Rock in Opposition
Encyclopedia
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
representing a collective of progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
in March 1978 when they invited four mainland European
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
groups to come to London and perform in a festival called "Rock in Opposition".
History
Practically ignored in their own country, Henry CowHenry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
spent most of their last five years touring mainland Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
. There they encountered many innovative groups who were virtually unknown outside their own countries. What Henry Cow had in common with these groups was that record companies were not interested in their music. (Henry Cow's contract with Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
was cancelled when Virgin found that they were not making money for them.)
Henry Cow decided to expose a few of these European groups to British audiences and organised, with the help by a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1000 grant from the British Arts Council
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
, a festival in London they called "Rock in Opposition" with the slogan: "The music the record companies don't want you to hear". The event took place on 12 March 1978 at the New London Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
with the following groups performing:
- Henry CowHenry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
(England) - Stormy SixStormy SixStormy Six were an Italian progressive and folk rock band founded in Milan in 1966. They performed and recorded until 1983, mostly as a sextet but occasionally as a quartet, a quintet and a septet. Although their line-up changed considerably over the years, founding member Franco Fabbri remained...
(ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) - Samla Mammas MannaSamla Mammas MannaSamla Mammas Manna was a Swedish progressive rock band, often characterized by its virtuoso musicianship, circus references and silly humour, similar in many ways to the song-writing styles of Frank Zappa. They were one of the founding members of the Rock in Opposition movement in the late 1970s....
(SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) - Univers ZeroUnivers ZéroUnivers Zero are an instrumental Belgian band known for playing dark music heavily influenced by 20th century chamber music. The group's name has had three variant spellings, the others being Univers Zéro and Univers-Zero....
(BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) - Etron Fou LeloublanEtron Fou LeloublanEtron Fou Leloublan, also known as EFL, were a French avant-rock band founded in 1973 by actor and saxophonist Chris Chanet. They recorded five studio albums between 1976 and 1985, and released a live album, En Public Aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique recorded during a tour of the United States in 1979...
(France)
While "Rock in Opposition" was never intended to be a formal organisation, the festival did generate "a lot of press around the world". This prompted the five bands to discuss future plans and in December 1978 they met at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg
Kirchberg, St. Gallen
Kirchberg is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:Kirchberg has an area, , of . Of this area, 59.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.9% is forested...
, Switzerland to reconstitute Rock in Opposition as a collective
Collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...
. By this time Henry Cow no longer existed as a group, but as RIO's prime mover its former members still actively participated.
RIO's primary aim was to represent and promote its members. It was decided that membership should remain closed and small, although new members would be welcome provided they (i) adhered to "musical excellence" (as evaluated by the collective); (ii) worked actively "outside the music business"; and (iii) had a "social commitment to Rock". Using these criteria, three new members were elected:
- Art ZoydArt ZoydArt Zoyd is a French band formed in 1968, mixing free jazz, progressive rock and avant-garde electronica.Like other members of the Rock in Opposition movement, Art Zoyd fuses progressive rock and jazz with contemporary classical music. Like fellow RIO member Univers Zéro, they are also influenced...
(France) - Art BearsArt BearsArt Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler , Fred Frith and Dagmar Krause...
(England, made up of former Henry Cow members) - Aksak MaboulAksak MaboulAksak Maboul were a Belgian avant-rock band founded in 1977 by Marc Hollander and Vincent Kenis. They made two studio albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits , the last one with ex-Henry Cow members Chris Cutler and Fred Frith...
(BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
)
A second RIO festival, organised by Stormy Six, took place between 26 April and 1 May 1979 at al Teatro dell'Elfo in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy where all seven groups performed, the original four (minus Henry Cow) plus the three new groups. During the festival, the RIO members met formally again to discuss the way forward. However, despite some constructive discussion, disagreements arose between the groups regarding RIO's role and matters were left unresolved. Two further RIO festivals took place in Sweden and Belgium, but no new meetings, and by the end of 1979, RIO as an organisation had "quietly slipped away".
Recommended Records
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
from Henry Cow and Art Bears and one of the active participants in RIO, had established Recommended Records
Recommended Records
Recommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
(RēR), an independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
and distribution network for RIO and similar artists. When RIO folded as an organisation, RēR continued RIO's work by representing and promoting marginalised musicians and groups. RēR became a "virtual" RIO, and "... is part of the continuing legacy of RIO".
RIO as a genre
When RIO ceased being an organisation its name moved into the public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
where it took on the meaning of a music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
. While the term "RIO" was never used to refer to a particular style of music during the organisation's existence (the original RIO bands were quite diverse musically), it became used by listeners, musicians, and distributors as a means of classifying a particular subset of avant-garde artists – generally bands that appeared at the RIO festivals, or bands related to or derived from the original RIO bands, and artists who showed a distinct musical influence from one or more of the original RIO bands and their spin-offs.
Bands familiarised with the RIO movement and genre today include: 5uu's
5uu's
The 5uu's were an American avant-rock group founded in Los Angeles, California in 1984 by drummer-composer Dave Kerman. The group released their first album in 1986 and recorded a second in 1988 with Motor Totemist Guild, a similar band from the area. The two groups merged in 1988 to form U Totem...
(USA), Guapo
Guapo (band)
Guapo is a British experimental rock/art rock band formed in the mid 1990s by drummer/percussionist Dave Smith and guitarist/vocalist Matt Thompson...
(UK), Miriodor
Miriodor
Miriodor is a Canadian musical group in the field of what is known as Rock in Opposition; the band combines jazz, progressive rock and chamber music into a powerful sound reminiscent of better known artists like Univers Zéro or Art Zoyd...
(Canada), and Thinking Plague
Thinking Plague
Thinking Plague is a United States avant-rock group founded in 1982 by guitarist/composer, Mike Johnson, and bass guitarist/drummer, Bob Drake. Based in Denver, Colorado, the band has been active off and on since 1982, taking on a number of musicians over the years...
(USA). The term "RIO" today is almost synonymous with avant-rock or experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
.
"Reunions"
A "reunion" festival took place at the Maison de la Musique de Cap Découverte in CarmauxCarmaux
Carmaux is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.Carmaux was famous for its important coal mining and its glassworks . "In 1892, Jean Jaurès supported the miners of Carmaux when they went on strike over the dismissal of their leader, Jean Baptiste Calvignac."...
, France in April 2007. The spirit of the original festival was preserved in that only artists of quality, innovation and the willingness to be "in opposition" to the commercial music industry performed. The line-up at this event included: Magma
Magma (band)
Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a...
, Faust
Faust (band)
Faust are a German krautrock band. Formed in 1971 in Wümme, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, working with record producer Uwe Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner.-History:Faust...
, the Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
trio (including Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
), Present
Present (band)
Present is a Belgian progressive rock group formed by guitarist Roger Trigaux in 1979.- Biography :Trigaux was a founding member of Univers Zero and participated on the first two albums. After Heresie he left Univers Zero to concentrate on his own vision and founded Present...
, Zao, Mats/Morgan
Mats/Morgan Band
Mats/Morgan Band is a band that features Morgan Ågren and Mats Öberg. Morgan is a drummer and composer and Mats is a keyboard player and composer. The band is a showcase for their virtuosic skills on their respective instruments as well as their compositional skills...
, Guapo
Guapo (band)
Guapo is a British experimental rock/art rock band formed in the mid 1990s by drummer/percussionist Dave Smith and guitarist/vocalist Matt Thompson...
, NeBeLNeST, Salle Gaveau and GMEA.
A second edition of the France RIO event took place in September 2009 at the same venue as the first. The line-up was Yolk, Aranis, The Muffins
The Muffins
The Muffins are an American Maryland-based progressive rock/avant-jazz group. They were formed in Washington, DC in the early 1970s and recorded four albums before disbanding in 1981. In 1998 the group reformed and recorded a further five albums and a DVD...
, Charles Hayward
Charles Hayward (musician)
Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock group This Heat. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Radar Favourites, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with old schoolfriend and "Pooh and the Ostrich Feather" member Phil Manzanera in the...
, Kōenji Hyakkei
Koenji hyakkei
, also known as Kōenjihyakkei, is a Japanese Zeuhl band led by Yoshida Tatsuya of Ruins fame. The band released their first album in 1994 with Aki Kubota from Bondage Fruit on vocals and keyboard...
, Present
Present (band)
Present is a Belgian progressive rock group formed by guitarist Roger Trigaux in 1979.- Biography :Trigaux was a founding member of Univers Zero and participated on the first two albums. After Heresie he left Univers Zero to concentrate on his own vision and founded Present...
, Magma
Magma (band)
Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a...
, Univers Zero
Univers Zéro
Univers Zero are an instrumental Belgian band known for playing dark music heavily influenced by 20th century chamber music. The group's name has had three variant spellings, the others being Univers Zéro and Univers-Zero....
, Combat Astronomy, Electric Epic, Guapo
Guapo (band)
Guapo is a British experimental rock/art rock band formed in the mid 1990s by drummer/percussionist Dave Smith and guitarist/vocalist Matt Thompson...
and GMEA.
A third "reunion" festival took place in September 2010 in France at the same venue as the previous festivals. The line-up was Art Bears Songbook
Art Bears
Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler , Fred Frith and Dagmar Krause...
(UK, USA), Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
(France, UK), Caspar Brötzmann Massaker
Caspar Brötzmann
Caspar Brötzmann is an electric guitar player.While Brötzmann typically performs with the power trio lineup of Caspar Brötzmann Massaker , with guitar, bass guitar and drum set, he only uses rock and roll and heavy metal music as a basis for his music...
(Germany), Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is an American experimental rock band, formed in 1999 in Oakland, California. The band fuses classical, industrial, and art-rock themes throughout their music...
(USA), Rational Diet (Belarus), Jannick Top/Infernal Machina
Jannick Top
Jannick Top is a French bass player and composer, born in Marseille. Top plays the electric bass and the cello.In the 1970s, he was a lead member of the influential zeuhl band Magma, along with Christian Vander and Didier Lockwood...
(France), Thierry Zaboitzeff (ex Art Zoyd
Art Zoyd
Art Zoyd is a French band formed in 1968, mixing free jazz, progressive rock and avant-garde electronica.Like other members of the Rock in Opposition movement, Art Zoyd fuses progressive rock and jazz with contemporary classical music. Like fellow RIO member Univers Zéro, they are also influenced...
) "Cross the Bridge" (France, Austria), Full Blast (Germany, Switzerland), Miriodor
Miriodor
Miriodor is a Canadian musical group in the field of what is known as Rock in Opposition; the band combines jazz, progressive rock and chamber music into a powerful sound reminiscent of better known artists like Univers Zéro or Art Zoyd...
(Canada), Genevieve Foccroulle (Belgique) and Aquaserge (France).
The forth edition of the France RIO also took place in September 2011, with a line-up of: Arno
Arno Hintjens
Arno Hintjens , usually referred to as Arno, is a Belgian artist born in Ostend. He was the frontman of the group TC Matic. After the band split in 1986 he went solo....
, Univers Zero
Univers Zéro
Univers Zero are an instrumental Belgian band known for playing dark music heavily influenced by 20th century chamber music. The group's name has had three variant spellings, the others being Univers Zéro and Univers-Zero....
+ Present
Present (band)
Present is a Belgian progressive rock group formed by guitarist Roger Trigaux in 1979.- Biography :Trigaux was a founding member of Univers Zero and participated on the first two albums. After Heresie he left Univers Zero to concentrate on his own vision and founded Present...
+ Aranis ("Once Upon a Time in Belgium"), Alamaailman Vasarat
Alamaailman Vasarat
Alamaailman Vasarat is a cult avant-garde Finnish group. Their music covers a wide range of styles and influences and is therefore difficult to classify; on their official website they jokingly refer to their style as being "kebab-kosher-jazz-film-traffic-punk-music." Much of their music is...
, Vialka, Yugen, Gargantua, Panzerballett
Panzerballett
Panzerballett is a Munich quintet led by guitarist, composer and arranger Jan Zehrfeld whose music style is best described as jazz-metal.-Band History:...
, Jack Dupon
Jack Dupon
Jack Dupon is a French progressive rock band. Their musical style is classified as RIO or Rock in Opposition / Avant-Prog, as described by the site-ProgArchives.com....
, Grumpf Quartet, Sax Ruins vs. Ruins Alone vs. Ono Ryoko, and Dispositivoperilanciobliquodiunasferett.
External links
- Rock in Opposition. Phil Zampino at Squidco.
- Rock in Opposition. Chris Cutler homepage.
- Melody Maker review of the 1st RIO festival. Stormy Six homepage.
- Interview with Chris Cutler on RIO. Hebrew guide to progressive rock.