TELEMUSIC LIBRARY 1970 FRENCH JAZZY WEIRD PSYCH ROCK

	£		37
	$		48

Telemusic 14: 'Contrebasses' (1970) French Library LP (Telemusic / Editiones Musicales Sforzando, Paris TM3014). Issued 1970. Sleeve and record in VG+ condition (sleeve has a minor tear at the back; playback mostly pretty clean - intermittent light crackles and occasional 'pops').

Track listing:

(side one)

01. Indian Pop Bass (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)
02. Prélude a une Angoisse (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)
03. Patio Bass (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)
04. Tension Nerveuse (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)
05. Amour, Délices et Contrebasse (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)
06. Percussion Bass (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)
07. Obsession Diabolique (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)

(side two)

01. Les Copains de la Basse (G. Pedersen)
02. Doucement La Basse (G. Pedersen)
03. Bass Session (G. Pedersen)
04. Bass After Love (G. Pedersen)
05. Ballad Pour Une Basse (G. Pedersen, R. Guiot)
06. Cosmic Bass (G. Pedersen)

Musicians:
Guy Pedersen - upright bass
André Arpino - drums and percussion
Raymond Guiot - flute, piano, harpsichord

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For collectors of Library Music * and those looking for samples.

* 'Library Music' - music intended for use as backgrounds in film and television; albums like this were never released to the public.

1970 LP from the French Telemusic series. Guy Pedersen is the bassist and musical director on this one (and also composer, sometimes in conjunction with flautist/keyboardist Raymond Guiot). Drummer is André Arpino, notable as a member of the Jacques Loussier Trio.

Side one opens with Indian Pop Bass - one of several tracks on this LP that re-appeared on a Blow Up compilation album a few years ago. Crisp, fast, snappy beat with bass plus a second, reverbed bass playing the top lines; very nice. Track two, Prélude a une Angoisse, is drama/suspense style - disquieting, descending bass notes with occasional percussion 'whooshes' and harpsichord flurries. Track three, Patio Bass, is jazzy with a dark, sombre flavour - again a second, reverbed bass plays the melody over the drums/bass; nice. Track four is Tension Nerveuse - as the title would imply it's suspense/horror-oriented.. fairly continuous reverbed, scraped bass and plentiful intrusions of tom toms and hihat/cymbal. Track five, Amour, Délices et Contrebasse, is light-hearted, comedic even, with a cheeky piano stabbing away over a plodding rhythm. Track six, Percussion Bass, is another drama/suspense style one and starts with a fast, pitter-pattering drum rhythm (brushes on snare), joined by menacing scraped bass notes. Last on side one is Obsession Diabolique - a light jazz rhythm.. triangle and insistent bass with percussion flurries and a distant, eerie top line that sounds almost synth-like but is in fact a high-pitched, bowed bass.

Side two begins with the funky Les Copains de la Basse - solid funky drums and bass, overlaid with a bass fed through a wah wah, melancholic piano chords and soaring, reverbed flute; best track in my opinion. Track two is Doucement La Basse - wah wah-processed bass on a light-hearted, comedy-flavoured track; I'm not usually a fan of the comedy-slanted ones but this works well, having some subtle guitar and piano chordal work that adds a touch of ambivalence to the comedy. Track three, Bass Session, is driving psych rock style with a crazy, wah-wahed additional bass, fuzz guitar and vamping Hammond over funky '60s - '70s rock rhythm section; a trifle messy but very good. Next is Bass After Love - vaguely funky style to the drums and a weird array of wah-wah bass and watery piano on a nice, mellow chord progression; strange but nice. Last but one is Ballad Pour Une Basse - bass playing the jazzy melody with accompaniment from a watery harpsichord; nice. Final track, Cosmic Bass, features doodling basses and drum/percussion flurries creating a mood of outer space disquiet and unease.




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