Remember the guards at the witch's castle in The Wizard of Oz? O-we-o, we-o-o. Well, here they are again in a new interpretation, courtesy of Archaia's Robots dans le formal.
The scene opens with ominous guitar and bass as the camera pans along a stone corridor of torches and shadows. From side hallways come a series of strange voices: a low groaning at 0:09, panting at 0:23, and then the chanting of the castle guards at 0:34.
A glaring synthesizer alarm at 0:55 suddenly sends everything into chaos. Guards bump into each other, fall down stairs, a general panic ensues, the rhythm goes every which way, like rocks tumbling down the mountainside.
A semblance of order returns at 1:25, guards help each other to their feet, "so sorry about running into you there, what was that alarm all about? Did the witch go on a bender and misplace her crystal ball again?" They get themselves together and cautiously resume their chanting at 1:54. Then just as they get comfortable...arghh!! The witch sounds the alarm at 2:14. "Is she just messing with us? Maybe that girl and her dog are driving her nuts, I know I'm sick of hearing the kid crying about Kansas and that Aunty Em of hers. Like the dog, though, cute little guy."
At 2:56, the witch makes an announcement: "Apologies for the alarms, fellas. I meant to hit the intercom button. So, guess what? I converted my broomstick into an electric guitar and wanted you to hear me play. Plus this will drown out that little dog's yapping. Hope you like!"
They don't like. By 3:37, the guards are losing their minds. "Ughh, your wickedness! Will you stop playing that thing, you're hurting our ears! Do you want us to get the bucket of water? We will, you know."
"Oh is that right?! You don't like it?" The witch is pissed! At 3:55 she slams her palm down on the alarm button, sending the guards into a tizzy, which allows the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion to knock a few of them out and steal their uniforms. And so on.
Archaia were from France, fans of the legendary French group Magma and the psychedelic style of music called Zeuhl. Robots dans le formal appears as a bonus track on a CD reissue. I recommend reading Stanton Swihart's excellent allmusic review for a bit more about them.
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