WOEBOT

I go to thinking the other day that disc for disc more electronic music has emerged from France than Germany. Even ignoring the massive output of the INA-GRM axis (which dwarfs that issued from Stockhausen's axis) this would still be true. While Kraftwerk are synonymous with German music, before the year zero of Acid House there are actually very few purely "electronic" German groups, the classic canon of Krautrock is largely "straight-up" rock music. Even in the NDW-era when German groups were playing electro catch-up, there was a healthy brace of French Electro, albeit at the poppier end. Britain? Don't make me laugh. This supposedly proud nation of techno boffins only ever produced Delia Derbyshire, Basil Kirchin, Trevor Wishart, Dennis Smalley, Miller/Leer/Rental (those three virtually counting as one) and practically no Electro. Cabaret Voltaire only qualified very late in the game and don't say Throbbing Gristle cos they don't count most of the time. (wipes froth from mouth) OK, silly cartoon battle over.

I can't produce much information about these records all of which I bought blind in France. The Zanov in a boutique in Paris, the Space Art in Cannes in an open market and the Szajner just last summer in Marseilles. Zanov is a curiously fish-faced character (rolls on floor laughing- now resorting to character judgements on the basis of rear-sleeve portraits in lieu of Google snapshots). This is a superb suite of mesmerising bass-heavy synth mantras with stained-glass window melody lines. Very Belbury Poly.

The Space Art, even though this pleasantly barmy guy reassuringly describes the groop as "...unquestionably the greatest electronic music group that ever existed", is faintly rubbish. But still, it remains one of those records I return to from time to time to check if it has improved (the Zanov was excellent this time round) I always imagined Dominique Perrier had something to do with Space's "Magic Fly", though it appears that hunch is unfounded. I suppose he belongs in the league of French second-string electronic gurus like Serge Ramses and Didier Bocquet all of whom, like Perrier, probably ended up in Jean Michel Jarre's live support synth garrison.

And finally Bernard Szajner! This one is funny cos, as I mentioned elsewhere, while he was taking the mick out of me for my French adventure, Reynolds was mooting what would form the next in the series and postulated that perhaps Bernard Szajner might get the WOEBOT once-over. I have this Szajner record, which came out on a tiny British label Initial, which I didn't know anything about so I did some research on him and voila, there's lots to know. Apparently the best records are Zed's "Vision of Dune" (1979), and "Some Deaths take Forever" (1980), which Carl Craig allegedly described as his favorite electronic record of all time in Time Out, neither of which I own. "Superficial Music" is obviously some Eno-styled experiment created thus: "Superficial Music is compiled from selected tapes previously used as the basis of my recording Visions Of Dune. The tapes in their present form have been replayed in reverse at half speed without any re-recording and are enhanced only through the discriminate use of digital and analog devices." It's pretty groovy in places, segues nicely out of the less low-key strobing grooves of the Zanov.