Salzburger Nachrichten (A)

LE PASSAGE - THIERRY ZABOITZEFF
SALZBURGER NACHRICHTEN (A)
Clemens Panagl - 19/04/2024
website

"I HAD TO MOVE OUT WITH MUSIC"
Gloomy outlook and optimistic glimmer: In his studio in Rif, Thierry Zaboitzeff conjures up music from exciting contrasts.

HALLEIN. The calm that the piano and synthesiser suggest with a slow theme does not last long. It is soon replaced by a smooth slope. And the tensions that Thierry Zaboitzeff creates with bass, strings, electronic sounds and interspersed noises also give rise to tension. Does this sound like the beginning of something or rather the end? "The forests precede the people, the deserts follow them," the musician recites in the introduction to the 15-minute piece "La Forêt" (The Forest) on his latest album "Le Passage". The writer Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand used the phrase back in the 19th century to address the destruction of nature by civilisation, and even though Thierry Zaboitzeff does not preface his music with a programme, the quote has nevertheless become "something of an approach to the content of the album", explains the French musician, who has lived and worked in Rif bel Salzburg for many years: "I am very sensitive to the mistreatment of nature by humans and had to express this one day through my music. "However, the composition, which he also performed as a visualised radio play at the Salzburg festival tanz house in 2023, does not sound like a raised index finger: " Music has something magical about it, it offers many different levels of interpretation, which is important to me. That's why these few words are at the beginning of "La Forêt " and leave all possible associations open when listening to the other pieces. "These possibilities in his music have always been wide-ranging. He writes multi-layered stage compositions for dance theatre productions by the Editta Braun Company. And " I compose music in a very visual way, as the director "
32 albums have been in his discography since 1997 alone. That year marked a turning point: Zaboitzeff left the legendary French avant-garde band Art Zoyd, of which he had been a member since 1971, to devote himself to new projects of his own, but his latest album "Le Passage" once again features a former band colleague: Trumpeter Jean-Pierre Soarez can be heard as a guest. Because he has been using the trumpet more and more often in his orchestrations recently, Zaboitzeff explains, "I spontaneously asked Jean-Pierre to replace the planned trumpet samples on the album and improvise - which he did masterfully and sensitively. I found in it a little of the sound that we had formed together with An Zoyd." The trumpeter recorded his contributions in France, Zaboitzeff incorporated them into the overall sound in his studio in Rif. A wide reach is now also emerging for the finished album: reviews from Chile, the USA, France and Germany, which have appeared since the release of "Le Passage" in spring, can be read on the website of Zaboitzeff, who lives and works in Salzburg, who otherwise often works alone in the studio, surrounded only by around a dozen instruments. The idea of demonstrating his skills as a multi-instrumentalist with bass, cello, guitars, keyboards or percussion was never his intention, he explains: "What interests me most is composing that creates tonal and sometimes very visual atmospheres of all kinds. " To achieve this, he uses a wide range of sound colours between jazz, techno, rock, avant-garde and neoclassical: "I don't forbid myself anything. "The "passage" that gives the album its name also means a transition in French: to an impending end or a conciliatory beginning? The title track, with which the record ends, has an optimistic glimmer," summarises Zaboitzeff: "Despite the difficult climate, I wanted it to have a hope that must be maintained: the passage to a better place. "

Album: Thierry Zaboitzeff, " Le Passage ", published by Monstre Sonore/Pias.

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Prog Critique (F)

LE PASSAGE - THIERRY ZABOITZEFF
Review by Gabriel on 10.04.2024

Thierry Zaboitzeff, one of the co-founders and multi-instrumentalists of the group Art Zoyd (free jazz, progressive rock and electronic avant-garde) offers us his new album 'Le Passage', a musical project that blends electronic, acoustic, classical and other sounds to create original and spellbinding atmospheres. Dealing with a topical theme - a world in turmoil. Human madness forces the Earth to defend itself with violent aftershocks, like so many distress signals'), the five compositions on the opus are of a rather cold, ambient nature and offer a unique auditory journey, inviting the listener to escape into a captivating universe. I invite you to discover first and foremost: 'à la poursuite du zoyd', a rather icy track, where the strident interventions of Jean Pierre Soarez's trumpet plunge us into dark, organic territory. "The longest track, 'La Forêt' (14'36″), is poignant, creating soundscapes and musical textures that fit together perfectly. It unfolds its atmosphere in sometimes dissonant styles, where sound effects, classical music and electronics mingle, offering an immersive experience that captures the imagination. More accessible, 'Poster Boy' offers a dynamic sound, and lets us enjoy the luminous, jazzy interventions of Jean Pierre Soarez's sax. Le Passage' is a singular, rewarding album that perfectly illustrates Thierry Zaboitzeff's musical universe, and drives home his distinctive sound.

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KoSmïk muZïk (F)

LE PASSAGE - THIERRY ZABOITZEFF
by Jean Christophe Alluin 30/03/2024

A NEW PASSAGE FOR THIERRY ZABOITZEFF
Coincidentally, forty years ago Thierry Zaboitzeff published his first solo album, Prométhée, a pretty fascinating achievement. From 1998 onwards, following his departure from the Zoydienne matrix, a succession of albums followed, culminating in the 'retrospective' box set released in 2022 and reviewed here. A discography that has become imposing over time, revealing the extraordinary career of a sound researcher.
With this new opus, the first thing that strikes you is the mastery of the ensemble's sound, the vast palette of colours and an art of contrasts and counterpoising that never fails. The musician is at the height of his maturity, mastering his technological arsenal to perfection and turning it into a tool for sharing sensations and images, arranging masses of sound with taste and brio. There's drama aplenty on this album, with a succession of images throughout the tracks.

The presence of Jean-Pierre Soarez's trumpet (on three tracks) takes us back to the 80s, that fruitful, pioneering Art Zoyd. Passage revisits some of the ambiences of the past, but without compromising the future of the approach. Thierry Zaboitzeff, a skilful sound director, guides us through a series of contrasting and adventurous tracks, each new listen revealing a surprise... There is so much to listen to over and over again, so subtle and fascinating is this album. A fine piece of work, as they used to say.

(Monstre Sonore Distribution PIAS)

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Prog Censor (B)

PROG CENSOR (F/B)
Thierry Zaboitzeff - Le Passage
rock in opposition – 33:12 – France 2024
By Auguste - 28/03/2024

This is not a first in his work, which he has been patiently accumulating for decades, constantly researching, eyes open and ears wide open, but each time, the surprise is there, so immersed is Thierry Zaboitzeff in today's time (time is the moment, where we are, in 2024, on this inexorable line, but also this weather, with stakes so high that disappearance is threatening - the last straw, isn't it? ) and nourished by the times of yesterday, those during which he created and accumulated sounds, played with timbres, bristled with associations, ringing or not, subtle or radical, of a twilight beauty. "Le Passage" is about the Earth, this small spherical place that shelters us and gets angry (so much have we played the sorcerer's apprentice), shakes us up (but not enough since Trump the idiot is going to be re-elected), pushes us to the ultimate creativity (will solastalgia - which makes young adults despair to the point of refusing to give birth - give birth to wisdom? ): in 'La Forêt', the epic track on this new album, the chainsaw wins and the tree is torn apart before falling to the ground - but the piano draws a melody of hope? Jean-Pierre Soarez's trumpet (another proof of Art Zoyd's life) trepidates in "Poster Boy", a rearranged score of the music from "Fang den Haider", filmed by Belgian Nathalie Borgers, who searches the Carinthian countryside for the reasons behind the laudatory epitaph of the corrupt extremist Jörg Haider (not only in America...), and the light of a dawn to be repainted? À la poursuite du Zoyd (extended)' maintains the omen, dark and demented music; the titular track, perhaps, rearranges a notion of hope?
Auguste

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Music From Around The World (USA)

MUSIC FROM AROUND THE WORLD
THIERRY ZABOITZEFF - LE PASSAGE
By Archie Patterson 20/03/2024

In 1976 Thierry Zaboitzeff was one of the original members of the earliest incarnation of the seminal French ensemble Art Zoyd 3. Their debut album entitled SYMPHONIE POUR LE JOUR OU BRULLERONT LE CITIES (Symphony for The Day Cities Will Burn) was an album that revolutionized the French experimental jazz & musique scene.
Thierry ultimately left the group to pursue his own music projects after the band’s 1997 album HAXAN. Since that time he has continued recording albums exploring a diverse array of styles and sounds musically.
Today Thierry continues writing and performing music for dance, theater, multimedia events, movie soundtracks, as well as music for his own projects and performances. In 2023 Thierry released a single titled REMINIEMISCENCES & Ep titled LUVOS MIGRATIONS. Recently I received his brand new album titled LE PASSAGE featuring a former member of the original incarnation of Art Zoyd Jean Pierre Soarez who plays trumpet on 3 of the albums tracks.
LE PASSAGE may well be the best album Thierry has made. Musically at times it harkens back to Art Zoyd 3's SYMPHONIE POUR LE JOUR OU BRULLERONT LE CITIES with three songs featuring Jean Pierre Soarez's incredible trumpet solos on tracks 1, 3 & 5. Thierry's compositions feature a vast array of powerful melodies featuring cello, voice, bass guitar, keyboards, vocal treatments, samplers, programming, as well as various acoustic instruments.
Track 1 is titled "A la Poursuite du Zoyd - Extended" (In the Pursuit of Zoyd - Extended) begins with an incredible deep double-tracked bass, guttural voice and chanting with Jean Pierre's trumpet improvising over the top.
Track 2 "La Foret" features a spoken lamentation that was written by Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand. I don’t speak French, so I can only say that as I listened to the music it seemed to me perhaps a metaphorical reflection on the onslaught of humanity and it's impact on the planet today and the planet being desecrated and its people being eviscerated leaving only a desert. This is the longest track on the album and perhaps the most powerful composition Thierry has ever done.
He plays keyboards, violin, bass, various vocal effects, samples and electro-acoustic effects. At one point he growls, chants, using sound sampling and Cello. The effect of the music flashed me back to the end of Oliver Stone's APOCYLYPSE NOW and Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz in his hut in the Jungle, and the visions of madness he had in his head as the film ended.
Track 3 "Poster Boy" in contrast is much lighter musically. Jean Pierre's Trumpet plays a fantastic lead line that accents the more up-tempo musical "Strum und Drang" of Thierry neo-classical arrangements featuring bass, strings, incantations and vocal effects.
Track 4 "Twisted Zoydian Song" begins with incredible reverberating musical waves of sound, followed by piano and Thierry's guttural vocals laced with synthetic samples and cello.
The albums title track LE PASSAGE concludes the album. This time Jean Pierre's trumpet adds subtle effectual accents that serve as a perfect compliment to Thierry's melodic song that seems as it may well be lamenting the loss of life as we know it now. Its running time of 5:27 is short, and comes to abrupt end in dead silence…
LE PASSAGE is in fact a concept album. The quote below is taken from the beginning of the liner notes written for the album by Denis Desassis. It very clearly defines the albums concept illustrating life on the planet we inhabit.
OUR WORLD NOW IS IN THE MIDST OF TURMOIL. HUMAN MADNESS FORCES EARTH TO DEFEND ITSELF WITH VIOLENT AFTERSHOCKS, LIKE SO MANY DISTRESS SIGNALS…

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Autopoietican - Apuntes de Musica Progresiva Contemporanea (PER)

THIERRY ZABOITZEFF: a new passage on a long journey
HELLO, AUTOPOIETICAN FRIENDS, CÉSAR INCA GREETS YOU.
Thursday, March 14, 2024

Today we have the fortunate occasion to present the new phonographic work of the French master THIERRY ZABOITZEFF, who besides having a long solo career as a composer and multi-instrumentalist, is famous for having been part of the ART ZOYD collective for a long time. "La Passage" is the title of the album on which we are now focusing, having been released on 9 February with the co-operation of the labels WTPL Music and Monstre Sonore. The master ZABOIYZEFF was part of that bastion band of the French-speaking RIO that we mentioned before, playing bass and vionocello, mostly, but he also contributed to percussions, synthesizers, guitar and sound effects throughout his membership, which lasted from the time of his debut album "Symphonie Pour Le Jour Où Brûleront Les Cités" (1976) to "Häxan" (1997), i.e. he was there both in the initial period of focusing on chamber instruments with surrealistic ideas and in the later stage of predominantly machinist futurism. In his 1984 solo debut "Prométhée", ZABOITZEFF took charge of all the instruments in his own particular expansion of the futuristic phase that was beginning in the world of ART ZOYD, and it was not until 1992 that this master again came into his own with his second solo work "Dr. Zab & His Robotic Strings Orchestra". In the early 80s, he collaborated on a track on an album by the legendary Belgian band UNIVERS ZÉRO. Going back to the album "La Passage", the good THIERRY, composer of all the songs, plays bass, keyboards, cello, programming and electro-acoustic treatments, as well as doing some vocals. The only other musician is guest trumpeter Jean-Pierre Soarez. After the recording process, ZABOITZEFF took over the mixing and remastering. In spite of its relative brevity (less than 35 minutes long), "La Passage" is an excellent work that knows how to give a refreshing twist to the immortal ideal of progressive music that aims at its most avant-garde extremes.

And why do we say it is an excellent work? Let's review the details of the album to clarify our position. 'À La Poursuite Du Zoyd' kicks things off with a layered display of sinister sound where orchestral ornamentation and a piercing bass riff set the tone for the well-defined central motif. As keyboards, guitar, spectral monologues and sound effects join in, the essential vitality of the piece is steadily deepened by the tense vibrations that bubble up from its bosom. The trumpet contributions serve to add a lavish element to the affair. It began with a convincing zenith to the disc. Then follows 'La Forêt', which at over 14 ½ minutes in length is the longest piece on this disc. A calm soliloquy (authored by François-René de Chateaubriand) introduces us to a beautiful and sober piano passage that is soon accompanied by graceful synthesizer harmonies, although this is a brief mirage, as we are soon introduced to a surreal place where the external restful aura cannot deny the fact that it hides something disturbing behind its self-absorbed curtain. The keyboards continue to lead the way thematically, but there is something new in their greyish parsimony that is explored through the noises of people organising mobilisation measures. And it is just past the third minute mark that the cello orchestrations twin with the piano to settle the first central body. Displaying an obscurantist impressionism that occasionally leaves some ephemeral spaces for warmth, the piece flows through expressive channels marked by a cinematic atmosphere and an expectant aura. The second central body gains in density as it follows the path traced by the first, while the third will be located in an intermediate sector. The final climax carries a vibrant freshness while rounding off the more stately resources that have been exhibited in some preceding moments. The noises of nature with the crickets playing the leading role is the perfect epilogue. Another highlight of the album.

'Poster Boy' finally provides us with a gentle atmosphere where the lyrical predominates with crystalline elegance within a sonic enclave where the electronic and the acoustic interact in a well-articulated tangle.* The fourth track of the repertoire bears the peculiar title of 'Twisted Zoydian Song'. Some of the expressive gentleness of the previous piece persists here, but it is noticeable that what predominates is a return to haunting climaxes (capitalised by the disturbing choral arrangements). Given that there are several passages marked by a striking cybernetic groove, the matter is not as gloomy and gloomy as in the first two pieces of the album; what there is is, however, is a disembodied vitalism that, when clothed in majesty, projects a bizarre glow. Toco concludes with the eponymous piece of the same name, which occupies a space of almost 5 ½ minutes. Le Passage' is an exploration of convergences between chamber-rock and kraut-inspired electronica, which gives the closing of the album a cosmic feel. The gentleness of the trumpet lines, choral arrangements and simple guitar phrasing accompanying the meticulous synthesised bases opens up to the heavens as a source of genuine contemplative radiance. All this is what the veteran and incombustible crack of the radical progressive avant-garde THIERRY ZABOITZEFF offers us with "La Passage", a new passage in a long journey of adventures and investigations in the most complex and daring terrains of contemporary music. Totally recommended!!!!

César Inca

* This piece was originally composed for NATAHLIE BORGERS' film Fang den Haider.

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Clair & Obscur (F)

Thierry Zaboitzeff – Le Passage
1 March 2024 - Publisher: Monstre Sonore/WTPL-Music/PIAS Release date: 2024 Review by Thierry Folcher

Thierry Zaboitzeff - Le Passage If you're familiar with Art Zoyd, I don't think you need any introduction to Thierry Zaboitzeff, a founding member of the band in the early 70s. And for you, this new solo album will be a natural addition to your precious personal collection. For the rest of you, I'll simply ask you two questions: "Do you want to walk down paths frequented by mischievous creators?", "Do you want to visit remote regions where Can, Neu!, Magma, Gong, Univers Zéro, Zappa and even King Crimson have left their luggage and their strange creations? If that appeals to you, then I invite you to discover Le Passage and its five movements dedicated to the wisdom of mankind and the protection of our battered planet. There's nothing new about this, of course, but today artists are at the forefront of sounding the alarm and raising awareness of the dangers threatening our future. The Earth is defending itself, but at what price! Beyond the conflicts that I would (alas) describe as "traditional", it is a common struggle that must unite us in an essential and extremely urgent battle. For the moment, we're far from there, but things seem to be moving and motivating more and more people. It's going to be a fierce battle, though, and not a foregone conclusion. Now it's time to get back to this extraordinary album, which will require you to invest a little more time than usual. I'm not going to lie to you, entering the world of Art Zoyd or Thierry Zaboitzeff is not easy. You have to expect to lose your bearings and rely solely on the mad desire to discover the unsuspected, even the impossible. When it comes to music, pleasure can take all sorts of forms. Here, the reassuring melody is often hidden, buried beneath layers of noise, percussive elements, tension and repetition. But when it shows its face, it illuminates with all its splendour areas that have remained, until now, cold and sometimes inhospitable. Musical chiaroscuro, nothing more, nothing less.

It's also important that your approach is sincere and far removed from any elitist considerations. As I said, it's about having fun and nothing else. The album begins with a wink: "A La Poursuite Du Zoyd Extended", a dark, strange and disturbing first track. The electro, the trumpet of the faithful Jean-Pierre Soarez and the rhythmic loops are used to support a strange, almost hysterical panoply of sounds, bow strokes and triumphant haka. A whole demonic arsenal from the depths of the Zoydian house. A one-two punch that instantly jolts listeners out of their comfort zone. Anyone discovering the world of Thierry Zaboitzeff for the first time is likely to be surprised, not to say lost. Don't panic, though, as 'La Forêt', which follows immediately afterwards, will reassure and even seduce. This long track, almost fifteen minutes long, takes us deep into a forest that is both beautiful and tormented. The sound effects are unmistakable, and the music fits right in. The piano lies in wait and the strings bring a painful sense of panic. But then, above the cesspool, floats that famous melody we've been waiting for, which enlightens us and transports us to far more welcoming lands. The score builds slowly and the alternations between gentleness and tension are right on target. At no point does the construction give the impression of being badly put together or of resembling a motley collage. The listener follows the course of events and finds himself frozen in the middle of the felled trees, taking in the extent of the damage. There are few, if any, words (Chateaubriand's words at the beginning are incredibly powerful), but a sound manifestation that is worth all the speeches and attitudes of the occasion.

We continue with the electro-jazz of "Poster Boy", a nice breath of fresh air that relieves the previous pressures. Jean-Pierre Soarez's trumpet once again stands out and assumes its cinematic role in this short, lively sequence. The right balance is maintained and the diversity of moods is skilfully imposed. Especially as the tornado "Twisted Zoydian Song" kicks off the powerful destructive machine immediately afterwards. We're swept along in a mad rush where the percussion and piano rush forward at full speed to serve up twilight vocals worthy of the best death growl screamers. The tension is ratcheted up a notch and the battered listener waits for the light to break (or not). The famous duality also exists in music. Expressing anger and impetuosity forcefully is a blessing in disguise for wisdom and balance. All this to give the title track, 'Le Passage', the task of repairing and illuminating a picture that has become quite dark. But then, what a brilliant way to end the record! This last track is quite simply exceptional. The vocals remind me of Magma's heyday (the magnificent 'Téhä' on Felicité Thösz, for example), with its irresistible vocal and rhythmic flights. As we embark on this ultimate journey, we feel as if we're opening a door to bliss and hope. The rhythm is gentle, the trumpet silky and the arrangements timely. The passageway takes shape, leading us at last to sanity and understanding. However, we would have liked to have followed it a little further, well beyond the six minutes on offer. So why such an abrupt stop? Was it just a mirage? Thierry Zaboitzeff must have the answers. To conclude, I'd say that this album has done me a world of good. As far as musical releases go, I was desperate to discover something really different. Something that didn't give you away in the first few bars. No problem here, with something happening every minute and the attention never waning. What's more, Le passage goes much further than its stated message. It showcases what man is capable of creating at the best of times, and inspires confidence in his destiny. Finally, if you want to find out more about Thierry Zaboitzeff's world and rather than get lost in his abundant output, I recommend his collection 50 Ans De Musique (s), released in 2022. It's an absolutely brilliant triple CD that you can enjoy at your leisure, surrounded (or not) by knowledgeable and willing listeners. Believe me, at the end of the journey, they'll thank you.
Thierry Folcher
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Exposé (USA)

Reviews | Thierry Zaboitzeff - Le Passage
by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-02-14

The five tracks at hand are probably the closest thing to a full length album that Art Zoyd founding member Thierry Zaboitzeff has released in quite some time. With a theme that seeks wisdom in the future from a bleak present as his inspiration, there is no doubt that TZ brings together many of his influences here; in fact two of the cuts explicitly reference his previous band in their titles, though on the whole this collection of works is very forward looking. In addition to his many years as a composer, Zaboitzeff was generally known as a cellist and bassist, though in recent years he has become a master of many instruments, and here he also plays nearly everything, including keyboards, samplers, programming, and various electro-acoustic treatments, plus vocals, although there aren’t a lot of vocals here, mostly low growls and spoken bits. He is joined on the odd numbered cuts by his old bandmate Jean-Pierre Soarez on trumpet, further underscoring the Zoydian connection. The fourteen-plus minute “La Forêt” serves as a centerpiece, a strange apocalyptic piece that’s based around piano and strings with found sounds in abundance, low chugging rhythms break up the more pastoral parts, with low-spoken German vocals and other mysterious vocalizations that mystify the listener. The set opens with “À la Poursuite du Zoyd – Extended,” a piece which may or may not have appeared before in some other form, which blows in like a hurricane for the first minute or so, but quickly finds a catchy groove over which keyboards, trumpet, and dark voices prominently feature in a warped and fractured chaos. Likewise, the “Twisted Zoydian Song” is a fast paced piece with a catchy groove where grisly voices abound. “Poster Boy” presents an unusual rhythmic style with trumpet prominently featured, while the title track closes the set mixing trumpet with electronics over a slow paced sequence with gentle vocals and what sounds like a slide dobro, picking up the pace mid way through the piece’s five minute duration. It’s like nothing he’s done previously, but certainly recalls elements of previous works. All taken, Le Passage marks a bold step forward while saluting the past.

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Progjazz (CL)

LE PASSAGE - THIERRY ZABOITZEFF
Thierry Zaboitzeff and "Le Passage": From Chaos to Creation
by Rodrigo Oyarce 09/02/2024

Background

Thierry Zaboitzeff's music is radical, full of nuances and breaking all rules, it is the expression of a musician who transmits the density of the spirit without regard. With a career spanning five decades and having been part of one of the most iconic bands of the Rock in Opposition and avant-garde movement, Art Zoyd, Zaboitzeff has given us, over the years, vibrant, exceptional and innovative music, where experimentation is part of the French musician's everyday life.

In 2022, Thierry released a musical anthology about his 50 years of making music, where we can hear snippets of his multiple projects both as a soloist and his work with his mother band, Aria Primitiva and Zaboitzeff and Crew. Today it is the turn of a new album entitled "Le Passage", composed, performed, mixed and remastered by Zaboitzeff himself, and featuring French trumpeter and former member of Art Zoyd, Jean-Pierre Soarez on three tracks.

In this new journey into the unfathomable sound world of Zaboitzeff, this creator of sensations transports us through five mini-suites through moments of artistic beauty, passing through "macabre" and dark melodies that recreate the duality of the human being. In this chaotic world in which we currently live, Thierry's music could be the perfect soundtrack for us to transform that vision through the social haze in which we are immersed into a hope for a new evolutionary dawn.

The album

From the first notes of "À La Poursuite Du Zoyd", the journey to which Zaboitzeff invites us becomes clear, the asphyxiating beginning puts us early on alert, a bass with a repetitive riff, almost like a mantra, throws us into the abysmal depths. The musician's voice, coming from ancestral places, puts us in a trance and often makes us wonder if we are still "present" in this reality and Soarez's trumpet draws a perfect melodic landscape in this ethereal descent towards the primordial. The name of the track is no coincidence, if such a thing exists, as we can hear all the enriching sound that Thierry brought for years to that initiatory school that was Art Zoyd.

After this furious attack on the conscience, Zaboitzeff presents us with the song "La Forêt", which in its almost 15 minutes wonderfully recreates a film that the subconscious strives to develop in our dreams. "Les forêts présents les hommes, les déserts les suivent" which translates as "Forests precede men, deserts follow them" and which is also said in German, is a quote from the French writer, diplomat and historian François-René de Chateaubriand, one of the most outstanding exponents of 19th century French literature, which Zaboitzeff recites in a voice that serves as an introduction to the visceral vision of a musician without contemplation. The presumed "calm" that we can hear, only tiptoes across our senses, as in the corners of reason lurks the heart-rending sound, almost an intemperate scream of every fibre of the musician that like a hurricane wind leaves us little room to breathe, but totally necessary if we want to survive in the face of such a Dantesque gift to the senses. Thierry's instrumentation, fascinatingly playing keyboards, cello and a variety of electro-acoustic effects make this piece a whirlwind of emotions.

The third moment of the journey is entitled "Poster Boy" which was originally written by Thierry for the film "Fang Den Haider" by the Belgian filmmaker Nathalie Borgers and which is present on this album with a new arrangement. Here we find Jean-Pierre again, with his instrument brushstrokes that masterfully draw the whole atmosphere almost in black and white that reminds us of the melody. It has elements of a modern jazz which, with so many mixtures and evolutions, is almost indistinguishable among all the variety of sound that Zaboitzeff gives us. I would like to take a little license, and I hope that the hypothetical reader of these lyrics and Thierry himself will forgive me, but I could not help remembering and perhaps in my fevered mind associating certain sonorous passages of this theme with King Crimson's "Waiting Man". It is just an appreciation of a man absorbed in the alchemy that is this album.

"Twisted Zoydian Song" is, as the name suggests, essentially a swirl of intrinsic sounds into Zaboitzeff's past but always with one foot more in the present, and especially in the future. We had already heard this melody, or part of it, in the teaser that the musician had shown us, and now that we can listen to the development of it, we realise that Thierry's artistic expression cannot be contained, as it shows us a musician totally uprooted from all pigeonholing norms, a musician whom we cannot define, an artist who finds in each neuronal labyrinth, a way to transmit his creative sparkles to us mere mortals from his entrails. Almost at the end of this sensorial ode, I am sliding freely through the mind of a sonic poet.

The end of this initiatory journey is with the homonymous theme that shamelessly strips us of reason to leave us totally surrendered to the cosmic "magic" of a musician who happily incarnated himself in this plane of reality. In Zaboitzeff's hand, Soarez is once again the perfect accompanist to draw the astral melodies that lead us towards the intensities of the cosmos. The contemplation of human existence makes us realise that our existence is connected to an incomprehensible energy. This melodic ending is the triumph of light over darkness.

A light in the darkness We are distempered before an album that was not made to be listened to, but to be lived through every pore of our body and that is a balm for our bereaved existence. A guiding light for the spirit.

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Outsidenoise.org (USA)

Reviews | Thierry Zaboitzeff - Le Passage
13/02/2024

A quick glance through a history book only increases our mounting existential dread. Problems unaddressed, mistakes repeated, ruts deepened. We look out at the world — a flooded desert, a burned wasteland, a swollen ocean — and we can’t help but wonder how we ever thought we could organize a solution to the problems we see. Such topics feature heavily on the new record Le Passage by Thierry Zaboitzeff, a hair-raising progressive rock record that tells a vivid story of encroaching chaos and frustrated hope. The album plays out like a ballet, introducing each moment and character with a distinct musical motif, navigating a winding path through free jazz riffing, rigid motorik rocking, and sublime classical gliding. A bipolar trumpet takes on the role of main character, switching rapidly between a regal, open classical tone and a tight, rapid jazz sound. Despite this bombardment of bedlam, however, Zaboitzeff leaves a few spaces open for unscathed hope, ending the record on a straightforward, harmonious note that reminds us that, as long as we’re still singing, our story hasn’t ended yet.

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Babyblaue Seiten (D)

LE PASSAGE - THIERRY ZABOITZEFF
by Siggy Zielinski 08/02/2024

The co-founder of Art Zoyd, composer and multi-instrumentalist Thierry Zaboitzeff released a new concept album, "Le Passage", at the beginning of 2024. It is about a dystopian future brought about by mankind through the destruction of nature.

In the opening "à la poursuite du zoyd - extended", we are greeted by dark visions of the future in good Zoyd tradition. A repetitive motif for the bass and guitars serves as the foundation for a menacing mesh of guttural chants, a neurotic trumpet, avant-garde piano contributions in the spirit of Keith Tippett and hectic spoken voices. Towards the end, a majestic Melody of doom.

The words of François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848) resound at the beginning of "La Forêt" ("The Forest"): "The forests precede the people, the deserts follow them". This reminds us that massive deforestation began many centuries ago, especially as early human "civilisation" would have been inconceivable without the massive use of wood. "La Forêt" brings together the field recordings with deforestation, the dark ambient passages, the classical-romantic moments inspired by modern classical music and the mysterious vocal contributions.

The briskly composed "Poster Boy", which is probably somewhere between modern classical, electronic and art rock, was originally used for Nathalie Borger's film "Fang den Haider". It is possible that a poster boy here symbolises the hedonistic final phase of contemporary civilisation. The "Twisted Zoydian Song" is very wacky, as the title rightly suggests. The number has something of a dance with the devil at the end of our time. Weird chants, electronic percussion, synthesizers, electric guitar, piano and wind instruments create eerie grooves in this avant-prog from hell, which probably also contains a pinch of humour.

Compared to everything that preceded it, the final composition called "Le Passage" sounds downright romantic. The relaxed electronic foundation of rhythms and sequencers is accompanied by an almost pop-music-like vocal accompanied by strings and a trumpet. Everything will be fine, everything is half as bad - that's how you could interpret the title track.

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Le Passage

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Salzburger Nachrichten (A)

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Autopoietican - Apuntes de Musica Progresiva Contemporanea (PER)

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Exposé (USA)

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Outsidenoise.org (USA)

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