Release : Embryo - Steig aus
Artist : Embryo
Album : Steig aus
Genre : Progressive Rock
Source : CDDA
Label : SPV
URL :
Date : 00-00-2007
Encoder : LAME 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
Quality : 201kbps 44100 kHz Joint Stereo
Tracks : 3
Time : 37:49 min
Size : 54.97 MB
1 Radio Marrakesh - Orient Express 9:50
2 Dreaming Girls 10:34
3 Call - Part1 - Organ Walk - Marimba Village - Lost 17:25
Violin - Part2
Embryo is, basically, the project of drummer/percussionist Christian Bruchard
joining forces with whoever happens to be in the ensemble at the moment.
Embryo's golden moments come from the time in which his Lieutenant Edgar
Hoffmann (sax and violin) shared center sot. "Steig Aus" is the band's fourth
effort, and definitely one of their masterworks: you can clearly tell that the
band is well rooted in its fusion-rock leanings, and that means that the
psychedelic factor has only become an adorning ingredient after being half part
of the band's nuclear sound for the first two albums. The band's sound is harsh
and mysterious, in a way related to the rough approach pursed by many krautrock
bands, but that's where the similarities with the peculiar German psychedelic
prog movement ends. The swing of American-inspired jazz-rock and the vibe of
standardiez funky bear a heavy presence as catalyzers of the various exotic
sources that the compositions take inspiration from. The jamming is continuous
and the display of energy is ver ysolid, in both the explicit and introvertive
passages of the repertoire. 'Radio Marrakesch' kicks off the album with Northern
African sounds of tuned percussions and hand drums, joined by guitar effects
emultating Moorish woodwinds. Soon the keyboard and percussion input from the
band itself appears and builds up the starting point for the main jam, a
powerful funky-meets-R'n'B section in which the Hammond organ and the mellotron
occupy a leading role while the rhythm section keeps a catchy cadence. With the
solos on electric piano and guitar, teh jazz thing enters to add sophistication
to the frenzy. This effective opener really sounds very East Coast, there is
basically little Teutonic in it, and that's okay since it works well. After this
excellent exercise on acid tripping on funky terrain, 'Draming Girls' changes
things quite a bit. A very ethereal relaxing track, it features magical violin
lines that go floating in the air in a very evocative fashion. The appearance of
the married vibraphone and electric piano and the occasional flute mellotron
also helps to create this track's particular mood. It sort of mixes the
influences from early Weather Report and "Ummagumma"-era Pink Floyd: the latter
is evoked by the surreal melancholy that fills every fibre of the track. The
last track 'Call' occupies the last 17 minutes of the album. The succession of
all diverse cadences emerging from bruchard's drumming (ranging from the tribal
to the bluesy and from the fusionesque to the rocker) marks the continuum across
all sections. Despite tha fact tha Bruchard serves as a leader, the ensemble
makes 'Call' work as a genuine group effort from start to finish. The organ
violin and electric piano solos, the absorbing mellotron layers that appear in
places, the additional percussions,... all these elements conform a sonic forest
that expands itself restlessly in total enthusiasm. The series of the last two
sections, 'Clouds' and 'Call (Part 2)', build an impressive climax, exploiting
the overall groove to its maximum level. "Steig Aus" is a must for every prog
collector with strong jazzy sensibilities. Embryo is a musical world on its own,
creating its own voice within the "rules" of jazz- fusion.