Two more records from the 1970's French underground, a little different from what is usually seen here. Reading the last Wallofsound post inspired me to try writing something a little longer than I would usually do but I'm experiencing difficulties ! So probably later, in the comments.No .flac rip this time as my vinyls were not in the best shape and while out of print, the music has been reissued on cd so it don't make much sense to try getting the best of amateur transfers. High quality - time consuming! - cover scans in the .zip files.
My recommendation would be to listen to "Feu et rythme" first, as it is my favourite of the two.
Enjoy,
Pierre
Colette Magny "Feu et rythme" (MP3-256)
ReplyDeletehttp://rapidshare.com/files/90978084/Le_Chant_du_Monde_LDX_74444.zip.html
Colette Magny "Répression" (MP3-256)
http://rapidshare.com/files/90973407/Le_Chant_du_Monde_LDX_74476.zip.html
The next one, from 1975, can be found at Mutant Sounds :
http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2007/03/colette-magny-transitfree-jazz.html
Salut Pierre,
ReplyDeleteMaintenant je suis en voyage - j'attends avec impatience le prochain weekend lorsque je peux entendre ceux-ci.
Merci beaucoup, Tantris
Tantris, this one was for you. To give fuel to your interest in the French scene :).
ReplyDeleteHere's what should have been in the main post :
Something I meant to say since we've begun with the Shandar records but keep forgeting : it may be an evidence but this is highly political music. Political in a more overt manner than the music that was made in England at the same time for example, and more clearly attached to defined streams of thinking ... Intercommunal Music's songs titles are directly taken from Mao Zedong and looking at the cover of Répression does not leave much to interpretation. It is probable that the strenght of the left can partly explain why there was so much recordings of the new music at the time in France ... an important part of the critic saw free jazz as mainly an expression of the anger and frustation of Black Americans, putting up front the political nature of the music and relaying in the back the spiritual/religious side that is found in a lot of what followed Coltrane's influence. Seemingly, a music perceived as screams of violent reject fitted the more radical ideologies of the time and therefore received support.
Another point of interest regarding in particular "Feu et rythme" is the experimental nature of the record. Most of it consists of Magny backed by the basses of Beb Guérin and Barre Phillips singing translated litterary texts by Neruda, LeRoi Jones, Lewis Carroll or herself, as well as pieces inspired by paintings. Three tracks also use contemporary music by composer Michel Puig and it may show that the focus here is not on the music itself (there is no dedication to the idea of improvisation for example) but rather on the voice and on the use of litterary material. The first piece of the b side is a good example of this experimental approach of the voice as it is composed of only three sentences repeated in varying manners. In my opinion because of its focus the music should be heard more in regard of what was done at the time in the realm of the "chanson à texte" than in regard of what was done on the free music scene, despite the presence of the two free jazzmen. "Feu et rythme" may not be a completely successful experiment but it is still quite an interesting one for not many people tried the same things. And Magny did have a beautiful voice.
That's it, it is quite difficult for me to write in English when things get a little complicated so please let me know if what I wrote is clear or not.
Best,
Pierre
& some links :
a discography
http://jbodart.club.fr/magny.htm
a book (that I haven't read)
http://www.editions-mutine.com/Livres/colette.htm
Excellent ! Merci Pierre
ReplyDeletepierre thanks so much for these.
ReplyDeletefeu et rythme is astounding, i have an earlier album which is much more conventional musically , here she really pushes her voice to the limit.
superb ,id recommend feu et rythme even to those who think they dont like singing or jazz vocals in particular, for a start whatever it is it has little to do with conventional jazz singing.
phillips and guerin are equal participants in this music.
Pierre -- I have listened to these two LPs now - thank you for posting them. She has a unique voice and approach, and the polemic reminds me of parts of Nono or Berio, even if their sound world is very different. You mentioned Michel Puig above, and I am going to try and track down the 'Stigmates' recording he made for BYG Actuel.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Tantris
nad - exciting! she's totally new to me & I'm always interested in the intersections of poetry/voice/music, so thanks in advance, I'm looking forward to hearing it. Appreciate you bringing in a political context too which seem on mark, though I'm sceptical of any attempt to separate the spiritual from the politcal in the music.
ReplyDeleteAgradezco realmente este post, es increible escuchar este disco rarisimo y mas por aca en tierras aztecas (quiza nunca lo vea fisicamente) ya q' habia escuchado el del '75 (Mutant-Sounds) y me parecio muy genuino y estos q' son los primeros me muero de curiosidad por escucharlos y gracias por el artwork!! Asi es como se deben postear tan buenos discos para conocerlos mejor!
ReplyDeleteMil gracias! Saludos
A radio show on Colette Magny :
ReplyDeletehttp://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/em/greniers/emission.php?e_id=35&d_id=395000360&arch=1
One can listen by clicking on "réécouter"
Gràcies merci obrigado thanks and lots more.
ReplyDeletebest! _@nti
Pierre Mercy pour cettes uploads...Mais je veux le Cd Colette Magny Blues..Je habitte au Perou et ici est impossible de trouver...Este ce que tu peux me aider???
ReplyDeleteDear Pierre, thank you a lot! We love Colette Magny at Austria too. [Jo]
ReplyDeleteplease re-up
ReplyDeleteCD for these is out of print and impossible to find now....
ReplyDelete