ART ZOYD – Phase IV (1982-2008) 2CD | Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Drummerless French contemporary music ensemble Art Zoyd pursued a unique and evolving artistic vision during the '70s and '80s, and the uncompromising classic 1982 opus Phase IV is justifiably considered one of the group's peak accomplishments. On this sprawling fourth album -- a two-LP set produced by Henry Cow/Art Bears' Chris Cutler, engineered by the great Etienne Conod, and released on Recommended Records -- the Rock in Opposition co-founders marry dark, unsettling atmospherics à la Univers Zero to precise minimalist constructs with hints of Philip Glass or Steve Reich. One hears antecedents to Phase IV in the lengthy tracks penned by Gérard Hourbette or Thierry Zaboitzeff on the group's preceding albums between 1976 and 1980, with their layered motifs, bold and crisply defined rhythmic attack despite the lack of drums, and fits of urgency amidst the general disquiet, but the band could occasionally seem surprisingly lighthearted on those discs, veering into expressive chamber music, uptempo jazziness, and Samlas or Gong-style oddball vocals rather than the more typical ritualistic Magma-esque chanting. Phase IV found Art Zoyd pursuing a more unified aesthetic. Reduced from the sextet configuration heard on 1980's Génération Sans Futur to a quintet with violinist/violist Hourbette, electric bassist/cellist Zaboitzeff, and trumpeter/flügelhornist Jean-Pierre Soarez the only holdovers, Art Zoyd were now solidly a vehicle for the compositions of Zaboitzeff and Hourbette, the latter of whom also played piano and synthesizer for the first time, joining incoming pianist/keyboardist Thierry Willems (saxophonist Didier Pietton was the other newcomer, replacing Gilles Renard).
The stunningly adept Zaboitzeff's 14-plus-minute "État d'Urgence" begins the album with a tense pulse and rising horns that emerge from an intro fanfare and undercurrents of agitated crowd noise; later on, a thick bass drone, insistent keyboard figure, and guttural vocal give way to riffs and phrases employed by the bandmembers with phenomenal dexterity and unflagging momentum. The craziness escalates with shouted voices, cacophonous keys, and squealy free jazz sax, but the underlying pulse is unrelenting as the dynamic draws down to animated percolations before gradually gaining force beneath Soarez's multi-tracked canonical trumpets. For all its shifts in tempo and dynamics, "État d'Urgence" remains cohesive in its rigorous adherence to structure, astringent harmonics, and meld of electric and acoustic timbres -- and the same can be said of Phase IV as a whole. Wailing sax and horns and ghostly string overtones occasionally draw from the world of creative improvisation, but they're pitted against bass and keys that refuse to budge from their implacable course, whether glacially paced or more frantic. Yet unexpected moments of lyricism and beauty also emerge, notably in Zaboitzeff's alternately lovely, cinematic, and exuberant "Ballade," a four-minute track sandwiched amidst a handful of short pieces on the album's second side. Best of all are the moments when, as in Hourbette's "Vue d'un Manège" or "La Nuit," Art Zoyd open the door to consonance and achieve expansive vistas in sound while never sacrificing the darkness at their music's heart. Dave Lynch  
Tracklist 1 :
1.    État D'Urgence 14:35
Composed By – T. Zaboitzeff
2.     Naufrage 6:43
Composed By – G. Hourbette
3.    Dernière Danse 4:35
Composed By – T. Zaboitzeff
4.    Et Avec Votre Esprit 5:18 
Composed By – G. Hourbette
5.    Ballade 4:05
Composed By – T. Zaboitzeff
6.    Deux Préludes 2:15
Composed By – G. Hourbette
7.    La Musique D'Erich Faes    0:14
Tracklist 2 :
1.    Chemins De Lumière 15:16
Composed By – G. Hourbette
2.    Du Sang Sur La Neige 4:18
Composed By – T. Zaboitzeff
3.    Vue D'Un Manège 4:12
Composed By – G. Hourbette
4.     La Nuit 13:06
Composed By – G. Hourbette
5.    Les Larmes De Christina 3:44
Composed By – G. Hourbette
6.    Manège (1975) Live 12:38
Bass Guitar – Thierry Zaboitzeff
Cello, Violin – Franck Cardon
Composed By – F. Cardon, G. Hourbette, T. Zaboitzeff
Trumpet – Jean-Pierre Soarez
Violin – Gérard Hourbette
Credits :
Bass Guitar, Cello, Guitar, Voice – Thierry Zaboitzeff (tracks: 1-1 to 2-5)
Piano, Keyboards – Thierry Willems (tracks: 1-1 to 2-5)
Saxophone – Didier Pietton (tracks: 1-1 to 2-5)
Trumpet, Cornet, Percussion – Jean-Pierre Soarez (tracks: 1-1 to 2-5)
Viola, Violin, Keyboards – Gérard Hourbette (tracks: 1-1 to 2-5)