Marc Moulin’s ‘Sam’ Suffy’

I first came across Belgian musician and journalist Marc Moulin back in 2014. I was visiting Neat Neat Neat Records in late April 2014 with my wife. We were there to pick up the LCD Soundsystem box set The Long Goodbye(a RSD 2014 release.) He still had a copy from the big day a week before. While there Morrison threw a record on one of the store turntables and played me a bit of it. It was the self-titled album by the band Placebo. No, not THAT Placebo, but the Belgian jazz fusion/funk band that came to fruition in the early 70s Europe. The music that I was hearing was kind of mind-blowing. Touches of early 70s funk with a nice scoop of Herbie’s Headhunters for good measure. All instrumental and with emphasis on Moulin’s electric piano and synthesizer playing.

It was a “Whoa” kind of moment.

It seemed that the Belgian band’s three studio LPs – Wall of Eyes(1971), 1973(1973), and Placebo(1974) were reissued via Music On Vinyl on RSD and I now had a mission to find them all. I bought the self-titled not from Morrison but another record shop in Fort Wayne(I didn’t buy the album from Morrison as I was already dropping big cash on that LCD set.) The other two I found at Ignition Garage in Goshen, IN.

Interesting story, I got home with the two from Ignition and opened 1973 only to find that the center label on side 2 was halfway over into the actual grooves. I called the record shop and the owner was little to no help, so on a whim I emailed Music On Vinyl and told them. Within 5 days I had a brand new copy of the record and a sincere apology for the trouble. Good people, those Music On Vinyl folks.

Anyways, Placebo became kind of an obsession for me. I couldn’t believe I’d gone 40 years of life on this Earth as a music obsessive and had never heard of this band. They hit all the hallmarks of my music love for the past few years to that point. I was obsessed with electric Miles, Herbie from his Mwandishi years clear through the Headhunters, as well as enjoying the overall flavor of 70s funk. Moulin’s Placebo scratched every one of those itches. Plus, it was all just so smooth and groove-oriented. And those pressings were next level, so quiet and well balanced. I sung those records praises and continue to today. Here’s proof of my singing right here.

The next year, maybe because of some serious hype thanks to those Placebo reissues MOV put out a reissue of Marc Moulin’s solo debut Sam’ Suffy. There was definitely some sonic connective tissues that carried over from the Placebo albums to Sam’ Suffy, but Moulin on his own showed off some eccentricities in his writing as well. Even touches of the cinematic and symphonic.

But also, there’s some really funky stuff happening.

Opening track “Le Saule” is an absolute beast, and my favorite track on the record. Keeping with Placebo’s penchant for groove and funk Moulin comes out of the gate strutting. Locking into the mid-seventies flirtations with pop-meets-funk in the spirit of Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, and Sly Stone, Marc Moulin makes great use of electric piano, a Bernard Purdie-esque drum groove and a killer bass line. You can’t listen to this without suddenly feeling like some 1970s detective on the case in lower Manhattan. You can almost see the city streets melting by outside the windows of a ’72 Cutlass. This. Song. Slays.

Marc Moulin pays tribute to one of the jazz greats Thelonious Monk with his interpretation of the great “Misterioso” before we jump into the cosmic synth-heavy “From”. Definitely more Terry Riley than Herbie, but the song quickly shifts into a beautiful piano-led contemplative piece. It’s the perfect piece to get lost in. “La Bougie” brings back the funk and in a big way. Wavy cosmic synth strings meander in the side view as a low down groove is laid out via the drums and bass. The band assembled for this record is incredible, and the piano breakdown in the middle definitely is reminiscent of the great Herbie and his late-60s work with Miles. “Le Beau galop” is a short and fun bluesy romp with Moulin laying down some 12-bar blues on the piano with some trumpet accompaniment.

Side two is a suite, “Tohubohu: 1-5”. “Tohubohu: 1” opens on similar funky vibes with the breakdown reminiscent of Steely Dan’s Aja; melding rock, soul, and jazz into a tasty libation. “II” opens in a dramatic piano chord but quickly gets funky and even ominous, bringing to mind the early 70s work of Lalo Schifrin. “III” opens like some mid-70s late night horror flick before bringing the groove and a tasty muffled trumpet solo. “IV” and “V” get a little weird, with “IV” sounding like farm animals mewing in a barn while the chaotic “V” ends things wily and weird.

I was happy to have grabbed a copy of Sam’ Suffy when it was reissued back in 2015. For any fans of the Placebo records this Marc Moulin solo debut is a must-have. I went down the Moulin rabbit hole even further and recently snagged a copy of his sophomore release with his synth pop band Telex that came out in 1980. Think Kraftwerk but singing in French and you’ll get a good idea of what they’re about. I’ll talk more about that one later.