Heldon were one of the early obscure European electronic groups that I got into during my college years. Not long after graduating I stumbled upon the US pressing of Rhizosphere (on Aural Explorer), which is Pinhas' first solo album. Not surprisingly, there isn't that much difference between a Pinhas solo work and a Heldon album. Similar in that way to Edgar Froese and Tangerine Dream in the mid to late 70s. One could argue that Heldon essentially is Pinhas. However, Rhizosphere didn't excite me much on initial impact as it was a bit more static electronic than the more active and full bodied Heldon. Over the years though, I've come to appreciate his dark and heavy sequencer style, which makes the entirety of this album. Though it must be said that Pinhas' tortured trademark 1954 Les Gibson guitar is sorely missed.
What makes this CD more special is the 1982 live material from a concert in Paris. From an artistic standpoint, the two periods of music are incongruous. L'Ethique was the current album then, and Pinhas had more or less shut down Heldon by that point. In effect, it's more of a group effort and the guitar was back out front and center. And the concert is very spirited. While not a perfect soundboard recording, the type of music on display here will distract you from any sonic limitations.
Ownership: CD: 2006 Captain Trip (Japan). Papersleeve edition that replicates the original LP. In recent years, I've gone back to buying the original vinyl of albums such as this. But that won't happen here. For one, though it was never my original intention, I ended up filling the box set, including the superb archival Singles CD (reported elsewhere on this blog). Interestingly enough I bought the box first (dirt cheap) and slowly bought the CDs. Secondly, the archival material takes this release to another level and is not to be missed. It's the same source material as can be found on the 1994 Cuneiform release.
3/16/18; 6/14/22 (new entry)
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