THE HAUNTED WORLD OF UNIVERS ZERO

Michael Draine 1993 (© 2003 Michael Draine)

Formed in Brussels in 1974, Univers Zero made their recording debut in 1977 with a unique seven piece line-up comprised of Michel Berckmans (bassoon), Marcel Dufrane (violin), Patrick Hanappier (violin, viola, pocket cello), Emmanuel Nicaise (harmonium, spinet harpsichord), Christian Genet (electric bass), Roger Trigaux (guitar), and Daniel Denis (drums). Under the leadership of principal composer Daniel Denis, the group integrated influences as diverse as Magma, Henry Cow, the oboe-fronted Third Ear Band, Bela Bartok, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Albert Huybrechts, an obscure twentieth-century Belgian composer. All of Univers Zero's five albums, reissued on CD by Cuneiform, showcase intricate compositions, consummate instrumental craft, stunningly textured arrangements, and an air of malignancy that's at once seductive and sinister.

Univers Zero's roots date back to Daniel Denis' days with the Soft Machine-inspired trio Arkham. After Arkham served as Magma's opening act in 1971, Christian Vander invited Denis and Arkham keyboardist Jean-Luc Mandelier to join Magma. After a few concerts as Magma's second drummer, Denis withdrew, while Mandelier stayed with Magma for a year, performing on the classic 'Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh' LP. The dissolution of Arkham precipitated Denis' 1973 formation of Necronomicon with Roger Trigaux, bassist Guy Segers, and Arkham trumpeter Claude Deron. With some changes in personnel and a shift from improvised to composed material, the group evolved into Univers Zero, a name derived from a French science fiction novel Trigaux was reading at the time, and from the fact that the group felt they were exploring a new musical universe.

Darting, ever-shifting rhythms, angular melodies, and dissonant chromaticism pervade Univers Zero's eponymous first LP, re-titled '1313' in subsequent Cryonic and Cuneiform reissues. Tension is repeatedly built up and released throughout the taut, wiry fifteen-minute opening track 'La Ronde', with ominous swellings giving way to poignant, introspective passages. A certain black humour crops up in the form of an occasional mocking phrase or ironic light flourish, immediately dispelled by a sudden attack of massed strings. Originally released in a private edition of five hundred in 1977, 'Univers Zero' was reissued before the year's end by Atem, the label affiliated with the French magazine of the same name. Under the title '1313', Univers Zero's debut recording appears on Cuneiform CD in the clear, spacious mix prepared for the 1984 Cryonic release.

With Guy Segers replacing Christian Genet on bass, the departure of Marcel Dufrane and Emmanuel Nicaise, and Roger Trigaux adding keyboard chores to his guitar work, Univers Zero plunged even deeper into brackish waters with 1979's awesome, monolithic 'Heresie'. With the baleful, twenty-five minute opener, 'La Faulx', the group paints a series of dark, expansive landscapes of unremitting despondence without ever lapsing into the grandiosity generally fatal to rockers with symphonic aspirations. The remaining pieces 'Jack the Ripper' and 'Vous le Saurez en Temps Voulu' are more concise, but equally uncompromising in their evocation of Lovecraftian imagery and haunted states of mind. The production (by the now-retired Etienne Conod, who sat at the board for Henry Cow, Art Bears, Fred Frith, and Art Zoyd) is startlingly crisp, pushing the chthonic rumblings of the bassoon and organ up front, raising into stark relief the dry scrapings of the violin.

Despite his contribution of several powerful compositions, Roger Trigaux limits his guitar to spidery filigree on '1313' and 'Heresie', in contrast to the searing leads that distinguish his subsequent tenure with Present. The absence of electronic synthesis on Univers Zero's first two albums imparts the music with a timeless quality that's both mysteriously antique and arrestingly modern. Unlike the band's later recordings, '1313' and 'Heresie' are without the jazz influence common to other constituents of the radical Rock In Opposition collective, further removing the early Univers Zero from any contemporary frame of reference. At Rock In Opposition's March, 1978 London concert (which included Henry Cow, Etron Fou Leloublan, Stormy Six, and Samla Mammas Manna) Univers Zero received the least applause, yet sold the most records of all the groups on the bill. (Perhaps the audience was too stunned to react.)

The undercurrent of menace flowing through Roger Trigaux's work with Univers Zero boiled to the surface in the form of the tortured sound of his Crimsonesque guitar vehicle, Present. Joined by Daniel Denis, pianist Alain Rochette, and bassist Christian Genet, Trigaux led this concussive quartet through extended, rhythmically complex compositions, seamlessly shifting from writhing, sinuous high-speed rock to haunting, quiet interludes. Present's rare 1981 Atem debut 'Triskaidekaphobie' is now combined with their potent 1985 Cuneiform follow-up 'Le Poison Qui Rend Fou' on one indispensable CD.

Sprinting tempos, jazz sonorities, the departure of Roger Trigaux, and the addition of Andy Kirk on keyboards all contribute to the more kinetic pace of Univers Zero's 'Ceux du Dehors' (1981, "The Outsiders"). The entire album is suggestive of an amplified chamber ensemble running through variations on King Crimson's dense, polymetric 'Fracture'. Andy Kirk makes his compositional debut with the thirteen-minute 'Combat', a tense, multifaceted work alternating martial rhythms with eerie lento passages and soaring jazz progressions. Magma's influence asserts itself in the form of Guy Segers' growling bass and Ilone Chale's ethereal, wordless vocal solo. Compared to the rich harmonium textures on '1313' and 'Heresie', Kirk's keyboard tone strikes me as a bit nasal, and the band's overall sound began to shift toward a brighter, less bass-heavy balance. The replacement of Michel Berckmans' double reeds with Dirk Desheemaeker's sax and clarinets on the subsequent 'Crawling Wind', 'UZED', and 'Heatwave' comprises a further contributing factor in Univers Zero's departure from the Plutonian tonal palette of their early years.

Included on the 'Ceux du Dehors' CD is 'Triomphe des Mouches' ("Triumph of the Flies"), a rare single once issued by Recommended with flies silk-screened on the B-side. Missing from Cuneiform's reissue catalogue is the 1983 'Crawling Wind' EP, one track of which turns up on Musea's excellent compilation of Magma-inspired artists, 'Enneade'. Univers Zero also contributed the Andy Kirk-authored 'Influences' to the classic double-LP compilation, the 'Recommended Records Sampler' (out of print).

The athletic rhythms Univers Zero burn through on 'Ceux du Dehors' mark a radical departure from the brooding pace of 'Heresie', and serve as a transition toward the electric fusion of 1984's 'UZED'. The fact that Daniel Denis and Christian Genet are the only pre-'Crawling Wind' members remaining in the group (even relative newcomer Andy Kirk is temporarily displaced by keyboardist Jean-Luc Plouvier) may account for its stylistic divergence from the established Univers Zero oeuvre. While the collective instrumental prowess displayed on 'UZED' is above reproach, the album comes across as a bit cold and inexpressive when compared to the band's more atmospheric prior works. Still, it has its compelling moments, such as the evocative Bartokian miniature, 'L'etrange Mixture du Dr. Schwartz'.

Univers Zero's final statement, 'Heatwave' (1987) proved to be the group's harshest and most intense recording. An intriguing blend of virtuosic chamber playing and industrial-style electronics, 'Heatwave' showcases some of Daniel Denis' most tumultuous percussive assaults. While devoid of programmed percussion, Heatwave's arsenal of sizzling digital effects has much in common with the sound of Art Zoyd's 'Le Mariage du ceil et de 1'enfer' (1985). Andy Kirk's 'The Funeral Plain' ranks among Univers Zero's best, a labyrinthine threnody integrating unnerving electronic and acoustic sources into a slowly building series of increasingly seismic crescendos.

'Heatwave' marked the return of Andy Kirk and viola/violinist Patrick Hanappier, retaining all members of the 'UZED' line-up except cellist Andre Mergen.

After 'Heatwave', the economic and organizational problems endemic to an under-appreciated avant-garde ensemble finally eroded Daniel Denis' previously indefatigable perseverance, bringing an end to Belgium's boldest and longest-lived progressive band. In the late '80s, a Denis/Trigaux/Kirk/Segers Univers Zero reunion was in the air, but financial obstacles prevented it from getting beyond the planning stage. In 1991 Denis issued a solo CD, 'Sirius and the ghosts' (USA: Cuneiform, Europe: Musea) followed by a 1993 release 'Les Eaux Troubles' (Musea).

Many of Univers Zero's thirteen constituents have participated in Europe's finest new music ensembles, with bassoonist/oboist Michel Berckmans playing with Aqsak Maboul, Samla Mammas Manna, Maximalist, and the elegant Belgian neoclassical group Julverne; Dirk Desheemaeker with Hector Zazou; Andre Mergen (Mergenthaler) and Daniel Denis with Art Zoyd; and most remarkably, Univers Zero and Art Zoyd performing in concert as a single ensemble in the late '70s and early '80s.

Daniel Denis' visionary leadership of a rotating line-up invites comparison to Robert Fripp's role in King Crimson, as well as to Christian Vander's command of Magma. Despite personnel changes, Univers Zero always maintained a cohesive, yet continually evolving musical identity. Never content to repeat themselves, Univers Zero defined the cutting edge in compositionally-intensive rock throughout their thirteen-year history.