...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI..


..::OPIS::..

Trzyletnia przerwa, dzieląca "Uzed" od poprzedniego w dyskografii Univers Zero albumu "Ceux Du Dehors", przyniosła wiele zmian. Przede wszystkim w składzie nie pozostał żaden z dotychczasowych muzyków, z wyjątkiem perkusisty i lidera Daniela Denisa oraz wracającego po przerwie Christiana Geneta. Nowi instrumentaliści wykazali się jednak doskonałym zrozumieniem specyficznej twórczości belgijskiego zespołu, który zachował swoją rozpoznawalność. Nie da się jednak ukryć, że "Uzed" to album wyjątkowo łatwy w odbiorze... Oczywiście, jak na Univers Zero. To wciąż muzyka silnie inspirowana XX-wieczną poważką, a szczególnie dokonaniami Igora Strawinskiego i Beli Bartoka, oparta w dużym stopniu na brzmieniach akustycznych, aczkolwiek wspartych mocną grą sekcji rytmicznej, dodającej rockową dynamikę. Tym razem jednak utwory wydają się jakby trochę mniej skomplikowane - wciąż jednak bardziej złożone i abstrakcyjne od zdecydowanej większości muzyki rockowej - a na pewno wyraźniej zaznaczona jest tu warstwa melodyczna. Niewiele tu też posępnego klimatu, który charakteryzował wcześniejsze płyty, szczególnie zaś budzący autentyczną grozę "Heresie".

Zmieniło się też trochę instrumentarium. Na dwóch pierwszych płytach było słychać dużo fisharmonii, organów i akustycznego pianina, na "Ceux Du Dehors" doszedł jeszcze melotron i syntezatory. Tutaj brzmienia klawiszowe ograniczają się wyłącznie do akustycznego i elektrycznego pianina oraz syntezatorów. Ponadto saksofony i klarnety zajęły miejsce fagotu i oboju, a altówka oraz (z wyjątkiem jednego utworu) skrzypce zostały zastąpione przez wiolonczelę. Trzeba jeszcze wspomnieć o większym niż kiedykolwiek wcześniej zastosowaniu elektrycznej gitary. Po raz pierwszy, choć jeszcze w dość zachowawczy sposób, pojawiają się też eksperymenty z taśmami. To wszystko ogromnie wpływa na brzmienie. Pewną nowością są także pobrzmiewające tu i ówdzie melodie typowe dla Środkowego Wchodu. Świetnie słychać to już na przykładzie rozpoczynającego longplay "Présage". Zresztą sam początek tego nagrania zaskakuje swoją delikatnością i prostotą, dopiero po kilkudziesięciu sekundach zaczyna się typowe dla Univers Zero kombinowanie, choć w zaskakująco melodyjnym wydaniu. I wcale nie pozbawia to tej muzyki walorów artystycznych, lecz wzbogaca ją o nową jakość. Zbliżony kierunek muzycy obrali w większości utworów, przede wszystkim w "Parade" i najdłuższym na płycie "Émanations", a jeszcze dalej od swoich korzeni odeszli w "Célesta (for Chantal)". Najbardziej zakręcony i najbliższy wcześniejszych dokonań jest natomiast najkrótszy w zestawie "L'Étrange Mixture Du Docteur Schwartz".

Univers Zero zaproponował na "Uzed" coś zdecydowanie odmiennego od wcześniejszych dokonań, a jednocześnie bardzo dobrze z nimi korespondującego. Daniel Denis z nowymi muzykami nie zaczął nagle grać zupełnie inaczej, a raczej rozwinął wcześniejszą koncepcję w innym kierunku, wprowadzając różne zmiany, ale to niewątpliwie wciąż Univers Zero. Dla słuchaczy, którzy dopiero zaczynają interesować się bardziej awangardowymi odmianami rocka progresywnego, "Uzed" to zdecydowanie lepszy wybór od "Heresie". Choć to jeszcze nie najłatwiejszy w odbiorze album grupy.

Paweł Pałasz


Totally Remastered Version

Uzed is the fourth album by Belgian band Univers Zero. It was released three years after 'Ceux du Dehors', due to a change in line-up and a new repertoire, although the EP 'Crawling Wind' had been released in the meantime.
The album marked a turning point for the band. Univers Zero explored new electric colors, giving it a more rock feel with the addition of new musicians such as Jean-Luc Plouvier, who introduced the synthesizer, guitarist Michel Delory, who played a memorable solo in 'Célesta (For Chantal)', and André Mergen on electric cello and alto saxophone, who enriched the orchestral texture. Dirk Descheemaeker on clarinet and soprano saxophone, the return of Christian Genet on bass, this
evolution can also be explained by the arrival of new musicians.
UZED'is entirely composed and arranged by Daniel Denis. The recording and mixing were done at Daylight Studio in Brussels
in 1984, but to bring out UZED, the sound had to be improved by giving it more dynamic range, which was done at ICP Studios in 2024.



UZ's fourth studio album (fifth release after the short compilation Crawling Winds) is the cornerstone of UZ's career. Up to now, UZ's music had been mostly acoustic RIO, developing sinister moods and searching for human's darker instincts. But with this fourth album, Denis was to change considerably UZ's direction and this was due in no small part to the friendly competition he maintained with ex-UZ Roger Trigaux, who had formed Present (with Denis holding the drum stool), and pushing each other to explore new musical territories. By now, Daniel Denis was the last remaining original member, Berckmans devoting his effort to Von Zamla. In comes future long time collab Dirk Descheemaeker on winds, Genet on bass and assorted string instruments, Plouvier (another future central figure) on keyboards and Mergen on cello and sax.
This album, as I said above, is the start of a new direction and can be easily seen as a blueprint for all their future album until Implosion. The music had now shifted from the sinister and macabre to the sombre and mysterious ambiances, the eastern influences being much more present (pardon the pun ;-), than previously. One of the most striking results is that the album is generally more melodious than the previous three, which often flirted with dissonance and atonal music. Here, the music has mystic and grandiose aspects not previously developed. The opener Présage is probably my favourite track as the mystery of the mid-eastern dawns (with the cello strongly inducing Arab ambiances) in a yet-asleep harem (see why I think this is their best track? ;-) and the first smell ogf Green tea as you are heading for the hamam with three beautiful creatures, and the clarinet providing the drama: this almost 10-min track is flawless. The manic Doctor Schwartz is a 100 mph nightmare with Plouvier's piano providing the base for a haunting cello and clarinet. Wrapping up the first side of this wax slice, is Celeste (with two guest-musicians), a slow-developing almost 7-min track where the piano has the dominant role until the monstrous entrance of the "beast and Delory's electric guitar (sometimes reminding you of Pinhas or Fripp) is clearly its angry scream. The only flaw I can think of is that the track ends in a fade-out.

Parade is probably where Miriodor took a good deal of their inspiration and the mad breaking noise are extremely disturbing, but the insane beat is not letting you off the hook. Centrepiece Emmanations is one stunning and most convincing track, where Univers Zero is simply taking on the role of a progressive giant group, but if it is not known widely among the progheads, it is mostly because this album was recorded in 84. Had it been recorded a decade earlier, no doubt that this album would be standing with Magma's 1001° Centigrade or Henry Cow's Legend. Denis's composing powers are simply impressive and his percussions are awesomely inventive, and the oppressive but enthralling ambiances make the almost 16-min track seem too short. In the closing section, the track diverges into electronic delirium, which some twenty years later, Denis will come back to and base his Implosion album around similar themes.

Clearly the album separating the two phases of UZ, this album will serve as a template for UZ albums for two decades to come (including Denis's two solo albums). Absolutely essential music, one if not the best album in its genre.

Sean Trane


Having started from the beginning with UNIVERS ZERO, the first thing I noticed when listening to this album was how different it sounded from the earlier ones. For me this is their first 5 star album and my second favourite from them after the next one "Heatwave". This one is more electric than the earlier ones and they have traded the harmonium, bassoon, aboe and english horn for the sax, clarinet and synths. I liked the way Sean Trane described the difference, it's like going from the macabre and sinister to the mysterious and sombre. Yes this still has lots of dark passages, but there is actually moments that feel like dusk, as opposed to being always in the night. The cello is used in place of the violin as well, although there is some guest violin and guitar on one track.
"Presage" is my favourite song on here. It opens with some beautiful piano before kicking in before a minute with drums and bass. This contrast continues. The cello before 3 minutes is nice as drums and bass pound away. A scorching cello melody as piano comes back reminding me of the intro. "L'Etrange Mixture Du Docteur Schwartz" features a lot of tempo changes. It slows right down 3 minutes in as piano and cello end it. "Celesta (For Chantal)" is a dark and slow moving song with piano and some guest violin leading the way. Heavy drums after 5 minutes as the guest guitar grinds away. Nice. Synths as well on this one.

"Parade" is lighter and more uptempo. A terrific collage of various sounds including horns, synths, piano, drums and cello as the tempo and mood continues to shift. "Emmanations" is by far the longest track at over 15 minutes. It rivals the first song as my favourite. It opens with lots of atmosphere that is tense and eerie. It starts to brighten a little before 2 minutes. The pace is stepped up a notch 4 minutes in as bass and drums deliver the goods. It becomes dark and ominous 5 1/2 minutes in as the climate continues to change. I like the section after 10 minutes. After 14 minutes we get some spooky and dark sounds to end it.

A nice change for the band, and they will continue on this path for their next record "Heatwave".

Mellotron Storm



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Présage 9:48
2. L'Etrange Mixture Du Docteur Schwartz 3:52
3. Célesta (For Chantal) 6:55
Guitar - Michel Delory
Violin - Marc Verbist

4. Parade 6:37
5. Émanations 15:43

Bonus Track:
6. Triomphe Des Mouches 9:51

Track 6 recorded live on March 31st at 'The Pavillon' in Hanover, Germany.



..::OBSADA::..

Daniel Denis - drums, percussion, synthesizer
Dirk Descheemaeker - soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
Christian Genet - bass guitar, balafon, bowed guitar, tapes, whistle
André Mergen - cello, alto sax, voice
Jean-Luc Plouvier - electric and acoustic pianos, synthesizers, piano string, percussion

with:
Michael Delory - electric guitar [on 'Célesta (For Chantal)']
Mark Verbist - violin [on 'Célesta (For Chantal)']




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fJNCT4vBrY



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