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Part fantastical historic sonic biopic, part anthropologic journey into the deep roots of
Belgium’s monstrous cosmic rock sound, this wholly individualistic concept album combines the lead members of the mighty COS (Daniel Schell and Pascale Son) with studio genius Alain Pierre (Ô Sidarta/Des morts) and celebrated Dutch progressive rock singer Dick Annegarn, for what many consider to be both the overlooked hiding place of Belgium’s deepest psychedelic moment and European prog’s lost map to the ‘Franco-Flemish Boom’.
Emerging from the wider musical family that counted Marc Moulin, Placebo and Marc
Hollander amongst its creative kin, Daniel Schell’s most profound conceptual project
ambitiously combines the tale of the heroic historical figure of Count Egmont (1522–1568), while simultaneously tracing the evolution of the ud, or oud, (‘the grandfather of the guitar’) in this multifarious hallucinogenic epic. Featuring key members of other collectable groups such as drummer Felix Simtaine from Solis Lacus and bass player Jean-Louis Baudoin from the mythical Classroom (COS predecessor), this best-kept secret vinyl release also harbours the voices of Dirk Bogaert (of Belgian hard rockers Waterloo) as well as Catalan singer Ilona Chale (Marc Hollander/Aksak Maboul) before her later tenure as the COS front woman.
Initially released in 1978 via Zeuhl school distributors Free Bird alongside French pressings of Don Cherry, Jacques Thollot and CAN, it is plain to understand the niche nature of this maligned “lost COS” LP as it finally blooms from between the cracked branches of European jazz-rock-synth-psych-prog-pop history... and beyond!
Tracklist
1. La ballade du Zwin
2. Ein kleiner Mann
3. UD
4. Piume al vento
5. Nelle
6. Granvelle
7. Sabina And First Variation
8. Un instant sous la hache
9. Geuzenlied
10. Sabina And Second Variation
11. The ff BOOM