Press Quotes

Duncan Heining /JAZZWISE: "Guitarist Delville is quite stunning whether soloing or filling out the spaces between ... Suppose you've a friend, who thinks jazz-rock an aberration and fusion noodling its inevitable nadir. Here's what you do. Strap them to a chair, put this on at full volume and leave them a few hours. If by then they still don't get it, find another friend."

Maurizio Comandini /ALL ABOUT JAZZ: "Michel Delville è un eccellente  organizzatore di suoni, con una capacità diabolica di sfruttare le strutturazioni e le stratificazioni. Un architetto della musica che sa costruire nello spazio e nel tempo vere opere d'arte che ci affascinano e ci lasciano senza fiato."

Renato Moraes /PROGBRASIL: "Michel Delville é a nova descoberta belga, o cara tem uma mão de Midas e tem feitos projetos sensacionais, com suas bandas belgas ou internacionais."

Ben Watson /HIFINEWS: "Michel Delville, leader and guitarist of The Wrong Object from Liege, Belgium, is writing tunes which emulate Zappa's taste for succinct idiosyncrasy and melodic lilt.... in a modern music scene that regularly trundles out all the paraphernalia of intelligence (laptops, bald heads, performers; desk-tops like mad electronic laboratories), this is the real thing."

John Ephland /DOWNBEAT: "Covering Rypdal's 'Over Birkerot' Michel Delville helps the song veer off from being an out-and-out rocker akin to the original and more a search for the heart of 'Birkerot', circa 2010, with multi-layered rhythmic pulses, unwieldy guitar lines with reverb that send the music airborne."

Chris Parker /LONDON JAZZ NEWS: "Delville is an arrestingly fiery and fluent soloist thoroughly imbued with the history of electric guitar from Hendrix to Rypdal and beyond."

Dave Lynch /ALL MUSIC GUIDE: "Michel Delville remains a guiding force, a highly creative electric guitarist."

Dan Burke /JAZZ INSIDE: "I have been a big fan of Michel Delville’s compositional skill and his absolutely gorgeous guitar playing for a while now. His other Moonjune releases, 2010’s impossibly tasty“Machine Mass Trio” , 2009’s “DouBt/Never Pet A Burning Dog” , 2008’s “Wrong Object’s/Stories From the Shed” , and 2007’s “Alex Maguire Sextet” and “Wrong Object’s The Unbelievable Truth” (with the late and much missed Elton Dean) and “Platform One” (featuring Annie Whitehead and Harry Beckett) all showcase 
his thoughtful playing and his ability to listen to the other musicians. He has the chops and skill-set to be one of those pyrotechnic guitar gods touring with a backing band, but he would rather create challenging and rewarding ensemble pieces with his
talented teammates."

js /JAZZ MUSIC ARCHIVES: "Guitar maestro Michel Delville spins out some of the snarliest fret work since the passing of Master Pete Cosey."

Jean-Claude Vantroyen /LE SOIR-MAD: "Il faut avoir de l’audace et du talent pour s’attaquer au monument qu’est Jimi Hendrix. Machine Mass, le trio du guitariste liégeois Michel Delville, flanqué de l’Américain Tony Bianco aux drums et du belge Antoine Guenet aux claviers, l’a osé. Et tant mieux. Toute relecture intelligente de la musique de Jimi est un plus pour l’amateur de jazz-rock. Delville & Co se lancent dans des improvisations passionnantes sans jamais oublier les mélodies, l’atmosphère, les surprises, la violence et la beauté des œuvres de Jimi. Un disque implacable et à écouter fort."

Georges Tonla Briquet /BRUSSELNIEUWS: "Michel Delville geeft progjazz een nieuwe invulling. Denk aan een psychedelische mix van Soft Machine, King Crimson, Robert Wyatt, Frank Zappa en Medeski Martin & Wood, opgepept met wat extra elektronica."

Matt Cibulla /CAVE 17: "Delville is pretty great both as a soloist, where he often seems to fly completelyseems to fly completely off the handle in angry-lovely ways (his temper-tantrum stuff during 'Strangler Fig' contrasts nicely to Jean-Paul Estievenart's swingin' trumpet style) and as an ambient sound-layerer, like his atmospherics on 'Rippling Stones'. If you're making a list of great guitar players, please include his name. Remember doing lists like that? Ah, the old days."

Tim Niland /JOHN COLTRANE MUSIC NEWS: "Michel Delville can hold his own with anyone on the progressive scene with towering riffs and majestic soloing."

Alfonso Tregua /JAZZITALIA: "Chitarrista fra i più inventivi della generazione “di mezzo” nell’ambito jazz-rock-prog, Michel Delville ha progressivamente incrementato il bagaglio tecnico, l’arguzia nella ricerca timbrica, ma soprattutto l’approccio che fa della libertà espressiva la chiave per giungere ad un suono coinvolgente, ricco di potenza e raffinato al tempo stesso."

Mark Redlefsen /ALL ABOUT JAZZ: "Delville steps out with a louder, more direct tone, affectionately and more overtly exposing the influence of Terje Rypdal—even including one of his compositions, "Over Birkerot," from Odyssey (ECM, 1975). The enhanced gunslinger performance is warranted, to meet the demands thrown up by Maguire and his armory of keyboards, blasting out  turbulent Cecil Taylor-like riffs like solar flares. Both Deville and Maguire take an extreme leap forward since their previous meeting on Maguire's sextet album, Brewed in Belgium (MoonJune, 2008), much as drummer Tony Williams, guitarist John McLaughlin, and organist Larry Young played so differently in the hard crunch of Lifetime in 1969, versus their far different and more supportive
impressionistic roles in the music of Miles Davis just one year earlier."

Vincenzo Giorgio /WONDEROUS STORIES: "La lucidissima chitarra del sempre piu convincente Michel Delville disegna scenari vividamente apocalittici. Qui [con i douBt], davvero, si supera: toni dolenti, lacerati, in un'atmosfera solennemente inquietante."

Roger Trenwith /DUTCH PROGRESSIVE ROCK PAGES: "Michel Delville's signature guitar fills raise hairs on the back of the neck in many places on Machine Mass feat. Dave Liebman's Inti. Often angular and almost avant in nature they go to places you cannot predict, and the sheer emotional excitement in his playing is there for all to see. As if to complete the sonic circle there are also guitar lines of fluid and quiet introspection. The circle will not be unbroken."

Maurizio Comandini /ALL ABOUT JAZZ ITALY: (On The Wrong Object:) "La scrittura di Michel Delville, vero leader del gruppo, e assolutamente in grado di fornire elementi di contiguita molto evidenti con quella di Zappa e quindi il progetto assume una unitarieta molto evidente, ben messa in luce dalla coesione che il palco sa fornire. L'album e stato infatti registrato dal vivo e il concerto e davvero godibile e riuscito, con ampio spazio riservato ai solisti, ma senza mai abbandonare il compito auto-assegnato di costruire un coerente tessuto dalle trame zappiane che non si vergogna di abbracciare anche influssi provenienti dal rock progressivo inglese e dal jazz-rock meticcio che ha preso piede a partire da Canterbury, da Robert Wyatt e Ian Carr e da altri spiriti
liberi europei." .. .... (On douBt:) "La chitarra solitamente elegante di Michel Delville lascia da parte ogni indugio e non sta certo a guardare. Gli accordi sono infuocati, le linee a note singole scalciano con zig zag verticali che poi cambiano orientamento e si trascinano veloci sul piano orizzontale, piene di furore, di vigore, di lucida determinazione."
 
François Bequart /MUSIC IN BELGIUM: "La Belgique doit le savoir : elle possède avec Michel Delville un des musiciens de jazz-fusion les plus intéressants et les plus prolifiques de la scène jazz contemporaine. Le jazz de Michel Delville est la continuation des explorateurs et des assembleurs de genres des années 50 et 60, Miles Davis et John Coltrane en tête. Et dans ce créneau, Michel Delville se révèle plus qu’intéressant : crucial. Son imagination et sa capacité de travail lui font monter projets parallèles sur projets parallèles qui ont depuis longtemps porté le liégeois sur une échelle internationale."

Enzo Boddi /JAZZCOLOURS: "Delville ha un approccio intelligentemente corrosivo all chitarra: con uso ingenioso delle distorsioni e del sustain sviluppa la lezione di Terje Rypdal, dal cui repertorio ha tratto ed arrangiato 'Over Birkerot'."

Pete Pardo /SEA OF TRANQUILITY: "You can hear the influence of Zappa, Robert Fripp, and Terje Rypdal in the playing of guitarist Michel Delville, his solos at the end of this piece literally exploding through the mix with plenty of fire and passion. More of his distorted rumblings can also be heard on the energetic "15/05", a real jazz burner that features plenty of tight playing from the whole group. You might detect a slight hint of Waka Jawaka era Zappa by way of Weather Report's Heavy Weather on the intense "Strangler Fig", while the near 7-minute "Saturn" is an exploratory journey into melodic free-jazz (if that is possible!) with Delville doing his most convincing Zappa guitar solo on the album, sounding impossibly close to Frank's tone & phrasing on the Joe's Garage album."

Franpi Barriaux /CITIZEN JAZZ (On Machine Mass feat. Dave Liebman:) "Enregistré en une journée, INTI est une série d’improvisations totales sur des boucles électroniques travaillées live, et dont la structure même ne permet pas de le situer dans le champ de la musique répétitive. Tout est conçu pour que les musiciens fondent leur instruments dans une masse complexe, où la batterie est un cœur palpitant aux directions multiples. Bianco accélère, ralentit, se dédouble, choisit de suivre tel ou tel comparse sans quitter la masse orchestrale définie par ses machines. Même sur le formidable « Elisabeth », long morceau qui lui fait la part belle, il ne se départit jamais de ses artifices et improvise longuement au milieu des spectres de frappes renversées ou de pulsations dédoublées, avant de laisser à Delville un solo étincelant qui trahit, plus encore que les autres musiciens, son esthétique purement zappaïenne. Tout au long de l’album, les prises de paroles du leader de The Wrong Object sont brillantes et absolument libres. On pouvait craindre que la cohabitation de la guitare avec les tuyaux de Liebman ne soit pas égalitaire, mais celui-ci durcit à merveille son jeu pour faire face, et ce dès « INTI », sur lequel son soprano rend coup pour coup aux machineries électroniques du duo. C’est sur la reprise apaisée « A Silent Way » que Machine Mass trouve son équilibre. Au nuage de sitar numérique, Liebman répond par le son charnel d’une flûte en bois ; puis guitare et saxophone viennent s’harmoniser à cet écho persistant."

Riccardo Storti /mentelocale.it: "Michel Delville, chitarrista belga con origini italiane tra i più sperimentali del pianeta, nebulizza Purple Haze di Hendrix con un approccio rumoristico colto, quasi alla Varèse, eppure – placata la furia  sonicolasta – mostra un lato più marcatamente raffinato, quando ci ricorda  Pat Metheny (The Invitation). Un rigore degno dei migliori Naked City, con la mentalità costruttiva di chi si solazza a demolire rovine per erigere strutture mutanti. I douBt sono la dimostrazione lampante per la quale si può partire dal rock affinché si possa colpire al cuore il senso di qualsiasi musica 'contemporanea' ."

PROGRESSIVE WAVES: "Digne héritier de Soft Machine et de Frank Zappa, Michel Delville utilise vraiment le groupe dans sa totalité au service de compositions parfaitement équilibrées, avec pour point d’orgue ce qui pourrait devenir l’hymne de ce groupe : un "Unbelievable Truth" de toute beauté qui revient de façon récurrente dans les albums de cette formation pour un plaisir encore renouvelé. Merci et bravo."

Bruce Lee Gallanter /DMG: "There are those (jazz snobs) who have no use for guitar synths and often I feel the same way but with Machine Mass Michel Delville uses his in strong, well-selected ways, creating textures to make the trio fuller and more unified. Delville is also awesome electric guitarist and takes a number of inspired solos without ever playing the fusion game of showing (or jerking) off. "

Arianna Jakubowski /EXTRA! MUSIC MAGAZINE: "Michel Delville è un chitarrista che sembra stato fatto con il marchio di fabbrica di quei chitarristi degli anni d'oro del rock - impressionante. Dopo molti anni il Jazz-Fusion può tornare ad indossare  la lettera maiuscola: chapeau."

Roger Trenwith /THE PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: "Along with the likes of David Torn and Kollar, Roger Trigaux, Richard Pinhas, and others defined as nominally “rock” plank spankers, Michel Delville shares an exploratory and individualistic approach to his instrument that ensures that this album, and indeed everything he’s ever been a part of, never falls into cliché, and tackling something as iconic as the Hendrix songbook takes these timeless songs into a new place, a place that Jimi would no doubt approve of. Bravo!"

Jean-Claude Vantroyen /LE SOIR:  [The Wrong Object au Gaume Jazz festival 2020] - "Une musique aux lignes souvent complexes mais aux richesses harmoniques, à la dynamique, à l'énergie folle ... Le   son est plein, puissant, tempêtueux. 'Another Thing', du dernier album, est comme un ouragan, avec un solo de guitare en manière de cyclone de Michel Delville sur son Ibanez trafiquée. Cette musiquesonne psychédélique, free, prog rock, jazz, fanfare. Elle se déchaîne comme elle s'installe dans les arabesques de la rêverie ... et repart dans la course au cyclone comme une trombe qui dévaste tout sur son passage, laissant gens et choses hébétés. La Fender bass de  Damien Campion, la  batterie de Laurent Delchambre, le piano électrique d'Antoine Guenet forment un écrin formidable d'où jaillissent comme des perles les solos de Delville, Manuel Hermia et Pauline Leblond. Un  bien beau final, en feu d'artifice." 

Jean-Claude Vantroyen /LE SOIR-MAD: "The Wrong Object, After the Exhibition : De l’énergie, ce n’est pas ce qui manque au guitariste belge Michel Delville et à ses potes. Cet album est de la dynamite. Emmenés par une rythmique implacable (Pierre Mottet et Laurent Delchambre), les musiciens (Delville plus Antoine Guénet, Marti Melia et François Lourtie) développent leur jazz rock avec une pugnacité contagieuse. On se laisse entraîner par la force de cette musique."

iO Pages: "Belangrijk hierbij is her onorthodoxe gitaarspel van leider Michel Delville, dat het midden houdt tussen ritmisch begeleiden en solistische, enigzins nerveus getokkelde partijen."

Nic Jones /ALL ABOUT JAZZ: "Frank Zappa’s “Filthy Habits”—a title Zappa must have come up with cognizant of the fact that it would be referred to as such—brings out the cod-sinister aspect of the band’s work, whilst in solo Michel Delville’s guitar is every bit as idiosyncratic as the composer’s ever was."

ZNR: "Michel Delville's guitar playing seems influenced more by the atmospheric explorations of players like Bill Frisell, David Torn and, certainly, Robert Fripp but his technical ability is never in question. There are hints of Zappa & Holdsworth in his sound, too. However the approach is all his own and never seems derivative. Like Frisell & Torn, Delville can play all around an idea and look at it from many different angles."

Jean-Pierre Goffin /L'AVENIR: "Un pied dans le jazz, l’autre dans la fusion prog, le corps entier trempé dans l’électro et deux mains voyageant de la guitare aux manettes des loopers et autres Roland, Michel Delville frappe ici un grand coup: il ne suffit pas de s’offrir un géant du jazz, le saxophoniste Dave Liebman, pour qu’on enfante d’un CD cinq étoiles, mais ici, on est soufflé. Aucun ego ne domine ce bel album: on est surpris par la finesse de Tony Bianco à la batterie, l’énergie et l’invention de Liebman, la créativité de Delville. Une reprise épate, celle de 'In A Silent Way' de Miles Davis, complètement métamorphosé."

Mario Calvitti /ALL ABOUT JAZZ ITALIA: "In questi dieci anni non sono mancati gli omaggi a Zappa, entrato di diritto nel novero dei grandi musicisti del XX secolo, anche in ambito accademico. La sua musica viene eseguita sempre più spesso nelle sale da concerto da parte di orchestre o gruppi strumentali dedicati alla musica contemporanea, spesso col patrocinio della famiglia, come nel caso della serata romana di cui abbiamo riferito a suo tempo. Meno frequenti le citazioni in ambito rock, ormai riservate quasi in esclusiva alla cover band ufficiale Zappa Plays Zappa guidata dal figlio Dweezil, che gira il mondo periodicamente riproponendo la musica paterna, senza più l'impatto dell'originale, in una sorta di autopromozione del catalogo discografico continuamente aggiornato e ristampato; ma meritano una menzione almeno due chitarristi, il belga Michel Delville e l'austriaco Alex Machacek, nella cui musica si possono trovare frequenti rimandi a Zappa."

Gert Schmidt /IG JAZZ: "Mit ihrer Musik waren The Wrong Object DIE Stars der Zappanale 2004. Michel Delville, Gitarrist und Bandleader, kann mit dem grossen Vorbild durchaus mithalten. Mit Zappa teilt er einen feinen Sinn für den musikalischen Surrealismus. Davon zeugen Titel wie "Cunnimingus" oder "King Kong: The George W. Bush Version"

Vincenzo Giorgio /MUSICA JAZZ: "Escono quasi in contemporanea due registrazioni dal vivo della band di Michel Delville, vulcanico chitarrista belga fortemente attrato da Allan Holdsworth, Terje Rypdal, Robert Fripp e Frank Zappa oltre che (come evidenziano qui gli ospiti) dal jazz britannico."

BAD ALCHEMY: "Here, as elsewhere, Michel Delville shows us how meaningful a guitar solo can be."

Zachary Nathanson /MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM: "Michel Delville’s influential guitar sound takes him into different worlds."

Catherine Codridex /HIGHLANDS MAGAZINE: "La scène jazz/prog/rock n'a plus de secret pour Michel Delville. Il la sert avec grand talent. [The Wrong Object] maintient son cap tout au long des compositions originales proposées [dans Into the Herd] … La guitare s'en détache magnifiquement tout en inspiration et en délicatesse." 

Raffaella Berry /FUO: "One of the most prolific artists signed to Moonjune Records, the label founded by Leonardo Pavkovic in 2001, Delville is an extremely talented guitarist and composer, with a genuinely progressive attitude and a strong commitment to creative music-making."

Curtis Smith /PROGULATOR: "While Delville’s guitar work smacks of rock and Zappa, he moves through a variety of modes, extensions, and “out” moments that cement The Wrong Object’s jazz and rock sensibilities into a tight unit."

Jim Hall /BANDCAMP DAILY: "Led by Michel Delville, an evil genius of the guitar, Belgian band The Wrong Object taps into the subsection of the Canterbury continuum that digs the labyrinthine licks and uber-tight arrangements of Frank Zappa. And when Delville lets loose on his axe, that appellation for one’s instrument starts to seem very literal. The fact that the band cut an album with Canterbury legend Elton Dean of Soft Machine doesn’t exactly diminish their cred either."

Georges Tonla Briquet /RIF-RAF: "Michel Delville is one of our most underrated guitar players."

Rene Yedema /iO PAGES: "Kenmerkend hiervoor zijn Delville's Mellotronstrings-achtige guitarsynthesizereffect dat de korte trompetuitbarsting in 'Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate' begeleidt en de psychedelische, naar Jimi Hendrix neigende gitaarclimax in 'The Unbelievable Truth - Part II'. Een zowel intense als confronterende en intrigerende luistervaring."

 Franpi Barriaux /CITIZEN JAZZ: "Imaginons un instant que Frank Zappa soit belge. Serait-il né à Amougies? Ou alors, sous un faux nom, se serait appelé Michel Delville, guitariste zappaïen né à Liège la même année qu’Amougies. Un signe ? En tout cas, avec son orchestre Wrong Object, il rend hommage depuis plus de 10 ans au divin moustachu. Et s’en détache quelque peu avec Into The Herd, un nouvel album qui se plaît à se jouer du troupeau."

Alessandro Pizzin /DEBRA KADABRA: "Michel Delville e decisamente molto interessante con il suo stile chitarristico, a meta strada tra lo Zappa piu astratto e l'apparente geniale contorta inconcludenza di un Phil Miller prima-maniera."

Matthias Zwarg /FREIE PRESSE: "Delville beherrscht Zappas rohrendes Gitarrenspiel ausgezeichnet, organisiert den Sound aber auf
freundlich-zuruckhaltende Art so, dass jeder Mitspieler seine solistischen Ausfluege machen kann, die weidlich genutzt werden."

Didier Gonzalez /Highlands: L'actualité du rock progressif: .. "La guitare de Delville prend ici des accents véritablement zappaïens, très colorés, d'une sensité foudroyante ... Son jeu habité, aux consonances parfois sauvages et free, cohabite à merveille avec le style débridé d'Alex Maguire au Fender Rhodes [on douBt' "Never Pet a Burning Dog"]."

Volkmar Mantei /RAGAZZI: "Hört euch die Soloarbeit Michel Delvilles an. DAS ist Musik! Mit eigener Handschrift und kernig-kraftvollem Ton spielt Delville, dessen Soli die ganz besondere Note des Projektes sind, meiner Meinung nach die Basis und herausragende Arbeit des Trios. Seine Gitarrensounds sind vielfältig, oftmals Jazztrunken und Rockhart zugleich, zeigen seine persönliche Inspiration, die Handschrift Frank Zappas - in eigener Intention und in melodischer Hinsicht sehr abstrahierte, fast neumusikalisch avantgardistische Kreation."

Jean-Claude Vantroyen / LE SOIR-MAD: "C'est du jazz-rock intelligent, surprenant, qui, parfois, fait autant penser à Aka Moon qu'à Soft Machine ou même à du classique contemporain. Le plaisir d'écouter les groupes de Delville et consorts réside dans cette dualité bien intégrée l'énergie et la pulsation d'un côté, et la versatilité des compositions, de l'autre. Ajoutez-y une bonne dose d'humour à la Zappa et le cocktail est totalement réussi." 

Giuseppe Di Spirito /The Rotters' Club: "Michel Delville è uno dei musicisti che negli anni 2000 più ha dato mostra di bravura e personalità nel mondo del prog, anche se magari non riceve le attenzioni date a personaggi più appariscenti e che più hanno trovato il modo di stare sotto i riflettori. Pur realizzando sempre dischi di notevole valore con i suoi svariati progetti (Doubt, Machine Mass, Godel Codex, Alex Maguire Sextet) i Wrong Object restano la sua creatura più importante e album dopo album, nonostante i cambi di formazione, non fanno che confermare la grandissima bontà della loro proposta."

Barry Cleveland  /GUITAR PLAYER: "From the avant-prog-klezmer- jazz opener “Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate” to the similarly themed horn arrangement that ends the otherwise modal jazz drone of “The Unbelievable Truth - Part II,” the third release from Belgium’s The Wrong Object is brimming with artful compositions and quirky guitar work. Originally a Zappa tribute band, guitarist Michel Delville and his colorful cohorts have pushed the quintet’s music far beyond homage status, into an oeuvre combining structural complexity with emotional authenticity, much as their mentor’s music did. The super-flanged atmospherics on “Acquiring the Taste,” the anarchic wah work on “Malign Siesta,” the choppy rhythm madness on “Strangler Fig,” and the manic soloing on the aforementioned album closer are just a few of the many guitar highlights scattered throughout the disc."

Riccardo Storti /SCRITTORE PROGRESSIVO: "Seguo    Michel Delville da oltre 10 anni almeno dai tempi di The Wrong Object e di douBt–ed ho sempre ammirato la sua notevole qualità di organizzatore di suoni e suonatori. Provo a spiegarmi meglio: al di là del bravissimo strumentista, questo compositore italo-belga mostra anche un talento nel sapere scegliere i musicisti giusti al fine di concretizzare progetti di profonda e ardita qualità. Sovente il buon Michel ha trovato lungo il suo percorso anche un’adeguata regia in fase produttiva (e mi riferisco soprattutto al fiuto di Leonardo Pavkovic con la sua label newyorkese Moonjune). Non c’è stato lavoro che mi abbia lasciato indifferente: sarà il disinvolto approccio eclettico, sarà il fascino del gioco di contaminazioni, fatto sta che ogni disco è una sorta di viaggio sonoro che parte dal jazz e lì ti riporta, ma attraverso tappe imprevedibili e impreviste per stili e intuizioni ... Intrusion  è un’opera assai raffinata per veri appassionati di quel jazz “aperto” ad ogni possibile risultato, combinazione e associazione, nonché contaminazione: da anni questo è il metodo creativo di Delville e dei suoi compagni; una ventata di musica sempre fresca che sa attingere da quelle centrali di genialità lasciate sullo sfondo del passato. "

MUSIC EMISSIONS: "Guitarist Michel Delville is the engine driving this Belgian sextet. His solos send "15/05" the mini-epic "The Unbelievable Truth" close to the edge of chaos. Improv meets tasty pysch-jazz grooves all over this set."

GAPPLEGATE MUSIC: "Guitar and electronics man Michel Delville plays an idiomatic axe that can groove as well as wail and writes much of the band's material. Like the Later Soft Machine and Zappa, it is certainly the music itself that sets them apart. There is much of musical merit to digest on this disk and I recommend it highly."

BABYBLAUE SEITEN: "Delville ist der Rocker, der zappabeeinflusste Avantgardist ... Seine Gitarrensolos klingen fur mich als werden da ca. drei Gitarristen mitspielen: einer auf dem Gitarrensynthesizer, der zweite beeinflusst von F.Zappa, der dritte eher von Fred Frith."

PANPROGTIKUM: "Michel Delville, der in der Tradition von Fripp, Rypdal und Holdsworth steht, garantiert fur virtuose Gitarrenarbeit. Das lässt auf ein hervorragendes Album im Bereich zwischen JazzRock, progressivem Rock, Avant-Garde und Zappaeskem hoffen."

Jean-Pierre Goffin /JAZZ'HALO: "On ne présente plus Michel Delville : guitariste talentueux et atypique, féru des recherches sonores sur l’instrument, fan de Zappa et de rock progressif, il est le fondateur de « The Wrong Object » et de « Machine Mass », à l’origine un duo avec le batteur Tony Bianco auquel s’est joint pour l’album « Inti » le saxophoniste Dave Liebman. Voilà un album aux nombreuses références dont la cohésion d’ensemble est indéniable et dont l’originalité tient aussi au jeu de guitare de Michel Delville, véritable coloriste qui crée sur chaque pièce une toile de fond sonore discrète mais redoutablement efficace. Toujours sensible aux univers de Michel Delville, oserais-je écrire que cet album est le plus abouti de sa discographie ? Yes ! "

John Kelman /ALL ABOUT JAZZ: "Rypdal has never been one to shy away from high octane, rock-inflected improvisation, but here Delville takes it even further, as Bianco again creates a maelstrom of percussion beneath Maguire's pedal tone, and modal-based solos that turn the heat up even higher."

Dick Metcalf /ROTCOD ZZAJ: "Delville’s fantastic guitar build leads (once again) to the far corners of the universe. You MUST listen to this with headphones, else you're shortchanging your ears. I not only give this my MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, it also gets the "PICK" of this issue for "best progressive jazz". The "EQ" (energy quotient) is a top-of-the-line 5.00... doesn't get any
better than this, folks."

Owen Davies/DUTCH PROGRESSIVE ROCK PAGES: "Delville’s contribution to Vantomme's Vegir is equally important and his mastery of his instrument, accomplished use of effects and superb choice of tones of effects is clearly apparent throughout the album. The guitar highlights include the stop/start machine gun riffing and flowing Fripp-toned solo in The Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone, and the wailing and expressive cries emitted during Playing Chess With Barney Rubble. However, my favourite guitar part probably occurs during the opening piece Double Down. It is so flamboyant that it almost has a stunt guitar element to it. (If you remember Frank Zappa’s use of Steve Vai during shows in the eighties, you will know what I mean.) The solo that develops is quite outstanding and displays Deville instantly recognisable signature sound, as shown in his excellent work with The Wrong Object and more recently with Machine Mass. Apart from the solo parts, Delville makes a sparkling contribution to the overall sound of the album providing a mixture of supporting yelps, yowls, and imaginative soundscapes. These create a rich backdrop for the other instruments to come to the fore."

Tom Charlier/PROGRESISTE: "Terriens de tous les horizons, et habitants des pierres les plus éloignées de notre Soleil, réjouissez-vous: le galactique Michel Delville est de retour! Galactique, car comme la gigantesque spirale d'où je vous écris ces quelques orbes runiques, la carrière de ce disciple Zappaïen propagateur d'art contemporain et de musique hors cadre sous ses formes les plus indomptables, en plus d'avoir toute une cartographie de projets à son actif (The Wrong Object, douBt, Ensemble Mosae…) semble passé maître dans la communication entre les amas stellaires et discographiques, que ceux-ci soient d'obédience jazz, RIO ou Canterbury."

Maurizio Principato /DRIVE MAGAZINE: "Delville e un solista versatile e originale, nel cui sangue scorre la linfa vitale che alimenta una inesauribile fantasia espressiva tradotta in grandiose improvvisazioni."

Volkmar Mantei /RAGAZZI: "Michel Delville nimmt sich nicht zuruck und spielt, mal im Zappa-Geist, mal in eigener Intention, exklusive Soli. Erstaunlich die personelle Parallele zu The Wrong Object, die wie In Cahoots erst mit Elton Dean, schliesslich mit Annie Whitehead aufgenommen hatten. In Cahoots zeigen eine starkere Rockprasenz, The Wrong Object rocken jedoch partiell wesentlich härter. The Wrong Object klingen europaischer, In Cahoots britischer. Der grosste Unterschied ist wohl der Einsatz der elektrischen Gitarre. Beide Ensembles werden von Gitarristen geleitet, Phil Miller ist der altere, abgeklarte, Michel Delville der "rockigere", härtere."

WONDEROUS STORIES: "Molto belle le due riletture di cover zappiane (non bisogna dimenticare che Annie ha partecipato al progetto Zappatistas diretto da John Etheridge) : « Big Swifty » caratterizzata dalle tipiche poliritmie del Nostro e « Filthy Habits » introdotta dal chitarrismo frippiano di Delville ... nell’oreintaleggiante « The Unbelievable Truth » certa lezione contemporanea pare ulteriormente assimilata sotto l’attenta regia della chitarra acida di Delville, il cui somesso vocalizzare (quasi wyattiano) apre il dark jazz di « A Cannery Catastrophe » fino a sublimarsi nello swing malato di « Cunnimingus Redux »."

ALL ABOUT JAZZ NEW-YORK: "Guitarist Michel Delville is the main sparring partner for Elton Dean, infusing his licks with a scaly roughness, seething with a compulsive ugliness."

Jean-Claude Vantroyen /LE SOIR-MAD: "Machine Mass feat. Dave Liebman Inti * MoonJune Records Aux sax et à la flûte, Dave Liebman, 67 ans, rejoint les deux piliers de Machine Mass, Tony Bianco à la batterie et « notre » Michel Delville à la guitare. Son plein, jazz quasi free, riffs rock, rythmes programmés ou complexes, lignes de basse, loops… Et trois musiciens qui improvisent autour de thèmes simples. C’est surprenant, dynamisant, revigorant et beau."

Nuno Lourenço /PROGNOSIS: "If Delville’s guitar occasionally tends to exaggerate a bit its soloing units, by virtually transposing the edge of its player’s capacity to play a million notes per second, it is also true that in most of the album, this instrument is played
with confidence and skill, and even those "beyond reasonable" playing moments are pretty consistent with Zappa’s most lunatic experiments."

SONIC CURIOSITY: "Delville’s strummed guitar lurks in the mix, providing a tasty strata of twinkling demeanor. The guitar also surfaces to shine with compressed chords that generate an ambrosial sense of numbed hyperactivity."

JAZZZQUES: "Dans la petite salle du milieu, là par contre, ça décoiffe: The Wrong Object! Un groupe brûlant et puissant qui
revisite à sa manière Zappa, Soft Machine et toute la tendance jazz-rock progressif. Compos personnelles ou reprises, le groupe se donne à fond. Michel Delville est époustouflant et Fred Delplancq (que je ne connaissais pas dans ce
registre) est explosif. Coup de cœur!"

Renato Moraes / PROGBRASIL: "Michel Delville é majestoso e apresenta solos magnificos, climas diversos som sons de outro mundo com suas guitarras. Sensacional."

LE PIGOUIN LIBERE: "Michel Delville est un guitariste tranchant, assez couillu pour se coltiner "five-five-FIVE".

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: "Delville takes an edgy, distorted solo that, while clearly his own, makes clear his roots in Zappa through its wild sense of abandon. “A Cannery Catastrophe” illustrates Delville’s own sense of the absurd, with a knotty theme featuring his only vocal appearance leading into another energetic exchange for everyone."

Thoralf Koss /MUSIKREVIEWS.DE: "Michel Delville ist in der Jazz- und Prog-Szene - eine echter musikalischer Tausendsassa, der besonders mit The Wrong Object, Machine Mass, douBt, Comicoperando, 48Camerasand The Gödel Codex auf sich aufmerksam macht. Un dass er noch dazu immer wieder mit einem Frank Zappa verglichen wird, ehrt ihn völlig zurecht."

Mathieu Carré /PROGRESSIA: "Les trois morceaux de Delville sonnaient comme une merveilleuse promesse, ou même l’humour avait sa place (« Cunnimingus Redux » ou le titre de l’année !). Ce Wrong Object, ce soir là, était parfaitement dans le vrai et on espère avoir rapidement de leurs nouvelles. Mais la vérité la plus incroyable restera bien qu’Elton Dean s’en ira à peine quelques mois après ce concert, son enregistrement rendant hommage à l’éternelle jeunesse de ce saxophoniste parfois mésestimé."

Kevin Rowland/JAZZ MUSIC ARCHIVES: [on Vegir] "I have known of Michel Delville and his other bands for a number of years now, and here he is at the fractured best that I would expect of him. Tony Levin is melodic, keping things tight and mello, while the drumskeepplaying ahead of the beat to drive things along while Tony holds into the leash. Then there is Dominiue Vantomme also keeping things in a melodic vein with fine organ, but Delville is out to take the music in quite a different direction ... This is fusion and improvisational jazz working together to create something that is quite special."

Roland Leight /PROG-MUSIC: "Gitarrist Michel Delville haut Solis raus, die ein reiner Prog- oder Rock-Gitarrist nicht besser machen könnte."

Jon Davis /EXPOSE [on Machine Mass, Intrusion]: "John Coltrane’s 'Africa' starts out the set in a wonderful fashion, with Hermia on soprano sax; Hermia, Blondiau, and Delville play the melody in unison over Campion’s upright bass and Bianco’s loose drumming while Guenet provides sparse chordal backing. Harmia’s solo captures the Coltrane spirit on soprano, avoiding the sweeter, smoother tones often heard, and Delville contributes some creative and unconventional accompaniment. The guitar continues in this manner as Blondiau takes over the lead, and finally guitar gets a solo, which ventures pretty far outside traditional jazz idioms, with extensive use of the whammy bar and wah-wah pedal. Not what you usually hear on a Coltrane track, but it works well due to Delville’s creativity. "

Jean-Pierre Schricke /HIGHLANDS: "Michel Delville s'avère un sacré guitariste aux possibilités à toute épreuve. Il a la classe d'un Satriani."

Warren Barker /PROGRESSION: "[On Machine Mass Plays Hendrix] Recorded in a single day, each selection is stretched and bent almost beyond recognition, but always with tasteful dignity. I'm sure Jimi, being the master innovator, woudl appreciate these versions of his work."

Klaus Reckert /BETREUTESPROGGEN: "[on The Wrong Object's 2019 Into the Herd] Wollen wir das nicht alle, zumindest manchmal - zurück in die Herde, zum Gruppenkuscheln? Jazz-Rock-Afficionados sicher immer dann, wenn Michel Delville ins Speil kommt. Der Belgier Gitarrenvirtuose und bekennde Zappa-fan ist bekannt und beliebt nicht nur von The Wrong Object her, sondern auch u.a. durch Machine Mass, The Gödel Codex, Ensemble Mosae, den unweifelhaften Canterbury-Delikatessen von douBt und Einigen vielleichtauch durch Comicoperando."  

Enrique Farelo /TOMAJAZZ: "Un Michel Delville atmosférico y ácido-disonante … se debate entre Terje Rypdal y Jimi Hendrix para alcanzar otro de los capitulos de mayor interés de Vegir."

Jon Davis /EXPOSE: "Vegir opens with 'Double Down,' where Delville gets to go crazy with both atmospheric effects and some wonderfully freaky lead parts while Vantomme's Rhodes provides simple rhythmic patterns and Tony Levin supplies his typical melodic heft for the low end."

Arnaldo de Souteiro /JAZZ STATION: "['Machine Mass Plays Hendrix' is] probably the best tribute to Hendrix since the legendary 'The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix' released by RCA back in 1974. The program includes such classics as 'Thirs Stone from the Sun', 'Purple Haze', 'Little Wing' and 'The Wind Cries Mary', among other gems. All brilliantly re-arranged in a highly creative way by the Machine Mass virtuosi." 

Frédéric Gerchambeau /RYTHMES CROISES: "Il faut avoir un culot énorme pour monter sur scène et interpréter les uns après les autres des standards de l’immense et regretté Jimi HENDRIX. Mais si MACHINE MASS se le permet, c’est qu’il sait pouvoir le faire techniquement parlant et sans trahir l’esprit du génial guitariste. De fait, MACHINE MASS demeure impérial et mieux encore, inventif et volubile, quand il se lance dans un Third Stone From The Sun ou un Purple Haze. Et ça, ce n’est que le début des réjouissances, parce qu’après s’alignent d’autres sommets tels que Spanish Castle Magic, Voodoo Chile ou encore The Wind Cries Mary. Le climax de ce très bel album est certainement ce You Got Me Floatin’ de 11 minutes où l’intelligence des improvisations déployées force carrément l’admiration. Pour un album en l’hommage du maître absolu de la six-cordes, c’est parfaitement réussi." 

Michael Popke /PROGRESSION: "[Vantomme's Vegir Quartet] was given complete artistic Freedom crafting pieces as adventurous as their titles. 'Playing Chess with Barney Rubble' emphasizes dark, piano-driven undertones while the quartet's dexterity allows the melodic 'Sizzurp' to shift seamlessly from metal to fusion to melancholy rock - both tracks featuring mind-blowing lines from guitarist Delville."

SANDY BROWN JAZZ: "Delville's guitar is angular, expressive, a real stand-out performance."

Pete Brunelli /If This Isn't Space Travel I Don't Know What It is: "Michel Delville and The Wrong Object, Belgium's answer to 'What if you were very good at pretty much anything'. Delville is the kind of guitarist I love to listen to. He can wear his influences on his sleeve and still sound like himself."

Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther / JAZZ'HALO: [on Machine Mass Sextet's Intrusion (2021)] "Der Drummer Toni Bianco veranstaltet derweil ein furioses Schlagwerkspiel, ehe dann Michel Delville seine Gitarre fauchen und heulen lässt. Alvin Lee und Jimi Hendrix hätten ihre wahre Freude, könnten sie diese Gitarrensequenzen erleben. Das hat so gar nichts von sittsamen Jazzsetzungen, sondern wir erleben ein eruptives Saitengeschwirr, in das Manu Hermia mit seinem Holzbläser noch einfällt. ." 

John Kelman: "[On Machine Mass Plays Hendrix:] I want to give a shout-out for this record! A truly imaginative and unusual approach to honoring one of music's most amazing guitarists."

Georges Tonla Briquet /JAZZENZO MAGAZINE: "The Wrong Object is ondertussen al zo'n vijftien jaar bezig maar kreeg tot nu toe veel te weinig andaacht terwijl een jonge lichting in Vlaanderen die met dezelfde bouwelemente aan de slag gaat, als vernieuwend ingehaald wordt. Wie inmiddels fan van MDCIII, Don Kapot, STUFF. en aanverwante jeugdige beelden stormers, moet zeker hier eens naar luisteren."

Jean-Pierre Goffin /L'AVENIR: "Attention : chaud devant! Le trio douBt peut être assimilé à ce qu’on appelle un «Power Trio». Leur deuxième album pour le label newyorkais Moonjune vous mettra les oreilles en feu tant l’énergie déborde à tout moment. Avec le claviériste Alex Maguire (l’école de Canterebury), le batteur Tony Bianco (Dave Liebman, Evan Parker,…) et le guitariste Michel Delville, on tient là un des groupes les plus passionnants du genre. Les influences se bousculent sans nuire à la cohérence du tout : Jimi Hendrix (sulfureux Purple Haze), King Crimson ou Messiaen et Stravinski, le tout est maitrisé par ces trois excellents musiciens."

GAPPLEGATE: "Michel Delville as one of the leading guitar practitioners in the adventuresome realms today is a natural hommage master. [In Machine Mass Plays Hendrix] he turns in creative rock-solid performances and adds further electronics to the trio mix to fill things out. They take some of Hendrix's most compelling songs-compositions and make them something both contemporary and spacy, without ever violating the spirit of the originals.

Klaus Reckert / BETREUTESPROGGEN.DE: "​Michel Delville  ist einer der ewigen Top-Ten-Lieblingsgitarristen des Autoren, das sei vorab nochmals gestanden. Das ist er nicht etwa wegen irgendwelcher Flitzefingrigkeiten (obwohl er selbstmurmelnd herrlich shredden kann). Sondern aufgrund seines ungemein vielseitigen, unbarmherzig intelligenten und dabei doch häufig noch eleganten Spiels, das in jedem Wortsinn Effekthascherei scheut – ob mit oder ohne Effektgerät. Apropos vielseitig: Als ob The Wrong Object, Machine Mass, Ensemble Mosae, die großartigen douBt, Vantomme und Comicoperando nicht genug wären, gibt es da ja auch noch   The Gödel Codex."  

BABYBLAUE PROG-REVIEWS: "Stauss kreischende Ausbrüche, aber auch seine filigranen Zwischenspiele ziehen den Hörer in ihren Bann. Aber vor allem scheinen sie Michel Delville aus der Reserve zu locken, der hier weitaus vehementer, selbstbewusster, rockender, heftiger zu Werke geht, als auf allen anderen Alben, die ich bisher von ihm gehört habe. Seine zerrenden, kratzigen, kantigen Gitarrensoli und -riffings liefern sich ein ums andere Mal Duelle mit dem Sax. Zusammen mit Schlagzeuger Delchambre sorgt Delville außerdem mit „Electronics“ und Gitarren."

Jean-Pierre Goffin / JAZZAROUND: "L’univers inspiré par l’école de Canterbury de The Wrong Object  fait mouche. Mingus n’est pas loin non plus dans la démarche proche du workshop en évolution. Une première pour Pauline Leblond, jeune trompettiste aussi à l’aise avec les stridences électriques de Michel Delville qu’avec les cordes de son double quartet, et pour Manu Hermia, plus habitué aux grands écarts stylistiques. Manu, le génial caméléon du jazz belge."

César  Inca Mendoza Loyola / AUTOPOETICIAN: "Cuando llega el turno del solo de guitarra, éste exhibe una combinación de esquematismo melódico y fuego psicodélico, el híbrido perfecto de Hendrix y McLaughlin. "

Kev Rowland, PROG ARCHIVES: "Michel Delville is consistently one of the most exciting guitarists on the jazz fusion scene."

Claudio Bonomi / MUSICA JAZZ: "[Un disco] illuminato dalle metalliche incursioni dell'ottimo Delville alla chitarra elettrica, protagonista dealla felice rivisitazione di un classico intramontabile come 'Purple Haze' di Jimi Hendrix."

Giuseppe Di Spirito /THE ROTTERS CLUB:  "La creatura Machine Mass è quella con la forma più mutevole tra gli svariati progetti che vedono coinvolto Michel Delville, noto alle cronache prog soprattutto per la sua militanza con i Wrong Object. Dopo uno splendido tributo a Jimi Hendrix, I Machine Mass si presentano nel 2021 in versione sestetto con l'album Intrusion ... Delville si conferma mente aperta e pronta a sperimentare, ottenendo risultati sempre di alto livello."

Dominique   Simonet / LA LIBRE:  [The Wrong   Object au Gaume Jazz Festival 2020] - "Viva Zappa! Viva la revolucion!  Michel Delville et son Wrong Object n'hésitent pas à  repenser la formule   avec,   pour la première fois,   Pauline Leblond (trompette) et Manuel Hermia (sax, bansuri).  Le guitariste et sa bande vouent une admiration sans borne  à l'univers trouble et décalé de Frank Zappa , auquel ils ont consacré un album (Zappa Jawaka, Off, 2018).   Si le classique zappaïen ne s'y trouve pas ,   c'est une excellente raison de le servir ici.   Comme il aurait dit "Viva Zapata! Viva la revolucion!",   Michel Delville lance 'vive   le   Gaume Jazz, vive Frank Zappa!' Il résume ainsi le bonheur de jouer  et d'être écouté   ressenti par   tous   les musiciens et   musiciennes   en Gaume   ce week-end.  "

Roger Trenwith / THE PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: "[On Into the Herd] Michel Delville serves up some stellar guitar playing, recalling Phil Miller in places, but he has his own style, exemplified in the coruscating fretwork that briefly graces a heavy beast by the name of 'Another Thing', a tune that packs many a punch in the manner of a fleet-of-foot heavyweight boxer, dancing back after each aural blow is landed. 'Another Thing' is one of the highlights of this classy album."

Jim Allen / BANDCAMP DAILY: "With the subversive guitar assaults of Michel Delville leading the way, The Wrong Object arrives at an amalgam of fusion and prog with a wicked sense of humor. Like Zappa or  Gong , the band’s dizzying technique doesn’t stop them from gleefully pulling the rug out from under you whenever the spirit moves them."    

Klaus Reckert / BETREUTESPROGGEN.DE: "Wollen wir das nicht alle, zumindest manchmal - zurück in die Herde, zum Gruppenkuscheln? Jazz-Rock-Afficionados sicher immer dann, wenn Michel Delville ins Speil kommt. Der Belgier Gitarrenvirtuose und bekennde Zappa-fan ist bekannt und beliebt nicht nut von The Wrong Object her, sondern auch u.a., durch Machine Mass, The Gödel Codex, Ensemble Mosae, den unweifelhaften Canterbury-Delikatessen von douBt une Einigen vielleicht auch durhc Comicaoperando." 

Jean-Pierre Goffin /   L'AVENIR: "[Gaume Jazz Festival 2020] - "The Wrong Object entre de plein pied dans un univers aux multiples influences, aussi bien prog rock que mouvance Frank Zappa , et le premier morceau aux accents balkano-zappesques   donne le ton. Sonorités vintage avec la guitare  Ibanez trafiquée de   Michel Delville, la  basse Fender de   Damien Campion   et le  jeu fouillé  de Laurent Delchambre."

Doug Simpson / AUDIOPHILE: "Since 2002 the Wrong Object, led by Belgian guitarist Michel Delville, has evolved into a prime exponent of the Rock in Opposition (or RIO) movement, a loosely-connected collective of progressive, liberal artists united in opposition to the corporate music industry."

Thierry Giard / CULTURE JAZZ: "Tony Bianco et Michel Delville continuent ainsi leur cheminement complice, le premier en assurant un base rythmique sûre et souple, le second en guitariste-coloriste capable de s’envoler dans des élans déchirants et électrisés ou de dessiner des arrières-plans subtils."

Georges Tonla-Briquet / RIF-RAF: "Delville is duidelijk een van onze meest onderschatte gitaristen.  Samen met toetsenist Alex Maguire (Hatfield and the North, Elton Dean) en drummer Tony Bianco (Dave Liebman, Evan Parler) schildert hij hier een  muzikaal kunstwerk Picasso's 'Guernica' waardig. De composities zijn getekend door een rijke gelaagdheid boordervol kubistische structuren en hoekige wendingen."

Owen Davies / DPRP: "[on Into the Herd (2019)]: "Michel Delville provides many superb guitar effects and embellishments. These range from hair raising ferocity during the blistering solo in 'Another Thing' to the earthly distorted tones in the manner of Dusan Jevtovic in 'Mango Juice', to the sustained cascading of high frequency Fripp-like tones in the magnificent 'Ship of Fools'."

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L'AVENIR (samedi 4 avril 2014)

April 2014

(Le Soir/MAD, août 2014)

Le Soir, août 2017)

La Libre - août 2020

Le Soir - août 2020