Zanov -

Zanov is the performance name of French electronic musician Pierre Salkazanov, who released two albums in the Berlin School-vein in 1976 and 1977. A third album followed in 1983, after which he went quiet until the 2010s when a growing cult around his reissued works prompted a comeback. Since 2014, he has released two CDs on his Zanov Music label.

Background

Pierre Salkazanov (b. circa 1947) began his musical journey playing piano at age six but quickly developed an aversion to the instrument due to rigid instruction. He later took up the guitar in his teens, but its limitations eventually bored him. His scientific training and vision of the future shaped his musical personality, leading him to seek the most expressive spectrum of sounds possible and a refusal of past musical constraints.

In 1975, Zanov worked as a computer engineer in Paris and spent off-hours cultivating his newfound interest in synthesizers. He experimented with sounds and structures on the VCS3, a portable model created by British electronics inventor Peter Zinovieff. Zanov built a home studio with an arsenal of synths, including the ARP 2600, RMI, and Korg PS 3300. His scientific knowledge allowed him to master the complex technology of these devices. Immediately after acquiring his VCS3, Zanov conceived ideas for his debut album.

Green Ray

Zanov released his debut album, Green Ray, in 1976 on Polydor.

Green Ray explores longform analog soundscapes inspired by the German Berlin School style popularized by Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. Using an ARP 2600 and an EMS VCS3, Zanov builds rhythmic sequences and atmospheric layers that move between structured pulses and freeform spatial textures, marking one of the earliest French contributions to the kosmische electronic tradition.

Zanov composed all three tracks, which he recorded unassisted in his Paris home studio. The music unfolds through gradually evolving cycles of tone and rhythm, shaped by live manipulation of oscillators and filters.

The title track, “Green Ray,” opens the album with rising synth winds and phased drones that yield to an insistent sequence around the three-minute mark. “Machine Desperation” projects a darker tone through mechanical pulses and echoing signal waves. Side two consists of the nineteen-minute “Running Beyond a Dream,” a panoramic suite of modulated sound bursts, cosmic glitter, and shifting densities that build and recede in slow motion.

A1. “Green Ray” (9:48)
A2. “Machine Desperation” (10:22)
B1. “Running Beyond a Dream” (19:46)

Sessions occurred at Zanov Studio in Paris with producer Alain Gross. The album appeared in a tangerine-colored sleeve. Photographer Claude Petit took the backside image, which shows Zanov in his studio arsenal of synthesizers and reels.

Moebius 256 301

Zanov released his second album, Moebius 256 301, in 1977 on Polydor.

The album advances his exploration of analog synthesizer sounds with a more structured and rhythmic approach. Built from layered sequences on ARP 2600, EMS VCS 3, and RMI Harmonic synthesizers, Moebius 256 301 presents a futuristic sonic architecture that combines tonal clarity with space-age abstraction. Its title and track design evoke motion through an infinite circuit, aligning the music with sci-fi imagery and mathematical precision.

Zanov composed and performed the five tracks himself, handling all sequencing, keyboard, and synthesizer parts. The album continues his Berlin School influence but introduces tighter phrasing and shorter compositions on Side A, then expands with two extended suites.

The three opening tracks—“Moebius 256,” “Moebius 301,” and “Enygma”—unfold as brief, interlocking vignettes built on bright modular pulses and rapid oscillations. “Plenitude,” a twelve-minute centerpiece, develops a slow-rising progression of layered harmonics and cinematic depth, while “An Zero,” the eighteen-minute closing piece, explores shifting rhythmic figures and shadowed tones that suggest deep-space movement.

A1. “Moebius 256” (2:56)
A2. “Moebius 301” (3:01)
A3. “Enygma” (2:55)
A4. “Plenitude” (12:16)
B1. “An Zero” (18:50)

Sessions occurred at Zanov Studio in Paris with producer Alain Gross. The record was cut and pressed at C.I.D.I.S. Louviers and published through Éditions Francis O’Neill.

In Course of Time

Zanov released his third album, In Course of Time, in 1982 on Solaris (Canada) and in 1983 on Ondes (France).

The album contains five electronic compositions built from analog synthesizers and minimal instrumentation. Tracks shift from extended, layered sequences with interlocking keyboards to brief passages focused on tonal development and rhythmic detail. Several pieces reuse motifs from earlier Zanov works, creating structural continuity across the album.

Zanov wrote, produced, and performed all material. The tracks present variations in pacing and instrumentation: “Infinitude” unfolds as a brief tonal study, while “Phantasm” and “Sky Energy” progress through layered synth lines and shifting harmonic centers. “Lost Message” and the title track balance slow, sustained textures with more active, sequenced passages, creating contrast between static and dynamic elements.

A1. “Phantasm” (10:58)
A2. “Lost Message” (6:07)
A3. “Infinitude” (2:24)
B1. “In Course of Time” (5:54)
B2. “Sky Energy” (11:43)

Sessions occurred at Zanov Studio in France, with Zanov overseeing recording, performance, and concept. Mastering took place at Magnum International in Paris.

Discography: