The time has come, the blogger said,
to write of many tunes ...
Of songs and gongs and streaming sites.
Of roundabouts and moons.
And why the sand is shocking pink,
and what's beneath those dunes.
With apologies to Lewis Carroll
Zoungla is a progressive psychedelic rock project led by Costa Damoulianos, with assistance from Federico Gucciardo and Matthew Souaid. Costa composes the music, sings and plays guitar, bass and synth; Frederico plays the drums; and Matthew adds saxophone and clarinet.
The origin of the word ‘Zoungla’
It seems likely that ‘Zoungla’ is a made-up word. But, Wikipedia says that the town and commune of Aguégués in south-east Benin was founded in the 17th century by a group of settlers known as the Toffinous. A second influx of settlers from the Ouémènous ethnic group arrived in the first half of the 18th century. The latter group was led by Zoungla and his companions. I doubt, though, that Costa Damoulianos was aware of that when he chose a memorable name for his project.
The Dream Machine album has some dreamy parts, but it never wanders aimlessly. If you are a fan of mainstream prog rock, you will appreciate it immediately. And, if you prefer other genres, it will still welcome you, invite you in, and make you comfortable. The composer himself describes it as: “psybient” music (psychedelic ambient), groovy bass, sometimes metal, cinematic, odd time sections, epic solos.
Note: If you use the Spotify app, there’s a rather lovely little video (‘canvas’) for the Escape Pod track.
Dream Machine is a fascinating work. It addresses an artist’s relationship to their art: the struggle, the exploration, the discovery, the self-deceit. In other words, what it’s like to create something while being an imperfect human being.
The Prog Mind
Crotchety Man 