Forgas Band Phenomena is a French instrumental

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

band. Inspired by

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

and the

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a musical scene that originated in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisation ...

, composer and drummer Patrick Forgas has created the band and is still leading it. Since 2005, his albums are edited by the American label

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

noted about the band's 2005 album, ''Soleil 12'', "While there are periods in 'Coup De Theatre' and 'Pieuvre a la Pluie' when the Forgas Band takes far too long to conclude segments that have peaked creatively, the bulk of ''Soleil 12'' is captivating."

Current line-up

*Patrick Forgas, drums *Sébastien Trognon, tenor, alto and soprano sax, flute * Dimitri Alexaline, trumpet, flugelhorn * Benjamin Violet, guitar (up to March 2013) * Karolina Mlodecka, violin *Igor Brover, keyboards *Kengo Mochizuki, bass guitar From April 2013, Pierre Schmidt replaces Benjamin Violet, who has joined

Tryo Tryo () is a French-language 'unplugged' ska acoustic band, popular in Europe and Quebec, with three French guitarists, a percussionist, and a producer: Guizmo, Christophe Mali, Manu Eveno, Daniel "Danielito" Bravo and Bibou. Tryo are popular ...

as a multi-instrumentist.

Discography

Forgas

*''Cocktail'' (1977) (2008 reissue by Musea w/ 13 prev. unissued numbers from 1973–79) *''L’œil'' (1990) *''Art d’Écho'' (1993) *''Synchronicité'' (solo) (2002)

Forgas Band Phenomena

*''Roue libre'' (1997) *''Extra-Lucide'' (1999) *''Soleil 12'' (Live) (2005) *''L’Axe du Fou – Axis of Madness'' (2009) *''Acte V'' (2012) (+ dvd from their NEARfest gig on June 19, 2010) *''L'Oreille Electrique he Electric Ear' (2018)

Forgas singles

*''Monks (La danse des moines) / Cocktail'' (1977) *''Miroir tu triches / À fond la caisse'' (1982) *''C'est comme ça la vie / ...Sex move !'' (1986)

Guest appearances

*''Africa Anteria'' on 2 cd ''Hur ! Hommage à la musique de Christian Vander'' (2009)

Filmography

* 2015: '' Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'' (DVD)

Musicians

1997 - Roue Libre. # Déclic - 6:14 # Sérum De Vérité - 18:30 # Roue Libre - 20:10 All by P.Forgas. * Mathias Desmier: guitar. * Philippe Talet: bass. * Patrick Forgas: drums, electronics. * Mireille Bauer: vibraphone, marimba. * Stéphane Jaoui: keyboards, rhodes. * Frédéric Schmidely: tenor & soprano saxes; flute. 1999 - Extra-Lucide. # Extra-Lucide - 7:05 # Rebirth - 5:24 # Pieuvre À La Pluie - 18:24 # Annie Réglisse - 8:35 # Villa Carmen - 4:58 All by P.Forgas. * Mathias Desmier: guitar. * Juan-Sebastien Jimenez: bass. * Patrick Forgas: drums. * Gilles Pausanias: keyboards. * Denis Guivarc'h: alto sax. 2005 - Soleil 12. # Soleil 12 - 9:22 # Coup De Théâtre - 34:47 # Éclipse - 8:16 # Pieuvre À La Pluie - 18:18 All by P.Forgas. * Sylvain Ducloux: guitar. * Kengo Mochizuki: bass. * Patrick Forgas: drums. * Igor Brover: keyboards. * Denis Guivarc'h: alto sax. * Stanislas De Nussac: tenor & soprano saxes. * Sylvain Gontard: trumpet, flugelhorn. * Frédéric Norel: violin. 2009 - L'Axe Du Fou · Axis Of Madness. # La Clef (The Key) - 10:50 # L'Axe Du Fou (Axis Of Madness) - 16:32 # Double-Sens (Double Entendre) - 13:50 # La 13eme Lune (The 13th Moon) - 8:24 All by P.Forgas. * Benjamin Violet: guitar. * Kengo Mochizuki: bass. * Patrick Forgas: drums. * Igor Brover: keyboards. * Sébastien Trognon: tenor & soprano saxes; flute. * Dimitri Alexaline: trumpet, flugelhorn. * Karolina Mlodecka: violin. 2012 - Acte V. Acte V (CD) # Corps Et Âmes 6:26 # Loin D'Issy 7:14 # George V 10:27 # Ultraviolet 8:18 # Feu Sacré 6:50 # Midi-Minuit 13:30 NEARFest 2010 (DVD) # Ultraviolet 8:34 # L'Axe Du Fou 16:06 # Feu Sacré 6:53 # Soleil 12 9:09 # Double Sens 13:38 # Extralucide 10:20 # Éclipse 7:45 All by P.Forgas. * Benjamin Violet: guitar. * Kengo Mochizuki: bass. * Patrick Forgas: drums. * Igor Brover: keyboards. * Sébastien Trognon: alto & soprano saxes; flute. * Dimitri Alexaline: trumpet, flugelhorn. * Karolina Mlodecka: violin. 2018 - L’Oreille Électrique = The Electric Ear. # Délice Karmâ = Karmic Delights - 9:59 # Septième Ciel = Seventh Heaven - 10:02 # L’Oreille Électrique = The Electric Ear - 12:00 # Crème Anglaise = Custard Sauce - 9:37 # Pierre Angulaire = Corner Stone - 12:34 All by P.Forgas. * Pierre Schmidt: guitar. * Gérard Prévost: bass. * Patrick Forgas: drums. * Igor Brover: keyboards, rhodes. * Sébastien Trognon: tenor, alto & soprano saxes; flute. * Dimitri Alexaline: trumpet, flugelhorn. * Karolina Mlodecka: violin.

References

External links

Official site
*
biographyBiography on allmusic.com--
* *
Critique de l'album L'Axe du Fou
{{Authority control French progressive rock groups