Your fave "avantgardish" Progressive Rock albums?

David_D wrote: nick_h_nz wrote: Whether something is challenging has a lot to do with when someone encounters it.  Sure, but I think it has also to do with some fundamental psychological aspects and "social heritage", and as thus is different from person to person.

David_D wrote: I'm curious about what people enjoy listening to Avant-Prog, as I suppose, it's not so much melody or rythm?

Themes over melodies I suppose. But rhytm is always there - and often more intriguing than in regular prog. Let me try and illustrate something. Carabosse is the wicked fairy godmother in Cinderella - also known as Maleficent. Listen to and feel the whole complete universe (heh) Universe Zero creates for you. Can't you see it? A nice melody would ruin the whole atmosphere.

Edited by David_D - October 03 2022 at 14:07

Saperlipopette! wrote: David_D wrote: I'm curious about what people enjoy listening to Avant-Prog, as I suppose, it's not so much melody or rythm? Themes over melodies I suppose. But rhytm is always there - and often more intriguing than in regular prog. Let me try and illustrate something. Carabosse is the wicked fairy godmother in Cinderella - also known as Maleficent. Listen to and feel the whole complete universe (heh) Universe Zero creates for you. Can't you see it? A nice melody would ruin the whole atmosphere.

Edited by David_D - October 18 2022 at 09:34

Very few prog artists considered to be avant-garde achieved any commercial output for their music.  The most uncompromising band of them all - Henry Cow - had been more or less dumped by their label, Virgin, by 1976.  However, the question asks for our favourites so from Henry Cow it could be any of their albums.  Their 'companions', Faust, also worked in this area - The Faust Tapes is wonderful.  Later in the 70s, we got Univers Zero and other RIO/Zeuhl artists but by the 80s, the avant garde had almost disappeared....

The term Avant-garde during the 20th century often presented within it..a style of writing which was often created through the usage of tri tones . Some tri tone interval passages are distant or rather..played quietly ..producing an eerie affect. A good example is on George Crumb Black Angels.

This particular style of writing made its path through Electronic Music of the 60s with Wendy Carlos, Beaver And Krause, Mort Garson, Ruth White and in some articles covering that part of Electronic Music history...these individuals were said to have been occultists. Aside from what music journalists printed in publication back then ...which stares you in the eye on the internet today..the most logical reasoning being that the music was inspired by either following the left hand path or just merely having a fringe interest in the underworld.

A lot of ideas in RIO derive from Bella Bartok just as it occurred with King Crimson in 73' and earlier in 1970 with Holst. . The darker sections of Univers Zero and Art Zoyd music create suspense and are theatrical sounding to degrees. It is very conceivable that a number of musicians writing this style have had dark experiences in their life as opposed to being a so called believer in the supernatural. The most horrific nightmare could inspire a musician to hear a dark melody. Whether your listening to Patricia Dallio or Rational Diet...it's a mixture of individuals influenced by a personal experience or their surroundings.



Edited by Jacob Schoolcraft - November 17 2022 at 19:20