(Zeuhl) Zao - Z=7L (1973) - 1973, FLAC (tracks)

Доп. информация: In the early 70s, as Magma became increasingly the vision of Christian Vander, pianist Francois Cahen and saxophonist Yochk'o Seffer left to form their own band, Zao. This, being their first album, is very much in the Magma vein. Female vocals are supplied by Mauricia Platon and have the over-the-top delivery similar to Stella Vander.

Given when Cahen and Seffer chose to split from Magma, it is not surprising that they favor the jazzy sound that the parent band was to leave behind. Truong's drumming is in a jazzy vein, and the addition of violin provides a bit of a fusion tinge. Given Platon's vocals, though, it's hard to consider this anything but a Zeuhl album. Tracks like "Ataturc" are very overt in their Magma influence, sounding like an out-take from the first album. "La Soupe" gets into a Magma-style repetitive vibe supported mainly by Cahen's piano.

There are differences, of course. Prolific French bassist Joel Dugrenot does not tend to be as crunchy as either Jannik Top or Bernard Paganotti. Also, where Magma's early music is often more doomy, Zao seems like very happy and bouncy Zeuhl. Lastly, while Magma sang in the Kobaian language, here Platon simply vocalises, allowing her emotion to come across without words. Despite these differences, Zao's debut is very much related to the Magma sound, and is a logical continuation of that early work.

review by Sean McFee — undated — post a comment (0)

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Zao was the very first offshoot band of Magma. Founded by former members Francois Cahen (keyboards) and Yochk'o Seffer (woodwinds), who both played on 1001 Degrees Centigrade, their debut was recorded in August 1973. Z=7L obviously has much in common with Magma's sound (though a bit lighter and jazzier) especially with the addition of an equally deranged vocalist, Mauricia Platon. Mauricia sounded like an opera singer from another planet, and on this one she certainly gave Zao that added unique punch. Sadly, she didn't end up sticking around after this, and the band's subsequent output wasn't quite as distinctive as it is here. The songs themselves are expertly played fusion. "Marochsek," the moody opener, gives you a pretty good summary of what you can expect. My favorite track is the Cahen-composed "Atart," a whirling tornado of jazz-rock in 9/8 with a ferocious, seductive Fender Rhodes riff. Z=7L is a great purchase for lovers of the Zeuhl movement who wish to explore outside of Magma, and also for fusion fans.

review by Joe McGlinchey — undated — post a comment (0)

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The above reviews describe the sound of Z=7L nicely - similar to early Magma, with a focus on melodic instruments such as horns and violin, and Cahen's zeuhlishly repetitive piano behind it all. My opinion on this album differs a bit, though; I'm actually not all that fond of it. Mauricia Platon's vocals are strident and impressive, but for me they're somehwat lacking in power. This might be partly because overall, Zao's music is rather lighter than Magma's, lacking that band's ominous foreboding. Instead, Z=7L rides a blurry line between "dark" and "upbeat", and I can never really figure out which it's closer to. Which isn't really the fault of the music, but I think it's the reason I've never really been able to get into this album.

For what it's worth, my favorite piece on the album is "La Soupe", which has a great energy to it. There are a lot of similarities between Z=7L and Magma's debut and 1001 Degrees Centigrade, so if you're a big fan of those works and of fusion-skewed zeuhl in general, it's probably worth a shot.

EAC extraction logfile from 4. August 2007, 8:47 for CD
Zao / Z=7L

Used drive : TSSTcorpCD/DVDW SH-S182M Adapter: 0 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure with NO C2, accurate stream, disable cache
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No

Used output format : C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe (User Defined Encoder)
128 kBit/s
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Other options :
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Installed external ASPI interface

Track 1
Filename C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\01 - Marochsek.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.42

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 926114A8
Copy CRC 926114A8
Copy OK

Track 2
Filename C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\02 - Ataturc.wav

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 10F1FAE0
Copy CRC 10F1FAE0
Copy OK

Track 3
Filename C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\03 - Ronach.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.57

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC CF4EC3C1
Copy CRC CF4EC3C1
Copy OK

Track 4
Filename C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\04 - Atart.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.64

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 03634254
Copy CRC 03634254
Copy OK

Track 5
Filename C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\05 - La Soupe.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.44

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5E9B1270
Copy CRC 5E9B1270
Copy OK

Track 6
Filename C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\06 - Satanyia.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.13

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC CAE37FE7
Copy CRC CAE37FE7
Copy OK

No errors occured

End of status report