Chronic album "Illian"
www.Musea.com :
The Atoll albums are now reissued by the Musea label in Digipack format, reproducing the original vinyl cover format. "Tokyo, It Is Finished" is a live album recorded in Japan in 1989 by the "New ATOLL" (Christian BEYA only remains of the former group). Today! "Illian - I Hear Scolding Earth" actually marks the return of ATOLL, always led by Christian BEYA. In the tradition of epic paintings of yesteryear, this conceptual album tells us the story of a traveler from a universe to the confines of Time and Space: Illian. Needless to lift the veil too quickly, but be aware that the observer takes a lucid and wry look at our world ... The story is narrated in a voice master Raoul LEININGER, accompanied by impeccable rhythmic drummer Michel ALTMAYER (TROLL). You said event?
- Propos recueillis par :Dan Tordjman
- Rencontre : CHRIS BEYA
- www.Progressia.net
Here today the return of one of the landmarks of progressive rock tricolor nearly thirty years after its debut, Atoll comes to life under the leadership of Chris Beya , the only survivor of the original formation , with a new album , Illian , I hear rumbling Earth . It was an opportunity for Progressia to speak with Chris Beya which offers more young people the opportunity to go back in time and go back to the beginnings of Atoll , not to talk about the present ... and the future! Take place, the journey begins !
This is to 1973 Atoll surfaced. Originally, this young group has only one desire : in the footsteps of the Beach Boys. Indeed , the young Chris Beya is bewitched by the Californian music, lives only sound Brian Wilson (The Eagles ) and can already ride the wave of success . However Atoll musicians will make a discovery that will change their life in England, groups like Genesis , Yes , Caravan or those of the wave of a hit Canterbury . This current irresistibly attracts Atoll to more complex music. Has André Balzer on vocals and percussion, Alain Gozzo on drums, Jean Luc Thillot on bass and later joined by Richard Aubert violin Atoll began composing songs at odds with its original motivations . Thus, in 1974, fate Musicians - . Wizards , not necessarily convince lays the foundation and creates a relative interest
With patience Atoll back to coal in 1975 and released an album that will go down in the band's discography : Spider -Mal . Securities that comprise this disc were born long improvisations, which, however, are part of a concept and a well-defined frame. At this time , the musicians head full of jazz rock, Mahavishnu Orchestra or Return to Forever , which is clearly felt on the disc, particularly when " Cazotte " , which became one of the standard group . Success is as Spider -Mal was elected album of the year in France . But we must wait two years to hear the new disc Atoll maliciously called Third . The subtlety of this album lies in the way it was designed : in fact, the working methods differ slightly from previous ones. Atoll seeks to refocus the album effect on texts, while playing on the atmosphere but without overloading the instrumental frame , to keep a certain efficiency. If Spider -Mal had introduced the group to the public, the Third and finally devotes allows Atoll chain concerts throughout France . Third installs the group among the best of his generation.
Once successful digested Thirdly , the group must get back to work , not without difficulty , especially as signed to BMG , it is " forced" to compose songs that may have the radio. Despite (or because of) the pressure BMG does not do things by half since the label offers the group to record at Studio Gang, recognized place that welcomed a time Jean Jacques Goldman and Johnny Hallyday. Rock Puzzle released in 1980 and therefore the fans are perplexed : no instrumental or epic speeches , songs are short and some even include brass . The desire to reach a new audience is clearly felt , but the approach does not unfortunately payroll, as well as discrepancies arising between André Balzer and his comrades , prompting him to leave the ship. End of 1981 , it is officially the end of Atoll, after a last gamble consisting of an association with John Wetton , for the purpose of rehabilitating the French . Again, to no avail since the group judge written by bassist too commercial titles . Wetton goes then use its pieces with Asia while qu'Atoll gave his last concert in Vierzon , along with Caravan . Atoll dissolved Chris Beya the brains of the group, then turned to musical horizons where the guitar is dominant . He founded Emergency Training hints of jazz rock , where he lets his admiration for John McLaughlin . Meanwhile, he recontacted Alain Gozzo in 1985 they recorded some demos together . We then hope a reformation Atoll , but it is unfortunately nothing and Beya completes his Metamorphoses hand, an unpublished collection . Finally, 1989 saw a first return Atoll, always under the baton of Beya now in sole command , which is surrounded by new musicians , including Raoul Leininger , whose tone of voice approximates hopelessly Daniel Balavoine, and who does not hesitate to also take part in the compositions featured on The Ocean, boxed in just three weeks. An album half fig half grape taste for Chris Beya " It contains some interesting titles, but we ran out of time to polish up and ripen ... I think we would have redone parts , if time had allowed ". If The Ocean passes almost unnoticed in France , he unleashed passions in Japan , so much so that a tour is organized , which is not qu'asseoir the group's reputation in the land of the Rising Sun. Of amateur Japanese word Progressive , has never seen such enthusiasm for the style from Marillion .
It was therefore logical to leave a discography track of these classic moments , and it's done in 1994 with Tokyo, C'est Fini , Live In Japan , July 24th, 1989. Playlist evening salivating , thanks to a splendid version of "Tunnel" .
its evocative title suggested , Tokyo, C'est Fini , Live In Japan , July 24th, 1989 sign again the end of the adventure Atoll. Chris Beya then drags his gaiters and his guitars in various music schools, where he taught until 1998. Chris reconnects with his former comrade and Raoul and the two men back to work under the name of Chris Beya Atoll, a concept that I will hear growling Earth . " Illian is an alien who arrives on Earth with a door of time , from another dimension. He observes the behavior of Earthlings , begins to be surprised , then quickly disappointed and can only say that many ailments hit the ground . " Thus, "Like A River Flows " discusses intolerance, "I Would Be A Man " of jealousy , envy and conquest , while " I hear Scolding Earth " is a hymn to nature, which Illian realizes that instead of preserving nature , man destroys . However, Illian remain hopeful that these evils disappear ( " A New Beginning " .) " The concept captivates and motivates so much the author and his entourage that Beya even bury the hatchet with rival great days , Angel, since Caroline Crozat - which belongs to the college within the clique Christian Descamps - just lend his vocal cords return Atoll today seems to pass back to the forefront of the French progressive scene so we asked Chris Beya . . look what he wore , the top of his thirty years of seniority on the current generation ? "I do not want to sound pretentious , but I noticed a number of similarities between Atoll and current groups. I will not mention any names, because I do not want to discredit these groups which are otherwise talented, but I think today , many progressive groups tend to kill the music in favor of art. But this is a personal point of view . "< / P>
What is the future for Atoll? With the success of the last record , it is likely that Chris Beya want to continue the adventure . " Beautiful days are coming Atoll , at least for Chris Beya Atoll I do not want to be done with amalgam the original group because none of the members then is no longer with me. It would be nonsense to keep the simple appellation Atoll. We now work on a DVD, which will feature footage shot studio and live , and we will try to turn fast enough , meet old fans and new ... why not ! "
appointment is made, Chris !
Music in belgium :
December 23, 2003 by Peter Hackett " Illian " is an ambitious concept album which tells the adventures of a traveler from a universe to the confines of time and space . This observer will gradually wear a lucid first, then disillusioned, on our planet and especially the men who live ... Music is not unpleasant to listen to. This is a classic progressive rock dominated by the know-how above average guitarist keyboardist Christian Beya ( on " The mirror of your eyes # 1 and # 2" including the piano works wonders ) and pleasant voice Raoul Leininger . As it is a " concept aibum " it would be futile to analyze all titles, which form a relatively coherent whole . If you like Yes , this is for you .
music Beya is a tasty mixture difficult to qualify . It's rock with a rather powerful progressive side and sometimes keys Celtic folk or oriental sounds , but still interpreted with intelligence and skill. Beya is actually a musician of the highest order and his guitar art is the finesse with an acoustic guitar in a trip such as " Like him ," brute force with an electric guitar for strong intros as in " The road is also " . This second title is indeed a marvel . After an introduction almost metal (saturated and very rhythmic guitar before ) , is immersed in a more symphonic ambience , piano background guitar round and captivating sound as in the best moments of Ommadawn . The song is mainly held by Raoul Leininger whose voice a strange tone , neither man nor woman , rather childish , but , ultimately , it seems to stick to alien heroes. At times, a female voice , that of Caroline Crozat ( Angel ) , assist or just make a counterpoint to that of Raoul . The vocal ensemble that had bothered me at first , passes ultimately fine. The 14 tracks are rather short , less than five minutes for 10 of them , and successive alternating styles far apart, the powerful ballad .
Illian is , ultimately , an engaging disc that could bring Atoll on the front of the French progressive scene and deserves to pay more half an ear .
- fred delforge - 21 décembre 2003
- www.zicazic.com
After four albums, including the excellent " Spider -Mal " released in 1975 , Atoll cease any activity in the early 80s. Christian Beya tried well to revive the flame coming out "Ocean " in 1989, but in vain. And in 2003 , Chris Beya embarks on a new return , taking in his suitcase Leininger Raoul singing, Michel Altmayer ( Troll ) on drums , Vincent Nolot and Yannick Riznar bass and a panel of guests bringing Jean Michel Déhé (violin ) , Michael Kadi ( flute ), Julien Petit (saxophone ), but also some prominent singers among which recognizes Caroline Crozat who habitually exercises alongside Master Décamps ... _ " Illian , I hear rumbling Earth " is a significant event in the world of progressive rock ! Indeed, if the original alchemy seems new to the program , it takes on a natural evolution of the composition tends to detach from Yes to go to the countries where the medieval rubs jazz and rock which adjoins the sacred. Surprising ! Wanting conceptual , the album presents the rantings of Illian , young traveler from another world and another time discovering our civilization and make judgments about its dissonances . The tone is correct, musical wanderings take us to Mike Oldfield or to King Krimson much as or even to Angel Martin Circus ... This means if the proposed range is wide ! Difficult to separate from each other , the pieces fit together perfectly and parade as from a fountain of youth that will not stop flowing. In one hour, we Atoll serves some hymns such as "I want to be ... ", " The Legend of the Forest" , " When the world begins to sing " and of course the two tracks that are tittle " Illian " a hand and " I hear the rumbling earth " on the other . No more claim than to make us have a good time , Christian Beya had the intelligence to perpetuate a myth that was lacking in the contemporary landscape …
Prolusion. One may consider "Illian" the first solo album by Chris Beya, while I have no doubts about its placement within the Atoll discography. After all, the band's previous, fifth, studio album "L'Ocean" (1989) was penned by Beya as well and was released under the original Atoll moniker, despite the fact that Chris was the only original band member in the lineup. Two more Atoll-related reviews are here and here. Synopsis. Musically, "Illian" does not resemble any of the preceding albums by the band (which is just great, of course) and is, in my honest opinion, better than any of them. Supplemented by extraordinary, highly impressive vocals of Raoul Leininger, the music is outstandingly original and fresh and is very, very interesting. While most of the songs on the album are relatively short, each of them contains a wide variety of different themes and arrangements, all of which are surprisingly diverse and complex, though those on the longer tracks (2, 7, 9, 11, & 14) are especially large-scaled, of course. The music on ten out of the fourteen tracks: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 14 (I won't list each of those long track titles in French, OK?) represent a remarkably original Symphonic Art-Rock with, often, pronounced elements of both of Prog-Metal and the classical chamber music of Baroque, the latter of which are usually provided by the parts of piano, string ensemble, acoustic guitar, flute, and violin. One of the songs: Comme s'ecoule un fleuve (7) is notable also for flavors of the music of the East and the bits of Jazz-Fusion. This is the only track on the album that features saxophone. Apart from intensive arrangements, most of the songs contain mild, almost purely acoustic textures with beautiful interplay between passages of piano and string ensemble, those of classical guitar, and solos of flute, evoking associations with the music of Baroque, which, in its turn, is what La legende de la foret and Le miroir de tes yeux II (6 & 11) are about in their entirety. Both of the shortest tracks, Comme lui and Le miroir de tes yeux I (4 & 10), are the pieces based on solos and passages of classical guitar. Chris Beya showcases himself as an amazingly masterful keyboard and guitar player and, what's most important, as an excellent and very inventive composer with his own conception of progressive music. Conclusion. "Ilian" is one of those Symphonic Progressive albums from the last year that made an especially deep impression on me. With such an original approach to music as is presented on this recording, Chris Beya's Atoll (rather, just Atoll) can bravely look to the future. The album very well suits my vision of Art-Rock of the XXI century. VM: March 9, 2004
- prognosis :
- www.silverdb.com
Published on: 30 Dec 2003 The true French Prog connoisseur must know that Atoll is one of the big names in 70's French Symphonic scene. After a lengthy hiatus, and like so many other bands seem to be doing these last years (just remember the cases of Yezda Urfa, Metamorfosi, Kaipa, Tantra, Gnidrolog…etc) the front man for this historical band, Chris Beya has decided to bring back the name of Atoll to the prog headlines. Illian, j'entends gronder la Terre is the new experience, and the first thought it does occur to me is that this album does not relay on old formulas, presenting us with a refreshed sound and totally new textures and ideas. Being a tremendous guitarist, Chris Beya is undoubtedly the center figure of this second Atoll generation. The music in this album is almost all about his virtuoso guitar playing and thought out keyboarding. In fact, the most rewarding thing about this album is the guitar playing, extremely technical but always done with a crystal clear sounding. To portrait the music that flows throughout a whole hour, I can say that this album is quite diverse in its contempt. From contemporary Symphonic (Comme s'écoule un fleuve) to Neo-Classic (Le miroir de tes yeux #2), passing through (almost) typical French Rock (Quand le monde se met a chanter), Medieval (La legende de la foret) and Hard Prog (La route de vous jours), all is here and masterfully done. This is one of those albums that need a few listens before you really start to "enter" on it. And the truth is that it does proportionate a handful of mesmerizing enjoyable moments. Though the vocals are not bad at all, they aren't the best thing around. The trick to fully enjoy this album is precisely to concentrate on the dual work between the guitar and the keyboards. The first providing the soloing and constant complexity, the second serving interludes and many times complementing the melodic and/or technical work of the guitar. Being so diverse and using several sub-genres of the prog scene, it is not at all easy to pin-point reminiscences to other bands, but that is not needed here for the band's sound stands very much on its own. Ok, you can throw names like Ange and Thierry Crusem for the rock parts, The Flower Kings and Kaipa for the contemporary symphonic, Hard Prog guitar parts, like a soften version of John Petrucci or Michael Romeo, and so on… With a playing quality that can actually make envious a good part of the contemporary prog bands, this album is, IMO, worth every penny you will pay for it. It may have some less accomplished tracks in terms of melody (mostly the "pure" rock ones), but the attention to details and to the playing ability will make you surpass those tracks and really enjoy the music of this album as a whole. I have been enjoying it for a while now, and the more I listen, the more I am able to unveil the rich details it "hides". Fans of very technical guitar playing applied outside the fusion sphere, will most probably have a blast here.
The opinion of the public :
Chris BEYA ATOLL - Illian - J'entends gronder la terre Transmis par le 2004-01-31 23:35:38
Atoll is cool, they rock ! You know the music without a little girls hair who forget their jackets poverty arrangements and drought machines ... and yes a " computer ca not wet darling ..." even if it is fashionable, fortunately some change only in the right direction ! Buy this cd it does not feel formalin ! Atoll of origin remain BEYA only has six strings and LEININGER vocals, but frankly they were right to do something new , new killers really are. good! was avoided for recycling once the myth does not feel old ! Our national Chris Beya therefore , is back to promote the new CD of his compositions Atoll or merge with texts that offer thoughts on what ails our planet. Securities are strong , music is an exercise in virtuosity and beauty, vocal and instrumental technique is flawless , the great Atoll, definitely the best version of this legendary band! Do not miss if they go near you , they come back on the road ! Strong listening carefully as : "I want to be like him " .... Warhorse group on stage. Long Live Rock ! http://perso.club-internet.fr/archives.html Chris Beya ATOLL " Illian " The new album from messin group finally born . " Illian " concept album telling the adventures of " a world traveler from the confines of time and space," Illian ( the traveler in question) develops progressive muscular enough and direct ...