Z 7L

Musea is reissuing Zao's albums at the rate of one per year. This year they present Z=7L, the debut album by this Magma offshoot. While strongly rooted in the zeuhl tradition of Magma, Yochk'o Seffer and Francois Cahen brought forth their unique musical vision in this 1973 release. They wanted to give the band's music an original color by integrating the most particular of instruments, the human voice. Mauricia Platon's wordless vocals go beyond Magma and are a perfect accompaniment to Zao's singular form of jazz. Her voice, Jean-Yves Rigaud's violin, and Seffer's soprano sax intertwine through a complex matrix of rhythm and sound. At times the music and singing are dark and aggressive like Magma and later Shub Niggurath. At others it is light and airy. As with most Musea releases there are extensive liner notes in both French and English plus color photos of Zao in concert. And of course the original artwork is faithfully reproduced. All making for a value added package over the original vinyl release. This is an excellent album and the music is as fresh today as it was 40 years ago.