Henry Cow was an English avant-garde rock and free-jazz band that released four studio albums between 1973 and 1975 on Virgin: Legend, Unrest, Desperate Straights, and In Praise of Learning, the last two in partnership with the cabaret-pop trio Slapp Happy. In 1978, Henry Cow recorded the albums Western Culture and Hopes and Fears — […]
Art Zoyd was a French chamber-rock band that self-pressed their 1976 debut album, Symphonie pour le jour où brûleront les cités. In 1978, they joined the Rock In Opposition network of Continental acts organized by Henry Cow. On Atem, Art Zoyd released the 1979/80 albums Musique pour l’Odyssée and Génération sans Futur, followed by the […]
News from Babel was an English avant-rock supergroup formed by Henry Cow veterans Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, and Dagmar Krause. They mixed cabaret and art pop on the 1984–86 Rē albums Work Resumed on the Tower and Letters Home, the latter with Robert Wyatt. Members: Chris Cutler (drums, electronics, percussion, marimba), Dagmar Krause (vocals), Zeena Parkins […]
Univers Zéro is a Belgian chamber-rock/Zeuhl ensemble that debuted with a 1977 self-titled Atem release (later retitled 1313), followed by the 1979–84 discs Hérésie, Ceux du Dehors, and Uzed. Musically, they evolved from an acoustic neo-classical sound to the hi-tech avant-rock style of their 1986 Cuneiform release Heatwave. Bandleader Daniel Denis released two Nineties solo […]
Samla Mammas Manna was a Swedish avant-garde/trad band that released five albums between 1971 and 1980 on Silence Records. In 1976, they collaborated with U.S.-born Scandinavian composer Gregory Allan Fitzpatrick on his four-part Snorungarnas Symfoni suite for the MNW label. The instrumental folk of their 1972–74 albums Måltid and Klossa Knapitatet gave way to an […]
Aksak Maboul (or Aqsak Maboul) was an avant-garde Belgian group that made the 1977–79 albums Onze Danses pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l’âme des Bandits. Musician Marc Hollander headed the project with revolving door UK/Continental talent, including members of Placebo, Cos, and Henry Cow. Members: Marc Hollander (clarinet, drum machine, percussion, alto […]
Etron Fou Leloublan was a French avant-rock band that released the 1977/78 albums Batelages and Les Trois Fous Perdégagnent (Au pays des…) on Gratte-Ciel and 9H 17 Productions. The 1980 live album En Public aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique documented the group’s US tour, followed by the studio albums Les Poumons Gonflés, Les Sillons de la Terre, […]
Stormy Six was an Italian multi-style band from Milan, active from 1966 to 1983. They cut two pop singles in 1967 for Mini Records, followed by two albums between 1969 and 1972 on First, a division of Ariston. In 1975, a revamped Stormy Six released the folk-oriented album Un Biglietto del Tram on L’Orchestra, a […]
Albert Marcœur is a French musician, composer, and arranger who released ten albums between 1974 and 2008. His first four albums — Albert Marcœur, Album à Colorier, Armes & Cycles, and Celui où y’a Joseph — contain Zappa-esque fusions of avant-garde rock, big band, and zolo music. Along with Etron Fou Leloublan, he foreshadowed the 1980s […]
The Motor Totemist Guild was an American avant-rock ensemble formed by composer and multi-instrumentalist James Grigsby and poet-vocalist Christine Clements. They issued the 1984–86 albums Infra Dig and Contact With Veils, plus the live Klang cassette, on the self-operated Rotary Totem label. Their 1988 collaboration with the 5uu’s produced Elements and spawned the merged group […]
Zut Un Feu Rouge was a Swedish art-rock band that debuted with the 1983 EP Kafka vs. Chaplin, followed by the popular 1985 album Who’s Afreud. Both releases, along with a cassette-only demo/live collection, were issued on Bauta, a specialty label run by the band’s multi-instrumentalist mastermind Lach’n Jonsson. Members: Bengt Fredriksson (devices), Gunnar Johansson […]
Débile Menthol was a Swiss avant-garde new wave band that released the 1982–85 albums Émile au Jardin Patrologique and Battre Campagne on RēR-affiliate RecRec. Members: Cédric Vuille (clarinet, guitar, drums), Jean 20 Huguenin (guitar, percussion, vocals), Gilles Rieder (drums, bass, percussion, vocals), Patrice Dupasquier (saxophone), Marie Schwab (violin, vocals), Christian Addor (keyboards, bass, vocals), Yvan […]
Begnagrad was a Yugoslav avant-garde/trad band from Ljubljana, located in modern-day Slovenia. In 1982, the band released a self-titled album on ZKP RTVLJ that was reissued in 1990 as Konzert for a Broken Dance. Material for a proposed earlier album, recorded in 1977, was finally issued as Tastare (Theoldwones) in 1992. Members: Bratko Bibič (accordion, […]
Kräldjursanstalten was a Swedish avant-rock band that released the 1980 EP Nu är det allvar!! and the 1981 album Voodoo Boogie on Urspår. Members: Michael Maksymenko (drums, vocals, effects), Stefan Agaton (guitar, vocals), Thomas Agaton (bass, vocals) Inception Kräldjursanstalten (The Reptile Institute) formed in Stockholm when drummer Michael Maksymenko teamed with guitarist Stefan Agaton and […]
Nimal was a Swiss chamber-rock/folk band from Neuchâtel that released a 1987 self-titled album on local ReR-subsidiary RecRec Music, followed by the 1990 disc Voix de Surface. The band’s third and final album, DisTanz, appeared in 1992 on the French ReR branch Ayaa. Members: Jean-Maurice Rossel (guitar, hurdy-gurdy, bouzouki), Tom Cora (cello), Bratko Bibič (accordion), […]
L’ Ensemble Rayé was a Swiss chamber-rock/folk band from Neuchâtel that released two albums between 1989 and 1993 on Ayaa Disques: Même en Hiver: Comme un Pinson Dans L’eau and Quelques Pièces Détachées. A third disc, En Frac!, appeared in 1997 on LabelUsineS, followed by four discs on Kein & Aber Records and Les Disques […]
The Work was an English avant/art-punk band that issued the single “I Hate America” on self-press Woof Records in 1981, followed by the album Slow Crimes in 1982. A later round of activity yielded the discs Rubber Cage (1989) and See (1992), both again on Woof. Multi-instrumentalist Tim Hodgkinson hailed from 1970s avant/chamber-rockers Henry Cow. […]
Dunaj was a Czech art-rock band from Brno that was active for 13 years, starting in 1983. Drummer Pavel Fajt cut two albums circa 1987/88 with Bruntál violinist Iva Bittová. The band’s debut album, Impuls, was recorded in collaboration with the violinist and released in 1989 on Panton. The popular followup, Rosol, appeared in 1991 […]
Uludag was a German ethno/improv band that made the 1988 album Mau Mau, released on the ReR-affiliated Review Records. Members: Lothar Reitz (violin), Werner Cee (bass, saz), Peter Hollinger (drums, Jew’s harp, objects), Sabine Schäfer (keyboards), Helmut Bieler-Wendt (violin, [Violectra] electric violin) Background Uludag formed circa 1980 in Berlin as an improvising experimental-rock group with […]
The Rascal Reporters were an American avant-jazz/rock band that issued two cassette-albums in 1980 through Hebbardesque Records, followed by the 1984–88 albums Ridin’ on a Bummer and Happy Accidents. Members: Steve Gore, Steve Kretzmer Background The partnership that became Rascal Reporters formed in 1974 at Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan, where Steve […]
A Thinking Plague are an American avant-rock band that made the 1984–86 albums …A Thinking Plague and Moonsongs on Endemic Music, followed by the 1989 RēR disc In This Life. Four further discs appeared on Cuneiform during the subsequent three decades. Members: Mike Johnson (guitar, drums, percussion, vocals), Rick Arsenault (drums, 1982-83), Sharon Bradford (vocals, […]
The 5uu’s were an American avant-rock band behind the 1986 album Bel Marduk & Tiamat on U:r Records, followed by three albums through 1997 on RēR. On their 1988 release Elements, they teamed with the Motor Totemist Guild. The two parties merged as U Totem, which made two ambitious CDs on Cuneiform, the 5uu’s home […]
The Hat Shoes were a multinational avant-rock super-project assembled in 1990 by English musician Bill Gilonis (The Work) with drummer Charles Hayward (Quiet Sun, This Heat, Camberwell Now), Belgian vocalist Catherine Jauniaux (Aksak Maboul), and American cellist Tom Cora (Curlew, Skeleton Crew, Nimal). The project yielded the 1991 album Differently Desperate on RecRec, the Swiss […]
The Kalahari Surfers are a South African avant-garde/experimental rock band that juxtaposed manic, zolo-ish arrangements with strident, political lyrics. Their first proper album, Own Affairs, appeared in 1984 on the Gross National Products label, founded by frontman Warrick Sony. The 1985 followup, Living in the Heart of the Beast, drew its title from the 1975 Henry […]
After Dinner was a Japanese art-pop band led by singer/composer Haco. They made the 1984 Kang-Gung album Glass Tube and the 1989 RecRec disc Paradise of Replica. Haco appears in Fred Frith‘s 1990 musical travelogue Step Across the Border. Background After Dinner formed in Kobe in 1981 when singer-keyboardist Haco met prospective players through Kageroh […]
Už Jsme Doma are a Czech avant-rock band, led since 1985 by singer-guitarist Miroslav Wanek. They emerged from the Czech underground with the 1990 album Uprostřed slov. Už Jsme Doma subsequently toured throughout Europe, North America, and Japan and made nine studio albums through the 2018 release Kry. Members: Miroslav Wanek (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, […]
Combo FH was a Czech avant/jazz-rock band that debuted with a 1976 EP on Panton’s Mini Jazz Klub series. They returned with a 1980 single and the popular 1981 album Věci (Things). In 1986, the concluded with Situace na Střeše. Members: Daniel Fikejz (keyboards, vocals), Bořivoj Suchý (saxophone), Milan Sládek (bassoon, percussion), Oldřich Svoboda (flute), […]
