Zeuhl (pronounced zœl meaning "Celestial") is a

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...

that is a hybrid of

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 ...

symphonic 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 neoclassical music, established in 1969 by the French band

Magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

. The term comes from Kobaïan, the fictional language created by Magma's Christian Vander and Klaus Blasquiz for Magma, in which ''Zeuhl Ẁortz'' means approximately "Celestial Force".

Characteristics

The musical roots of zeuhl go back to pioneers of the

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

movement such as

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

and folkloristic echoes and influences from Carl Orff's work. Zeuhl is determined by several characteristic elements. Especially important are dominant

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

fractions A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, thre ...

, usually in the form of a pumping

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

and sometimes sluggish or flexibly playing

drum kit A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one p ...

s. Slow repetitive structures that serve to build a

hypnotic A hypnotic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), also known as a somnifacient or soporific, and commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to sleep induction, induce sleep and to trea ...

atmosphere are just as prominent as solo passages of high technical finesse. Vocals are often widely present and can consist of

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

choral movements, such as Carl Orff's '' Carmina Burana'', or soloistically performed passages with shrill intonation. Zeuhl bands also often have solo

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

s or

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

that usually have a more than accompanying function, especially to emphasize the repetitive patterns. Dominique Leone, writing for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', says the style is: "about what you'd expect an alien rock opera to sound like: massed, chanted choral motifs, martial, repetitive percussion, sudden bursts of explosive improv and just as unexpected lapses into eerie, minimalist trance-rock." Christian Vander has said that it means celestial and that "Zeuhl music means vibratory music" and that zeuhl is "''L'esprit au travers de la matière"'' (The spirit through matter). That is Zeuhl. Zeuhl is also the sound which you can feel vibrating in your belly. Pronounce the word Zeuhl very slowly, and stress the letter ''z'' at the beginning, and you will feel your body vibrating."

Reception

Originally applied solely to the music of Magma, the term "zeuhl" was eventually used to describe the similar music produced by French bands beginning in the 1970s. In addition to Magma, bands who are associated with the term include: Happy Family, Kōenji Hyakkei, and Ruins from Japan, and French band Zao.

Some major representatives

French bands: * Art Zoyd * Dün * Eider Stellaire * Eskaton *

Shub-Niggurath Shub-Niggurath is a deity created by H. P. Lovecraft. She is often associated with the phrase "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young". The only other name by which Lovecraft referred to her was "Lord of the Wood" in his story ''The W ...

* Unit Wail * Weidorje * Zao Japanese bands: * Bondage Fruit * Daimonji * Happy Family * Kōenji Hyakkei * Ruins Other bands: (partly only distantly stylistically related to the Zeuhl) * Guapo (United Kingdom) * Univers Zero (Belgium) *

Present The present is the period of time that is occurring now. The present is contrasted with the past, the period of time that has already occurred; and the future, the period of time that has yet to occur. It is sometimes represented as a hyperplan ...

(Belgium) * J.A. Seazer (Japan) * Universal Totem Orchestra (Italy) * Corima (United States) * Papangu (Brazil) * Kultivator (Sweden) * Dai Kaht (Finland) * Zamla Mammaz Manna (Sweden), especially their third album,

Literature

References

External links

Zeuhl - A Progressive Rock Sub-genre
on Prog Archives
There is No Prog, Only Zeuhl: A Guide to One of Rock’s Most Imaginative Subgenres
on Bandcamp.com * Peter Thelen (1 November 1995):

' on Exposé Online {{authority control Zeuhl Progressive rock French styles of music Zeuhl