ARCHAÏA
ARCHAÏA was formed during fall'76 by 2 musicians, both being fans of MAGMA : Pierrick LE BRAS and Michel MUNIER.
They had played before with various rock bands but were disappointed by the lack of creativity. They were both looking for a band that will play something different, close to the path MAGMA had opened. But not similar : their aim was to play music with only percussions, no drums, and with full use of the guitar, something MAGMA never did.
Soon Philippe BERSAN joined on vocals and percussions.
Trying to get the attention of a major company, they decided to record an LP. In august 1977, it was ready, waiting for a label.
A friend, Dominique CALMEL, got them a deal with CHORAVOX, a small independant label that later appeared to be the reference label for military brass / bugle bands !!!
As predictable, the LP sold very little ( few hundreds ), almost nothing by the label; sales being done by the band after the concerts.
The music is dark, propelled by M.MUNIER's pulsating bass and P. BERSAN's pagan vocals. Above is the vitriolic fuzz guitar of P.LE BRAS. All being together into very constructed tracks. Their roots grew in the J. TOP sound, not the C.VANDER one, and their own visions did the rest.
Some compare their music to MAGMA circa UDU WUDU, others to progressive bands like ARACHNOID, KING CRIMSON circa RED or HELDON circa Interface. In fact, ARCHAÏA was unique and is probably still today, 20 years later.
In 1978, ARCHAÏA toured, with drummer Patrick RENARD ( see tracks 10 and 11 of the CD ), but as no major company showed interest, the band was dissolved.
Before that, during 1978, enough material was recorded for a potential second LP, this time with a drummer. Unfortunately in the early 80's Pierrick LE BRAS sold the tapes in a flea market and they have never surfaced since then. As the band did not keep any copy, they are probably lost foreverÉÉ
Michel MUNIER, joined the more progressive band GRIME (CD reissue available on MUSEA, Michel plays on the bonus tracks) which had been formed by ex-ASIA MINOR musicians, before leaving the music scene.
Through the years, the reputation of the LP grew among amateurs of ZEUHL but also of AVANT-GARDE and ELECTRONICS. It even gained a legendary status. A reissue was long awaited.
The LP was quoted by NURSE WITH WOUND on their 1979 list as one of their favourite recordings.
This is a masterpiece of the French progressive / Avant-Garde scene.
Nowdays in collectors fairs, the LP is changing hands for about 2000 FF ( over US $ 300 ).
You can read below the different chronics, about the CD reissue, published in various magazines in 1999.
E-mail : soleilzeuhl@soleilzeuhlrecords.com