Deeply freaky space-jazz-prog-fusion from The Visitors (1974)
Far fucking out! Weirdo space jazz prog-rock from French composer Jean-Pierre Massiera and his Visitors ensemble 1974. Here's what reissue label Lion Productions had to say when they re-released The Visitors:
(Massiera) decided that his new psychedelic nightmare should be a concept album on the theme of extra-terrestrial contact. It is a truly startling mix of prog, psych, fusion and zeuhl elements, with complex arrangements and grandiose vocals. Massiera kept the basics: keyboards (Hammond organ and mini-Moog), guitar, and rhythm section. That said, he also insisted on a type of vocal polyphony, with voices singing in unison or performing call-and-response echo effects in the style of Vanilla Fudge. To push it further, Massiera peppered the album with special effects. Samplers were non-existent, which meant that he had to transfer location-recorded "found sounds" onto the master-tape by hand! The Visitors album which resulted from this musical alchemy is a dark and doom-laden psyched-out masterpiece: other-worldly, with outer space violins, burning guitar leads, layers of lysergic organ, and twisted choral voices creeping up on you from behind the shadows.
The Visitors (Amazon)
