Zombie Zombie – Rituels d'Un Nouveau Monde

On Rituels d’Un Nouveau Monde, this French electro/neo-prog duo progress from their previous work – reinterpreting John Carpenter soundtracks – to forge similarly cinematic soundscapes of their own, combining analogue synths with contemporary technology, brass and live percussion. There’s an endearingly anachronistic spirituality and mysticism about their approach, even down to the period prog cover art and unashamedly hippified song titles – see opener The Wisdom of Stones (Do You Believe In...?). 
 
The clearest influences here are from synth-oriented 70s instrumental acts like Tangerine Dream, but the hypnotic drumming on pieces like L’Age d’Or also brings Neu! to mind; elsewhere (on Black Paradise), the syncopated rhythms recall Sun Ra and other cosmic jazz. For an almost exclusively instrumental record (the chanted vocals on Rocket #9 being an exception), Rituels creates an impressive sense of narrative progression – although many listeners will find its epic conceptualism hard to take seriously.