la marmite cosmique six
progressive rock / fusion / soundtracks
2 track album - lenght : 34 : 04
Cherry Pob : vocals
A. Bukwald : vocals, arrangements
"the crescent moon" poem by Amy Lowell
"a modern midnight conversation" painting by William Hogarth
© Arnaud Bukwald 2020. All rights reserved.
listen to the full album
progressive rock / fusion / soundtracks
2 track album - lenght : 34 : 04
Cherry Pob : vocals
A. Bukwald : vocals, arrangements
"the crescent moon" poem by Amy Lowell
"a modern midnight conversation" painting by William Hogarth
© Arnaud Bukwald 2020. All rights reserved.
listen to the full album
The most creative master of synthesizing old sounds and styles into knew and exciting (and often witty) compositions is back with yet another jaw-dropping adventure into sonic magic-making. I am continuously in awe of Arnaud's uncanny ability to replicate and/or adapt old sounds, styles, and riffs and then meld them into something totally new and fresh. It is truly an amazing gift.
1. "Contes lunaires" (22:14) orchestration and operatic vocals! Am I on the set of Camelot? And then the sly slide into Zeuhl with the pairing of Arnaud's bass voice with Cherry Pob's mezzo! Genius! But then, holy sh*t! At the end of the second minute, the music slips into jazz--a fusion of early Magma Zeuhl and Soft Machine Third Canterbury! Wow! this is an even better fusion than SETNA! At 4:22 comes another sudden shift--into a variation on "Slightly, All the Time"--using piano-based jazz combo with sax and vibes--and then that Canterburian funky saw-organ! At 6:45 Arnaud again turns, this time into pure chordal Zeuhl structure, using echoed flute as his lead to distract us. Acoustic guitar, piano and the wafting, lilting voice of Cherry Pob take over at 7:32. I am in awe! Arnaud, you have truly outdone yourself! This is Annie Haslem Renaissance/Mike & Sally Oldfield territory. At 9:22 those acoustic guitars start to strum as Mellotron, cymbals, and "horns" join Cherry and synth-flutes. "Can You Hear Me?" At 10:52 we shift back into Zeuhlish jazz--a slow pace that shows off the two vocalists (who possess a magical DEAD CAN DANCE Brendan Perry/Lisa Gerrard chemistry). Wow! The tears are streaming down my cheeks! (and this is the third time through the song!) At 13:33 we get a shift into some kind of mystical forest of glass and wind as vibes/marimba flutes and cymbals create this spacious soundscape before being joined by the odd, sometimes discordant strums of a zither. Definitely a dream interlude. At 15:35 we transition rather suddenly back into a more angular, DAVE STEWART-oriented style of Canterbury. While multiple instrument sounds used are straight out of the Canterbury lexicon, Arnaud cleverly brings in a few sounds that are on the fringes--though definitely from within the jazz fusion world. When the church organ begins mounting its ascending attack and the bass, drums, and bank of multiple vocals join in, we are in the realm of the gods--Prog Valhalla! Reverse-engineered guitar solos and then fades while the organ continues its slow, repetitive climb toward heaven. I think we've made it! Pure brilliance--from start to finish! Arnaud's finest hour! (45/45)
2. "Dynamogeny" (11:50) take an early Pink Floyd journey into psychedelia and throw in a little Procul Harum like- organ in the beginning and some upbeat 1940s (or -60s!) Eurojazz-pop, but then give it a metronomic yet-soulful Can-like penetrating Krautrock beat and you've got "Dynamogeny." What a trip! What a creative genius! (23/25)
Total Time 34:04
Those of you who have not give this master chameleon a chance, you are really missing out. There is true, rare genius happening here!
A/five stars; a true masterpiece of eclectic or crossover progressive rock music from the 21st Century's master synthesizer of our favorite sounds from the past. Congratulations, Arnaud! You've truly outdone yourself! A truly astonishing display of composition and realization!
The best album I've heard of 2020 (so far)!
review by Drew Fisher
progarchives / prog is alive and well
2020 has been a great year for new music and this album really shines in its maximalist approach. Arnaud combines progressive rock, jazz, and classical music in this powerful track. A movie for the ears, as Frank would say. Piste favorite : contes lunaires.
Wow! Arnaud has done it again! How can one man be such a genius at synthesizing such a wide range of eclectic prog sounds in such a creative, masterful way! He's given us a brilliant big-band jazz sound to the most beautiful that the Canterbury Scene ever had to offer as well as a 1960s version of some OLD Pink Floyd psychedelia! Amazing! Brilliant! Mesmerizing! And full of so many clever, witty subtleties! Get this album! You won't be sorry!
bandcamp.com
Brilliantly colourful musical therapy in a progressive manner, let me say. A French multi-instrumentalist / wide-range progressive gift-child Arnaud BUKWALD launched the sixth album of the series "La Marmite Cosmique". Arnaud's terrific artistic virtuoso has been fully exerted in this creation. This album consists of two long tracks (especially the first one "Contes Lunaires" is over twenty minute long) but never redundant ... every single track tells you a kaleidoscopic variation of sound components. Sounds like they have mainly deep, fashionable, stylish atmosphere plus heavy, dynamic impressions here and there ... yes just like a mixture of sensitive, fantastic Bourgogne Rouge and astringent, powerful Bordeaux Rouge.
"Contes Lunaires" is a masterpiece. Magnificent opening and delightful female voices, seasoned with oriental flavour or sutra-ish taste, is another temptation. The following stage is quite lyrical jazz rock, that could remind you of the similar vein to Québécois versatile rock commune L' INFONIE. And comfortable is electronic spices. Symphonic female voices are kinda oasis, and it might be good such an oasis come between flexible jazzy movements. The latter part is quite exciting and thrilling, along with an attractive instruments parade. Intriguing guitar plays and solemn pipe organ chants are pretty of speciality. Wondering this soundscape would have been created by Arnaud himself? Excellent. Contrary to the first masterpiece, the second stage "Dynamogeny'' has quite different texture. Psychedelic organ pieces, slow-tempo shoegaze bluesy guitar explosions are melancholic but promising. Slightly lengthy but dreamy fluent synthesizer-oriented funky line-arts make you tonic. Arnaud's diverse soundscape can be heard through the entire creation.
In conclusion, you can digest his aesthetic music talent out via this album. A fascinating stuff.
review by Keishiro Maki
progarchives
Arnaud Bukwald is one of those musicians who work in isolation within their artistic microcosm and create without companions, while they are also fans of the genre they play. Bukwald calls himself an underground troubadour from France, as well as a singer, composer, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist and astronaut. Apart from being an astronaut, he practices all the rest in his discography, which started in 2011 with Bizarremporium and continued in 2013 with Mysterious Vampire. He has also released covers of Pink Floyd and Gil Scott-Heron songs. Since then, he has worked on a series of albums with the general title La Marmite Cosmique. The sixth part of the series was released this year.
Kostas Barbas
A chameleon prog suite
In the sixth part of the La Marmite Cosmique series which was released in September and adorns a diverse discography, Arnaud Bukwald with his moderate genius manages to combine genres and moods with subtle layers of poetry and romance. The two tracks function as two poles that spread soundscapes, recalling the multilevel evolution of progressive rock from since its birth. Of course, the psychedelic passages are not absent as an improvisational passage when the themes are exhausted, and thus in this clever, trippy way they are completed.
Conte Lunaires opens with a zeuhl atmosphere and the characteristic vocal invocations accompanied by wind instruments which add a symphonic dimension. What follows is more jazzy, closer to the Canterbury scene. The references to Soft Machine evolve into more melodic passages with flute which end up with something that seems to be the heart of the composition. Poetry and romance prevail in a beautiful folk moment with female vocals reminiscent of Renaissance (Ashes Are Burning and Turn of the Cards era). The circle is slowly closing with the aforementioned characteristic elements alternating with dreamy paths and the saxophones on a leading role in themes with jazz shades but no improvisation outbursts. The epilogue is sealed with the organ accompanying the lead guitar with a pompous snout.
Dynamogeny begins as a lyrical Floyd-ish ballad with the à la Bardens keys intervening until a wonderfully nightmarish point enters and then is interrupted in a rather funny way. This is followed by a prolonged synthesizer solo, which by the way is the psychedelic basis of Bukwald’s music as a common component throughout his discography. Exotically hypnotic with a repetitive rhythm, it’s left to the freedom of its creator until it ends. Excellent sound with great performance and an unwavering love for music.
It is truly admirable that an artist inspired and edited the stitching of ideas in a special and so personal way. This is not a typical case of one-man band. There is vision, depth, generosity, and productive “insanity” that is embodied with exemplary seriousness. Bukwald’s diverse personality is fully reflected in this album which is the ideal motivation for a more thorough research into his previous releases and inspires anticipation for those to come. His ambition and consistency give us the right to hope that his next steps will be even more exuberant and homogeneous, worthy of his talent. La Marmite Cosmique adorns an already interesting year in music.
Giannis Zavradinos
2nd opinion
The sixth part of Arnaud Bukwald’s La Marmite Cosmique comes from the underground depths of progressive rock and is addressed mainly to those who dig deep into the genre. It is clear that Bukwald loves the 70s and gives us two long pieces with many influences from that era. As a Frenchman, he has the avant-garde element in him and above all the version given by Magma. This does not prevent him from giving a strong symphonic character to the compositions, while at the same time using the echoes of the Canterbury sound, as many musicians from Central Europe had done in the past. The first composition, Contes Lunaires, easily stands out, and is the main reason for someone to listen to the album. Dynamogeny that follows begins nicely and Floyd-ically, but then gets very knotty with the experimentation he attempts. Bukwald proves to be a very good player in all the instruments he uses, but truth is the lack of musicians other than the female vocalist is obvious. The final result, however, justifies him as an independent artist and makes us anticipate a possible seventh sequel to the series.
Kostas Barbas
progrocks.gr
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Deux longs morceaux font l’épisode «Six» de «La Marmite Cosmique», et «Contes lunaires», épique de plus de vingt minutes, patchwork d’influences multiples, convoque des sonorités enfantées sur plusieurs décennies, du Canterbury de Soft Machine au zeuhl (apprivoisé) de Christian Vander, en passant par le champêtre de Mike Oldfield, la flûte et la harpe pastorales, l’orgue de Jean-Luc Manderlier, les cuivres altiers, comme une collection infinie et régénérée de timbres chaque fois contextualisés mais renouvelés, alliés aux voix, d’Arnaud Bukwald lui-même (il compose et arrange en sus – et à ce propos, le job est particulièrement exigeant) et de Cherry Pob. C’est là un des aspects surprenants – intéressants, troublants, gênants? – des «Marmites Cosmiques», cette infinie propension à recycler les sons, à les ordonner dans des accommodements qui oscillent sans cesse entre «j’ai déjà entendu» et «peut-être, mais pas tout à fait comme ça»… «Dynamogeny», lui, est plus cosmique – et Floydien.
review by Auguste
prog censor
This is only the second album I have heard from Arnaud and given that was the first of the "Marmite" series and this is now the sixth I am not surprised to find this is very different indeed. Here we have singer Cherry Pob combining with Arnaud, who provided all the arrangements, on two length tracks: "contes lunaires" is more than 22 minutes length, while "dynamogeny" is nearly 12 (both are deliberately titled in lower case). Here we have Arnaud working very much in the territory of modern classical, combined with experimental prog and even jazz, to create something which is both sweeping in its ambition yet also delicate and refined. It is an album which demands to be played on headphones, so that one can really get inside all the nuances and not miss anything, as the listener needs to pay close attention. One never knows where the music is going to lead, and while the main track is one long suite it could well have been broken into different elements as we can move from percussion-led orchestra to electronic keyboards that are staccato, or move into lounge, and be either instrumental or have stunning vocals with the male and female styles intermingling or being dominant, whatever the requirement.
At times it is almost reminiscent of Art Zoyd in its experimentation and RIO approach, while at others it is way more mainstream, which in itself can seem unusual due to the context it has been placed within. However, even though there is so much going on and the music is often changing dramatically in terms of style and focus, it is also incredibly interesting to listen to and enjoy on first hearing. Themes are sometimes returned to, especially within the vocals, and the double- tracking makes it seem that there is a full choir at play at times, with vocals which are more in the classical form than the popular. The result is yet another compelling album which is pushing musical boundaries and bringing together forms in a way that somehow makes total musical sense. It is thoroughly enjoyable from start to end, and I can't wait to see what Arnaud delivers next.
review by Kev Rowland
progarchives / progressor.net / amplified UK fanzine / rezonatz
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Si vos te pensabas que no existían genios musicales es que no escuchaste a este tipo. Por acá siempre estamos jodiendo con algo de todo lo que hay dando vueltas de progresivo francés, y estamos no solo para presentar lo clásico sino también lo nuevo siempre que sea de calidad, como en este caso, que se trata de algo de gran clase y nobleza musical. Se trata de la sexta parte de "La Marmite Cosmique", y no he escuchado las primeras cinco versiones de la saga, pero con esta me alcanza para recomendárselas sobremanera. El franchute tiene un enfoque caprichoso e impredecible a la hora de componer su música, una producción excéntrica y ecléctica. Rock espacial, música clásica moderna, jazz rock, progresivo experimental mezclado con estilos antiguos bastante barrocos y rock psicodélico en un contexto similar a una banda sonora, a veces siendo casi una reminiscencia de Art Zoyd en su experimentación y enfoque RIO. creando un progrogresivo caprichoso, con mucha diversión, y tal vez incluso desconcierto, pero también delicado y refinado. El disco solo tiene dos temas de larga duración: el primero de 22 minutos de duración, mientras que el otro tiene casi 12 minutos. El resultado es otro álbum convincente de progresivo moderno que supera cualquier límite musical y reúne formas de una manera que, de alguna manera, tiene un sentido musical total y completo. Muy recomendado!
Arnaud Bukwald, un multiinstrumentista progresivo de amplio rango, lanzó en el 2020 el sexto álbum de la serie "La Marmite Cosmique" y ahora aterriza en el blog cabeza.
Asombra la extraña habilidad de Arnaud para adaptar viejos sonidos, estilos y riffs para fusionarlos en algo totalmente nuevo y fresco, nuestros sonidos favoritos del pasado ahora revividos y adaptados de una manera increíble. Este es un álbum que creo que exige ser escuchado con audífonos, para que uno realmente pueda entrar en todos los matices y no perderse nada, porque tenés que estar muy atento. Uno nunca sabe adonde te conducirá la música, por momentos es muy experimental, en otros momentos es más convencional, y sin embargo, a pesar de que están sucediendo muchas cosas y la música a menudo cambia drásticamente en términos de estilo y enfoque, también es increíblemente interesante escucharla y disfrutarla cuando la escuchás por primera vez.
El fantástico virtuosismo artístico de Arnaud se despliega por todo el disco y es imposible describirlo completamente, tiene de todo, lleno de cambios y complejidades, desde deliciosas voces femeninas aderezadas con sabor oriental, un jazz rock bastante lírico que podría recordar una vena similar a la polifacética comuna de rock quebequense, música electrónica, partes epicamente emocionantes y trepidantes, junto con un atractivo desfile de instrumentos: juegos de guitarra y cantos solemnes, órganos de tubos imprimen texturas que pasan del sinfonismo a temas donde prima el órgano psicodélico, las explosiones de una guitarra blusera, el shoegaze de tempo lento que imprime una suave melancolía, las líneas funky y demás paisajes sonoros diversos se pueden escuchar a través de toda la creación. Todo demasiado variado para tratar de abarcarlo en palabras, a esto hay que escucharlo.
Esto es algo completamente disfrutable de principio a fin. Magia sónica encerrada en un disco muy disfrutable. Muy recomendado!
Música brillantemente colorida y asombrosa. Aquí está sucediendo una verdadera y rara genialidad. Composiciones emocionantes y a menudo ingeniosas crando una aventura asombrosa. En conclusión, tenés la suerte de poder conocer su talento musical a través de este álbum. Un material fascinante.
cabezademoog.blogspot.com
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Chiudiamo il discorso francese con un autore “one man band” Arnaud Bukwald, attivo dal 2011 ha già una discreta produzione lavori molto eclettici, dove possiamo trovare un sound molto settantiano, creato con gusto e parziale originalità e tanto, tanto Soft Machine, inframmezzato a momenti di space floydiano, tracce zeuhl e jazz rock tra Zappa, Gong di Moerlen e National Health. Davvero intrigante la sua produzione in generale, ma un consiglio su tutti rimane per gli album della serie “La Marmite Cosmique”, sei lavori da ascoltare con vero piacere.
arlequins.it
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Tonight, we have a huge announcement on the show! Featuring fantastic new compositions by Bridgend, Neal Morse and David Minasian! As well as hearing Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets live rendition of the Pink Floyd classic One of These Days, our featured artist is Kairon; IRSE, who have a real alternative energy that's powerfully fused with symphonic prog! Plus, our Canterbury styled epic is by the incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist Arnaud Bukwald!
at the edge of prog - webradio
(Canterbury)