Univers Zero (also known as Univers Zéro and Univers-Zero) are an instrumental

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

band formed in 1974 by drummer Daniel Denis. The band is known for its dark style of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

, heavily influenced by 20th-century

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

History

In 1973, Claude Deron and Daniel Denis, both former members of Belgian

Zeuhl Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the cou ...

band Arkham (which had disbanded the previous year), set up a new group, Necronomicon. By that time, apart from Deron (trumpet) and Denis (drums), the group consisted of Roger Trigaux (guitar), Guy Segers (bass guitar), Patrick Hanappier (violin) and John Van Rymenant (sax), and, later on, Vincent Motoulle (keyboards). At the time, Guy Denis (percussion) took part in some shows and rehearsals and Jean-Luc Manderlier (keyboards) was present only during rehearsals. Necronomicon was renamed Univers Zero in 1974. For a time, Univers Zero were part of a musical movement called

Rock in Opposition Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group Hen ...

(RIO) which strove to create dense challenging music, a direct contrast to the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and punk music being produced in the late 1970s. Obvious early influences were Bartók and

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, however the band also cited less well known composers such as

Albert Huybrechts Albert Huybrechts (12 February 1899 in Dinant – 21 February 1938 in Brussels) was a Belgian composer. Life Albert Huybrechts was born into a musical family. His father, Joseph-Jacques Huybrechts, was the double-bassist with the Royal Theatre o ...

, who was also Belgian. Whereas their early albums were almost entirely acoustic, featuring

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

spinet A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ. Harpsichords When the term ''spinet'' is used to designate a harpsichord, typically what is meant is the ''bentside spinet'', described in this ...

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

s and

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

s, their 1980s albums tended to rely more on

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, sounding much more electric. In 1977, they released their first

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

album ''Univers Zero'', later remixed and renamed as ''1313''. The album shows a heavy

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

approach despite the fact that the instrumentation was largely acoustic. This is mostly due to the use of drums and bass guitar. Two years later the album ''Heresie'' proved to be even darker. Subsequent albums lightened the sound only slightly but became ever more electric. Despite these changes, their overall sound remained fairly consistent. The group disbanded in 1987 but reformed in 1999. In the interim, drummer Daniel Denis released two solo albums and joined

Art Zoyd Art Zoyd is a French band formed in 1969, mixing free jazz, progressive rock and avant-garde electronica. Gérard Hourbette was the band's director and composer until his death in May 2018. Another key member of the band was Thierry Zaboitzeff, w ...

, a similar band from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Since 1999, Univers Zéro have released five studio albums. In 2003, Univers Zéro had retired from live performance with Daniel Denis being quoted as saying that only something like a festival would make it financially worthwhile. Coincidentally soon after, they were invited to headline the first day of

NEARfest The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, was a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event was held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsy ...

in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in June 2004. In 2011, they joined forces with Belgian groups

Present The present (or here'' and ''now) is the time that is associated with the events perception, perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is ...

and

Aranis Aranis are a Flemish acoustic avant-rock, experimental and neo-classical chamber music group led by composer and contrabass player Joris Vanvinckenroye. Their music has been described as a blend of "chamber classical and rock", "Chamber Music ...

to form a 17-member ensemble called Once Upon a Time in Belgium. They premiered at the fourth edition of the Rock in Opposition festival held in

Carmaux Carmaux (; oc, Carmauç) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. Industries The Compagnie minière de Carmaux has its origins in a coal mining concession granted in 1852 to Gabriel de Solages, which became the Compagnie minièr ...

, France in September 2011, where they performed "New York Transformations", a work composed by Kurt Budé. Once Upon a Time in Belgium and Univers Zéro appear in the documentary film '' Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition''.

Discography

* 1977 : '' 1313'' (originally titled ''Univers Zero'') * 1979 : '' Heresie'' * 1981 : '' Ceux du dehors'' * 1981 : ''Triomphe des mouches'' (one-sided 7" single) * 1983 : '' Crawling Wind'' * 1984 : '' Uzed'' * 1986 : ''

Heatwave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

'' * 1999 : ''The Hard Quest'' * 2002 : ''Rhythmix'' * 2004 : ''Implosion'' * 2006 : ''Live'' (live album) * 2008 : ''Relaps (Archives 1984/85/86)'' (live album) * 2010 : '' Clivages'' * 2014 : ''Phosphorescent Dreams''

References

External links

Official HomepageOfficial myspaceUnivers Zero at exclaim
{{Authority control Belgian progressive rock groups Rock in Opposition Musical groups established in 1974 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 Musical groups reestablished in 1999 1974 establishments in Belgium

History

Discography

See also

References

External links