01	Ronde						15:13
	02	Carabosse						03:46
	03	Docteur Petiot						07:45
	04	Malaise						07:58
	05	Complainte						03:22

Cuneiform - Rune 20 CD
No producer credit
Recorded Aug 1977
Mixed Mar 1984
Copyright 1989

review added 8-1-00
Univers Zero: 1313
Univers Zero
1313
Cuneiform (rune 20)
Belgium 1977

Michel Berckmans, bassoon; Daniel Denis, percussion; Marcel Dufrane, violin; Christian Genet, bass; Patrick Hanappier, violin, viola, pocket cello; Emmanuel Nicaise, harmonium, spinet; Roger Trigaux, guitar


Brandon Wu:
1313 was Univers Zero's first release, and has a kind of primitive feel to it - perhaps because the music is very sparse and almost entirely acoustic. Violins and other stringed instruments intertwine their staccato notes with bassoon and guitar to create a slow-moving, foreboding soundscape that, aside from Daniel Denis' drumming, has as much in common with modern chamber music than it does rock music. Denis' drumming, speaking of which, is way forward in the mix (much higher than in subsequent releases) and adds a lot of tension and aggression to the music. There are a lot of martial-sounding rhythms egging the compositions on. Edgy stuff.
Overall I find that 1313 is the most difficult of Univers Zero albums for me to really get into. The sparseness of sound makes for a lack of intensity that later albums are not burdened by. Nevertheless, it's still a fairly good album, and fans of chamber-rock in the Art Zoyd tradition, or those that specifically hunt down anything with a heavy Bartok influence, will be in for a good time.




Univers Zero - 1313


Release Date: 1977

Track Listing
1) Rode
2) Carabosse
3) Doctor Periot
4) Malaise
5) Complainte

Member: Thekouderwunz
Date: 11/25/2003
Format: CD (Album)

On their debut 1313, Univers Zero was anomaly to the western world in 1977, let alone the unforgiving commercialism of the music press, that hailed "punk" music as the "savior" and the death knell to the like of "FM" rock and its excess, and the counterbalance to disco. Progressive rock was barely breathing as the best the genre had to offer were fading away amongst the muck of their on weight, and the Camels and the Kansas' were carrying on, but in Belgium, a spark was growing, and a great group of classical and late 19th century chamber music enthusiasts, took the envelope that their forefathers, like Magma, Gentle Giant and Frank Zappa, pushed it to its extreme limit, therefore being what some classify as "rock in opposition."

Bearing similarities to bands like Henry Cow and The Art Bears, Univers Zero was not satisfied with catering to the limitations of being called "rock" or "progressive", although the back bone of "Rock" is prevalent, but innovative and cleverly masked by the band's clear intent on creating a more accessible version of early 20th century classical music, with the beautiful atonality of the likes of Bartok and Stravinsky.

With little traces of electrical instruments, 1313 is a wonderful album, and highly creative for its time, especially when the influences of the time would suggest that it was "chic" to be banging your head or shaking your ass in skin tight leotards.

For fans of King Crimson circa Islands or Larks' Tongues In Aspic, but 1313 is in a class by itself.

Charles

Album Rating: Five Stars.