Saturday 31 October 2015

3 Albums from Frank Van Der Kloot and Fontessa + multiple reups from the past....


Some years back I heard their wonderful first album with its guitar-based progressive rock sound and the darkly charged atmosphere full of invention and mausoleum abstractions (nekronomicon):




Only last year, this was released to CD by label Tone Arm, and thus can't appear here.  But I didn't realize till I randomly searched the name 'they' (Frank van der Kloot + friends) produced two more records, as below:




And in this second 1976 outing, the progressiveness is quite to the fore, mostly instrumentals which remind us of Finch and Focus, sometimes the one, sometimes the other, in almost alternating tracks recalling one or other of the F'ey influences here, occasionally smooth, by turns harder edged, all of it on a slick and gorgeous guitar (a Les Paul?) evocatively flying the melodies, almost anthropomorphic in the bent notes and tender slides and bluesy flats that sing so closely to us, so directly into our hearts.  Perhaps many will agree with me, the greatest invention in patented musical apparati in the history of man / woman (do they agree though?) is the electric guitar, with coming a close second or tie the electric piano, in particular, the Rhodes sound.  

A very enjoyable album you will see, not too complex at all to tax the frontal lobes, but of course our tired lives cannot withstand too much of the atonal difficulties, we yearn for something more approachable after a day's listening to Zig Zag or somesuch similar and dealing with idiots in accounts receivable or collections agencies...

I particularly adore the 'long track' chopped in subsections called "Heaven is across the street."  Surely this deserves to be transformed fully into a work of poetry, as it aspires to be.





But is it, indeed? Victor Janos some 4 years before filmed the murders of four in the Last House on Dead End Street...  a movie as rare today as it is unappreciated, much like the music we listen to here in this blog.

What about their last work from 1978?  Sadly, we have here lost almost totally the progressive in favour of direct funky rawk, similar to Daddy Warbucks, but obviously not as good.




Hear it and auditorily appreciate what I mean-- though stop to smell the roses of the (Focus-like) progressive track arriving last on your doorstep, "One of these days:"





Sadly, it doesn't quite compare to the great Focus tracks of yore, such as Love Remembered, The Gossip, Sylvia, Moving Waves... those progressive masterpieces of yore that set me on this irrevocable path towards complexity in music and that odd addiction to its energizing and pleasurable contents, which indeed, make life so much more a tiny resemblance of heaven on my block...


From this great review of rare Dutch prog:

Frank van der Kloot started his musical career in a band called Bobby's Children. He played with them from 1971 until 1972. He then formed the band Drama with whom he recorded an album.  In 1973 he formed his own band Fontessa, together with the Drama drummer Shel Schellekens. In 1974 they recorded an album and a year later a single was released, A look in your eyes/Where have you been.  After the decline of Fontessa, Van de Kloot recorded a solo album, in 1976, also titled Fontessa.  

Then, in 1978, a second solo album is released.  

He is currently the owner of a guitar shop in the Hague.




12 comments:


  1. Fontessa i

    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/2hb1fm

    Fontessa ii 1

    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/h2d7c0

    Fontessa ii 2

    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/094aas

    ReplyDelete
  2. Requested reuploads, andy goldner belleville (the others are still active):
    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/la9dba
    Beausoleil, le mitan (the others are still active):
    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/4sfgj1
    New Reup of joseph racaille, 6 chansons ep:
    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/xb9b92
    New reup of edo zanki:
    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/kun7my
    phew!

    ReplyDelete
  3. and new reup of wav spectra no secrets:

    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/1t0j6r

    enjoy them! any other dead links from the past, I have no problem reuploading... this is all for the love of music right

    ReplyDelete
  4. more reuploads:
    mr music man from anvil
    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/co738u

    Timber new song:

    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/x4wbuw

    concept avis de passage:

    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/grw3g1

    VA Rock Offers:

    https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/d6vill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. carita's second album in flac:

      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/plazfz

      Delete
    2. new upload of claude barthelemy's Jaune et Encore

      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/ko2xrw

      Delete
    3. wav of jaune et encore:

      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/7jphrl

      flac of jukka linkola's octet lady in green:

      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/vy8rmo

      flac of Jaak Jurisson:

      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/o7xnpo

      Anymore uploads, please let me know, we need to resuscitate the links like lazarus... though bear in mind, as I said before I can't do too many wav or flac uploads because I have a limited bandwidth and space, and I'm paying for the links up there in the ever-stormy 'cloud' which might tornado down on me someday...

      Delete
    4. new lbc trio lossless:
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/u5ilzb
      new spaces border station upload:
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/uml0hh
      new jane ira bloom lossless upload:
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/pw136l
      new laurent - voindrot jazz-rock up:
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/h1m1vy

      Delete
    5. new reup of the wonderful Jordi Sabates, Secret de la Criolla:
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/rs99vf
      http://prognotfrog.blogspot.com/2012/12/mwendo-dawa-st-swed-1981.html
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/flh1os
      Gunther Fischer's soundtrack Solo Sunny, from 1978, recommended: https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/zoo4fp
      Various Artists from Helvetia ‎– Nationales Finale 1979 Open Air Römisches Theater Augst Rock & Pop Vol. 2
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/p244n4

      Delete
    6. new sabates secret de la criolla (above link was damaged):
      https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/f5me7s

      Delete
  5. Frank also was with group 1850 for some live show's & the 2nd lp

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi friend. Greetings from mexico city. Download link single. Fontessa--A look in your eyes/Where have you been. Thanks friend. Greetings.

    ReplyDelete