Clearlight, a French keyboardist Cyrille verdeaux and a constantly changing list of collaborators including Christian Boule, Gilbert Artman and Gilbert Artman were essentially French progressive rock band Clearlight. Their powerful, sometimes psychedelic sound revealed a different side of Verdeaux than his later new-age records. Clearlight was one of the first bands to sign to Virgin Records’ fledgling label in the 1970s. They were also compared to progressive bands like Yes and Genesis, as well as experimental groups such as Gong. Clearlight’s 1973 album Symphony is their first album. The band was at its peak, exploring everything from modern experimentalism and more traditional styles. Verdeaux recruited several Gong members to collaborate on the project. Later, it was re-recorded in great detail with much more material and released as Symphony II. Clearlight was released with Forever Blowing Bubbles in 1975. It found Clearlight to be slightly less symphonic than Symphony, while adding some jazz influences. 1977’s Les Contes du Singe Fou, a collaboration with British singer/lyricist Ian Bellamy, was one of the group’s most psychedelic songs. Clearlight Visions (1978), which included sitars and tablas, pointed the way to Verdeaux’s Indian-influenced solo career.
