Zao was a French Zeuhl ensemble, active during the 1970s and later sporadic intervals. Between 1973 and 1977, they released five albums on Vertigo, Urus, and RCA, beginning with their debut Z=7L, which featured François “Faton” Cahen on keyboards, Yochk’o Seffer on saxophones, and Mauricia Platon on vocals. Their second album, Osiris (1974), saw Seffer […]
Kawana is the fourth album by French Zeuhl ensemble Zao, released in 1976 on RCA Victor. Kawana represents Zao at a stage where their sound has fully embraced jazz-rock fusion while retaining traces of the Zeuhl energy from earlier albums. With the addition of Didier Lockwood on violin, the ensemble expands its expressive range, weaving […]
Osiris is the second album by French progressive ensemble Zao, released in 1974 on Disjuncta/Urus. The album marks a transitional stage for the band as it begins to diverge from the heavier Zeuhl influences of their debut Z=7L toward a more jazz-fusion oriented approach. The departure of Mauricia Platon left vocal duties to Yochk’o Seffer […]
1001° Centigrades — initially titled Magma 2 — is the second album by the French Zeuhl ensemble Magma, released on October 5, 1971, on Philips. The narrative from their first album continues as the Kobaïans return to Earth and share their knowledge, ultimately meeting resistance that culminates in confinement and ideological tension. Louis Toesca and […]
Magma is the debut album by the French progressive-rock band Magma, released in October 1970 on Philips. The double-album presents a sprawling concept about refugees abandoning a doomed Earth to build a society on the distant planet Kobaïa, conveyed largely in the constructed Kobaïan language. The ensemble combines jazz-rock frameworks with classical phrasing, shifting pulses, […]
Z=7L is the debut album by French chamber-rock/Zeuhl combo Zao, released in 1973 on Vertigo. Keyboardist François “Faton” Cahen and reedist Yochk’o Seffer formed the band after their early departure from Magma. The album integrates operatic female vocals, intricate instrumental interplay, and shifting rhythmic frameworks, producing an intricate tension between structure and improvisation. Mauricia Platon’s […]
Univeria Zekt were an alter ego of French super-band Magma, supplanting the popular nameplate for the 1972 release The Unnamables on Thélème Philips. Members: Christian Vander (drums, vocals, percussion), Klaus Blasquiz (vocals, percussion), Francis Moze (bass, organ), François Faton Cahen (piano), Claude Engel (guitar, flute, vocals), Teddy Lasry (saxophone, flute, organ), Jeff “Yochk’o” Seffer (saxophone), […]
Thank You Friends is a collaborative album between Magma/Zao alumni François Cahen and Didier Lockwood, released in 1978 on Atlantic. Tracklist: A1. “Thank You Joe” (4:30) A2. “Merci Guy” (1:00) A3. “Lettre ouverte a Mr Debussy” (8:15) A4. “Obade a Jean Sebastien” (2:35) B1. “Top Espace” (4:30) B2. “From Bella to Keith” (11:20) B3. “Rêves […]
