Pura Belga. Parte 3. El renacimiento y la escena actual

Con motivo del primer aniversario de Música Transporte les traigo la última parte de la trilogía de música proveniente de Bélgica.  Anteriormente se había presentado Las Conexiones jazzisticas de principios de los 70's y Los orígenes del Chamber Prog. Esta vez Hughes Chantraine nos ubica en el renacimiento del rock belga y la escena actual.

A transportarse...

-The rebirth and the actual scene.

The rest of the 80’s were fairly lean times for Chamber prog, you might want to make an exception for Maximalist who recorded one album, and ex-Cos Daniel Schell and Karo,as well as other prog currents until the early 90’s Aka Moon (harcore jazz-rock if you can believe it ;-) played in the underground and selective Kaaï club, that things started moving again. By the mid-90’s when two bizarre groups appeared on the scene: Cro-Magnon, X-legged Sally, soon followed by Hardscore, but the real news for progheads was mainly the return of firstly Present and then Univers Zero.

Present was the first one to rise from its ashes with a strange Trigaux father/son duo project, before recording a Live album (based on their early records) with US citizen Dave Kerman on drums. They have since have produced three excellent if unsettling avant-prog albums sometimes veering into Les Musiques Nouvelles. Of their second career you could try High Infidelity

Daniel Denis who had been working with French group Art Zoyd and had recorded two solo albums in the early 90’s (both highly reminiscent of U Z) before finally zeroing back into his previous universe with his old buddy Michel Berckmans (he had played and recorded over the whole planet with his bassoon) and reforming Univers Zero. The first two albums (99 and 01 respectively brought nothing new to the music that existed before, but since 2003 and the release of Implosion (where the tracks are separated by small sampled electronics themes) which turned out to be their most essential album since Uzed. Since this album, Univers Zero has been a concert group again and a live album is foreseen early in 2006 soon followed by a DVD.

Cro-Magnon is a mostly Flemish band that has recorded three vastly different albums ranging from acoustic chamber prog and classical somewhere between UZ and Julverne (Zap!) to a very energetic and fully electrified avant-prog like Miriodor (Bull) and to a rather ethnic fusion jazz rock (Brosella)..

Hardscore is the only clear-cut Flemish band - most of the chamber-prog groups discussed in this article were either Wallon (French-speaking) or from Brussels (more bilingual French/Dutch). Their albums are also an acquired taste but definitely oriented towards Frank Zappa, they have produced a highly worthy discography so far. Their most recommended album to date is Surf, Wind And Desire

Finnegans Wake is the project of Henry Crutzen (who is a veteran from the late 70’s) and they developed at first a Canterbury-related sound before progressively sliding towards more fusion-based classical music. Their latest album 4th is a double album which is awesome in spectrum and mastery.

Daniel Schell (ex-Cos) has made three albums (86, 90 & 94) with his group Daniel Schell & Karo, which hovers in between Julverne, jazz, world music, using a Chapman Stick and the Halvenhalf string quartet.

In 1992, the French-speaking government sponsored a big band called La Grande Formation, which produced two distinct groups later that year:

-X-legged Sally (X-L S) is the group of Vervloesem and Vermeersch (ex-Maximalist) who recorded seven albums (and another two as collaborations) which could send a lot of prog musicians back to their cribs. Their best albums are The Land Of The Giant Dwarfs and Killed By Charity. Disbanded by 98, (they went on to form the poppier A Group and later the big band (up to 16) The Flat Earth Society), X-L S had recently stopped activities, but was an incredibly complex mix of all kinds of music currents from free jazz to contemporary classical music and some trash ambiances. Their spirit lives on in the solo album of Pierre Vervloesem whose album Grosso Modo is a real stunner.

A bit aside and mostly accented towards jazz is Aka Moon – a sax-led trio with three outstanding masters (heavily into Coltrane at first), all of whom give lessons at the royal academy. They brought together the high-culture and the rock crowd and recorded with widest possible spectrum of artists. You might want to start with their debut Aka Moonalbum for their love of the great Coltrane and the Ganesh album to see their interest in world music.

Other groups that did not manage to hold for more than one album are Fukkeduk (Ornitozosy in 93) and Louise Avenue (Let’s Take One More from 93). Also of interest isHalvenhalf (Paysage De Carton from 93) and with members of Julverne and the fact that this last group reformed for one album in 99 proves that the Belgian scene is back in full stride.

Comenzando con las bandas, tenemos el proyecto del ex lider de Cos, Daniel Schell. Daniel Schell & Karo se enfoca en música instrumental casi acústica impregnado por world music de distintos lados. También incluyen a la Halvenhalf Quartet, una agrupación de cuerdas . Aquí sus primeros dos albums: If Windows They Have (1988) y The Secret of Blwch (1990). 

Acá la alineación:

- Dirk Descheemaeker / clarinet
- Claudine Steenackers / cello
- Jean-Luc Plouvier / keyboards
- Pierre Narcise / tabla drums
- Daniel Schell / Chapman stick

If Windows They Have

Acá la alineación:

- Dirk Descheemaeker / clarinet
- Jan Kuijken / cello
- Jean-Luc Plouvier / keyboards
- Pierre Narcise / tabla drums
- Daniel Schell / Chapman stick
- Patrick Verstraeten / French horn
- Pierre Van Dormael / guitar
- Jean-Luc Manderlier / keyboards

Halvenhalf Quartet:
- Jeannot Gillis / violin
- Jacqueline Rosenfelt / violin
- Claudine Steenackers / cello
- Wiet Van Der Leest / viola
Choirs and voices:
- Marie-Paule Fayt / Soprano
- Lucy Grauman / Alto
- Bernard Plouvier / Tenor
- Claude Massoz - Bariton

The Secret of Blwch

X Legged Sally es la locura de Pierre Vervloesem y Peter Vermeesch acompañado de sus secuaces. Una mezcla de free jazz, clásica contemporánea y y demás locura que se les atraveso entre cada sinapsisi a este par de talentosoos y creativos músicos. Aquí The Land Of The Giant Dwarfs (1996)

Acá la alineación:

-Pierre Vervloesem - guitars
-Peter Vandenberghe - keyboards
-Paul Belgrado - bass
-Danny Van Hoeck - drums
-Peter Vermeersch - winds
-Bart Maris - winds
-Thierry Mondelaers - vocals
-Michel Mast - Saxes 

Tierra de enanos gigantoides...

Avanzamos con una banda del mejor Chamber que haya salido de Bélgica, Finnegan's Wake. Pura maestría y complejidad. Les dejo una de sus mejores obras: Blue (2008)

Acá la alineación:

Alexandre Johnson / Flutes
Henry Krutzen / Piano, Keyboards, Tenor Sax, Percussion
Alain Lemaître / Bass
Marcílio Onofre / Piano, Keyboards
Xóchil Schütz / Lyrics

guests:
Morgan Ågren*: Drums
Alexandre Casado: Violin
Jubileu Filho: Electric Guitar
Faisal Hussein: Cello
João Johnson: Oboe
John Krutzen: Whistling
Antônio de Pádua: Trumpet, Slide Trumpet
Eduardo Pinheiro: Electric Guitar
Rogério Pitomba: Drums
Amarílis de Rebuá: Vocals
Guy Segers*: Bass
Reginald Trigaux*: Electric Guitar

AZUUL..

Continuamos con algo más jazzero y con bastante humor, los excelentes Hardscore. Con Zappa como principal influencia, les dejo dos discos: Surf, Wind & Desire (2000) y Monkey Trial (2004).

Acá la alineación:

- Maï / lead vocals
- Frank Nuyts / programmings, Korg O1W, marimba, backing vocals
- Frank Debruyne / Soprano & Tenor saxophone, backing vocals
- Koen Van Overberghe / Korg M1, Roland U-220, backing vocals
- Iris De Blaere / Yamaha Grantouch
- Maarten Standaert / electric bass
- Jan De Smet / drums

Surf, viento y deseos...

Acá la alineación:

- Frank Nuyts / all songs (except remixes), all texts, marimba, backing vocals, all programmings, assorted madness and vocals in the soundscapes
- Iris de Blaere piano and management
- Jan Duthoy / syntesizers
- Frank Debruyne / all saxophones, backing vocals
- Maï / lead vocals
- Maarten Standaert / bass
- Jan de Smet / drums
- Frederic Segers / electric guitar 20,23, assorted madness and vocals in the soundscapes
- Stefanie Beyens & Dirk van Vaerenbergh / soundscapes

Juicio al chango...

Aún hay mucho más, sigue esta tercera parte con Fukkeduk y su única y excelente obra, Ornithozozy (1994).

Acá la alineación:

Jan Kuijken/ Cello, Electric Cello
Rik Verstrepen/ Violin, Whistle (Human), Whistle(Instrument)
Kristof Roseeuw/ Bass (Electric), Saw, Singing Saw, Double Bass, Bass (Upright), Block Flute
Paul Klinck/ Violin
Bart Maris Flugelhorn/ Trumpet
Tone De Wulf/ Drums, Percussion
Fukkeduk/ Applause, Handclapping, Main Performer, Vocals
Nick Didkovsky/ Guitar, Producer
Nicolas Roseeuw/ Block Flute, Saxophone, Voices
Frank Ghysels/ Amplifiers, Guitar

Fukkedukkkkkkkkkk

Avanzamos con otra banda que hace una mezcla de Chamber, clásica y rock electrizante de excelentes hechuras, Cro-Magnon. Aqui para disfrutar les dejo: Bull? (1997)

Acá la alineación:

- Stefan Coltura / violin
- Rudy Mollekens / bass guitar
- Koen Van Roy / soprano, alto, baritone saxophones
- Rik Verstrepen / violin, keyboard
- Geert Waegeman / keyboards, sampling, violin, electric guitar

¿¿¿¿Toro????

Ahora una banda que viene empujando fuerte y que ha heredado lo mejor del Chamber Belga de Univers Zero, incluso participaran a lado de ellos en la edición 2001 del Festival R.I.O. Me refiero a Aranis, les dejo su obra maestra Roqueforte (2010).

Acá la alineación:

- Jana Arns / flute
- Liesbeth Lambrecht / violin
- Marjolein Cools / accordion
- Stijn Denys / guitar
- Joris Vanvinckenroye / double bass, compostion

Guest musicians:
- Ward De Vleesschouwer / piano
- Stefan Wellens / viola
- Pierre Chevalier / piano
- Dave Kerman / drums & percussions

Obscuro, roqueforte...

Sigue esto con otra banda jazzera, AKA Moon. Una banda prolífica con bastante música y estilos de donde escoger, les dejo uno de mis favoritos, el Invisible Mother (1999).

Acá la alineación:

- Fabrizio Cassol / Alto saxophone & composer
- Michel Hatzigeorgiou / bass
- Stéphane Galland / drums
- Fabian Fiorini / piano

+ ICTUS ensemble:
- George-Elie Octors / conductor
- Takashi Yamane / clarinets
- Piet Van Bockstal / oboe & English horn
- George Van Dam / violin
- Paul De Clerck / viola
- Gery Cambier / double bass
- Jean-Luc Plouvier / piano, celesta on 18, 19, 20

Madre, apareceee

Culminamos esta trilogía con las dos bandas más grandes que a mi gusto ha dado Bélgica, Univers Zero y Present. La anterior parte había presentado los primeros discos de este par de bandas, ahora les dejo de sus últimos trabajos para que aprecien la progresión, innovación y madurez que han desarrollado disco tras disco y reconozcan el gran legado que han desparramado en este mundo este par de bandotas. Univers Zero: Uzed (1984) e Implosion (2004). Present: High Infidelity (2001).

Acá la alineación:

- Daniel Denis / drums, percussion, synthesizer
- Dirk Descheemaeker / soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Christian Genet / bass, balafon, bowed guitar, tapes, whistle
- Andre Mergen / cello, alto sax, voice
- Jean-Luc Plouvier / electric & acoustic pianos, synthesizer, piano strings, percussion

UZED

Acá la alineación:

- Daniel Denis Denis / drums, percussion, keyboard, samplers, accordion, guitar
- Michel Berckmans / oboe, English horn, bassoon
- Serge Bertocchi / saxes & tubax
- Aurelia Boven / cello
- Ariane De Bievre / flute, piccolo
- Dirk Descheemaeker / bass clarinet, clarinet
- Bart Maris / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Eric Plantain / electric bass
- Christophe Pons / acoustic guitar
- Bart Quartier /marimba, glockenspiel
- Igor Semenoff / violin

IMPLOSION

Acá la alineación:

- Roger Trigaux / guitar, vocal
- Reginald Trigaux / guitar, vocal
- Pierre Chevalier / piano, keyboards, organ, mellotron, vocal
- Dave Kerman / drums, percussion, vocal
- Keith Macksoud / bass
- Matthieu Safatly / cello, vocal
- Fred Becker / alto & tenor sax
- Dominic Ntoumos / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Udi Koomran / sound

Guest musicians:
- Yuval Mesner / cello
- Meidad Zaharia / accordion

Alta Infidelidad...

Ahí tienen una buena rebanada de lo mejor que se ha cocinado en Bélgica musicalmente hablando, un sub-universo de música fantástica.

Y sigan disfrutando de este blog, así como yo he disfrutado de escribir en él y transportarme durante este primer año.

Y otra vez...

A transportarse a las latitudes belgas...