Archaia's sole album has always been a legend in collecting circles, and is one of France's most prized items. Dark, menacing, foreboding, and sinister are adjectives that best describe the music. Bass, sequencers, chanting voices, and the most compressed fuzz guitar sound you'll ever hear, define this incredibly fascinating work. Side 1 is brilliant whereas Side 2 the material isn't quite as strong, but still holds up under scrutiny. Generally sited as being from the Zeuhl camp - not to mention it being the debut reissue for the specialist label Soleil Zeuhl - though in reality it belongs just as much to the 70s progressive electronic movement in France from the likes of Heldon, Lard Free, Verto, Igor Wakhevitch, Horrific Child, and anything Philippe Besombes was involved with. There are points within the album where the synthesizers come to a climax, and one expects a thumping bass and pounding drums, and yet they don't appear (of course, they don't have a drummer either...). These are the Eskaton moments that do not come to fruition. Whatever the case, Archaia can be considered entirely unique, borrowing from a host of ideas and outputting something completely unexpected. A great one here.
Ownership: LP: 1977 Choravox. Single sleeve. Acquired in a blockbuster trade with a well known Belgian dealer (1996).
CD: 1998 Soleil Zeuhl. Jewel case with liner notes and bonus tracks.
1996; 1998; 9/7/18 (new entry)
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