Maneige

History

Bergeron played flute and saxophone, while Langlois was a keyboardist. They were joined by the drummer Gilles Schetagne, percussionist Paul Picard and bassist Yves Leonard, to form the initial quintet. The band played a few concerts in the early 1970s, opening for the Dutch progressive band, Ekseption and for Soft Machine on the 15 February 1974 at CEGEP Maisonneuve. They released their first two albums on the Harvest label in 1975. Their eponymous debut release contained a side-long track and established their experimental approach. Jerome's brother, Vincent Langlois, was added as a second keyboardist and a wind player, and a wide array of percussion instruments, some tuned, were used. Guitarist Denis Lapierre had been added to the lineup. Their second album, also released in 1975, was Les Porches.

After these two initial albums, Jerome Langlois left due to differences in opinion concerning the band's musical direction, and Vincent Langlois took over sole keyboard duties. Paul Picard, from the original lineup but absent from the first two releases, rejoined the band. The next two studio albums were refined, with shorter compositions and more focus. Ni vent... ni nouvelle and Libre Service were the next two releases, and both were reissued on CD in the early 1990s. A live album followed in 1979, entitled Composite. Two more albums came in the early 1980s, which were more of a jazz rock styling. In the late 1990s, Live Montreal 1974-1975 was issued featuring recordings from the early version of the band, including the side-long "Le Rafiot" from their first album, as well as the unreleased "1-2-3-4-5-6".

In 2005, ProgQuébec reissued various archive material, including the early composition "Manège" which had never been previously released.

Discography