For those who would be interested in behind the scenes of the release of the 4 Noëtra' CDs please click on that link: jeanlapouge-english.blogspot.com ...
Jean Lapouge


RockProg etc
Frédéric Delâge
16 01 2012

Muséa continue d’exhumer les trésors oubliés de Noëtra, inclassable groupe périgourdin déjà évoqué ici. Résurgences d’errances s’attache à la période 1978-1981, avec 11 morceaux live, dont trois issus du concert de 1981 qui attira l’attention du fameux label ECM, promesse malheureusement restée sans suites. Noëtra aurait pu rester définitivement un groupe maudit et il faut vraiment rendre grâce à Muséa d’avoir sauvé de l’oubli ce joyau méconnu. Arpèges évanescents de Jean Lapouge, échappées délicates de hautbois, de flûtes ou de violon, entre jazz progressiste et moderne musique de chambre, Résurgences d’errances est une nouvelle pièce à verser à un dossier que tous les amateurs de Rock in opposition et autres musiques instrumentales intelligentes et aventureuses seraient inspirés de consulter…

rockprogetc-noetra-resurgences-derrances




Wayside
Steve Feigenbaum


For me, Noetra are one of the all-time greatest groups who never had a record released during their actual lifetime (a sad distinction, but a distinction nonetheless). This is the fourth (and I am told the final) release from this ensemble. Noetra were a terrific chamber/progressive band with serious ECM overtones (they were courted by ECM in the late 70s, but, ultimately, ECM decided not to work with the group, even though they would have been a perfect fit). The group existed from about 1978-1983, in various line-up sizes. The sound here is very good bootleg sound from the board; it has some hiss, but is utterly listenable. The music will appeal to anyone who loves groups like Julverne, Miriodor and ECM (circa late 70s/early 80s prime) were releasing. Don't start with this one; sonically it is the worst and they are all so good, that you should start with any of their two studio releases, but if you already know them, you know you'll have to have this one, right?

waysidemusic.com/Noetra-Resurgences-DErrances





Progressor
Olav M Bjornsen
19 09 2012

Prolusion. The French band NOETRA was the creative vehicle of composer and guitarist Jean Lapouge, an active entity in the late 70's and early 80's, eventually disbanding in 1985 without ever releasing any material. But due to chance and circumstance some of their recordings were presented to Musea Records, which wanted to release this material. Since then four albums of archival recordings have been published. "Resurgences D'Errances" from 2011 is the most recent of these.
Analysis. The Noetra history is a story that appears to be filled with a number of occurrences in the almost department. Of which the high point, or low point depending on point of view, was the interest by the legendary label ECM, an interest that faded with each additional demo tape, according to the descriptions given by Jean Lapouge on his website. And almost is sort of a key word for my impression on this band's music too, at least as it comes across on this disc. The pieces on the CD are all live recordings, and they aren't of the highest quality. Which probably does have a negative impact as far as listener experience goes. When you have lo-fi recordings rescued from old cassette tapes there's a limit on how much you can salvage, and the medium itself isn't one kind to details. And I suspect that this band in their prime was an outfit where details were highly important. But other than the inferior quality of the recordings, there's a lot of almost at hand here. The overall style of the band for instance. This is a band that wanders freely between various kinds of dampened, elegant atmospheres, the level of sophistication depending very much on which constellation of the band that is performing. At their most simplistic they explore pastoral movements that appear to be founded in classical and folk music more than anything else, with the flute adding a folk-oriented sound and violin, saxophone and other additional instruments bringing the material closer to a chamber music environment. The guitar, and frequently plural guitars, has more of a subservient role, frequently gently wandering in more of a folk-oriented manner but occasionally hitting off in a more jazz-oriented direction. And when bass and drums maneuver in the same direction, the end result frequently becomes something almost. Not quite jazz, not quite folk, but not quite chamber music either. Caught between genre definitions to some extent, original and innovative perhaps, but not quite at the level of really making a grand impact: pleasant music existing somewhere in between genres, most likely of a much more refined character than these live recordings reveal. But we do get a glimpse of the upper range of the band's qualities on final instalment Noetra, a piece that opens in a dampened, careful manner, wandering in between folk-tinged and chamber music oriented passages in the initial phases, followed by a bass-driven jazz flavored build up in intensity concluding with an abrupt instrumental shout. With a dark droning sound I presume comes courtesy of the trombone as a distinct and highly effective feature for the brilliant conclusive movements of this piece.
Conclusion. Released some 30 years after they were recorded, these live efforts of Noetra will most likely appeal to a limited audience. The music itself is generally pleasant and should have a broad appeal as such, but the lo-fi character of the source material won't be to everybody's taste. It is a nice documentation of a band defying genre conventions however, their blend of influences from classical, folk and jazz combining into creations that don't really belong in either of these categories, mostly pleasant, but occasionally showing glimpses of brilliance and true genius, and most profoundly so on concluding piece Noetra.

progressor.net/review/noetra_2011.



Arlequins
Peppe Di Spirito


Dopo il bel live datato 1983, la Musea ci propone un nuovo album di materiale d’archivio per i Noëtra, gruppo di culto guidato dal chitarrista Jean Lapouge che si è fatto conoscere con “Neuf songes” nel 1992. In realtà, come già dimostrato con “Definitivement bleus” e con il disco dal vivo citato, le origini di questo ensemble risalgono a ben prima, visto che bisogna ritornare indietro fino alla fine degli anni ’70 e “… résurgences d’errances” contiene undici brani registrati in concerto in varie fasi dei loro esordi, tra il 1978 e il 1981. Le splendide intuizioni di Lapouge si palesano anche in quest’occasione attraverso una musica raffinata, che unisce le sue invenzioni con una sei corde elettrica vagamente frippiana all’eleganza di strumenti a fiato e ad arco, in composizioni docili eppure brillanti e ricche di sfaccettature. Queste miscele timbriche rivelano nuovamente quelle sonorità particolarissime, a cavallo tra prog canterburyano e crimsoniano (periodo “Lizard” – “Island”), musica da camera e jazz-rock. La registrazione, a dire il vero, non è proprio ottimale, assimilabile com’è ad un buon bootleg e non permette di godere appieno di una proposta che vede nelle sue rifiniture ricercate uno dei punti di forza. Pur tuttavia, il fascino della musica dei Noëtra resta immutato anche quando il sound sembra un po’ lontano e accompagnato da un leggero sibilo. Quegli intarsi strumentali elettroacustici, quella chitarra capace di zigzagare abilmente, quegli inserti di sax che orientano il tutto verso un jazz calorosissimo, quella raffinatezza cameristica di oboe, flauto, violino e violoncello, mai austeri e sempre pronti a donare ulteriore calore, rappresentano una sorta di magia che alle orecchie di chi ricerca sentieri diversi dal solito, ma non eccessivamente complicati da seguire, rivela mille sorprese piacevolissime. Un percorso forse non dissimile dai primi Miriodor, pronti a guardare verso Canterbury, ma con gusto personale e regalando melodie d’alta scuola. Se non avete ancora ascoltato i Noëtra procuratevi al più presto “Neuf songes” e “Definitivement bleus”, bisogna partire da lì… Ma se Lapouge e compagni sono già entrati nella vostra collezione discografica e, come sono sicuro, la loro musica vi è entrata facilmente nel cuore, non c’è nemmeno bisogno del mio consiglio di far vostro anche questo cd!

Arlequins