Description
”If you’re reading these lines, chances are you are one of the lucky few to own both records by Romanian progressive rock band Experimental Q, which have opened the “Romanian Sounds Unearthed” series. In this case, you have probably already understood why we thought it was imperative that such great music be given the restoration and curatorial processes it deserved. You are probably also wondering: what could come next?
With projects such as the Experimental Q ones, it has become obvious that the Romanian prog and jazz-rock during the 1970s and 1980s is still a largely unknown and under-researched phenomenon. Worse still, in most cases, we do not even have any digital files on the internet to listen to. The only recollections about the innovative and experimental sounds of the Romanian rock and jazz scene are to be found in reviews of old magazines, or stories told by yesterday’s music fans. We do have to admit: some stories are hard to believe. Could the music have been so great? So out-there, when most things back then seem to have been only by-the-book?
Enough pretentious jabbering: enter Modal Q, the jazz-rock band you have never heard about, but which will blow your minds. You don’t have to believe any stories, or these liner notes. Just listen to audio files, they will speak for themselves: psych-rock, jazz-rock, prog-rock, lots and lots of instrumental noodling (guitar, piano, you name it), complex arrangements, and, last, but definitely not least, well written music.
For all you history buffs out there, Modal Q was formed in 1973, after Experimental Q original bassist, Călin Coldea, parted ways with his Experimental colleagues and formed a new band, which would become one of the most original, enduring, enthralling music projects from Cluj during the 1970s and early 1980s. Also one of its best hidden secrets (until now, that is). Since this is just a textual appetizer, there is no need yet to dwelve into Modal Q’s sinuous past and history of members. Suffice it to say that, for almost nine years, due to Călin Coldea’s perseverance, Modal Q was a real musical institution, where some of the best Romanian formed their craft, dazzling audiences and music critics alike. Cornel Moldovan, Claudiu Frunză, Ioan Kovacs are just a few of them.
Fans of Pink Floyd, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Santana, King Crimson, or Emerson, Lake and Palmer will undoubtedly recognize influences in Modal Q’s music. But, as with all great music, influences are just palate cleansers, which allow listeners to better understand the new sonic world they are exposed to. Don’t take my words for it. Just listen to the audio files once more.
Former Modal Q member, jazz drummer, architect, and visual artist Lucian George Păiș has lent us his artwork, to garnish this fantastic music, that most had never heard of and a few had almost forgotten about.
The project is unearthed by Claudiu Oancea (curator, historical research, liner notes) and Remus Miron (producer, audio restoration and remastering).”
Disc 2
”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).”
