The continuation of Nurse With Wound List week finds us visiting the world of Art Zoyd. The French band that formed in 1968 and traversed free jazz, prog and avant-garde electronic music to form a proto-classical sound that found contemporaries across Europe in the “Rock In Opposition” movement. A former festival spearheaded by Henry Cow, RIO turned into a closed-knit collective who aimed to operate outside the music business, adhere to a style of musical excellence (as determined by the collective) and maintain a social commitment to rock. The original members were Henry Cow, Stormy Six, Samla Mammas Manna, Univers Zero and Etron Fou Leloublan, but later Art Bears (former members of Henry Cow), Aksak Maboul and Art Zoyd were elected. Five years later, the world was blessed with Les Espaces Inquiets.
The album opens with an absolutely bizarre and stunning composition with whispering voices juxtaposed to unsettling noises and sporadic stringed instruments. Of the progressive tunes, “Migrations” is one that really highlights Zoyd’s ability to transcend the genre (seems weird to say that you can transcend being progressive, but just go with it) by incorporating classical elements. Horns and strings and synth combine to form something that sounds wholly unique and unclassifiable. It’s a great example of the Art Zoyd sound, which is total avant-garde and yet rooted in styles that are easily traceable throughout rock (and classical) history. Very cool stuff. And, obviously, a great influence on the aforementioned Nurse With Wound, who saw fit to cite Zoyd on their “list” of inspiring artists.
A few years ago a former co-worker of mine purchased a very large record collection. It was the kind of massive, all-encompassing “readymade” collection where with one stroke his Norwegian prog albums outnumbered every jazz record I owned. It was kind of sick, in all honesty. I think he’s still in the process of ripping albums to hard drives and selling off pieces he doesn’t intend to keep. I was lucky enough to get in the door pretty early on during the process and spend an afternoon with him listening to the likes of Brast Burn, Univers Zero, Lard Free, Dedalus, Sperm, Ash Ra Tempel and so many others. His was the first copy of Walter Wegmuller‘s Tarot I ever held in my hands. And I had an opportunity to buy it, but the price just wasn’t right for me. Nevertheless, I walked away with a formidable haul (considering my compromised budget at the time). And though I didn’t know it at the time, I saw this Art Zoyd record in his house — in a large box of Nurse With Wound List records by Floh De Cologne and Claudio Rocchi and others — and I passed on it. This was in November of 2010. The very next month, Les Espaces Inquiets passed through my hands at work, and I couldn’t pass it up. It was Christmas Eve, 2010. It was a Merry Christmas for me that year, indeed.
Art Zoyd
Les Espaces Inquiets
(Cryonic Inc. ?– MAD 3001, 1983)
A1. La Forêt Qui Avance
A2. Cérémonie
A3. Errance
A4. Cortège Des Officiels
B1. Au Delà Des Vallées
B2. Migrations [MP3]
B3. Le Bruit Du Fer
