Rockpedia

Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Canterbury scene1968

Second genre

Zeuhl1970

Head to headCanterbury scene vs Zeuhl
Canterbury scene: heaviness 2, melody 8, speed 5. Zeuhl: heaviness 4, melody 4, speed 6.Heaviness2 / 4Melody8 / 4Speed5 / 6
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Both grew out of jazz-rock in Europe at the same moment. Zeuhl is severe and ritualistic; Canterbury is warm and absurd.

Both are sung cleanly and move at much the same pace, around 90 to 160 bpm. Songs run longer in Zeuhl: usually 8 to 25 minutes, against 4 to 15 minutes in Canterbury scene. To hear the difference, play Soft Machine next to Magma. They share a root in rock, and Canterbury scene came first, by two years.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Canterbury scene2
Zeuhl4
+2
Speed
Canterbury scene5
Zeuhl6
+1
Melody
Canterbury scene8
Zeuhl4
−4

Canterbury scene

1968 · Canterbury, England

Where it sits

Rock › Progressive rock › Canterbury scene

In short

Prog with jazz harmony and dry English humour. Looser and stranger than its symphonic neighbours.

How it sounds

  • Jazz harmony - sevenths and ninths - in place of blues pentatonics.
  • Fuzzed organ, the signature of Mike Ratledge in Soft Machine.
  • Absurdist humour in the lyrics, in contrast with the complexity of the music.

Key acts

  • Soft Machine
  • Caravan
  • Hatfield and the North

Start here

The pickCaravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink. Prog that doesn't take itself seriously, and lasts because of it.

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Zeuhl

1970 · France

Where it sits

Rock › Psychedelic rock › Krautrock › Zeuhl

In short

Operatic rock sung in an invented language, with fretless bass and choir. A tiny French branch with fanatical disciples.

How it sounds

  • Distorted fretless bass played as a lead instrument.
  • Multi-part choir singing in Kobaïan, a language the band invented.
  • Odd meters with repetitive, martial construction.

Key acts

  • Magma
  • Koenjihyakkei
  • Ruins

Start here

The pickMagma - Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh. It resembled nothing then and resembles nothing now.

Full page →