SEVEN REIZH

SEVEN REIZH comes here to fail his journey with this 5th double album on recreations of previous titles; an adventure started 25 years ago delivering emotionally strong music, an 'instruvocal' of poetry blending seamlessly and stripped of voices, more melodic; a Celtic world-prog where sounds from elsewhere come to light in all delicacy. 'When the words fly away, the instruments teach a more universal language', says.

Breton 'Antre' for the alpha intro, on an ethereal, dark melancholic guitar arpeggio. 'Cheñch' on a dreamlike declension with spleen unresolved of hope; distant oriental musical space; harp, violin giving all its power, Huong bringing astonishing Japanese tessitura to OLDFIELD; the final sax associated with the electric choirs. 'Kraozon' Turkish text on the history of the peninsula with Celtic flute; voices mingle urging to leave for Ireland, the mysterious Ottoman Empire; hovering,world. 'Odisea' Asian moment with vocal lulled by spleen, punctuated by the controlled rage of a flamenco guitar; KITARO in sight. 'The middle path' Buddhist approach quickly broken by a surge where the violin brings power and dreamlike; a meditation path with trumpet, flute and accordion for a heavy mid-climb; the languorous piano arpeggio and bewitching clarinet sound like on IONA. 'Brems' brake in Norwegian of course...searching with deep and mysterious Nyckelharpa drops; a harp à la VOLLENWEIDER; the vocal integration has nothing to do with the strident one on the 'albatross', an obvious plus.

'Herzel' harp cradling airy, tribal air; Crystalline arpeggio of Andalusian guitars and choirs in the distance for an ephemeral joust with musical themes of world contemplation and its dreamlike end. 'Contrary Winds' monolithic pad bringing the haunting flute on an Asian tune and the sub-Saharan-Japanese voice, astonishing like the nervous guitar solo. 'NeŞeli' joyful in Turkish for a metronomic variation where the instruments magnify the aerial vocal contribution mystical and soothing. 'Breathe' rhythmic air in crescendo, like a hymn between wisdom and restrained brutality, like a hot breath of the desert. 'L'ombre de Féng' Japanese air mainly due to the bamboo flute and this harp which refers to the great KITAJIMA; the soothing, invigorating drum; long piece which passes quickly before the flamboyant finale on the sax. 'Klozañ' Celtic harp and celestial voice which can make think of Loreena McKENNITT in her particular drifts to close the album.

SEVEN REIZH has released a compendium of music from the Celtic to the Eastern world, without lyrics so as not to irritate and give a more pronounced melodic meaning. Claude Mignon because he is the creator has triturated 12 titles from his 2 old albums to make a melting pot where the traditional instrumentation brings strength and solemnity; a sound from here and there pure, calm, ethereal, with mixed folkloric atmospheres which shows that a musical gathering can be viable and advantageous, snub to the world in which we live. The choral voices and the instrument such as the nyckelharpa open the musical chakras like an endless wave. SEVEN REIZH shows that reworked simple compositions can be bewitching again, that's not bad enough.

SEVEN REIZH came to hit my ears in 2006 with "Samsara", a concept album on world-prog notes of great beauty. I had in mind a varied instrumentation and an incredible number of musicians on stage! Then time made that I lost sight of them, knowing however that they had also mixed at the famous Real World studios, a reference in itself. Their latest album released at the beginning of the year takes up the breathtaking adventures of an aviator, Jean Marie LE BRIS, known to have been one of the (if not "the") pioneers of aviation around 1856, with the project avant-garde to rescue sailors lost in the Atlantic!

At the composition level, it was therefore Claude MIGNON and G'rard LE DORTZ who created the backbone of the album with, once again, many instrumentalists using both current sounds and ancient sounds from multiple roots: Celtic, Irish , Muslim among others. This also reminds us that trade has long been operating between the Channel Islands and sub-Saharan Africa and that commercial and musical exchanges come from very far away. Concerning the influences, I will quote pell-mell the sound stamped PINK FLOYD for the guitar solos, the sax and the planing atmospheres; Alan STIVELL for the typical Celtic instrumentation; Alan SIMON for somewhat the same; a bit of TRI YANN for the Breton sound; some CORRS for the development of voices and melodies; a bit of Loreena McKENNITT for bringing together different musical cultures; a bit of KHALED for the voice (too much ') Kabyle; a bit of NENA, yes that goth voice of a cult band from the 80s (listen up on tracks 4 and 8!); a bit of STONE AGE too for this mix of intoxicating sounds and atmospheres; and a bit of ENYA who worked on the BOF of 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS'. That's about all, but in my opinion it's not bad.

Concerning the titles, 8 of which some approaching to see exceeding the 10 minutes! The intro "The Chinese Pavilion" invites us to travel, making us visit a landscape of tranquility alternating between prog development and relaxing melody. "Brizh", more than 14 minutes long, brings him the weft of voices, sailing between Celtic air, Irish air and Kabyle lament, all accompanied by soft but tenacious sounds. Just listen to the break with heavy percussion around 8 minutes then the explosive finale with sax (which is coming back into fashion for this instrument!) and compulsive guitar, a piece that passes without realizing it. The following two titles are for me the most "painful", the most irritating if you haven't opened your ear to the North African influence, with Farid's voice still sounding too high. At the sound level, on the other hand, especially on "Dalc'h mad", the association between the violin and the explosive guitar at the end is absolutely beautiful. For "Klasker-bara", a piano ballad where ethereal and Kabyle female voices mixed with the harp allow our senses to rest. The end violin even becomes a little spleenant, magnificent! The last three tracks all exceed 9 minutes. For "Kriz" soft, relaxing atmosphere with association of voices and then mounted on a Celtic, Arabic, Irish and French multi-sound tune. Note also the final symphonic prog guitar almost of a "metal-prog" nature, it is perhaps the most accomplished composition. "Lostmarc'h" goes straight to the lands of the Middle East with a deaf rhythm of drums and voices twirling between soft female voice worthy of an elven song and Kabyle lament, it is very beautiful and well done! "Er Lein" concludes with a high-class "Gilmourian" guitar, an airy air, a prog atmosphere by the accumulation of various sounds coming to be grafted one after the other, bringing us to deep Brittany or even to Western Asia by moments. Note here the bagad 'Bro an aberiou' from Plabennec, and at the end a few whistles from Claude to confirm that ' it's over!

Well, what can I say, except that the album touches on the roots of great navigators, and not simply winged. I feel left from a port to make a stopover, and it is perhaps the downside that I will put to this album' too many ports, too many destinations can make lose the framework of the CD! As for the magnificent voices, the Kabyle voice can distract in the wrong way, you be the judge.

This is another lavish epic from Claude Mignon, Gerard Le Dortz and their myriad guests, who show as much dedication to the project as its parents. Apparently "La Barq Ailee" and "L'Albatros" were originally conceived as the final part of a trilogy that began with "Strainkadenn Ys" in 2001, but the scope of the story and the limitations of CD lengths necessitated their split. It's therefore a "trilogy" in the manner of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Underpromise and over deliver!

While the concept and production are as fantastical as they should be, and "L'Albatros" is somewhat more diverse and memorable than its predecessor, I feel unfair in judging it as somewhat formulaic. Most of the tracks clock in the high single digits, and follow the playbook of beginning reflectively, with one of the three main singers taking and sometimes relinquishing lead in the language of their character, after which the intensity builds to a bombastic end with the charge led by a wind instrument, sizzling electric guitar, or pipes. Like Loreena McKennitt, Seven Reizh is loyal to the Celtic tradition no matter what the lineage of the piece. Sure I hear Arabic and world influences, and even Chinese motifs in the opener, and this is undeniably symphonic in nature, but the filter is stuck on Celtic. Personally I don't mind that at all, but I sometimes find the music is so familiar and likeable that I take it for granted. For all the twists and turns, it's a bit predictable, but it does sound wonderful in a home stereo setting!

It's taken nigh 20 years for this work of the heart to reach fruition, but our gents have managed to liberate their albatross. Where to go next? Well deserved rest or perhaps a more conventional production? Now that doesn't seem very likely. 3.5 stars rounded up.

The only other Seven Reizh album I've heard is 2001's Strinkadenn Ys--one of my five favorite albums from that year. As the band and its composers did so well on that album, there is an attempt to merge and blend the musical traditions of different cultures and ethnicities--here more toward West-East, Celtic and Arabic. Apparently, I've just learned, the four Seven Reizh musical releases--Strinkadenn Ys, Samsara, La Barque Ail'e, and L'albatross--are meant to be a "quadrilogy," four album releases intended to musically convey the story as told in an accompanying fantasy novel--one that tells the "history" of the adventures of a 19th Century Bretagnais world-traveling sailor named Jean-Marie Le Bris who is also imagining and aspiring to invent an "aerial ship" (the "barque aill'e"). I love the fact that composer Claude Mignon and novelist-production designer G'rard Le Dortz show the esteem in which they hold their contributing vocalists (who are all wonderful) by listing them first among their credited contributors. As you listen to any of the Seven Reizh albums you'll understand why: These albums are unique in the way they are telling the story--the novel--in a kind of conversational/narrational format with all vocalists making appearances over the course of each and every song--and using multiple languages and many, many ethnic music traditions, to do so.

1. "Le Pavillon Chinois" (3:59) The title says it all: music stylized Chinese. Could be a travel video soundtrack. The takeover of the main melody from Chinese flutes to Celtic Uilleann pipes at 2:30 is interesting--and then German vocals! (8.5/10)

2. "Brizh" (14:48) slow, cinematic music plods beneath violin and English vocals of Laur'ne Bourvon. The synth "Strings" lead that follows the first verse sounds a little dated, but the breathy, vulnerable vocal (not unlike KOOP/LITTLE DRAGON's Yukimi Nagano) is awesome. At :00 the singer and language of choice change. I'm not much of a fan of saxophone, so the long Dick Parry-like solo in the sixth and seventh minutes is not for me. The ensuing lull of orchestral nuances is gorgeous--great, emotional melody. More delicate female vocalists appear, wafting in and out, until at the 13:00 mark an explosion of sound unleashes more Dick Parry-like sax and some slide guitar co-soloing to the finish. Overall, a great song; a veritable classic prog epic. (9.5/10)

3. "Tiqit Weman" (5:52) opens with strings to support the Kabyle singing of Farid A't Siameur (who sounds a bit like older PETER GABRIEL). In the second minute the lead vocal switches to a female singing in a different language. Back and forth the two go; this is a conversation. The operatic voice of this lead singer is quite beautiful--and a great contrast to the raspy voice of A't Siameur. The underlying music is quite like a stage or cinematic musical--could be a Disney love song. It's beautiful. (9/10)

4. "Dalc'h Mad" (6:55) Farid A't Siameur bursts out from the opening note in his Kabyle tongue, isnging in a forceful, devotional way. Laur'ne Bourvon's English singing comes next over some incongruously heavy rock music. Again, a theatric conversation style of lyrical presentation unfolds as the two protagonists and their choral support seem to be expressing anguish and longing. Another great song that could belong in a Disney or Cirque du Soleil presentation. (9/10)

5. "Klasker-bara" (4:40) the most subdued and sad of the Celtic-Arabic blends on the album, here the exceptionally emotional vocal performances are perfectly matched and integreted with the music--much of which is orchestral acoustic. (9.5/10)

6. "Kriz" (9:27) electronically clipped drum with delicately played steel-string guitar and woodwinds opens this song for the first gentle, sleepy two minutes. Then Laur'ne and Farid continue their conversation. I am so engaged in this conversation, this story, I just wish I knew what it was about (in detail)! There is a major song shift at the three minute mark into a kind of Buddha Lounge oriental fantasy song. It's extremely pretty! Lyrics are sung in French. Some cool drumming at the end of the fifth minute to signal another shift--one in which Farid enters and sings on multiple tracks with electric guitar power chords counter-balancing the Chinese erhu and then the English lyrics sung by Laur'ne. Nice guitar solo in the seventh/eighth minutes (especially its climactic section flwoing into the ninth minute). Oriental themes return and are woven among the continued soloing of the electric guitar to the end. Brilliant creation! (9.25/10)

7. "Lostmarc'h" (9:59) despite an unspectacular opening section--calm and desert-beautiful, sung in English--this one carries an incredibly touching emotional quality within both the multi-voice vocal performances and the instrumental fabric supporting it all. The musical foundation becomes more compelling with the entry of operatic voice of one of the women (Stefanie or Bleunwenn, I know not which). The conversational aspect of storytelling is quite apparent in this one as Laur'ne, Farid, and Stefanie/Bleunwenn take turns in the lead position. Eventually, the song finishes with some more wonderful acoustic and electric guitar soloing. In the end, this is truly a gorgeous song regardless of whether or not it ever develops or evolves into something surprising or unexpected. I'm just so glad someone is doing this kind of music. (9.25/10)

8. "Er Lein" (9:30) all-out Celtic rock (despite Farid's Kabyle vocals). After the opening three minutes, this song is amped up to full power all the way through until the final 30 seconds. The female vocals are awesome from start to finish--from the scrambled, almost mumbled openers into the thrum-supported doubled-up verses to the operatic Gaelic ones before Farid's entrance. Brilliant! The deep pulse of bass, drums, and keys balanced by the celtic cimbalom (zither/autoharp), celtic pipes and horns and guitar are so well done! Truly an awesome song! (9.5/10)

I greatly admire the successful melding of Celtic and Arabic traditions; perhaps there is a larger social-political statement being made here. Now knowing the continuous story line that this one concludes I will go back and add the middle two releases ((2006's Samsara and 2015's La barque aill'e) that I have yet to hear. Also, I must comment on the drastically improved sound production Messers. Mignon and Le Dortz have achieved since Strinkadenn Ys: it doesn't get much better than this.

Five stars; a masterpiece of cross-cultural storytelling progressive rock music.

As usual the duo of Claude Mignon and G'rard Le Dortz have surrounded themselves with a gaggle of talented vocalists and instrumentalists towards the realization of another sympho-celtic concept piece, this one dedicated to one of Breton Jean-Marie Le Bris' early flying machines. Added to the Breton and Berber lyrics we now have - gasp! - English - on a few of the tracks.

As before, nobody is quite in the league of SEVEN REIZH in its field. While Celtic extravaganzas are nothing new, most have sunk under their own flabby pretensions or, while well meaning, simply don't include enough compelling music to sweep this listener away. That is sadly the case on "An touriou II" and "Harp" here, which sidle up a little too comfortably to contemporary pop. Luckily the lengthier pieces still ignite often enough to justify comparisons to prior works and to quality prog in general, like the best of MIKE OLDFIELD's Celtic inspired output, particularly in the climax of "La voie de milieu". The piano solo that closes the disk is so nuanced and deliberate that it ends up unwittingly exposing the primary weakness of this incarnation of SEVEN REIZH: it doesn't mark any appreciable breakthrough in style or substance, nor do Mignon and Le Dortz vary the atmosphere across widely divergent concepts. I have been allowing this audition to bleed into their prior works and find them largely interchangeable, admittedly at a high level, but with "La Barque Ailee" perhaps not quite attaining the peaks of "Strinkadenn.." or "Samsara".

The sequel called "Albatross" was due in 2016 but the website is mum on the subject so I guess we will just have to wait. Perhaps SEVEN REIZH are also waiting for a new injection of inspiration. In the meantime, I would recommend working chronologically through the discography, and, if you already have and enjoyed what you have heard, by all means pick this one up. It just might not be as exhilarating as that first flight. 3.5 stars rounded down.

Seven Reizh's third and most ambitious album to date, La Barque Ailée (The Winged Barque) and its yet-unreleased sequel, L'albatros (due 2016), are concept albums inspired by Breton sailor and flight pioneer Jean-Marie Le Bris and are named after two of his flying machines.

As usual, composer Claude Mignon plays guitars and keyboards. Bleunwenn Mével, the main singer from Strikadenn Ys returns and sings in Breton. Longtime collaborator Farid Aït Siameur, lead singer of Taÿfa, is featured on most of the songs, singing in his native Kabyle, a Berber language from northern Algeria. Stefanie Théobald sings the French lyrics. As opposed to the previous two albums, La Barque Ailée features English lyrics, sung by Astrid Aubron.

As on the previous albums, Olivier Carole of Taÿfa plays bass, Gurvan Mével is responsible for drums and percussion and Gwenaël Mével plays various wind instruments. There are many other guest musicians, some of whom played on Samsâra, such as the string trio, which is featured throughout the album.

Sarpant Nij kicks things off to an exciting start, with a vaguely Eastern electric guitar and violin and aggressive drumming. Bleunwenn and Farid alternate singing as the song progresses through a gentle piano-based section, a violin-dominated section, and a rockier section featuring electric guitar and drums.

Seven features innovative interplay between cimbalom and bagpipes, backed by plodding drums. Most of the lyrics are in English and Kabyle. Seven features a beautiful flute outro similar to Samsâra's La longue marche.

Imram starts with multiple female voices chanting. Farid and Bleunwenn trade verses accompanied by the string section, later joined by piano and martial drums.

An Touriou II has the same vocal melody as Samsâra's An Touriou, but with English lyrics and an uplifting mood compared to its predecessor's ominous atmosphere. In the refrain a subtle Oldfield-style electric guitar wails in the background, later joined by bagpipes.

Harp, as the title indicates, is focused on the Celtic harp, but also preeminently features an accordion, violin and slide guitar. The song has mainly French lyrics, sung by Stefanie.

La voie du Milieu is the second longest track and is very dynamic. Farid, Bleunwenn and the choir all take turns singing. The song alternates between softer passages, which feature strings, piano and flute, and harder passages, which feature electric guitar, bagpipes and drums.

Kemmañ is the longest track and has multiple sections. Astrid, Farid and Bleunwenn alternate on lead vocal. The song starts with strings and piano, before Mignon's lap steel guitar joins in, playing a plaintive Gilmoresque tune. Crunchy electric guitar, a pulsing synth and saxophone join in with Farid. The song features a gorgeous slide guitar solo that plays over the choir and provides the album's highlight for me. Kemmañ ends with a saxophone solo evocative of the Shine On, You Crazy Diamond Parts I-V outro.

Autre Lettre à Louis Mignon is a dreamy and sparse, almost monophonic, piano piece, closing the album on a melancholy note.

I bought the album together with the associated book, which includes the song lyrics and their translation as well as the first half of La Barque Ailée novel written by lyricist Gérard Le Dortz. The book features some stunning photography and is very professionally designed, showcasing Le Dortz's skills as a graphic artist and writer. The book is available in French, English and German versions on the Seven Reizh website.

One thing I want to emphasize is how well everything in this album ties together. In spite of the extremely varied instrumentation and multi-part structure of the songs, the album flows remarkably well. This is a truly progressive album, painstakingly recorded over the course of a year by skilled musicians as a labor of love. In La Barque Ailée, Seven Reizh once again weaves a compelling tapestry of Celtic symphonic prog with world music influences.

Not quite the polished masterpiece that the few reviewers here on PA have raved about here, this one reminds me, qualitatively, of CIRRUS BAY's Stepping into Elsewhere in that there are some brilliant ideas, brilliant melodies, but not quite developed as far as could be taken. To be sure there are many absolutely breathtaking passages, but they often come over the top of rather banal, straightforward passages of rock chord progressions or steady backbeats (I hear a lot of GENESIS' ABACAB throughout this album's longer, rockier songs) over which the soli are then performed. The vocals and keys and folkier, 'non-rock' instruments are superb. The IONA, SALLY & MIKE OLDFIELD, XII ALFONSO and ALAN STIVELL--and even ENYA and CLANNAD--comparisons are quite understandable. I'd add not only GENESIS (big time!) but DUNWICH and even SURVIVOR. I consider all of the album's songs to be of at least 4 star quality (though the "ABACAB" similarities of "Mall eo monet de YS" are a bit too striking for my tolerance), with no less than seven songs earning 5 stars, but the album has too many spots of what I'll call 'simplicity' for me to give it an overall 5 star "masterpiece" rating. The stretch of diverse masterpieces that flow from "Hybr'Ys" (10/10), through the sublime instrumental "Kan KérYs" (8/10) the amazing eery Arab-sounding "Liñvadenn" (9/10), the VON HERTZEN BROTHERS-like "Tad ha Mamm" (8/10) and the gorgeous, gorgeous "Enora ha Maël" (10/10) are what make prog so special! Perfect captivation of the gambit of emotions of the human experience.

Beautiful album--highly recommended--especially for those who love melody and subtlety.

The use of celtic musical elements in prog music is not new. In fact it became quite a common sense since the early 90´s and, invevitably, it was also frequently handled without much care. So I was not very thrilled when I heard about this french band and its influence. However, Strinkadenn Ys is a outstanding album in the genre. It merged celtic, symphonic and ambient music together to bring out a startling concept album. Seven Reizh (or more specificly artists Claude Mignon and Gérard Le Dortz, the creators of the whole project) was quite successful in avoiding most of the traps of this genre with a very well crafted work that reeks of conviction, beauty and delicacy.

There are many influences and sometimes it reminds of their fellow countrymen of Alfonso XII, but clearly Mike Oldfield´s early CDs are the main source. Not that they are copying anything really, but it´s obvious the styled adopted, specially the guitar lines, some ambient keyboards, the way they use traditional instruments and several vocal parts. Bleunwenn´s voice is quite close to Oldfields sister Sally in both timbre and style. Which I should say is something quite hard to achieve without sounding like a rip off or caricatural. She manages to scape from either of them, showing great personality and passion. The inclusion of some male voices playing other characteres of the story is a plus.

This is a CD to listen to from start to finish without skipping a single track. Although I can´t understand the lyrics this is not a problem because the interpretations are so good and passionate that you can feel the meaning by the way it is delivered. The instrumental parts are simply gorgeous! The production is quite good, with all the instruments and vocals very well balanced.

Conclusion: nothing too original or groundbreaking, ok. Stil, it sounds fresh and exciting. Very melodic and laid back most of the time, with the occasional burst of energy at the right places. I loved this debut and I´m looking forward to hear the follow up. Defintily recommended. 4 stars.

I'm totally sure that album is on the top 10 of the best symphonic prog releases of the last 10 years and probably an album that soon will be called a classic masterpiece of the genre.

Reasons are simple: based on the roots of the symph prog genre, Seven Reizh add beautiful gaelic lyrics, some celtic folk sections, amazing keyboard atmospherical sequences and celestial female vocals. There are no bored moments in it and the band constantly surprises the listener with sudden twists that moves between the most classical prog rock to beautiful acoustic compostions that opens the way to epical sectiones leaded by extraordinary vocals and great guitar and/or keyboard symphonic sections.

But the masterpiece is the extraordinary "Mall Eo Menet da Ys", such a powerful song that reminds the best Tony Banks synth sections from 70's and 80's into a heavy rhythmical section with amazing vocals. A true wonder...

5* because I'm sure that any prog fan would enjoy and love this exquisite piece of music...

Celtic and prog really don't mix that frequently or that well. Don't get me wrong - I could name a lot of great albums that combine the two, but the proportions are off, or they are too self consciously one way or the other. The Celtic component might be used more for flavour and sound more quaint than anything, or the progressive aspects represent mere accents. SEVEN REIZH seems to be one of those rare bands whose genetic spirals enslave both, with lineage to Breton greats like ALAN STIVELL but also to the modern neo prog movement. Moreover, they have chosen to dovetail the suspenseful aspects of all these genres into some of the most riveting musical storytelling around.

Their sophomore effort is another ambitious, lavishly packaged production in service of often breathtaking themes. Orchestral, rock and traditional Breton instrumentation blend with diverse voices and clash rarely. The piano of Ronan Hilaireau is especially enjoyable in the longer cuts like "O Redek" and "Samsara" (with its lovely contrabass redolent of CAMEL), providing a respite from the sometimes raunchy guitars, savage rhythms, and skirling Breton instrumentation. "Qim Idi" combines cello with eastern European styled vocals like those in DEEP FOREST's "Boheme", but more acoustically based. The chanting of the brief "Awalik" is drenched in dramatic and melodic inspiration.

If you enjoy LOREENA MCKENNIT's knack for bridging the Celtic and middle eastern worlds but wish she could escape her ethereal mists once in a while, you will enjoy "La Longue Marche". The lone hard rock moment of "A Roak" conjures FLEETWOOD MAC's cult classic "Sisters of the Moon" right down to the furious closing sequence, even if its pace barely breaks with the slow tempo on most of the album. The keyboard work near the end of the title cut sounds like something out of SATELLITE's "Evening Games", and Doro alternately recalls ANNIE HASLAM, KATE BUSH, SALLY OLDFIELD, MAGGIE REILLY and CRANBERRIES, as well as the vocal styles of EMELIE SIMON in the French language version of "March of the Penguins". The net is cast widely and the take is bountiful.

"Samsara" is a wandering and worthy follow up to "Strinkadenn Ys", more reflective and subtle perhaps, but also with a potentially more lasting footprint.