Unvers Zero Neglected Prog
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=122783
Printed Date: November 28 2024 at 23:51
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Unvers Zero Neglected Prog
Posted By: Kristian_Cole
Subject: Unvers Zero Neglected Prog
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 10:17
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Avant as this: to the beauty of this: hugely underrated ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiQK9_Pf1HLSLjlHsQzdYBg" rel="nofollow - I Animate my muzak here https://muzakmusick.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - I bandcamp my muzak here |
Replies:
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 10:24
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10 lp's on PA...6 are over 4 stars...the rest well over 3...not underrated..maybe neglected by some people. I have Uzed and Heatwave....not an easy listen at times but then RIO can be challenging. I have to be 'in the mood' but at those times they are fascinating. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Kristian_Cole
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 10:49
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you would be surprised, people know yes, people know van der graaf, I hear very little about this or hatfield. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiQK9_Pf1HLSLjlHsQzdYBg" rel="nofollow - I Animate my muzak here https://muzakmusick.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - I bandcamp my muzak here |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 11:02
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Not underrated by me, I love Unvers Zero, and Clivages was my album of that year and was the Collab Album of the Year in 2010. I have all of UZ's album and find it to me one the very most consistently good bands that had a long career. I think it's highly rated and respected by most that really know them and are into such kinds of music. It's not going to be for every taste. I turned someone onto UZed who wasn't really into the RIO thing and whose tastes were melodic rock oriented than mine. That said, of three RIO related ones, Univers Zero, Present, and Art Zoyd, Art Zoyd is my favourite (well, I have called that my favourite band in PA). There have have been considerable fans of UZ at the forum, and it is one of the most respected RIO-related bands in PA. It did well in our Battle of the Bands as I recall. Underknown perhaps, but rated highly by many. It's not going to have as much wide appeal as many others, as the music is generally not going to be accessible to many tastes. Geekfreak recently revived this poll of mine: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=120389" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=120389 which compares IQ to UZ, and UZ has the most votes currently, despite the rather esoteric nature of UZ. Rock in Opposition, unsurprisingly, is not going to be really mainstream even in prog circles, but Univers Zero is one of the most respected chamber prog acts, I believe. EDIT: By the way, I'm a fan of Hatfield and the North as well but I can see why it wouldn't have the mainstream Prog support from the Canterbury Scene that Caravan has. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 11:10
Many here like Hatfield and the North.....I'm a big fan. A lot of Canterbury fans here at PA.   ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Kristian_Cole wrote:Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 11:53
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I think you'll find plenty of people on here with an avant leaning (we've had some claim we're taking over the place). Amongst those UZ are very highly regarded. In fact Ceux De Dehors is my all-time favorite album. I ran a RIO/Avant World Cup two years ago and UZ won the whole thing edging out Henry Cow in the final. As stated in a previous post Clivages was the collaborators album of the year in 2010. So while they may not be a huge number of threads they are certainly respected. Feel free to start more threads and I'm sure you'll see the panheads come out of the woodwork. ps Love Hatfield too. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 12:03
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There used to be more "panheads" (those into the more so-called avant garde styles of music) at the forum. While I never thought such people (of which I am one) dominated the forum as much as has been claimed, and I don't see why we would have driven people away from the site (one or two perhaps), definitely there used to be more discussion of such music, and various of our prominent and vociferous "panheads" no longer post here. It was something of a game to bring up Magma all the time here once, and some of us would use Kobaian phrases and terms to boot. There are still quite a number of people into the rather more arcane and out-there avenues of music at PA. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 12:18
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Huge fan of UZ here. They changed my outlook on music and I wouldn't be without their albums. Though we panheads are few in number we make up for it with our dedication to the total elimination of all devotees of listenable music. ------------- Soldato of the Pan Head Mafia. We'll make you an offer you can't listen to. http://bandcamp.com/jpillbox" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp Profile |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 12:45
The fact these post are directly after one another and about 15 minutes apart is fantastic.
------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 16:24
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The panheads on the move again! And no surprise, with uplifting music like this...  |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 18:43
| What exactly is a panhead? I never heard that term before with regards to prog or music in general. |
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 18:54
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I listened to their album in the top 100 and enjoyed it a lot! ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 19:12
It's a combination of a couple of PA memes. The "tossing cutlery down a stairwell" was a Dean interpretation of RIO/Avant. "The Panheads have taken over PA" was a Barney rant because not enough people were gushing over The Tangent. We took it and ran with it. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 19:23
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^ Ok thats hilarious ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 20 2020 at 20:01
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Rather oddly it's the Eclectic team who all have panhead references in their posts. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Rick1
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 01:34
| UZ are brilliant! I remember reading about them around the time of the inaugural RIO festival in 78 but as a teenager on a limited budget, I never got to explore their early albums (I don't recall seeing any in UK record shops either...) Those first three albums in particular (plus the 'Crawling Wind' EP) are unique. My only regret is not getting to see them in a live setting - Michel Berckmans being the only member I have seen perform as part of the extended Henry Cow line-up for the Lindsay Cooper tribute concerts. Daniel Denis is one of the best drummers in prog. |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 01:55
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not under-rated by me either, but in the general "prog" consensus, yes
they certainly are (IMHO), as are a lot of RIO groups (if not the whole
movement in general). But then again, this is due to the bands' accessibility (for the wider public) of their music. Outside my musical buddies, most everyone I know would WTF if I played them anything from UZ, Present & Art Zoyd.
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Posted By: Kristian_Cole
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 02:31
Guess i am a panhead then............  ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiQK9_Pf1HLSLjlHsQzdYBg" rel="nofollow - I Animate my muzak here https://muzakmusick.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - I bandcamp my muzak here |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 05:05
Welcome aboard ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 08:34
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amazon.it sells Clivages for 1840 Euro, amazon.de for 1709 (OK they have used copies for about 70 Euros but still). amazon.co.uk and France don't have any. No major download site seems to have it. It's just 10 years old that album. Are they joking? |
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 08:45
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I wouldn't call UZ neglected at all. Avant-prog is like the advanced calculus zone of the music world and only attracts the nerds therefore it will by design be a smaller pool of fans. As far as avant-prog goes, UZ is amongst the most popular of the so-called panhead music. On RYM's top 100 avant-prog albums UZ rates like this: Heresie #9 Ceux du Dehors #12 Uzed #45 Crawling Wind #51 Heatwave #52 1313 #58 http://rateyourmusic.com/customchart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=album&year=alltime&genre_include=1&include_child_genres=1&genres=avant-prog&include_child_genres_chk=1&include=both&origin_countries=&limit=none&countries=" rel="nofollow - https://rateyourmusic.com/customchart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=album&year=alltime&genre_include=1&include_child_genres=1&genres=avant-prog&include_child_genres_chk=1&include=both&origin_countries=&limit=none&countries= They would surely rank higher if RYM didn't have multiple tags. Many bands like Area, Magma and other zeuhl is listed. So i think they are doing quite well. Neglected on the forums maybe!
-------------  https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 09:03
This tells you all you need to know about Daniel Denis' approach to product availability. According to Wayside they still have 4 perfect promo copies for sales at $15 but don't know if they are still there. You can pick up mint copies on Discogs for less than $30. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 10:09
Thanks for the info!
|
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 11:57
| I'm not overly familiar with them but based on my extensive knowledge of prog(if I'm allowed to toot my own horn)I would say they are pretty well known by most prog afficianados. Even if a prog fan doesn't really know them(like I don't)I would say it's difficult to not at least hear of them the same way it's difficult to not have heard of Magma, Henry Cow, National Health, Caravan, Nektar, Gong, etc. That said they seem to be a bit more popular over on the progressive ears site than on here. Also, they headlined Nearfest one year. Not just any band got to headline there so that's saying something. |
Posted By: Tapfret
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 12:15
Whoa!!!! You trying to start a plebeian revolt here? ------------- https://www.last.fm/user/Tapfret" rel="nofollow">  https://bandcamp.com/tapfret" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp |
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 12:26
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^ LOL. Nah, i'm just saying that avant-prog is often the most
complex type of prog that exists. It takes someone who's listened to
countless thousands of hours of music to often understand where bands
like Univers Zero are coming from. UZ is actually tame compared to bands
like Yugen for example.  ------------- https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy |
Posted By: Kristian_Cole
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 13:02
its the damn collectors i tell you!!!!! ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiQK9_Pf1HLSLjlHsQzdYBg" rel="nofollow - I Animate my muzak here https://muzakmusick.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - I bandcamp my muzak here |
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 13:04
That's ridiculous. You can get a copy on Discogs for only 13.04$USD ------------- https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 13:15
Rob & Chad always liked an eclectic mix of bands at NF. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 14:00
While that may be true they also modelled their formula after Progday which also always had an eclectic mix(although that's probably even more the case now with PD than when it first started out since the founder admitted his preference was for symph even though he did try to be diverse).
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Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 14:27
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I have to confess that i'm a relatively late comer to Avant, RIO and Zeuhl; I didn't really come across Magma until the 80's and Henry Cow a bit earlier but beyond that... Then I picked up a vinyl copy of 1313 on cuniform and it just took the top of my head off! since then ive picked up a few more of their lps and it just gets better and better!! ------------- |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 14:35
ProgDay's mix of band genres is very eclectic, I always find something to enjoy there though I'm mainly there for the social side these days as I have made many friends there over the years. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 14:45
Nothing wrong with that. The more you go to these things the more people you meet. I actually was very involved with PD for a few years quite a while ago. It would be nice to return one day but who knows.
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Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: April 21 2020 at 16:05
You may then also want to try the biggest RIO-band, Art Zoyd. "Biggest" refers in an objective manner to the size of their catalogue (which is of very consistent quality, as is the one of UZ), and in a somewhat less objective manner to my personal taste.
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Posted By: Droxford
Date Posted: July 29 2020 at 11:36
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I rate Univers Zero very highly, but I also like Dark Ambient, and their music seems to be the point where Prog and Dark Ambient meet. Particularly evident on the 1979 'Heresie' album. I don't whether UZ being from Belgium and emerging at the end of the 1970s, or simply that their music is unlikely to be widely popular, led to them being quite neglected. But good to see that other people are listening to them |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: July 29 2020 at 12:57
I was never crazy about the spelling of their name.  ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: July 29 2020 at 14:03
Well they are from Belgium!! It's the French spelling.
------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 29 2020 at 14:38
Me neither. They are missing an e. ;) Also, the original post here is missing an i.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 29 2020 at 14:38
Oh, that explains it.
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Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: July 29 2020 at 15:39
Well, just like Present, if it was really in french, then it would read like Univers Zéro and Présent. However, for UZ, it doesn't change much, for Present in English it can changes the meaning, from being present (as opposed to being absent) or being a gift. |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: July 30 2020 at 03:14
| UZ - the Deathspell Omega of Chamber-Prog. Why would I say that ? Both bands give me nightmares !! |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: July 30 2020 at 05:32
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Gully Foyle
Date Posted: July 31 2020 at 09:28
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I for one, adore Univers Zero. I like them infinity more than The Tangent. I have a giant dome, not sure i have a big enough pan. I am definitely adding a recording of tossing cutlery down a stairwell to the next recording my totally non-avant originals band makes though.
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: July 31 2020 at 09:31
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Throwing pots and pans down a flight of stairs is much more avant-garde than cutlery. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: July 31 2020 at 09:59
| Using concrete stairs will make it more avanty. |
Posted By: Gully Foyle
Date Posted: July 31 2020 at 11:58
| Well sure, but I am not a strong enough writer to make truly avant music, so i am leaning more into the avant spectacle of the cutlery/stairwell with a nod to mr. debord. |