Sunday at Bob's #48 - La moitié d’une pomme, c’est bien de la pomme

 Hello everyone and welcome back for another fabulous hour on this sunday, at Bob's! I hope you are well, I myself am a wee bit sick due to the fact I tried to postponed as much as possible the activation of the heating in my apartment. I have been going swimming in the lake in an attempt to build an immunity against the cold and thus push a bit futher the moment I'd press the heating button. But I guess nature is stronger and when it gets cold you get sick. Regardless I stil have it in me to present you a new playlist full of cool vibes and discoveries. Let us begin.

The introducing song I found on a compilation about French jazz. A very diverse compilation which included musicians as varied as Claude Nougaro and Manut Katché or Oxmo Puccino. I thought it could be pleasant to begin with this very chill song from Marie Laforêt about Saint-Tropez, a place I've never been personally. She passed away in 2019 leaving behind her a discography composed of albums in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German (on top of the French speaking works). Inspiring.

After that comes a very exciting Japanese band. Apsaras is one of these bands where it seems there are more infos about in the YouTube comment section than anywhere else. To illustrate:

The first time I heard this group was on a vinyl called Atmospheras about 32 years ago, with the participation in the recording of Andreas Vollenweider, Osamu Kitajima, Oblique, Sky and Apsaras. Until today I find this complete vinyl of the Japanese group Apsaras. Thank you Steve Vokuchan.
Esteban Roseyó, 3 years ago

Thank You!!!! Owned this album in the 80's, loved it , lost it, couldn't remember the name...remained haunted by this first track but gave up hope of ever finding it or hearing it again.....was searching YT for 'Apsaras' by Alio Die....it was like meeting an old friend when I heard the first 2-notes!....beautiful - Thanks
Song Sabai, 4 years ago

(source)

We continue with a jazzy piece by the New York City band formed in 1997 Topaz, on an album called Listen! released in 2000. Again I will quote an anonymous internet superhero on a blog to share some info about the band, here wondering if  it is faire to classify Topaz as an acid-jazz band:

I'm a bit of a fan of the jazz band Topaz for awhile now. They're a very obscure band that not many people have heard of, so  I scoured the internet looking for info on them. Every site or information outlet I've come across lists them as being 'acid jazz', which if I'm familiar is a descriptor for jazz that mixes itself with club music, turntabalism, and other DJ-isms of electronic music. I've collected two of Topaz' most "popular" albums and listen to them both in full several times (Listen! (2000) and The Zone (2002)) and neither of them contain such a sound. Instead, to me, it's much more jazz-funk oriented, something you'd see from 1970's Donald Byrd or Herbie Hancock. I am aware that the band got more into the afro-dub scene the longer their career went on, but regardless I don't believe these two albums fit in the acid jazz category. (source)

After that comes one of the songs I've been listening to the most in the past two week (there is always on isn't there?). However I couldn't even find one other song from that band, if you know about No.1 De No.1 please enlighten me, ther must be more.

We go on with a very intense (in a cool-cycling-super-fast-down-a-city-center-at-sunset way) song by the trio Electro Bamako. The group is composed of Paul Sidibé, Marc Minelli et Damien Traïni, and proposes a surprising encounter between music from Mali and New York's electricity, to paraphrase their Faceboo page description. Idjo is followed by another song based on a similar principle but much more recent as the abum is not yet -or just has been- released as I write these words. I am refering to the UK band Pigeon and their song War, on their album called Yagana.

The two following songs I doubt I have to introduce, they are from artists we talked about here before and who are on top of that rather famous. Moebius with Das Ende from the-

-I'm sorry I was halfway through this article and couldn't go on, we are tuesday and I am getting back at it-

So we have the great Moebius with Das Ende, a song from the original motion picture soundtrack of  Blue Moon. And we have the immense Larry Heard with a song from his album Alien, which I would often play at the reception.

We go on with the Croatian classical guitar prodigy Ana Vidović and a piece from her album Gitara. I came accross her music while searching for interpretations of Bach at the guitar and I must say it was quite an amazing discovery. And we end with a song from French composer Joël Fajerman from his 1981 album L’Aventure des plantes and the song that gave its name to today's playlist La Moitié D'Une Pomme by Enzo Enzo.

Half of an apple, it is still apple. Half of a train, it looks like a train. But half the truth is already a lie.

That is it for this week, sorry for the delay I hope you enjoyed and I see you in two weeks!
Don't forget to check out before 10h30.

The receptionist

Playlist:

1. Marie Laforêt - Saint-Tropez Blues
2. Apsaras - Aruhi No Kaze
3. Topaz - The Emperor
4. No.1 De No.1 - Guajira Van
5. Electro Bamako - Idjo
6. Pigeon - War (Jam)
7. Moebius - Das Ende
8. Larry Hears - The Dance of Planet X
9. Ana Vidović - Varijacije Na Mozartovu Temu
10. Joël Fajerman - Rose des sables
11. Enzo Enzo - La Moitié D'Une Pomme