Ethos I + Ethos II - 3LP Bundle

If you have read the Ethos I and Ethos II stories and listened to the music, then you have already realized the plain obvious: there are no Ethos I and II. There is only one story, whose breakup is caused mainly by the recording source. And for one story, there can be only one pre-order button, which you have above.

And, just because repetition serves us well many times, Ethos was one of the prominent prog bands in the Romanian underground of the 1970s and early 1980s. It was made up of students from the Conservatory, it won awards at the main student festivals in Romania during the 1970s, it recorded music for the national radio broadcast, and it even went as far as to put out its own EP at the end of the 1970s. Oh, and, in case you missed it the first time around, it made some of the most challenging and exploring music, even by prog rock standards of the day. Unlike the Q family of Cluj, Ethos was formed in the city of Iași, one of Romania’s foremost cultural citadels. 1974 marked the beginning, bringing together Cornel Cristei (piano and keyboards), Vasile Foica (flute, already a veteran of the scene, after his collaboration with the group Miraj), Valeriu Gâdei (vocals), Iosif Trendler (drums), Doru Sascău (bass), and Laurențiu Gheorghiu (guitar). Other prominent figures would be part of the Ethos story along the way and mark its musical destiny. Among them, Virgil Popescu (vocals), Victor Huminic and Florian Chelu (on bass), Gabriel Bedő and Felix Șipoș on guitar.

Unlike many bands of that socialist era, Ethos actually bypassed the Conservatory graduation challenge which usually ended with the break-up of the band. Enough, however, with historical details, once you get this music on your turntable, you will also have the chance to read more about the band’s mesmerizing story. For now, listen to the music snippets on this page. Try to imagine how “Sinteze polifonice” [Polyphonic Syntheses] on the double LP Ethos I sounds in its entirety. And what musical tropical forests Ethos might have fringed with the machetes of prog, jazz, and classical at their fingertips.

Ethos II offers the draft of what should have been a new chapter in the Ethos story, but only served as a musical epitaph. In 1983, the band made a series of recordings, on its own, in the hope of entering the radio and TV studios again. Because of reasons which have to do with grim moments and times, Ethos never recovered and the band ultimately split.

The snippets from Ethos II are puzzle pieces in Ethos’ last stand with the changing times of the 1980s. While sonically not exactly on par with the band’s professional radio recordings, they more than make up, from a musical point of view: the band had mustered several years of performing and recording, and this is prominent on what you hear. Prog, jazz, and even pop come together in a series of instrumental and vocal pieces that remain progressive in spirit and execution at a time when most Western peers (and originators) had called it quits.
Even more so, the DIY attitude that characterizes these recordings is reminiscent of those made by other underground progressive acts at that time, albeit in more forgiving political and cultural conditions. From this point of view, Ethos II actually has some of the “samizdat” vibe that was the norm among the underground culture of socialist times.

Would you buy only one volume from “The Brothers Karamazov”? Get the full and unabridged story of one of Romania’s best prog bands and one’s of European progressive scene’s best hidden secrets.

Artwork to vividly match the sonic power of such music is provided by visual artist Barna Fazakas.
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)

====================================
Romanian Sounds Unearthed – 5 + 6
180gr. DMM (Direct Metal Mastering)
Made in France
MSRP €50