Sloche - Stadacone

Styles: Progressive Rock, Fusion
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:55
Size: 109,9 MB
Art: Front

(10:11)  1. Stadacone
( 5:36)  2. Le Cosmophile
( 4:24)  3. Il Faut Sauver Barbara
( 4:28)  4. Ad Hoc
( 4:55)  5. La "Baloune"
(11:17)  6. Isacaaron

After the spacy prog-fusion of their superb debut J'un Oeil the previous year, Quebec's Sloche eased up a notch on the controls on their follow-up. The Chicoutimi natives, now a sextet with drummer Gilles Chiasson replaced by Andre Roberge and percussionist Gilles Ouellet, decided to fold a dollop or two of funk into their trademark guitar/synth mix. What we get on 1976's Stadacone is a sound that veers into territory occupied by the likes of Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, or even the loping bass workouts of Stanley Clark rather than the usual suspects of Canterbury bands like Hatfield and the North or mid-period Soft Machine. 

For instance, the excellent title track is ten-plus minutes of lithe Fender Rhodes, deft guitar solos, and swirling synths that might have sounded as good in a tiny jazz club as in a massive concert hall. Ditto for more concise statements like the groovier 'Ad Hoc', where Caroll Berard shows off some nifty guitar work, or the proggier 'Il faut sauver Barbara', which is propped up by keyboardist Martin Murray's driving organs. Like its predecessor, Stadacone pleased the critics but barely troubled the charts, even inside Quebec where the group was most popular. And with the tight-fitting jeans and skinny ties of punk just around the corner, it should come as no surprise that the likes of Sloche were never really heard from again. Both discs have been recently remastered onto CD by the ProgQuebec label, but with such striking cover art, do you really need to be told to look for this one on vinyl? 

~ Michael Panontin  http://www.canuckistanmusic.com/index.php?maid=294

Personnel:  Réjean Yacola / keyboards; Martin Murray / keyboards; Caroll Bédard / guitars; Pierre Hébert / bass; André Roberge / drums & percussions; Gilles Ouellet / celesta, percussions

Stadacone

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Sloche - J'un Oeil

Styles: Progressive Rock, Fusion
Year: 1975
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:26
Size: 88,3 MB
Art: Front

( 8:57)  1. C'Pas Fin Du Monde
(10:56)  2. Le Kareme D'Eros
( 4:47)  3. J'un Oeil
( 6:34)  4. Algebrique
( 7:11)  5. Potage Aux Herbes Douteuses

The upper reaches of the Saguenay River in Quebec Chicoutimi and Jonquiere to our international readers may be about as far away geographically and culturally from the traditional Anglo centres of rock as one can get. And yet in the seventies prog rock flowered in the most unlikely places Italy and Quebec are two obvious examples with bands like Octobre, Et Cetera, Morse Code Transmission, Maneige, and Sloche holding court up here in la belle province. Saguenay prog icons Sloche had been kicking around since 1971, but their line-up solidified when pianist Rejean Yacola, fresh out of the prestigious Conservatoire de Musique du Quebec, hooked up with fellow alumni Martin Murray (organ and synths), Caroll Berard (guitar), Pierre Hebert (bass) and Gilles Chiasson (drums). The band's long-playing debut, the musically complex J'un Oeil, seemingly dropped out of the sky in 1975. J'un Oeil is prog at its most glorious. 

The opening salvo 'C'pas la fin du Monde' has it all: spacy synths that segue into funky Rhodes piano that morphs into a trippy interlude before careening back into its groovy finale. In fact, much of this mostly-instrumental disc treads the sort of space-jazz terrain of Hatfield and the North, Gentle Giant (who were huge in Quebec), and especially Stomu Yamashta's Go project. Even the occasional vocal harmonies, like those on the title track, are shimmering delights. Alas, with prog's days just about numbered by the time J'un Oeil reached the shops, it should surprise no one that the record went virtually unnoticed outside its home province. Still, Sloche would go on to add one more disc to their legacy, the somewhat underachieving Stadacone the following year, before seemingly falling off the musical map. ~ Michael Panontin
http://www.canuckistanmusic.com/index.php?maid=155

Personnel: Réjean Yacola - Piano, Vocals; Martin Murray - Organ, Synthesizer, Saxophone, Vocals; Caroll Bérard - Guitar, Vocals; Pierre Hébert - Bass, Vocals; Gilles Chiasson - drums

J'un Oeil

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