Phylter - Phylter (1979 Bel prog)

PHYLTER is an almost unknown Belgium band born in the late 70’s in the borderline that divides Classical Symphonic from Neo Prog, a school that we’ll be adding soon with the name of Neo Symphonic for those bands previous to the birth of Neo but already having some elements of this 80’s sub-genre.The band was formed by Patrick Philips (Organ, Fender Rhodes Piano, Acoustic Piano, Eko Piano, Strings, Synthesizer, Vocals), Marc Van Bortel (Lead Guitar, Vocals), Paul Van Bortel (Bass Guitar, Vocals) and Christian Zaman in the DrumsFor their first and only self titled release in1978 and upgraded to CD the year 1993 by the French Spalax label they counted with Jean-Marie Aerts playing rhythm Guitar ad guest.Despite the almost absolute lack of information, “Phylter” is easy to find in almost any good online music store and it’s a pleasant surprise, their main influence is the 4 men era GENESIS blended with special skills with CAMEL and PINK FLOYD atmospheres plus a bit of fusion.The album is mainly instrumental and the vocals in very good English are simply delightful but their highest point is Patrick Phillippe, an incredible keyboardist from who there’s also rare info.The album has all the ingredients that would make it desirable for any Prog collection, strong and dramatic changes and beautiful melodies, specially in the closer, the excellent 15 minutes epic “Down and Mood for Change”.Honestly can’t understand why they vanished so soon when their material is absolutely strong, if there’s a chance get their album, it’s worth.

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Kandahar - In the Court of Catharina Squeezer (1975 bel prog)

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Trol - Trol (1977 bel prog folk folk)

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Magenta - Magenta (1973 great bel prog- folk prog)

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Kalika - Kalika (1973 rare bel prog)

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SPOT - SPOT (1971-bel-great hard rock-psych)
Stupendo disco con molte influenze musicali che spaziano dall' hard rock-heavy rock con wah wah in primo piano su molti "assolo", fino a passare per la musica psych-blues con ovvi richiami anche alla tradizione ledzeppeliniana!!

An early seventies Swiss offering that showcases some fine heavy rock with a blues tinge and some excellent guitar playing. Includes versions of Donovan's "Jersey Thursday" and a particularly manic "Sabre Dance". Classic rock.…The best of Blues rock in Deep Purple-Taste-Led Zeppelin style.The classic 4-piece outfit shows the english strength of heavy blues-rock in fusion with the psychedelic influences of other swiss bands like Krokodil or Country Lane.

Link:http://lix.in/2f6471

BANZAI - HORA NATA (good prog-1974)

Vi piacciono gli yes?i genesis?la progressive in generale? perchè perdete tempo a leggere e non scaricate il disco? forza!ottimo prog, non stucchevole ma piacevole anche ai proggers meno famelici...le canzoni che mi piacciono sono le prime ma il resto non è malaccio...ovviamente non siamo all'eccellenza (sempre secondo i miei canoni ovviamente!) ma meritano! un saluto a tutti!

This album is quite wonderful. I must admit I was a little dubious when I saw the cover, with the band dressed in ridiculous makeup and costume, but the music is superb. The arrangements are rich, colourful, and highly textured, with a nice variation of space and density. The band are very proficient musicians, but credit must go to guitarist John McO, who was once described as the most relaxed player in Belgium. His melodic lines are really languid and engaging, and I love the way he subtly alters his tones and effects during different parts of the longer tunes. Keyboardist Peter Torfs manages to stretch out occasionally with some very tasteful solos, especially on the organ. There are echoes of Focus and Camel here and there, but this album is so well played and composed that references tend to fade as you enjoy the overall music. The recording quality is also very clear and and warm, with fine engineering. The only let down was the newer tracks tacked onto the end of the album, recorded for their unreleased second album. These few tracks are more straightforward and unadventurous, with emphasis on lyrics and vocals, rather than progressive musical exploration. But buy this if you see it on import, because it's superb.
Link:http://lix.in/8dd2c3

Vi posto alcuni lavori di musica prog belga! è molto particolare il sound proposto dai gruppi provenienti dal Belgio in quanto si sente una originalità e una personalità forte!...i Jules Verne propongono un prog che sembra la colonna sonora di un film(!) con un abbondante uso di strumenti a fiato...non sono un amante ma probabilmente molti di voi apprezzeranno!

Julverne review(chamber rock prog):
Ensembles performing a chamber music variation of progressive rock often get compared to Univers Zero and Art Zoyd, but if the list is stretched, Belgians Julverne are likely to find themselves in the number three slot. Taking their name from one of the earliest speculative fiction writers, Julverne peform a classically inspired music, whose (very) occasional tangents into darker territory within this chamber sort of format undoubtedly draw comparisons to their more well known Belgian contemporaries. They included a revolving line up led by flute and sax player Pierre Coulon and violin and trombone player Jeannot Gillis.
In fact, Julverne has shared musicians with Univers Zero, including Dirk Descheemaker and Michel Berckmans. So there is really no surprise that there are similarities in style to both bands. However, Julverne is more like Univers Zero's happier, more cosmopolitan younger brother. The ensemble's first album was released in 1979, and unlike their more aggressive musical brethren, Julverne don't have any drums. In fact, they only seem to be a rock band by comparison, as this truly seems to be a chamber group performing original music with influences of Satie, Bartok, Debussy, and the less dissonant measures of Stravinksy. The instrumentation is typical of chamber music with piano, strings, horns and winds, and these are arranged in many lovely ways over Coulonneux's ten-track duration. In fact, the similarities to Univers Zero and Art Zoyd are largely the musical format, as this is never angry or strident in the least. However, Julverne was certainly considered an experimental band by the musical collective that made it up, and the compositions reflect an exploratory ethic in their use of keys, modes and arrangements. Without getting into music theory, it can still be said that most of the compositions often start out in a fresh and accessible mode before veering off into a tangent belying the 20th Century influences of the band. It's a gorgeous album and rather idiosyncratic, even in comparison to the ensemble's RIO-drafted contemporaries.
A Neuf was an even more mature effort, starting with an ambitious three-piece suite. While Julverne's chamber music approach implies a sort of serious study, musically there were bits of humor sneaking into the compositions nonetheless, such as the second part of the suite, "Un Peu Pretentieux" (A Bit Pretentious). Musically this is also true, with the ensemble's occasional tangents into sly, goofy, or zany territory. One may be listening to some beautiful arranged chamber piece before the whole group speeds off in another direction, as if Bugs Bunny was yet again leading Elmer Fudd off on another wild goose chase. In fact, if anything sets apart Julverne from cousins Univers Zero, it's this omnipresent playfulness. Only a group of skilled musicians and composers could pull off such a thing in such complex and involved compositions. Not a piece of music is anything but entertaining here, rich in ideas, spontaneity, dynamic diversity and mood. Perhaps it's more a tribute to such classy music that Julverne finds itself in such company with bands like Univers Zero in Belgium's most interesting lineage of experimental chamber music ensembles.
While the first two albums by Julverne might be considered the formative work of the ensemble, the band would release two more albums, 1983's Emballade and 1986's Ne Parlons Pas de Mahleur, before dissolving. In 1992, the Igloo label would release a retrospective of these albums (Le Retour du Captain Nemo) including a great deal of music from the early albums. Julverne also reformed recently to release 2000's Le Pavillion des Passions Humanies.

Julverne 1979-Coulonneux

Link: http://link-protector.com/x-50307

Julverne 1980 A Neuf

Link:http://link-protector.com/x-50306

Flyte - Dawn Dancer (1979 belgium prog)

Link: http://link-protector.com/x-50303



Spin - Spin(1976 prog jazz)

Very entertaining, well played, good compositions.
http://link-protector.com/x-50304

SUPERB BELGIAN STUFF!

Isopoda - Acrostichon(1978 bel prog art rock)

vi avevo proposto tempo fa il3 disco degli isopoda(mi fa un certo effetto leggere questo nome...)questo lavoro non si discosta dal lavoro successivo che probabilmente non è superiore a questo...ve ne consiglio l'ascolto anche se come al solito...qualcosina di più potevano dare...basta sentire uno degli ultimi pezzi dove...si "incazzano" un po'!a voi!

http://link-protector.com/x-50298
http://link-protector.com/x-50299



Isopoda - takin root 1979(prog-art rock)

Link1: http://link-protector.com/x-50300
Link2: http://link-protector.com/x-71794(fixed)

MACHIAVEL (GREAT BEL PROG ART ROCK)

Machiavel - Jester 77

Belgium's progressive rock scene seems a bit obscure, I guess it has to do with the country, being sandwiched in between The Netherlands to the north, France to the south, and Germany to the east, and all neighboring countries had prog rock better represented (France having Angle, Atoll, Pulsar, Magma, Sandrose, Carpe Diem, and Gong, the Netherlands gave Focus, Earth & Fire, Alquin, Supersister, Ekseption, and Trace, and Germany had too many to mentioned from Krautrock of Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Duul II, Tangerine Dream, etc. to the most traditional symphonic of Eloy, Grobschniit, Novalis, etc.).
Most people associate the Belgian progressive rock scene with Univers Zero, their offshoots, and similar bands, but they also had their share of symphonic bands too, and Machiavel is by far the best known of these. In 1976, they released their self-entitled debut, apparently one of those "shows promise" albums (like the first two Yes albums or Genesis' Trespass), the following year comes Jester and the addition of Mario Guccio (presumably Italian, if not born there, definately of ancestary, given his name) on vocals, with the occasional wind instruments. It seems that keyboardist Albert Letecheur and bassist Roland De Greef does the bulk of the songwriting. This is regarded as their finest album, right there with their following, Mechanical Moonbeams before they pulled a Genesis on everyone by going commercial starting with Urban Games. Well, Machiavel does show their influences, showing a Yes, Genesis, Supertramp and Pink Floyd influence. Albert Letecheur lays it on thick with string synths, Minimoog, Mellotron and electric piano (he tends to play that latter instrument similar in style to Supertramp's Rick Davies, hence the Supertramp comparison). One thing needs pointing is the band really needed to polish on their English, because they mispronounced a lot of words, meaning they likely barely knew English while recording this. Regardless, this is top-notch symphonic progressive rock, and what a better way to start the album than with "Wisdom". It has this nice pulsing synth sound, some electric piano, and nice use of string synth, with some rather dramatic vocal passages. "Sparkling Jaw" is another highlight for me, starts off rather spacy, with lyrics describing New York City as a concrete jungle, but then the Supertramp influence is shown quite well with Rick Davies "Dreamer" and "Logical Song"-like electric piano from Albert Letecheur. "Moments" is a nice acoustic ballad, done progressive style, with the Mellotron rearing its head, while the environmentally themed "In the Reign of Queen Pollution" starts off slowly, but then picks up speed with that strong Supertramp feel, especially in the electric piano playing. There's really disturbing theme of genetic mutation where after a thousand years of wearing a gas mask day and night, the children were finally born with the face in shape of a gas mask, all because of environmental pollution got totally out of control. The rest of the album is of equal quality, most great synth and Mellotron work, and complex arrangements, but the band also knew what great melodies were too, that in itself is probably a great reason why they were so big in Belgium.
I am rather surprised this album was released at all. The reason: the artwork by Celle. The gatefold is quite sexually explicit, but done in that surrealistic style you expect prog rock artwork. But still Bravo to Celle for doing it in the first place, and EMI/Harvest to have the guts to release it even if they feared it might be banned in many places.

Link:http://link-protector.com/x-50292


Machiavel - Mechanical Moonbeams 78

Great followup to Jester, Mechanical Moonbeams is regarded as the final album prog rock fans should worry about, because after this, they apparently went a more commercial route, like Genesis was doing around the same time. Apparently going commercial didn't hurt Machiavel's popularity in Belgium, as "Fly" off their 1980 album New Lines was a hit there. But never mind that, and let's focus on their third album. It's interesting to see the band try new things on this album. Jean Paul Devauxe's guitar is more upfront, and some of the harsh vocals start bringing to mind AC/DC (something that should get me running like hell, as I'm hardly an AC/DC fan in any stretch of the imagination), it's only that some of the vocals sounds like Bon Scott (or his replacement, Brian Johnson). No, the band didn't suddenly abandon prog rock for AC/DC style hard rock. It's still progressive as ever. Albert Letecheur lets his Mellotron be ever present, plus his usual setup of keyboards. The Supertramp influence has all but disappeared, except for "Summon Up Your Strength", and even that sounds like a strange AC/DC/Supertramp hybrid with great progressive arrangements (strange). "Rope Dancer" is a borderline soft rock ballad that works surprisingly well, parts of it oddly sounds '80s-like, but most of it still '70s-sounding. "After the Crop" starts off mellow, but I like how this piece pick up, where Albert Letecheur does some creative twists on his Mellotron. "Mary" is a nice prog rock ballad much like "Moments" from Jester. "The Fifth Season" has lyrics that have references to "Jester" (the title track to their previous album, of course) (lyrics that went "His barrel organ played "Jester", a tune of the seventies").
Cover artwork is by someone name Celle, same person who did the artwork to Jester, and even a lot of the artwork is similar, but in color this time (largely red and blue), with similar sexual overtones and obsessions with odd stringed instruments and devices you can't figure out what they were (I am surprised these albums were allowed to be released, especially the gatefold artwork to Jester, but I'm glad they were).

Link:http://link-protector.com/x-50293

Palass - Private Property(1981 prog belgium Fixed)

1:http://link-protector.com/699701/
http://link-protector.com/699702/


Prelude - Voyage (1978 v. good prog)

http://link-protector.com/699703/

Merry Xmas to you all!

Open Sky Unit - Open Sky Unit 1974 bel jazz fusion

This is really great!! A unknown jazz-fusion album recorded in Belgium with an extraordinary singer and electric piano player (Ron Wilson), a beautiful young lady (Micheline Pelzer) playing drums (vividly!), her father in saxophones and her uncle in electric bass giving beautiful solos... Definitely a surprise, only the recording sound is a bit deficient, but the live gig is magical by the way... Here's some great stuff for modern soul-jazz lovers (Zero 7, Jazzanova, Gilles Peterson is listening?)!
http://link-protector.com/692300/


Laurelie - Laurelie (1973 prog)

http://link-protector.com/692301/

Placebo (belgium prog jazz)
Placebo - Ball Of Eyes (1971)

Placebo- balls of eye (1971)

Placebo - 1973 (1973)

Placebo 1973

Placebo - Placebo 74 (1974)

Placebo 1974