Vortex: Complete Recordings 1975-1979

Vortex, a creative pioneer of French avant-garde jazz rock, who endlessly disassembled and reconstructed the genres, created their own unique style by blending various musical elements; such as the aggressive heaviness of Zeuhl, the complex yet elegant ensembles of chamber rock, the polytempic and polyrhythmic structures of free jazz and the profound experimentation of 20th-century contemporary music. This three LP box set consisted of the 2nd studio album (1975), Les Cycles de Thanatos (1979), and another album which collected only bonus tracks separately. Like the swirling symbol adorning the cover, their debut album, with a dark and twisted emotion that seems to drag the listener into a labyrinth, shows the characteristics of the Zeuhl genre, such as subtly changing repetitive motifs and sophisticated yet stimulating rhythms. At the same time, it also shows the character of Chamber Rock in terms of a complex ensemble with multiple instruments. The original LP of this album is considered one of the rarest albums of the Zeuhl genre along with Magma's 2nd album, Eider Stellaire's 1st album, Rialzu, and Archaia's sole album. The 2nd album Les Cycles de Thanatos, which was released after tenaciously refining the composition for 4 years and expanding the members to an 8-piece group, is a masterpiece that far exceeds the previous work in terms of dense composition and excellent performance as well as recording quality. Multi-layered instruments smoothly unravel carefully calculated compositions, and the 25-minute title track in particular expresses Olivier Messiaen's motif in a darker and more intense way. It is a masterpiece that escaped the shadow of Magma and brought the writing style of contemporary classical music to rock, and makes it plain that their musical level has reached it's peak. This boxset contains a bonus album titled, which collects tracks that were not included in the regular albums. Tracks from the regular albums were dismantled and reconstructed to be reborn as a new pieces, forged through a faster and more harmonious ensemble. All tracks in show a level of musicianship that makes it regrettable that they were omitted from the regular albums. This boxset will be an opportunity to take a closer look at the history of Vortex.

1. Haroun' Thasckouack
2. Ahsquoumboum
3. Délicieuse Créature
4. Abominable Créature
5. God Is Good for You John
6. Prolégomènes
7. Les Cycles de Thanatos
8. Prolégo 1
9. C'est Cool Raoul
10. Hipopotalamus Negrus
11. Ivanoe

Shipping is available to the 48 contiguous United States. We are unable to ship to PO Boxes, International locations, or APO/FPO addresses. 

Please ensure your address is entered correctly. We are unable to redirect to an alternate shipping address once an order is placed.If your order contains multiple items, it may ship from different warehouse locations.

Tracking information will be sent as items are shipped.

Allow up to 5 business days for your order to process when calculating delivery dates. 

Note: Additional delays may occur due to severe weather or other carrier delays. 

Standard Shipping: allow 7-10 business days for delivery. Albums will be shipped via USPS Media Mail; all other products via UPS Ground or FedEx Ground.

Expedited Shipping: allow 2-5 business days for delivery. Albums will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail; all other products via UPS 2-Day Air or FedEx 2-Day Air.

Overnight Shipping: allow 1-2 business days for delivery. All products will be shipped via UPS Next Day Air or FedEx Next Day Air. 

We offer a 30-day money back guarantee on all products purchased from Victrola.com. All items must be returned as new in their original packaging, including all accessories and cables. Albums must be unopened to receive a refund. Missing items will be charged based on suggested retail prices.

All returns must be accompanied by a valid return authorization number (RMA) issued by Victrola. If an RMA is not obtained prior to shipping, the returned product will be refused and returned to sender.

If the item is no longer wanted, the shipping cost is not refundable and returns must be shipped prepaid by the customer. There is a 15% restocking fee that will be calculated based on the price of the product once the item is refunded.

If the item is defective, a pre-paid shipping label to return the product will be provided, and no restocking fee applies.

To set up a return for refund please visit Customer Care. Be sure to include your order # and reason for your return when submitting your request.

View more information about returns and warranty here.