La tour haute (Minimum Vital, 1987)

This lively, beautiful track comes from Minimum Vital's debut album, called "Les saisons marines". The title (meaning "The Tall Tower") immediately suggests the Medieval and folk mood of the song, but there is more than this in this 10 minute instrumental. Firstly, there is the splendid fusion of the traditional instruments and the synth, imitating ancestral sounds and adding a special flavour to the track. It isn't so common to find acoustic guitar and synth interplays, after all.

Since their first album, this band foud its peculiar way to prog.

And what could I say of the ever changing drumming? In a way, Christophe Godet enlightens and enhances the music, stressing all the passages with essential but never trivial rythmic solutions. As always with this French band, there's a Mediterranean mood, a blue and green shade, maybe the Sea Seasons the album title conjures up. If ever there is a dancing way to prog, you'll find it here.

Le Chant du Monde (Minimum Vital, 1990)

Joy and optimism aren't necessarily the most widespread moods in prog rock songs. But this is the case with "Le Chant du Monde", the opening track of Minimum Vital's album "Sarabande". This French musicians know too well how to blend folk roots and vigorous rock in a unique sound. You'll find here the Mediterranean sun and the Occitan taste in a seven minutes instrumental fresco weaving acoustic and electric moments, slow and fast movements.

A recent line-up of Minimum Vital.

The background idea is to depict the variety and richness of the world, its multi-ethnicity in a joyful and enthralling dance pointing out, of course, the keen flavour of Southern France. That is not common and if you're new to this group, I highly recommend this track as your first sample.