Zoïkhem

Zeuhl

The French avant-garde ensemble Zoïkhem was formed in 1995 by the drummer, pianist and composer Franck Smith (born 09/01/73 in Aix-en-Provence, France). He learned to play drums in regional school and later continued to refine his performance technique on his own. Zoïkhem was created 05/01/95 and the meaning of the name derives from two words: Zoï (roughly translated in the artificial language invented by Smith echo, sound, voice, call, song) and Khem (form ancient Egyptian language, meaning black land). According to F. Smith the band's name translates as sounds of the black land or cry from the land of darkness. The composer uses a mixture of Latin texts and language invented by himself and believes that music has to be more important than the language or the content of the texts. The group performed as a trio. The vocal part was sung by the young baritone Pascal Terrier, while a member with the pseudonym Hélios took over the clarinet. In addition, the CD inserts list the piano Sony D-151 as an independent fourth party member. This is due to a very interesting way in which the music was created. Franck Smith himself first recorded the piano track, which becomes the foundation for the recording and mixing of the other instruments. All compositions by Zoïkhem originated in this way, even the drums were played by Smith with his unique sculptural technique of playing later. The Group made two CD albums, both of which are from 1997: Requiem (Tribal Prod. TPZK.VII) and Vo...