RIO Drop-In Centre

Good morning felas  Having fun I see.

Well first of all to Root Pepper, you have a very good list there. Some of the artists/ groups you mentioned I am now trying to get my hands on (Haino Keiji, Idiot Flesh, Noxagt ,  Otomo Yoshihide,  Zoot Horn Rollo ). The others are very good bands I am also listening to and loving them.

To BV and Geck0, as for Univers Zero - besides Heresie which is great and belonging to the earlier phase of UZ (meaning acoustic sound of UZ) you should also try Ceux Du Dehors, Uzed and Heatwave.
Implosion is also very good.

I agree with BV's comments on Art Zoyd. The three albums he recommended are indeed great (also released as a boxset).

5UU's are good in my opinion. I like Hunger's Teeth and Crisis in Clay. Their souind on crisis in clay is not that far off from Thinking Plague's In Extremis. They can be quite chaotic and then change to some nice calm parts (take for example Comeuppance which is the first song in Crisis in Clay).
Give them some more listening and see what you come to feel about them.

I own both MM albums and have listened to them quite a bit (even compiled reviews). The first is better then LRR, although I'd say LRR is extremely enjoyable and unique, perhaps do to the Eno or Fripp influences in the project. "O Caroline" is one of Wyatt's best pop songs, although it's absolutely nothing like any of the other MM material.  Both albums are definitely worth picking up.

Geck0 wrote: I gather O Caroline is more like a poppy, Soft Machine type number.  I happen to love Soft Machine, so I doubt it'll bother me.No, I've yet to experience Art Zoyd.I have experienced one track by the following though:5uusThinking PlagueI quite liked them, but the 5uus track hasn't stuck in my mind all that much.I want to get some:SMM/ZMMArt ZoydUnivers ZeroPresent (especially as I've heard they are one of the darkest of the genre)And possibly some Zeuhl (I am not sure if I'll enjoy Magma just yet.

I cannot say I am to farmilar with 5uus myself; other than hearing a few tracks, and truthfully they did nothing for me.

But I definately can recommend Thinking Plague. For me they keep getting better with each listen, there has never been a time when I have not pick up there albums and found something new upon each listen. When I first heard them I thought they sounded quite simple and digestable, but the more I listen the more I came to see how complex the band is as a whole. I would recommend you start with "The History of Madness" it would be my favourite album by them, just taking the cake over "In Etremise"

If you are enjoying these two bands I would also suggest Ahvak which Assaf has recently introduce me into. They are another one of David Kerman's groups. They have a lot darker sound then the two aformention bands, which is always a good thing.

I cannot recommend Art Zoyd enough... they would have to be my favourite band at the moment. Unlike a lot of people I also love their later works, which have a lot to do with sound tracks to films and take the artist context very seriously, which can be a turn off for some people. So it might be better starting of with their earlier works in the '70s and '80s. As a starting point you cannot go wrong with their first three albums:
- Symphonie Pour Le Jour Où Brûleront Les Cités
- Musique Pour L’Odyssée
- Génération Sans Futur
for me these are all masterpiece of Chamber rock.

I only have one album by Univers Zero, Heresie. But it is one of the best things since sliced bread So after hearing this album I am definately going to have to get more of there works. But if you are looking for dark music these guys are a must.

Present is a side project of Univers Zero. I have the two lastest albums by Present "High Infidelity" and "A Great Inhumane Adventure". They are very good, but a warning they are quiet repeaditive. They are very dark, and have some some strange and interesting lyrics. If I were you I would check out Univers Zero first and then if you like try these guys next.

Black Velvet wrote: Root_Pepper wrote: RIO/Avant-Prog and Zeuhl have to be my favorite genres of music. This thread is very resourceful, thanks! Great to see another person on this site getting into this genre. So what are some of your favourite bands from the genre?

Let's see, not all these might be officially considered so, but this is what I think of out of the groups I'm into:

Ahvak
Guapo
Henry Cow
Haino Keiji
Yoshida Tatsuya/Ruins/Koenjihyakkei
Univers Zero
Frank Zappa
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Idiot Flesh
Mike Patton/Hemophiliac/Fantomas
Magma
Noxagt
Otomo Yoshihide
Zoot Horn Rollo
Residents
Thinking Plague

Hmmmmm I don't know, those were off the top of my head so I'm forgetting some - but it gives you a general idea. Most of all I listen to Henry Cow or Yoshida Tatsuya and his whole world of things. I really like the grinding dense heavy types of RIO and zeuhl.

P.S. I know Primus probably isn't exactly considered so, but I sure do love Primus.


Edited by Root_Pepper - June 29 2006 at 21:42

I can definately see where you are coming from with the Robert Wyatt material. But for some reason my strange taste are always going to be a factor for me

It is funny... I find some stuff they label as Post Rock can have a lot of Avant-Garde leanings. This band I have been listening to of late called Hanged Up. Most places you will see them catagorised as Post Rock, but I would tend to classify them on the boardline between the two.

I actually have two Matching Mole albums (first and second)... but I really need to get round to listening to them. Now you have mentioned it I might do once I get home from work. I tell you what I think. I started listening to the Debt album the other day but didn't make it past the first song O Caroline. I have heard it gets a lot better from here on in, so I should give it another listen.

Also I was going ask you.. have you had any experiences with Art Zoyd yet?

Geck0 wrote: I haven't, but I shall do.I have been listening to what is described as a post-rock band: Primordial Undermind.  Two tracks are available for listening too on last.fm.  Not sure what they are, but they're pretty good!I don't think they're RIO/Avant Garde though.

Have not heard Primordial Undermind.. but I will check out some of those suond samples on last fm when I get some time.

I have now had a few listens to "The End Of An Ear" what a fantastic album, my opinion of him has now incresed ten fold. I'm loving this album... for me this is much better than "Rock Bottom" but I'm sure most people will not agree with me here.   
    

RIO/Avant-Prog and Zeuhl have to be my favorite genres of music. This thread is very resourceful, thanks!

I have listen to their album "Astronomy Made Easy". I find the band the be quite fusion based taking influences sound wise from Mahavishnu Orchestra but taking Avant-Garde ideas into the structures of there song.

I will do, but my priority is to get the live Robert Wyatt album where he played the whole of Rock Bottom and other tracks, including guests.  Apparently his latest, Cuckooland is a return to form.

I've heard Wyatt's debut and it is indeed quite a bit different to Rock Bottom and definitely harder on the ears.  It's actually harder to listen to than Sotos and Taal, but I still enjoyed it.

I've yet to hear Shleep, but Rock Bottom is my favourite album of all time by any artist, of any genre (maybe this will change, but it will always be up in my top 5).  I also have Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard and my brother has his most recent one (although I've yet to hear it).  I don't think all of his albums are RIO/Avant Garde, but End of an Ear and Rock Bottom are.  His later albums were more jazz based, but still wonderful and still quirky.  I've heard a few live versions of tracks from later albums.

That's good news about Zaar also.