Univers Zero Interviewed

Univers Zero
Belgium After Midnight
By Michael Draine

Formed in Brussels in 1974, Univers Zero made their recording debut in 1977 as a septet comprising bassoon, violin, viola, harmonium, bass guitar, electric guitar, and drums. Lead by percussionist/composer Daniel Denis, Univers Zero integrates influences as diverse as the French avant-rock ensemble Magma, the oboe-fronted Third Ear Band, Balkan folk music, Béla Bartók, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Albert Huybrechts, an obscure 20^th century Belgian composer. Extramusical sources of inspiration include Lovecraft, Poe, Hieronymus Bosch, and Bruegel the Elder.

Though steeped in classical influences, the band's enduring DIY determination and aura of alienation suggest greater affinity for punk than progressive rock. All of Univers Zero's eight albums showcase intricate composition, vibrantly textured arrangements, and an air of malignancy, both seductive and sinister.

Univers Zero's roots lie in Daniel Denis's days with the Soft Machine-inspired bass/drums/keyboard trio, Arkham. A recent CD of previously unreleased Arkham recordings documents their brisk, jazz-inflected instrumental rock, which barely hints at the sonic horrors Univers Zero was ordained to unleash upon their native Belgium, the nation which leads the world in per capita consumption of Valium.

After Arkham served as Magma's opening act in 1971, Denis and Arkham keyboardist Jean-Luc Manderlier were invited to join Magma. Denis found the role of second drummer too restrictive, and withdrew in mid-1972, while Manderlier stayed with Magma for a year. The dissolution of Arkham precipitated Denis' formation of Necronomicon with guitarist Roger Trigaux, bassist Guy Segers, and Arkham's guest trumpeter, Claude Deron. With some changes in personnel and a shift from improvised to composed material, Necronomicon evolved into Univers Zero, playing their first gig under that name (derived from a science fiction novel by Jacques Strenberg) in May, 1974.

UZ.JPG (2467055 bytes)

This 1979 group photo appeared on the cover of the second Univers Zero album, Heresie: Left to right: Roger Trigaux, Guy Segars, Michel Berkmans, Daniel Denis, Patrick Hanappier.

Soon to release a new album in commemoration of their 30th Anniversary, Europe's darkest and most enduring chamber-rock ensemble will make their US concert debut on July 11, 2004.
(www.NEARfest.com)

Darting, ever-shifting rhythms, angular melodies, and dissonant chromaticism pervade Univers Zero's eponymous debut, later retitled 1313. Tension is repeatedly built up and released throughout the taut, wiry 15-minute opening track, "Ronde," with ominous swellings disarmingly yielding to poignant, introspective passages. A certain black humor crops up in the form of the occasional mocking phrase or ironic flourish, immediately dispelled by a sudden attack of massed strings. Originally released in a private edition of 500 in 1977, 1313 was reissued before the year's end on Atem, a label affiliated with the French new-music magazine of the same name.

Univers Zero plunged ever deeper into brackish waters with 1979's awesome, monolithic Heresie. If the bolting, ever-shifting rhythms of 1313 echo the nervous, mothlike flutter of Murnau's Nosferatu, 1979's Heresie invokes the chthonian Earth magic of Der Golem.

With the baleful, 25-minute opener, "La Faulx" ("The Scythe," the medieval symbol of death), the group paints a series of dark, expansive vistas. Heresie's remaining tracks, "Jack the Ripper" and "Vous le Saurez en Temps Voulu," (roughly, "You'll Find Out When the Time Comes") are more succinct, yet equally foreboding. Producer Etienne Conod provides a startlingly crisp recording, pushing the rumblings of organ and bassoon to the forefront, raising the dry scrapings of the violin and viola into stark relief.

The absence of electronic synthesis on Univers Zero's first two albums imparts the music with a timeless quality that's both arrestingly modern and mysteriously antique. 1313 and Heresie also eschew the jazz tropescommon to UZ's colleagues in the leftist Rock in Opposition (RIO) collective. The program for Rock in Opposition's 1978 inaugural concert (which included Britain's Henry Cow, France's Etron Fou Leloublan, Sweden's Samla Mammas Manna, and Italy's Stormy Six) noted that the band was in the market for a 1945-1955 vintage hearse.

Asked about Univers Zero's contribution to Rock In Opposition's political dialog, Roger Trigaux laughed, "We'd always fight with [Henry Cow drummer and RIO organizer] Chris Cutler! He always asked us, 'Now it's time to give us what you are politically,' and we said always, 'But Chris, what is politics? For us, it doesn't exist.' And he was very angry. For us, it was very important to play with Rock In Opposition because we met other groups, and it was positive for us to play in other countries."

Chris Cutler responded, "I don't quite remember RIO things the same way as Roger--I seem to recall spending most of my time defending them to Stormy Six--and vice versa. UZ had an enthusiastic response from RIO audiences. For audiences it was always about the music not politics, and UZ were a great band."

Concurrently with his commitments to Univers Zero, Daniel Denis played on three albums by the French RIO group Art Zoyd; Univers Zero and Art Zoyd even performed as a single ensemble on several occasions in the late '70s and early '80s. Bootleg tapes document the convulsive force and overpowering sense of lamentation this amplified chamber orchestra commanded in concert.

Guitarist/keyboardist Trigaux confined his fretwork on 1313 and Heresie to spidery filigree, in marked contrast to the searing leads that distinguish his tenure with Present. The undercurrent of menace flowing through Trigaux's work with Univers Zero boiled to the surface on Triskaidekaphobie, Present's 1980 debut. Joined by drummer Daniel Denis, Univers Zero bassist Christian Genet, and pianist Alain Rochette, Trigaux leads this concussive quartet through extended, complex compositions, seamlessly shifting from writhing, high-speed rock to quiet, haunting interludes.

Atem Records' 1983 bankruptcy scuttled Present's plans for an extensive European tour and left their potent follow-up, Le Poison Qui Rend Fou, homeless. Cuneiform Records picked up the album in 1985, but by then Present had long since disbanded. Overwhelmed with debt and sickened by the venality of the music business, Trigaux descended into a musical dormancy that lasted the rest of the decade. In 1998, Trigaux told Exposé magazine, "I stopped the music and plunged into an ocean of alcohol. Alcohol was my principle thought and activity during this long break."

Sprinting tempos, jazz sonorities, and the addition of Andy Kirk on keyboards all contribute to the more kinetic pace of Univers Zero's Ceux Du Dehors ("The Outsiders," 1981). Kirk makes his compositional debut with the 13-minute "Combat," a tense, multifaceted work, which alternates martial rhythms with eerie lento passages and soaring jazz progressions. Compared to Roger Trigaux's rich harmonium textures on 1313 and Heresie, Kirk's electric keyboard tone sounds a bit nasal, and the band's overall sound began to shift toward a brighter, less bass-heavy balance. The subsequent replacement of bassoonist Michel Berckmans with sax/clarinet player Dirk Desheemaeker further contributed to Univers Zero's departure from the Plutonian tonal palette of their early years.

Ceux Du Dehors includes the eerie, atonal collective improvisation, "La Musique d'Erich Zann," inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft tale of an ancient violinist whose crazed fiddling keeps a cosmic horror at bay. The CD includes "Triomphe des Mouches" ("Triumph of the Flies,"), a rare single originally issued with flies silkscreened on the B-side.

Daniel Denis recalled, "When we did Ceux Du Dehors, we were very concentrated. Each one of us truly put his energies into the service of the group. It would be very difficult, probably impossible, to work again in that same spirit. We would have needed some kind of response from people outside ourselves that could propel us out of the sterile circuit we were in. To always work with same intensity, without a 'return' in proportion to what our work cost us in energy--that took too much out of some of us, who became discouraged and quit the group. In any case, the group had broken up a good number of times. It was an eternal rebeginning. Also, at that time we were determined to defend against any action that would directly harm the music itself. We insisted on complete control over everything we thought essential and important for the health of the group, but that obligated us also to take attitudes that seemed a little too extreme or categorical. With hindsight, I think that our insistence on control contributed also to the closing of certain doors."

In 2001, Cuneiform reissued Crawling Wind, a rare 1983 Japanese EP. The ill-starred nature of the original release may account for Daniel Denis' long-standing refusal to authorize reissue; the master tape was intended for use as a flexi-disc, and payment consisted of ten copies of the record. Expanded to album length with early live and studio tracks, Crawling Windsurpasses expectation, capturing Univers Zero in their demonic prime.

The athletic rhythms Univers Zero burn through on Ceux Du Dehors marked a radical departure from the brooding pace of Heresie, and mark the transition toward the release of 1984's Uzed. Replacing 12-tone terror with electric jazz, Uzed seems cold and inexpressive relative to the band's earlier work. Still, Uzed has its moments, such as the evocative Bartókianminiature, "L'Etrange Mixture du Dr. Schwartz."

Heatwave (1987) proved the group's harshest and most unnerving recording. An intriguing blend of virtuoso chamber playing and industrial textures, Heatwave showcases some of Denis' most assaultive drumming. Keyboardist Andy Kirk contributes "The Funeral Plain," a labyrinthine threnody integrating electronic and acoustic sources into a slowly building series of increasingly seismic crescendos. While devoid of programmed percussion, Heatwave's arsenal of sizzling digital effects presages the direction of Daniel Denis' two solo albums, Sirius and the Ghosts and Les Eaux Troubles ("The Troubled Waters").

After Heatwave, the economic and organizational problems endemic to an obscure avant-garde ensemble finally eroded Denis' perseverance. Denis told Notes, "The cessation of Univers Zero in '86 was a voluntary choice. I had assumed all the financial costs and responsibilities of the group. I also had the job of the gathering the musicians together for rehearsals. At the time there was a sort of dispersion of spirit at the heart of Univers Zero--an obvious lack of cohesion, not to mention that our concerts were too few and far between, and that there wasn't enough money to take care of things. I'd had it."

1991 brought Daniel Denis' solo debut, Sirius and the Ghosts, followed in 1993 by Les Eaux Troubles. Unfortunately, the inherent lifelessness of electronic sequencing and lack of ensemble interaction denied Denis' solo forays the collective force that is the essence of Univers Zero.

The l995 Cuneiform Records compilation Unsettled Scores rewarded fans with "Onde Crépusculaire," ("Twilight Sound") a previously unreleased Univers Zero composition from the early '80s. Written by bassist Guy Segers, the piece was recorded over a period of years by members of Univers Zero, Dr. Nerve, and Rascal Reporters, under the name Dr. Zero. Here Segers' inspiration flows from the same dark wellspring as his Ceux Du Dehors submission, "La Tête du Corbeau," ("Head of Crow," an alchemical allusion). The funereal phrasing and descending violin/cello lines evoke images of Renfield's doomed coach ride through the darkening Transylvanian countryside in Tod Browning's Dracula.

Univers Zero reformed for a single performance at Quebec's International Festival de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville 1997, making their North American debut with a set culled primarily from Uzed and Heatwave. The lineup included Daniel Denis (drums), Andy Kirk (guitar), and Guy Segers (bass), with newcomers on violin and keyboards. A rumored live album and tour never materialized; this '90s Univers Zero vanished as abruptly as it appeared.