Of the central members of Univers Zero, Daniel Denis was the first of the band to begin to move in circles that enthusiasts will recognise. Denis was percussively involved with a band named "Achime" which, if I am not mistaken, can be taken as the French for "Arkham", the name of a town central to the Lovecraft mythos. One sometimes sees Denis' band referred to by the latter name. This Soft Machine inspired band was called on to support the sublime Magma on their 1972 Belgium tour after which Christian Vander invited Denis and the keyboard player for Achime, Jean-Luc Manderlier, to join Magma. Both agreed but Denis was to leave after only a few concerts and no studio recording. Manderlier continued with Magma and appears on one of their finest recordings, the 1973 Mekanοk Destruktοw Kommand--h. It is not surprising that the Denis augmented Magma lasted such a short time. Vander and Denis being such original percussionists, very different in style, the clash must have been considerable. Still, recordings of the brief affair are highly sought after and it seems probable that none exist.
Denis met Roger Trigaux and Patrick Hanappier, dabbled in some outrι jazz until around 1974 and then merged with a certain Guy Segers and two other jazz musicians. The core of Univers Zero in place, more modern jazz ensued until Michel Berckmans was invited to contribute his classical training and woodwind. Apparently, he found it all too improvised and a year passed before he could be snared and brought into the fold. It seems likely therefore, that during this time, the existing band took pains to bring some structure to their music. When playing live during this period, the audience reaction was not particularly helpful it seems. Guy Segers is noted as recalling that their change of direction provoked not "...much of a reaction because there was not much of an audience". An article by Chris Cutler in Sound International from 1978 notes that Univers Zero had the worst time of any of the original members of the movement regarding acceptance in their home country. Belgium at the time was musically conservative, resulting in either reactionary or ambivalent attitudes to anything out of the ordinary. This seems to have contributed to the toughening of Univers Zero's already severe attitude.
The efforts over structural aspects are apparent on the self-titled debut: there had been a clearly apparent attempt to regiment order rather than order being an obvious part of the music. By the time of the release in 1977, the ranks had swollen to seven musicians and no longer included Segers. The band then covered a large number and diverse range of instruments:
Daniel Denis: percussion
Roger Trigaux: guitar
Patrick Hanappier: violin, viola, pocket cello
Michel Berckmans: bassoon
Christian Genet: bass
Marcel Dufrane: violin
Emmanuel Nicaise: harmonium, spinet
The original small pressing of the debut album made by Eric Faes their producer, sold out and the admiring French magazine Atem took the opportunity to re-release the album in 1978. By the time of their important appearance at the first Rock In Opposition concert of March 1978, the Canadian Dufrane had been expelled from Belgium. Nicaise seems to have departed because he was originally drafted in to explore the possibility of vocals but it was later unclear how they could be utilised in such a setting. Christian Genet departed due to ominous "problems" and was replaced during the RIO concert by Art Zoyd's Thierry Zaboitzeff. Interviews from the period seem to suggest that Zaboitzeff was seen as a permanent replacement. This was not to be and Genet was to return much later on. In fact, Segers began to adopt the bass position again and apparently there were even concerts at this time where Segers played on half of the pieces and Zaboitzeff on the other half. Even though, in the end, Segers took over the bass duties completely in time for the next album (maybe he learnt the rest of the pieces ...), it is clear that a lasting friendship between Art Zoyd and Univers Zero arose at this time. Berckmans and Denis both appear on Art Zoyd's Music pour l'odyssee of 1979. It was even suggested that the two bands might record together and share a concert platform. The latter indeed happened on a few occasions and the band members of that time still have, apparently rather bad, tapes of these events. However, nothing was ever officially recorded of these collaborations.
It is interesting to note at this point that Univers Zero were considerably more ambivalent to political aspirations than the rest of the RIO movement. They seem to have regarded it as a musically worthwhile thing rather than as an exercise in political teleology. Guy Segers at the time said that others in the movement were using music as a means of achieving something else. Given the famous difficulty of making instrumental music programmatic in anything but superficial ways linked to sonority, Univers Zero were not really in a position to suggest political values to their audience by means of their music even if they had desired to. Lyrics help enormously here and they had none. This is supported by their quite terse and uncompromising statement in the London RIO concert programme:
"We believe that in order to make music valid on both the human and social levels, we must not sacrifice anything on things other than music".
As noted, Guy Segers readopted bass in time for the second album Heresie and the rest of the members absorbed the instrumental gaps left by the reduced numbers:
Daniel Denis: drums, percussion
Roger Trigaux: guitar, piano, organ, harmonium
Patrick Hanappier: violin, viola
Michel Berckmans: oboe, bassoon
Guy Segers: bass
Roger Trigaux left Univers Zero just after Heresie, forming Present partly motivated by a desire for a tighter control on the compositions and thus less improvisation in his music. That might seem to imply that Univers Zero at the time was rather structurally liberal but Trigaux seems to have been more concerned about the role of improvisation in the action of composing rather than in the musical results themselves: evidence the large amounts of guitar improvisation in certain of the Present material. The first Present album was released in 1980. Notice here that Christian Genet plays bass on Present's debut: he seemed to be gravitating back towards Univers Zero at this point but it was not until 1984 until he actually returned.
After leaving Univers Zero, Trigaux was replaced by the keyboard player Andy Kirk. Ceux du Dehors was recorded between March 1980 and early 1981, the typical core line-up for a given track being:
Daniel Denis: drums, percussion
Patrick Hanappier: viola, violin
Michel Berckmans: bassoon, oboe
Guy Segers: bass
Andy Kirk: harmonium, organ, piano
An assortment of guest musicians also appear on various tracks, notably Thierry Zaboitzeff, the supposedly permanent replacement for Christian Genet you will remember, who plays cello on the track "La tete du corbeau".
At this point, Univers Zero paused for three years, releasing only a now deleted EP Crawling Wind. Andy Kirk left after the EP and it has been suggested that this was partly responsible for the large pause in output thereafter. This is corroborated by an interview with Denis from the period where he mentions with regret the shock of Kirk's departure. The shuffling of musicians was a also a factor. It is also generally perceived that this is the period during which Daniel Denis firmly grasped control of Univers Zero whereas before, Trigaux and Kirk had considerable input. This is substantiated in a recent Audion interview with Trigaux who comments on the more personnel based approach the band were taking at the time. He seemed to see Univers Zero as less of a collective affair, this change taking place as early as just after Heresie.
Daniel Denis: drums, percussion, voice, violin
Guy Segers: bass, voice, violin, invisible talk, flies talk
Andy Kirk: piano, organ, synth, voice, viola, music box, percussions, harmonium, radio
Dirk Descheemaeker: clarinet
Alan Ward: violin
This EP was released in Japan originally and, according the Denis, suffered from very poor European distribution. As a result, it was also overpriced and has never been rereleased.
Art Zoyd took the opportunity during this period to poke fun at the Lovecraft inspired "La musique d'Erich Zann" improvisation from Ceux du Dehors with a track entitled "La musique d'Erich Faes" on their Phase IV. An amusing and obvious allusion to their long-time producer and friend.
A French interview from this period with Daniel Denis reveals some interesting information about group tensions. Talking of Segers, he mentions "problems between him and myself" and seems to suggest that the problem lay in Segers predilection for the older style of the band. This makes sense given the rather dramatic change in style that occurred at this point. Denis seems to be referring to Hanappier when he is questioned about the absence of a violinist on Uzed, saying that personal problems and lack of time available to dedicate to the band contributed to his departure. It is clear that Denis was a major force behind the modernisation of the sound of Univers Zero.
When 1984 arrived and brought Uzed, Daniel Denis remained at the core and Christian Genet returned on bass. Everyone else had been replaced:
Daniel Denis: drums percussion, synthesiser
Christian Genet: bass, balafon, bowed guitar, tapes, whistle
Dirk Descheemaeker: soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
Andre Mergen: cello, alto sax, voice
Jean-Luc Plouvier: Electric and acoustic pianos, synthesiser, piano strings, percussion
with some guests on the track "Celesta (for Chantal)". Univers Zero had adapted their sound considerably. Note the far more modern instrumentation. This line-up played quite a few concerts but following the album, Univers Zero disbanded. They were prompted into action once more by the praiseworthy Cuneiform label and in 1986 released Heatwave. It transpires that the returning Andy Kirk's compositions had been performed by the band as early as the time of his departure after Ceux du Dehors and so the only actually new tracks are Denis' compositions. There were other changes in personnel and Hanappier returned:
Daniel Denis: drums, percussion
Patrick Hanappier: violin, viola
Christian Genet: bass, nailskake
Andy Kirk: piano, synthesiser, voice
Dirk Descheemaeker: clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax
Jean-Luc Plouvier: piano, synthesiser, voice
Michel Delory: guitar
So, Univers Zero leave as they entered: a seven piece. Of late, there have been many rumours of a reunion, fuelled by a recent interview with Daniel Denis in Audion magazine. However recently, reliable sources have said that it now seems that a reunion is extremely doubtful indeed. Confusingly, even more recently Guy Segers has mentioned that even though a real reunion of old members is impossible, Denis, three new musicians and himself still plan to reform and hope to give some concerts as Univers Zero in 1996. Roger Trigaux continues with a reformed Present consisting of his son and himself. They released a new Present album entitled C.O.D Performance in 1993 and are actively touring. Daniel Denis appeared on percussion early on the tour but seems to have left very early and rather abruptly, the talented Dave Kerman taking over for the rest of the tour. This might well be seen to be an indication of the unlikelyhood of a reunion. Denis seems to want to move on to more experimental pastures, a stated reason for his initial idea, to resurrect Univers Zero: he continues to tour with Art Zoyd and possibly work on solo material to follow his Sirius and the Ghosts and Les Eaux Troubles from the early 90s.
The group disbanded in 1987, but reformed in 1999. In the interim drummer Daniel Denis released two solo albums and joined Art Zoyd.
Since 1999, Univers Zéro have released three albums.
The Music of Univers Zero
Their influences have been widely documented before. Much 20th century classical music including the obvious Bartok and Stravinsky and the not so obvious Xenakis and Penderecki. They were wont to enthuse about Huybrechts, a still rather obscure Belgian composer who died prematurely in 1938. Guy Segers mentioned that Univers Zero rather identified with him due to the analogously apathetic public reactions they suffered. Other influences that are immediately obvious in their music and which they acknowledged at one time or another are the unique Third Ear Band and Magma. There was even some criticism of their Magmaesque appearance on stage (both band dressed entirely in black at the time).
Univers Zero were very concerned, as the RIO programme states and various interviews and articles also mention, with exploring the sonorities of their instruments:
"Technically, we are seeking to escape the preconceptions about the kinds of sounds one would expect from the instruments we use."
A definite element of their early music in particular was the bold gothic themes and stylings. The RIO concert programme has a footnote saying that the band was looking for a 1940-1955 Hearse and gives roger Trigaux's address for any possible offers. Apparently, this was to be their transport to concerts: most bands today buy the tried and tested ancient Ford Transit van, Univers Zero wanted to carry their equipment in a Hearse. I doubt they ever obtained one or else I am sure it would have been justly famous. In particular, it is clear that they were very enthusiastic about H.P. Lovecraft. "La musique d'Erich Zann" from Ceux du Dehors is the title of a Lovecraft short story, one of his best, detailing a young man who takes a room in a strange tall house on a side-street of a forgotten area of town. He hears wild and terrible violin music from a room upstairs at night and goes to investigate. The inhabitant of the room, Erich Zann, seems to play madly alone at night in placatory fear of something at his window. On the climactic night of the story, Zann wildly attacks on his viol in a frenzy of fear while the narrator is present. Drawing back the curtain and expecting to see the town below, the young man sees
" ... space illimitable; unimagined space alive with motion and music ..."
The narrator leaves, terrified with the now dead Zann still madly scraping at his viol ... the Univers Zero approach to this story is quite nice I think. Crawling Wind is a particularly Lovecraftian phrase too and the name "Arkham" is redolent of things Lovecraftian. Regarding the track from the first album, as I recall, Docteur Petiot was a film about a particularly unpleasant doctor who used to drug, dismember and burn people under the pretence of helping them to escape from Nazi Germany. Jack the Ripper needs no introduction. The gothic and horror themes were strong in Univers Zero's early works, both in motivation and musical execution. One cannot help but feel that much of this was part of their reaction against the apathy they experienced in their home country. In addition, it made for some fine, powerful music.
In general, part of the angular feel is due to the smoothly juxtaposed time changes which make no attempt to disguise the frequently odd measures. Often emphasising the last and first beat in sections of odd-count bars, Univers Zero revel in forcing the stark and pointed outlines of the rhythm to the fore. Angular rhythm. Also, when in attendance, Roger Trigaux's Fripp inspired guitar lends itself to melodies of geometrical symmetry due to the inevitable tritones. Angular melody. In a word, Univers Zero sound angular. Well, initially at least. Possibly due to Trigaux's departure, they become more, well, curvaceous during later albums but let us leave that for the reviews below to speak of. Uzed was a definite turning point for Univers Zero. I must say I consider Uzed to be their weakest album overall, even though the adaptation to new instrumentation is remarkable. It seems to me that the kind of tension they could build with their initial choice of instruments was not attained with the more modern set until Heatwave. Denis seemed to be somewhat of this opinion and mentioned at the time that he had a particular liking for the oboe and bassoon. Pragmatically, he realised that saxophones are relatively easy to amplify but denied that instrumental choice was the main reason for the change in direction.
The lack of strong woodwind in the last two albums marks them out as quite different too. All in all, post Ceux du Dehors Univers Zero is more subtle, lighter and more mature yet lacking some of the power of the earlier material. Andy Kirk's "The Funeral Plain" is a notable exception to this but was, as recounted above, actually written before Uzed anyway. Univers Zero were a truly unique and remarkable band who produced consistently superb music throughout their career. If you have not heard any of their music, I would recommend starting in the middle with Ceux du Dehors as this represents a balanced period between their early lugubrious acoustic material and the later more electronic work. To those of you who know their music, I invite you to set aside some time in the near future to remind yourself what heady heights of musical magnificence can be attained by human beings, by airing their albums once more.
Source : Phil Kime
