaborative ground for three noted jazz players on their first album, Bodywork. John Marshall is familiar to those who recall his skilled drum work from...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Mathew Shipp Duo with William Parker - DNA

Mathew Shipp has paid his dues in the eastern US jazz circles for the past several years and DNA is his first for Thirsty Ear Records out of New York. Two traditional pieces are included on...  » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Melbourne - Indian Ocean

If you happened to catch Mike Oldfield’s recent European tour (or the video release), you might have noticed a striking figure in his new ensemble on electric bass and Chapman Stick. Her name...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Melodic Energy Commision - Moon Phase Compendium

Rarely does one uncover psychedelic music from the late 70s or early 80s, so when one finds a pair of albums as anachronistic as these, and as good as these, one is obliged to wax superlative....

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Men of Lake - Music from the Mountains, Lake and Wine

Of the latter-day crop of Italian progressive groups, Men of Lake haven’t received the accolades of many of their peers. It’s not that they have received many bad reviews, but the...

 » Read more
(Posted by Sean McFee 1999-11-01)

Mother Gong - The Best of Mother Gong

I suppose there's a large segment of the record-buying public (not many Exposé readers among them) for whom the concept of The Best of Mother Gong would be a strange...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Motoi Sakuraba - Force of Light

Sakuraba is one of Japan’s most impressive keyboard players, from Deja Vu through Force of Light, his fourth solo album. This is basically music for a video game, and is an alternate...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Neil Haverstick - Acoustic Stick

This is a fine release that will appeal equally to fans of pure guitar technique and to fans of good old acoustic jazz and blues guitar. It is definitely tempting to write on and on about how the...  » Read more
(Posted by Steve Robey 1999-11-01)

Neil Sadler - Theory of Forms

Theory of Forms is a high-energy blast of horn-powered energy almost from start to finish. Sadler is an accomplished composer, keyboardist, and percussionist, and he’s recruited a...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Nicola Alesini / Pier Luigi Andreoni - Marco Polo (Volume II)

This second installment of Marco Polo by keyboardist / saxophonist Alesini and by keyboardist / percussionist Andreoni continues in the vein of their first. In general Alesini and...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dean Suzuki 1999-11-01)

Perfume de Mujer - Pollos d'Granja

Can you say twisted? This Cuban psych / prog quintet seems to get more bizarre with each successive release, but the more the better; it can easily be said that this is their most engaging effort...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1999-11-01)

Philip Pickett - The Bones of All Men

The subtitle on the cover continues after the title: “and of several remarkable curiosities therein occurring being a compendium of Dances, Pavannes, Steps and such, played this time by Mr Philip...  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Porcupine Tree - Metanoia

This hard-to-find treat was released after the live album Coma Divine but prior to the latest album Stupid Dream as a limited edition gatefold double 10" vinyl-only release....

 » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1999-11-01)

Praxis - Collection

If a guitarist who calls himself Buckethead, wearing a white mask with a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head and claims he was raised by chickens doesn't frighten the crap out of you, then maybe...  » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1999-11-01)

Rob Levit - Silence

This is a CD that is truly different. Rob Levit, winner of the 1998 Julius Hemphill Composition Award, is the master of short pieces. In fact, Silence has 52 (believe it or not) pieces...

 » Read more
(Posted by David Ashcraft 1999-11-01)

Robert Rich - Inner Landscapes

There is a wealth of music to be found on Audion / Ultima Thule’s Auricle cassette label. Right off the bat, there are the Peter Frohmader classics Jules Verne Cycle and Orakel /...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Rumblin Orchestra - Spartacus

Spartacus by Rumblin' Orchestra is led by Hungarian keyboardist and composer Ella Bela. This release is technically fine, but is somewhat a rehash of things that have been done better before....  » Read more
(Posted by Carol Hammett 1999-11-01)

Samla Mammas Manna - Kaka

One of Sweden’s best loved bands is back. Actually they've been back together for over five years now, playing festivals and touring, but this marks the first release of new material by...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1999-11-01)

Scott McGill's Hand Farm - Ripe

This is the second release from McGill that features a blistering instrumental fusion trio. There are several improvements over 1997’s excellent debut disc, Hand Farm, and they...

 » Read more
(Posted by David Ashcraft 1999-11-01)

Sebastian Hardie - Live in L.A.

Live in L.A. is taken from part of Sebastian Hardie's headlining Progfest 1994 set, and represents their first, and only, show since their previous "final performance" in...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike Grimes 1999-11-01)

Simon Phillips - Another Lifetime

Simon Phillips is a drummer who has little to prove nowadays, what with the monstrous level of playing ability he has cultivated over the years. Terry Bozzio is perhaps his closest competitor...  » Read more
(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1999-11-01)

Sinkadus - Cirkus

I gave this Swedish ensemble a good hammering for being the transparent Änglagård clone that they are on their debut CD, a plagiarism that bears no rival. Änglagård, being the...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Snakefinger - Chewing Hides the Sound & Greener Postures

Here we have the welcome reissue of two great albums by Residents’ cohort and collaborator guitarist Snakefinger (AKA Philip Charles Lithman). Many of the songs on these albums were cowritten...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Soft Machine - Fourth / Fifth

Support for the Soft Machine catalog and its movement to the digital age has been excruciatingly slow, to put it mildly. English label Big Beat did some excellent re-work to place Volume One and...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

St. Mikael - Visions of the Unknown

Amateur psych, like the two reissued titles here by Swedish musician St Mikael, is not flattered by the CD medium. The effect-lavished, drivel-through-a-tunnel sound that these types of garage...  » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Strawbs - Ghosts

At long last, the Strawbs catalog is given proper treatment by the band’s first label, A&M, as one of five albums getting a much needed overhaul, Ghosts was the seventh album...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-11-01)

Sylvan - Deliverance

Here's a well-recorded album by an obviously polished German group filled with interesting ideas. I'm sorry to say that those ideas don't always work, such as "A Fairytale Ending," but I appreciate...  » Read more
(Posted by Willow Polson 1999-11-01)

Terra Firma - Earthbound

Climbing out the morass of thrash bands and Pearl Jam clones ascends a new Seattle area group with its feet rooted in Terra Firma and its head in the cosmos. Forget your preconceived notions of space...  » Read more
(Posted by Henry Schneider 1999-11-01)

The Reptile Palace Orchestra - Iguana Iguana

With the same globe-hopping disregard for genre exhibited by labelmates Boiled in Lead, Reptile Palace Orchestra...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)

Threshold - Clone

Given that this is a Karl Groom project, and that it's on the GEP label, and that the first tune is called "Freaks," you would be pretty safe to assume this is another tired and unwanted neo-prog...  » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1999-11-01)

Tortoise - TNT

A friend who has the broadest range of musical passions, from classical to reggae, from progressive rock to Brazilian music and beyond, thinks of Tortoise as one of the most progressive groups...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dean Suzuki 1999-11-01)

Various Artists - A Cat-Shaped Hole in My Heart

I love cats, and this compilation CD led by Black Tape for a Blue Girl member Sam Rosenthal is a very nice tribute to the feline species. With the help of some of his friends, Rosenthal creates a...

 » Read more
(Posted by Carol Hammett 1999-11-01)

Various Artists - A Homage to Neu!

There have been far too many of these tribute albums over the past five years or so. Many of them have featured no-name bands performing pale imitations of their heroes from the days of old. After...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1999-11-01)

Zapotec - Alpha Centuri

When I first listened to this disc, I quickly categorized it as jamming space rock. The first track builds from quiet ambience to a throbbing jazzy thrash, consisting almost entirely of an...  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-11-01)