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Univers Zéro — Crawling Wind
(Cuneiform Rune 155, 1983/2001, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2001-12-01

Crawling Wind Cover art

The final installment in the Univers Zéro reissue program is Crawling Wind, originally a 12” EP released in a limited edition by Recommended Japan. For the reissue, Cuneiform has generously added three bonus tracks, including two never-released live gems. The original three tracks from the Crawling Wind EP feature the five-piece lineup of Daniel Denis, Dirk Descheemaeker, Guy Segers, Andy Kirk, and Alan Ward on violin; they sum up the range of UZ’s diverse styles, from the highly melodic, East-Euro folk-influenced “Toujours Plus à l’Est” to the dark and menacing “Before the Heat,” to a ten-minute live piece “Central Belgium in the Dark,” seeming to be part composed, part improvised, but nonetheless effective, and most typical of UZ’s dark, electrified chamber-rock style, which draws as much influence from Bartók and Ives as from King Crimson and Magma. The first bonus track, “Influences,” is another studio piece from around the same period, which originally appeared on the 2LP Recommended Records Sampler, a moody and dramatic piece that builds through a number of sections. The two live cuts, “Complainte” and “Triomphe des Mouches,” previously released in studio versions only, are from ’79 and ’84 respectively, featuring wildly differing lineups (drummer Daniel Denis is the only musician featured on both). Perhaps now that all the studio material has been released, we might see the release of more live material from the archives. Well, one can hope. At any rate, Crawling Wind is essential UZ, and the bonus tracks only make it that much more so.

Filed under: Reissues, Issue 23, 2001 releases, 1983 recordings

Related artist(s): Univers Zéro, Daniel Denis

More info
http://universzero.bandcamp.com/album/crawling-wind

 

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