Les Maledictus Sound

You can read about it in the annals of Incredibly Strange Music, but now you can actually hear it for yourself. Recorded in Nice, France in 1968, the story of Les Maledictus Sound’s original vinyl release is almost as bizarre as the music itself. The brainchild of session guitarist and music industry veteran Jean-Pierre Massiera, Les Maledictus Sound is a obtuse collection of unrelated studio sessions featuring musicians of the highest calibre tackling on the most unbelievable assortment of styles. Check out the low-brow Vaudeville buffoonery, horror film kitsch, psychedelic organ vamps and high energy fuzz garage guitar all run back to back. Film noir soundtracks and bluesy jazz meet Zappa-esque rock absurdity and big band orchestrations around every corner. You’re never safe giving this panoramic trip a listen. Once you’ve settled into a groove the next thing you know chipmunks are squealing sweet pop while the band kicks into some ultra cheesy lounge jazz. In other words, this recording is a perfect example of no-holds-barred insanity. What makes the album even scarier is that every genre is tackled with convincing perfection. The recording’s recent reissue marks its first appearance on CD, however, between 1968 and 1971 the album was released twice in Quebec, once in Italy, twice in France and once in Japan. Almost every release of the original LP had different album graphics, different song titles and the album was even released under different band names! The music, however, remained the same. Sound confusing? It is. Although Massiera never again recorded as Les Maledictus Sound, he continued to make peculiar recordings, one of which required actor David Niven’s participation as a vocal coach. The new CD reissue features a sample of some of Massiera’s subsequent work in the early ’70s adding the dimension of African tribal chants to this already head-spinning trip. It’s the acid flashback you’ve been waiting for.