Dzyan

Dzyan - Electric Silence - 1974 - Bellaphon

Dzyan's final album is a masterpiece of 70's krautrock.This is a brilliant recording.An incredible mix of jazz fusion and space rock with a touch of eastern rock thrown into the blend.An absolute gem and one of the best prog rock albums ever recorded.

Tracks

1. Back to where we come (8:59)
2. A day in my life (4:04)
3. The road not taken (4:55)
4. Khali (4:56)
5. For Earthly thinking (9:38)
6. Electric silence (4:30)
Musicians
Peter Giger / drums, percussion
Reinhard Karwatky / bass, keyboards
Eddy Marron / guitar, sitar, saxophone

REVIEWS

The acid is tripping on itself!Simply spectacular! Dzyan incorporates krautrock freakouts, Indian sitar, and jazz-rock fusion guitar into a kind of psychedelic world-groove. Other krautrock incorporates world music (ex: Can with their Ethnological Forgery Series) but this is a much smoother blend. And no, Dzyan is not just a bunch of stoner kids who got too much freedom in the studio, they are highly technical players (as the Zappa-esque jazz of the title track amply proves). Also, like Zappa's ilk, they have a knack for crafting meticulous compositions that sound like they were improvised on the spot! My favorite tracks are probably "Khali" with its 'mellotrons from hell' and 'For Earthly Thinking" with those bizarre gulping noises. Review © TheGreatGlorph Copyright © Prog Archives, All rights reserved
This esoteric instrumental(no vocals) krautrock gem strains my descriptive abilities, but what a fantastic and unique sound! with ethnic and traditional percussion, I suppose some of their distinguishing characteristics would be the development of rhythmic tempos from a sort of chamber style pulse to driving propulsion, modeled on an eastern styled raga; with a variety of eastern instruments and motifs ranging from european folk to sitar jams to very krautrock freakout style passages to a burgeoning jazz fusion style. there is a lot of what today would be called world music (released in 1973) but the styles are so integrated and complex that the results sound quite avant garde and freaky in true krautrock spirit! There is some quite virtuous and unorthodox musicianship throughout the recording that are quite challenging melodically(kind of like what bitches brew might sound like if played backwards) with fine guitar passages and a trace of synthesizer, but with a consistent melodic undercurrent. very rewarding and worth your time and patience. One of the finest and most challenging pieces of music to come from Germany in the 70's. Review © wooty (warren nelson). Copyright © Prog Archives, All rights reserved