News: Fractal to reissue 3rd and 4th Sonorhc albums

Thanks to reader Gal, we learned this morning of this imminent CD reissue that is due on April 27. Amazonia is an archival album, released here for the first time. Both of these albums will be presented on one CD.

Label says: "Good news from the Sonorhc’s « space shuttle » ! After the two first albums « Purf » (1972) and « Outrelande » (1982) released last year, Fractal records deliver now the second volume of the expedition with the third and the fourth album of the band : « Portes d’Orient (East Gates) » (1984) and « Amazonia » (1985) again on CD, perfectly remastered and in the same concept « two albums in one ».

As a band who claim to be « without leader », Sonorhc is a collective with variable line-up as shows this reissue : four musicians (Youval Micenmacher, Laurent Cokelaere, Pierre Buffenoir, Jean-François Gaël) on « Portes d’Orient » and only two for « Amazonia » despite this one could be saw as almost entirely composed by Jean-François Gaël alone, inevitably one the of major force in their ranks. Jean-François Gaël is born in Paris in 1938. He worked as guitarist, composer or arranger with : Hélène Martin, Francesca Solleville, Marc Ogeret, Marcel Mouloudji, Jean Ferrat, Colette Magny, Catherine Sauvage, Henri Gougaud, Antoine Tomé, Mama Béa and with poets : Jacques Prévert, Louis Aragon, Eugène Guillevic, René Char, Pierre Seghers... Theses collaborations will find success five times for the «Grand Prix du Disque de l’Académie Charles Cros» award. He worked at the GRM in 1965, at the GMEB in Bourges in 1985 and at the IRCAM in 1995. He now composed film soundtrack for cinema and TV in his own studio.

So, here is finally reissued and for the first time after thirty years (yeah !) two sounds library records. Title name for each will transport you immediately in the right place: don’t need to move, the space shuttle travel for you ! With 32 tracks in total and with the adequate instrumentation for both albums : « Portes d’Orient » is a stunning meditative ethnic musical trip for guitars, bass, drum, percussions, moog, duduk, flute, guembri, arghoul, woodblock, hurdy gurdy… Overall it reminds the famous Agitation Free first album « Malesch » without the « rock » side but adding the « spiritual » side of Peter Michael Hamel works. « Portes d’Orient » is a very scarce album nowadays and almost impossible to find now in original vinyl LP. « Amazonia » use more synths but also many others ethnics instruments making this one a relaxing and melodic album in a reverie jungle mood. Jean-François Gaël done three trips in the Wayanas tribe in Amazonia and he also worked at that time for the french serie TV « Carnets de l’Aventure » and then brings together all his « amazonia » themes for this album. The patterns are diverses and united, going from Bernard Parmegiani’s electroacoustic side (« Passoula ») to Francis Bebey’s « psychedelic » sanza (« Sanza Sun »), Jorge Reyes’s ambiant ritual (« A Ouanary ») or Steve Roach’s tribal works (« Pakira »)… Two hidden lost gems made in France finally dig up ! Sonorhc go back in time (the space shuttle show you the correct sense of the reading : from the right to the left) and explore the consciousness !

NB :

- (1) : « Portes d’Orient » from 1984, is the real third album of the GROUP Sonorhc, and it should be NOT credited only to the duo : « Jean François Gaël - Pierre Buffenoir » (it’s an error) : there were no artists name printed indeed on the original cover album, but the Sonorhc logo appears well on the camel saddle in the drawing made by Jean Pierre Lamerand at that time.

« Amazonia » is a complete unreleased album recorded in 1985, never published before, and again with a front cover made again and at that time (!) by Jean-Pierre Lamerand.

- (2) : The album « K’an » (1993) became in that way the fifth album of Sonorhc.

News: Fractal to reissue both Sonorhc albums!

And, as promised, here's the second CD package from Fractal. Again, like Heratius, this is one I had in the main list, that would have most certainly been picked up for a feature via the CD-R Revisit project. Sonorhc's (Chronos spelled backwards) first two albums were released 10 years apart (1972 and 1982 respectively). My recollection, contrary to the norm, is that the latter "Outrelande" is the stronger album by some margin. I haven't heard them in a long time though.

My notes for "Purf" (1972): "I've seen this album compared to Agitation Free, but it's far more unstructured than that might imply. Basically what we have here is some unhinged experimental avant psych. Closer to some of the loons on the Futura label like Mahogany Brain and Fille Qui Mousse than anything typically associated with the Krautrock tag. "Chronos" is much recommended, though, for those whose tastes run to the exotic and extreme."

The label, once again, comes through with a far more comprehensive summary: "Early 70’s, a group of musicians around Jean-François Gaël, André Chini, Philippe Gumplowicz, Pierre Buffenoir and Youval Micenmacher formed Sonorhc in 1971 near Paris. This discreet band had released only three albums in twenty years : « Purf » (LP-1972), « Outrelande » (LP-1982) et « K’an » (CD-1991). 2014, Fractal Records propose today the first official reissue of the two first albums in a beautiful remastered edition after more than forty and thirty years respectively (!) ; two rare albums, difficult to find and much sought after by collectors.
The musical world of Sonorhc is oriented to collective improvisation and the research of tones ; they create a sound full of invention, rich technically, made by many differents instruments which incorporated judiciously elements from the rock music, free-jazz, acid-psych, concrete, ethnic and experimental making them as one of the most atypical French Underground group, and seems somewhere more closer to the German “krautrock” bands like Between, Agitation Free, Deuter, Limbus 3, Dzyan or the UK group Third Ear Band. But as the most well-known French band Magma, Sonorhc owns their original and strange logo and shows a strong collective : Jean-François Gaël studied musical composition with Michel Puig, guitar with Roger Chaput, electro-acoustic music with Pierre Schaefer at the GRM, and had composed many movie soundtracks later. Pierre Buffenoir taught guitar at the Conservatoire d’Ivry. André Chini is composer of contemporary music in Sweden. Philippe Gumplowicz is a music teacher at the University of Evry and with the percussionist Youval Micenmacher had recorded the 1978’s album “Marron Dingue” with the band Arcane V (see the Nurse With Wound list).
The present edition “2 albums in 1” includes the first “Purf”, a pure jewel of the genre and this one, for example, could had been easily one of the landmark album of the legendary 70’s Futura Records “son” or “impro” series and “Purf” well worth alone the purchase of this disc (!!), plus the second “Outrelande” a compilation of tracks recorded from 1973 to 1982, and with for both their original cover.
To summarize these 74 minutes with Sonorhc, just 3 words as the American blog “Mutant Sounds” has wrote : “A Total Mindbomb”.
THIS IS A « MUST » HAVE !  CD limited edition 300 copies.

Jean-François Gaël : Guitare électrique, Basse, Flûte.
Pierre Buffenoir : Guitare électrique, Basse.
Philippe Gumplowicz : Guitare électrique, Guitare sèche, Trompette.
André Chini : Hautbois, Flûte.
Youval Micenmacher : Percussions.

- Album « Purf » : Remastered by Alexis Frenkel at Art & Son Studio, Paris July 2013.
- Album « Outrelande » : Remastered by Jean-François Gaël."