In Crammed Discs‘s ongoing reactivation of their Made To Measure series, the reissue part continues with prodigious French composer Hector Zazou‘s extraordinary travelogue suite Geographies.
Comprising nine pieces taking in all manner of styles and using a fine array of instrumentation and voices, it takes the listener on a journey through French provinces, the outer reaches of the Francophone nations and the wild countryside, all held together by Hector’s imagination and talent for subtle composition.
Starting the album off with a piece that employs tuba, xylophone, strings and what sounds like a harpsichord is pretty audacious, and bear in mind this was originally released in 1985, it swings and sways in a really fresh and inviting manner with the choral vocals cascading in the background. The French café vibe picks its way carefully through the dark side streets, leading us into the Erik Satie-like introspection of “Denise à Venise”. The choral vocals are more overwhelming here, but in a melancholy way that pits the two voices against one another, slightly jarring.There is a darkness to the first three pieces, including the busy string quartet of “Sidi Bel Abbes”, but makes way for something much lighter and more playful in “Vera.C”. The Spanish vocals and flute combination gives it a pastoral charm that draws some much needed warmth from the players. Sometimes the vocals have an unsteadiness that is slightly unnerving and this ads to the mystery of “Pali Kao”. It draws the listener into a shadowy netherworld of half-heard motifs, where the vocals seem a little out of place as if lost with nowhere to turn.
It is interesting that drums and guitar don’t appear until “Au Bout Du Monde” and considering the title, this track with its additional flute is full of motion and desire for travel, an air of joy pervading the scene and the guitar having an almost proto-Americana vibe. “Motel Du Sud” is lachrymose and funereal, while “Sous Les Bouganvilliers” is a playful woodland jaunt, flutes flitting around your head like fireflies, everything dashing and light, which makes the soporific final track all the more relaxing. The sound of crickets and the rush of water revealing another trip to the idyllic countryside, but in the stifling stillness of summer with the only thing to do being laying down by the side of the river, eyes closed in reverie. This is an impressive and beautifully produced suite of tracks that draws on various of Hector’s many strengths and interests from his childhood in Algeria through the melodies francaises, folky pop and even a touch of Italian film music; but it doesn’t end there. Tacked onto the original album are his 13 Proverbes Africaines. Produced for four voices, the lyrics are supposedly based on real African proverbs, but re-imagined for the four voices and loosely based on the ideas of French writer Raymond Roussel.Now, if the idea of imaginary African proverbs arranged for a vocal quartet and sung in French sounds too much for an English listener, this is not the case. They are only short set pieces, but the way the vocals interweave and the solemn tone brings to mind Gregorian songs or even madrigals. Obviously, they are hard to follow lyrically, but they are engrossing and rather magical, effecting different moods and at times the voices skip around your head like welcoming birds. For me, this is a welcome addition to the album and it only makes for a more exciting experience.
Geographies is one of those albums that is a little breathtaking, if only in the myriad of ideas. I can’t wait to see what is next but for now, this is a welcome treat.-Mr Olivetti-
