Zoviet France - The Tables Are Turning

  Quote

(source: Soleimoon)

 

Zoviet France are set to issue a new album through Soleilmoon later this year. “The Tables Are Turning” will be released on vinyl and CD, and more details will follow in the coming months. In the meantime, the band have just launched a weekly show on net radio station basic.fm. The hour long show, called “A Duck In A Tree” airs Saturdays at 10:00 PM local time (in Britain), and repeats twice in the following days, after which it’ll be archived at the band’s mixcloud page.

http://undergroundno...t-a-radio-show/

This is all the information I could find for now, but I have a feeling we may hear some new zf stuff on their second broadcast later tonight.

Edit: 3 exclusive tracks streaming at The Wire but dunno if these will be on the album.

thx u plees

inb4 awepittance

Perfect timing --I just fell in love with these guys yesterday night while listening to Flock of Rotations and Just an Illusion back to back. I downloaded several of their albums a while back but have only just now started listening. There's so much to go through... I'd be curious to know anyone's favorites among the discography.

It constantly changes, but recently its been Loh Land, Look into Me and Shadow Thief of the Sun.

Also, the broadcast is streaming now.

Inb4...damnit

very exciting news

the last album under the name Zoviet France 'The Decriminalization of Country Music' was a very nice surprise.

IT's been a very loooong time since ZF released a full length, but for fans of their old stuff don't expect the new album to be anything like that. Most of the members who gave it it's characteristic sound are long gone. If you're looking for other newer stuff like Flock of Rotations or Loh Land check out the reformed faction of ex members of Zoviet France literally called Reformed Faction. The stuff they've put out has been excellent.

2 other projects you might want to look at are Dead Voices on Air and Rapoon. These are solo projects by the people who make up Reformed Faction.

It is rumored that the 'last' ZF album before the band splintered off, Shadow in the Thief of the Sun, was done entirely by Robin Storey and that it is essentially the first Rapoon album. I can't verify this but even the stuff after he left is really nice, just very different.

Different is probably good... my one complaint of the ZF stuff I've been listening to is that it evolves very very slowly from one release to another with little in the way of new ideas being incorporated. But I've barely cracked the surface of their discog, so it's not much of an opinion at this point.

i can't argue with you there. In some ways Zoviet France becomes a very specific but continually refined aesthetic similar to bands like BOC or Pan Sonic. Only in the sense that both of those acts are doing something highly original and self contained but not game changing each consecutive album.

  On 7/22/2012 at 11:07 AM, Awepittance said:

the last album under the name Zoviet France 'The Decriminalization of Country Music' was a very nice surprise.

 

IT's been a very loooong time since ZF released a full length, but for fans of their old stuff don't expect the new album to be anything like that. Most of the members who gave it it's characteristic sound are long gone. If you're looking for other newer stuff like Flock of Rotations or Loh Land check out the reformed faction of ex members of Zoviet France literally called Reformed Faction. The stuff they've put out has been excellent.

2 other projects you might want to look at are Dead Voices on Air and Rapoon. These are solo projects by the people who make up Reformed Faction.

It is rumored that the 'last' ZF album before the band splintered off, Shadow in the Thief of the Sun, was done entirely by Robin Storey and that it is essentially the first Rapoon album. I can't verify this but even the stuff after he left is really nice, just very different.

I think I got it all backwards then. I have always thought that the Reformed Faction was founded after Spybey and Storey left, because they wanted to make music that sounded more like how RF sounds now rather than how ZF sounded back in the 80s. So the reason to break-up was because Spybey and Storey wanted a different sound from the very beginning?

Because to me, the RF's albums were a little of a let down. The sound-design is less crude and less texturized, had less instrumental accents (that is to say less "ethno")- more "digital ambient" sounding than the old ZF. Not saying it's bad, I just think that the difference in the preference of sound is obvious for that matter.

i can't get my head around all of this (and maybe it really doesn't matter at all), but I love ZF's old stuff, as I love Rapoon's work, as well as the works of ZF and RF from the years of 2000. So to me, everything related to ZF is very well done and it's kind of bad they parted ways.

  On 7/22/2012 at 11:07 AM, Awepittance said:

very exciting news

 

the last album under the name Zoviet France 'The Decriminalization of Country Music' was a very nice surprise.

 

IT's been a very loooong time since ZF released a full length, but for fans of their old stuff don't expect the new album to be anything like that. Most of the members who gave it it's characteristic sound are long gone. If you're looking for other newer stuff like Flock of Rotations or Loh Land check out the reformed faction of ex members of Zoviet France literally called Reformed Faction. The stuff they've put out has been excellent.

2 other projects you might want to look at are Dead Voices on Air and Rapoon. These are solo projects by the people who make up Reformed Faction.

It is rumored that the 'last' ZF album before the band splintered off, Shadow in the Thief of the Sun, was done entirely by Robin Storey and that it is essentially the first Rapoon album. I can't verify this but even the stuff after he left is really nice, just very different.

Another ZF related side project is Penumbra. I've only heard Skandinavien a few years ago but from what I remember it was a quality release. Any specific Dead Voices or Rapoon reco's Awepittance?!

  On 7/23/2012 at 1:33 PM, Godwin Austen said:

  On 7/22/2012 at 11:07 AM, Awepittance said:

the last album under the name Zoviet France 'The Decriminalization of Country Music' was a very nice surprise.

 

IT's been a very loooong time since ZF released a full length, but for fans of their old stuff don't expect the new album to be anything like that. Most of the members who gave it it's characteristic sound are long gone. If you're looking for other newer stuff like Flock of Rotations or Loh Land check out the reformed faction of ex members of Zoviet France literally called Reformed Faction. The stuff they've put out has been excellent.

2 other projects you might want to look at are Dead Voices on Air and Rapoon. These are solo projects by the people who make up Reformed Faction.

It is rumored that the 'last' ZF album before the band splintered off, Shadow in the Thief of the Sun, was done entirely by Robin Storey and that it is essentially the first Rapoon album. I can't verify this but even the stuff after he left is really nice, just very different.

I think I got it all backwards then. I have always thought that the Reformed Faction was founded after Spybey and Storey left, because they wanted to make music that sounded more like how RF sounds now rather than how ZF sounded back in the 80s. So the reason to break-up was because Spybey and Storey wanted a different sound from the very beginning?

 

i mean it's possible, but Reformed Faction didn't start until quite a long time (may e 10 yearS) after they left the band. Zoviet france's sound changed heavily after they left.

and i generally agree with you about Reformed Faction, its not as special as the older 80s Zoviet stuff, but i still love most of it.

The war against is fantastic. Almost all the Reformed Faction stuff sounds far more old school Zoviet Francish compared to anything the official Zoviet France project has put out in the last decade

New ZF podcast airing now on basic fm. I'm really loving these :)

was it recorded? I seem to miss all these

  On 7/29/2012 at 11:14 AM, Awepittance said:

was it recorded? I seem to miss all these

Yup, the first two are up on mixcloud. Third one should be up later this week.

Here is what Robin Storey once said in an interview about his work with :zoviet*france:

"Personally I think the first two albums don't have much to recommend them but by the time of Norsch a distinctive style was emerging and Mohnomishe is the best example of that early period...

The next era of :z*f: was in my opinion the most productive and rewarding.

The albums produced at this time... (around 1985 to 1987) are the ones I think endure the most.

Especially Popular Soviet Songs and Eostre"...

The other albums which were produced at this time but not mentioned by name in the interview are:

GRIS

MISFITS, LOONY TUNES AND SQUALID CRIMINALS

GESTURE SIGNAL THREAT

A FLOCK OF ROTATIONS

ASSAULT AND MIRAGE

LOH LAND

SHOUTING AT THE GROUND

Furthermore, Music for a Spaghetti Western is a CD released in 2005 of recordings which were made during 1985/6.

More from Robin:

"In the beginning we had been a true collective and the anonymity of the band had served a valid purpose: this wasn't music from a particular time or place, it was just music with no information attached. However, after a few years this began to break down. We were doing less and less work together and the production of the music devolved down to myself with five solo albums for :z*f: and the bulk of other work. At the same time a growing public perception was attributing the music, artwork and conception of :zoviet*france: to another founder member. I finally left when one solo album (Just an Illusion) was credited (wrongly) by name to the other member. Something that should never have happened".

From http://www.deadvoicesonair.com/

The impetus for the formation of The Reformed Faction came several years ago, when four of the ex-members met and planned to do some work together. This is not the equivalent of an underground eighties revival band. The three musicians involved feel drawn to create music that honours the process of spontaneous composition, favoured by Can. It was this process that Zoviet-France adopted. Using live improvisations, the trio then cut and paste, in the grand tradition of pioneers such as Holger Czukay of Can to create collage like compositions. Instead of the analogue four track tape machines of old, all of the music is recorded onto computers but the object brut like way of assembling pieces remains essentially as it was when Zoviet-France first started to record in 1981.

Holy fuck dude easy on the gushing.

thanks for that information. which 4 ex members were Reformed Faction? By my count there were only 3, and 1 of them left only leaving 2 for the rest of the Reformed Faction albums

  On 7/23/2012 at 4:37 PM, flurobox said:

Any specific Dead Voices or Rapoon reco's Awepittance?!

big Rapoon fan here so pardon me for jumping in.

some of his albums that i personally think are his best, in no particular order:

Fires of the Borderlands

Darker by Light

Vernal Crossing

The Kirghiz Light

nice post, luhwindan!

  On 8/23/2012 at 6:17 AM, Alcofribas said:

nice post, luhwindan!

my guess is that it might be Robin Storey, either that or a gigantic zoviet france fan. Either way, welcome to the forum luhwindan

  On 8/23/2012 at 6:13 AM, digit said:

  On 7/23/2012 at 4:37 PM, flurobox said:

Any specific Dead Voices or Rapoon reco's Awepittance?!

 

big Rapoon fan here so pardon me for jumping in.

 

some of his albums that i personally think are his best, in no particular order:

 

Fires of the Borderlands

Darker by Light

Vernal Crossing

The Kirghiz Light

Thanks! I got a copy of errant angels in the meanwhile which I have listened to everyday since. Absolutely amazing work.

sweepstakes: you're as gay as pitchfork, but I love you, anyways. Go and read it and ignore this domain if your panties are getting in such a bunch.

Awepittance: the fourth former member was Peter Jensen http://www.deadvoicesonair.com/doing/zf/index.html

Peter was a founding member, who was with them from 1980-1984.

Robin talks about Peter:

I was really taken by the ability of Peter Jensen to play rhythms either on a bass guitar or on the assortment of percussion we had there... a mixture of real drums, oil drums, practice cello cases, bits of metal etc...

I loaned Peter some Can albums and astonishingly he came back a few days later able to play Jackie Liebziet riffs!!

No, I am not Robin Storey and this is not the first time I have been here before.

I am the person who posted

Alcofribas: Thank you kindly!

my simple observational contribution to this discussion. the title to this is very good

Yes, Redruth, it is.

I am happy that :zoviet*france: are releasing the new one on Soleilmoon Recordings, based in Portland, Oregon, where I live.

Earlier this year, Soleilmoon put out http://www.discogs.com/Reformed-Faction-The-World-Awake11-Stueck/release/3442799 and http://www.discogs.com/Rapoon-Stray/release/3442554

The label might also put out a book by Robin Storey next year.

The book is about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solway_Firth_Spaceman and is somewhat autobiographical, since it took place where Robin grew up, but in his own words, is largely a work of fiction.