Vinyl - Experimental Q2 - Experimental Q2

Ever wondered how Keith Jarrett and Robert Fripp would have sounded like in their prime, writing and interpreting music together? I know, it sounds like the usual promo hype, but listen to the audio files and then, after the music has caught your attention, think again. We all have our major and well known musical heroes, but, sometimes, we find that our musical wishes become true when coming across lesser known paladins.

When Romanian band Experimental Q ended their musical tenure, in 1976, they left behind a wealth of studio recordings in Romanian radio archives, as well as an unkept promise, to deliver an album they so fully deserved. Such were the times in 1970s socialist Romania, that few rock groups enjoyed the privilege to release an album. Graduation from higher education, military service, mandatory job relocation were more important than pursuing the dreams of a young artist. Nevertheless, the band members were young, vigorous, and full of ideas. All would continue to form or join new bands. Such was the case with the “enfant terrible” of Cluj (to quote the Senior of Romanian Jazz, Florian Lungu): released from military service, Valentin Farcaș, former guitarist and songwriter of Experimental Q, joined the band...Modal Q in 1977, but left soon, with several of its members, to form a new band.

The name said it all. “Experimental Q2” sounded even more pompous, pretentious, abstract, and, first of all, more ambitious. As things would evolve, the band members did more than simply live up to the hype; they gave it a new musical meaning. This time, the music was all instrumental. No more censored lyrics, no more sad or morbid tales (except for a few composition titles, that is). Yet, the musical scope grew even larger and more virtuosic. With pianist (and soon to become main composer) Johann German, the sound veered towards jazz-rock, in a Keith Jarrett-like approach; gone was the rock sound of the electronic organ. Farcaș updated his instrumental gear and fully took on his influences, John McLaughlin and Robert Fripp, to sway with virtuosity between serene passages and lighting-fast roundabout arpeggios on the guitar. Percussionists Vasile Bârsan and Ioan Kovacs, bassist/violonist Johnny Bota, and violonist Peter Franz German not only completed the picture, but gave the music a complexity and depth that has seldom been matched in Romanian jazz rock.

Again, influences abound. No need to mention them once again. The usual readers of RSU promotional texts know what to expect. And again, influences are just the tip of the iceberg. Behind them one finds music that is complex, fully fledged, demanding, arresting, and diverse. Oh, not to forget: in case you thought of skipping the audio snippet...don’t! It’s a portal to another dimension of the band, one which is only covered in part by any other of the band’s compositions.

Artwork to vividly match the sonic power of such music is provided by visual artist Daniel “Dion” Ionescu.
The project is unearthed by Claudiu Oancea (curator, historical research, liner notes) and Remus Miron (producer, audio restoration and remastering).

(Promotional text by Claudiu Oancea)

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Romanian Sounds Unearthed – 4
180gr. DMM (Direct Metal Mastering)
MSRP €29