Grapthar's Song of the Day: Univers Zero - 'Emanations'

was a pretty weird, out-there band, I'd continue in that tradition with a group that I just discovered recently, through a 'What's in My Bag?' episode, where bands and artists visit Amoeba Records in LA and film a quick video about their purchases that day. The description of the band seemed really interesting, and after checking out what was available on Spotify, I wasn't disappointed. Univers Zero are an instrumental group, first formed in 1974 in Belgium by the group's drummer, Daniel Denis. Considering the life of the band, they haven't had very many members over the years, with each participant (generally) being a multi-instrumentalist, and often classically trained. However, the group was (at least for a period in the mid/late '70s part of a movement called 'Rock in Opposition' (RIO), which wanted to push back against both classical music and the gatekeepers of it, and punk and rock music, and the cliche's developing there. The band's first album was released in 1977, and featured a lot of orchestral instrumentation. However, as the group evolved, and released more music, they began to incorporate more synthesizers, electronics, and electric guitars/basses, particularly in the music they released in the '80s, though the crazy experimental nature was always present. This song is the closing track from the band's 1984 EP, Uzed, and was the first thing I heard from the group. Some of the writing feels a bit proggy at times, but there is also a lot of wild, noisey dissonance, and chaotic rhythms that give it a much more strange vibe.