# "Chamber" prog rock



## padraic (Feb 26, 2015)

Anyone into so-called "chamber prog" like Univers Zero and Art Zoyd?


----------



## Guest (Mar 2, 2015)

I did like UZ but felt they lost the chamber of 1313 to replace it with the funk of Rhythmix. Hence, being fickle, I sold their albums. I think Ceux du Dehors is the best of what I had.


----------



## padraic (Feb 26, 2015)

Agreed, Ceux du Dehors is my favorite.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I am a huge fan of this genre (or is it a sub-genre?). There is a big overlap between chamber-prog and avant-prog.

Just a few of my favorites, off the top of my head, are:

Universe Zero (Belgium)
Art Zoyd (France)
Aranis (Belgium)
Alamaailman Vasarat (Finland)
Miriodor (Canada)
Motor Totemist Guild (USA)
Henry Cow (UK)
Banda Elastica (Mexico)

But there are plenty more great bands.


----------



## padraic (Feb 26, 2015)

Great list Simon Moon. In particular, I am a Henry Cow fanatic.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Wow any albums I should start off to learn about this?


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

albertfallickwang said:


> Wow any albums I should start off to learn about this?


Henry Cow's 4 studio albums.

Legend
Unrest
In Praise Of Learning
Western Culture

The Henry Cow guys were listening to Zappa. So you should give Uncle Meat a listen. It's much more diverse than just chamber rock, but this is where it got started.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

starthrower said:


> Henry Cow's 4 studio albums.
> 
> Legend
> Unrest
> ...


Well said.

Henry Cow kind of set the standard for what would late be known as Rock in Opposition, avant-prog, and chamber-prog. Although chamber-prog does not describe all RIO and avant-prog. There is an overlap between them, however.



albertfallickwang said:


> Wow any albums I should start off to learn about this?


As far as what to listen to in order to get your feet wet, depends on how avant-garde your tastes are. Henry Cow is certainly the template, but other bands might be less avant-garde, and a better place to start.

Give this a listen.


----------



## Guest (Mar 22, 2015)

Never quite sure what handle to put on Guapo...






But I digs them!


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I'm a Univers Zero, Miriodor, 5uu's fan, slightly less a fan of more extreme RIO such as Henry Cow. But I confess to not hearing a lot of what is mentioned above.

That Aranis video reminds me a lot of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Would they fit in this genre?






I guess they tend to go a bit larger than chamber, but their sound is distantly related to Univers Zero.

The cool thing is I just found subscribed to Cuneiform Records YT channel, so maybe I'll hear a lot more about these bands.


----------



## Guest (Mar 22, 2015)

Ooh Cuneiform YT channel sounds like something I need to investigate. An interesting label; two of my favourite bands (Guapo and Thinking Plague) have released through it.


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I should have put a link. Sorry. I always assume I'm a latecomer to the party.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8tgMWF_HAHccy9cqNOOUZQ


----------



## padraic (Feb 26, 2015)

Cuneiform is indeed one of the great RIO labels. Another modern label that is a must for fans of this type of music is an Italian label called AltRock.

Some more outfits to check out: a Belorussian group called Rational Diet and an offshoot that came from the dissolution of that band, Five-Storey Ensemble.


----------



## The Deacon (Jan 14, 2018)

When RIO started , Stormy Six were the only Italian band doing it (And maybe Picchio del Pozzo if you count that.) The early Stormy Six lps are good.(Later they get proggy)

Early RIO, like 70s Sweden rock, was very political. Chris Cutler & Henry Cow and Stormy Six.

But Universe Zero and Samlas were deffo not. (I never could understand Samlas fitting into the RIO school (except for that one double lp they later did). But Samlas were there right from the start - RIO started at Drury Lane with 5 groups at the event :Henry Cow, Stormy Six,Samlas,Etron Fou LeLoublan (which I intensely dislike)and...I believe...Universe Zero.


My fav band are the two lps by Aksak Maboule.
Nimal (Switzerland??) are great and Nazca.
Guess you might also call Decibel's one lp (Mexico) as later RIO.

Somewhere I have the tiny 4"X 3" Chris Cutler Recommended "catalogue" that lists all the bands on his label from the start.


----------



## The Deacon (Jan 14, 2018)

Forgot Present! Great Belgian band. I have the very rare first lp (with the terrible long name, "Triskaphobidea" (or summart loike that).


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The Deacon said:


> Forgot Present! Great Belgian band. I have the very rare first lp (with the terrible long name, "Triskaphobidea" (or summart loike that).


Triskaidekaphobia? That's the fear of the number 13, a peculiarly Schoenbergian disease.


----------



## BHKraft (Dec 25, 2018)

Julverne

Layettes

Pasticcio

Infractus


----------

