Jean-Michel Desbouis - Prince. 1982 France

Jean-Michel Desbouis' sole album was a mystery for years. I had a cassette going back to the 90s that simply stated "Prince (1986 France)". Years later while conducting research for the CDRWL, I received another file. And sure enough, it was exactly this album. Once you realize the album was pressed by FLVM, the French do-it-yourself label, then it becomes clear on how this could happen. How many were pressed? Who knows, probably a small total seeing how few have ever been offered, or are currently owned (as noted by Discogs).

The music is a combination of electronic soundscapes and Berlin School styled sequencer driven composition. The female vocals from Stella Vander - yes that Stella Vander - add an otherworldly vibe to the proceedings. Definitely recommended to fans of 70s French and German electronic music.

Our good friend The AC had a great explanation as to why this album had the wrong info for many years: "The whole presentation of this LP is bound to cause confusion. The front cover has absolutely no text on it, while the back cover is basically the same as the front, but with just "Prince" printed on the top. Only the insert has any information on it, but it only lists the track titles and musicians. There's no release date printed anywhere on the LP. I knew from the sound, style and place of origin that it was probably an early 80s album, but I couldn't be certain until I found Desbouis' own Myspace page, which confirms that it was recorded in late '81 and released in '82. This is definitely one of the rarest of these French electronic prog LPs, so I could certainly envision a scenario where years back some prog fan finds the LP, but it's missing the insert. It then enters into circulation via tape trading, with no real information other than that it's called "Prince"... ...This would also explain why, aside from the fact that it's always been very hard to find to begin with, that it's remained so obscure. Because if people really knew that it had Stella Vander singing on it, I'm sure it would have been a much better known item in the prog underground for years now, due to the general obsession with all things Magma."

And here is his original notes regarding the music: "Extremely obscure French electronic prog album, and quite similar to other efforts of this type from the late 70s/early 80s underground scene. The main difference here is that none other than Stella Vander is on board to provide vocals on some of the tracks, which is a very nice addition. The whole album has a sort of floating, spacey vibe that's somewhat trance-inducing. It's high quality stuff, and definitely recommended to fans of the genre. Unfortunately, it's also one of the rarest LPs of this kind. Desbouis had previously played in a band named Aum, and is still musically active to this day."

cd-r

2/15/12 (CDRWL)