Heldon

Heldon were a French avant-garde/electronic band that released three albums on Disjuncta circa 1974/75, followed by four further titles on Urus, Cobra, and Egg between 1976 and 1979.

Members: Richard Pinhas (guitar, synthesizer), Patrick Gauthier (keyboards), François Auger (drums), Didier Batard (bass), Georges Grunblatt (Mellotron), Philibert Rossi (Mellotron), Jannick Top (bass), Michel Ettori (guitar)

Heldon was formed in 1974 in Paris, Île-de-France, by guitarist and synthesizer player Richard Pinhas. The name was derived from the 1972 sci-fi novel The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad.

Pinhas first played in the band Blues Convention. In 1972, he cut two singles in the psych-rock combo Schizo with keyboardist Patrick Gauthier. The following year, he was completing his Ph.D in Philosophy at the University of Paris when he submitted demos of his experimental music pieces to the UK label E.G, which housed King Crimson, Roxy Music, and Brian Eno. When the interested label placed him on hold, he took matters into his own hands and founded self-press Disjuncta.

His earliest collaborators on the Heldon project included Patrick Gauthier, keyboardist Georges Grunblatt, and ex-Triangle guitarist Alain Renaud. Their first album, Électronique Guerilla, appeared on Disjuncta in 1974.

Discography:

• Électronique Guerilla (1974)
• Allez Téia (1975)
• Third (It’s Always Rock and Roll) (1975)
• Agneta Nilsson [Heldon IV] (1976)
• Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale (1976)
• Interface (1977)
• Stand By (1979)

Sources:

• Discogs: Heldon