Katamaran - s/t (1977 Germany).
Katamaran - Footprints (1980 Germany). The endless German jazz fusion era of the late 70s and early 80s strikes once again with Katamaran. The debut is more in line with the then current scene (Moira, Kraan, Munju) with hot playing, memorable melodies and tight unison runs. Their 3rd and final album branched into more hardcore jazz (acoustic piano, sax solos, loose structures), while still maintaining a preferable fusion edge. Final track is a sombre flute, acoustic bass, piano and drums piece. Haven’t heard the middle album “Cafe Florian” yet, which is on the “listening stack” (a mile high). No reissues exist for any of their albums. That’s too bad, as Katamaran are one of the stronger German fusion bands of the era.
Hydrus - Midnight in Space (1978 Italy). One of the 3 indigenous electronic albums on the PDU label (Elektriktus and Robert Cacciapaglia’s “Sonanze” being the others - PDU were most known for their Italian pressings of the German Cosmic Courier clan.) Hydrus could have been named Hybrid, as they mix spacey, non seqeuncer based electronic music with tiny hints of disco. Lovely wordless female vocals adds an exotic atmosphere. Not a bad record at all, though they should’ve let loose a bit more as the electronics get a bit static after while. No reissues exist.
Odyssee - White Swan (1978 Germany). Way above average German symphonic progressive album. This one has a lot more meat on its bones than most of the somnambulant snoozers coming from there during this time. For one thing, the tempo is faster and they mix in some time changes, to help keep it interesting throughout. Full fledged band sound with a thick production. The thematic sections are well developed, and a melody or two can actually be committed to memory. There’s a definite Genesis influence, but not as much as Neuschwanstein, Ivory and Sirius. There’s even a little funky business in the bass lines. A very good album that could use a legit CD reissue.