Anoxie

ANOXIE are a late 80's, early 90's French symphonic prog band founded by keyboard wizard Pascal Lachaize. Their melodic style resembles that of ELOY and TANGERINE DREAM mixed with some early PINK FLOYD atmospherics (where the synths replace the guitars). Apart from Lachaize, the band consists of Thierry Sportouche on lyrics and percussion, Bernard Riboulet on drums, Laurent Roche on guitars, Lionel Gibaudan on bass and Remy Soriano on vocals.

In 1986, they released an EP entitled "A New Dawn" and appeared briefly on two prog compilation albums - one by Musea and the other by Acid Dragon, a label owned by ANOXIE's own Sportouche. In 1990, they split up without having released even a full-fledged album, and the only testimony to their art is a Mellow Records cd, "Pastales", made up of early demos and other rarities that date back to 1973.

With Lachaize at the controls, ANOXIE's music is indeed keyboard dominated, with heavy electronic overtones and dramatic (slightly accented) vocals. It is rich in atmospherics and contains some nice melodic passages. Unfortunately, the compilation disk "Pastales" suffers from a bad production and doesn't quite do justice to the material, making the drums sound dry and muddling the vocals beyond recognition. To be fair, however, it must be said that the album represents the band 's very first steps in the prog world - a point well made in the liner notes and which the listener should keep in mind.

A collector's item for fans of 70's French symphonic prog.

: : : Lise (HIBOU), CANADA : : :