DANIEL DENIS

The beauty of this offering, which is quite a bit different from Daniel's incredible first album, is the ensemble approach. Very organic, with just a small touch of nice synthetic stuff added as "color." The recording is also very clean and the placement of sounds in the stereo spectrum is natural and yet really lends itself to headphone listening.

I for one am so thankful for Daniel Denis as he is a drummers drummer, and yet his real talent lies in composition and execution of ideals and ideas. Thank you Mr. Denis for the years of the very best in the RIO genre.

The synth textures are classic and the composition is just what you'd expect from someone of Daniel Denis' prowess. The dynamics (a forgotten thing in almost all music today!) is so well done that when they're abrupt, it's the slight relief that he sought, not some over thought/over blown let down as so many bands are doing today. This is original art.

As always, thanks for listening, and THANKS!!! to Progarchives for such a wonderful outlet.

Tom

Difficult? Perhaps. It does take time, this one, and may slip into the background unnoticed until something pleases your tongue, but the good moments are as plentiful as the vapid ones and make up a successful whole.

Although the pieces are well written, not all of them sound fully realised. Only two tracks feature Denis on full drum kit, and the excellent supporting players are only used sparingly. This is the main weakness of an otherwise good album - parts which could have been interpreted more imaginatively by other players are performed by Denis himself on synthesisers and electric keyboards. It's no accident that the strongest pieces on the album are those which come closest to being a full band performance - Beyond the Mountains and A`L'Ombre Du Zed are extremely strong, with the brilliant reeds player Dirk Descheemaeker adding some real colour and the low end of the sonic palette being complemented by cellist Jan Kuijken and bassist Michel Hatzigeorgiou. The pieces that make up the second half of the album sound relatively thin in comparison; Sirius is played entirely by Denis except for the clarinet part, and on Strange Twist the only support comes from the bassist. Sirius features some excellent percussion, and Strange Twist sees Denis back on the drum stool doing what he does best, but there's something a bit lifeless about the arrangements. The album closes with the sombre Fete Souterraine, the only completely solo performance on the album. This is played entirely on keyboards, and while it's atmospheric enough the presence of some acoustic instrumentation would have made a big difference.

For Univers Zero fans there is plenty to enjoy on this album. Whilst it's not as strong as anything released by the band proper, it's still a solid, well crafted piece of work that is unmistakably in the same style. Denis' drumming is as powerful as ever, and he acquits himself respectably on keyboards. Newcomers would be better advised to start with Univers Zero's Ceux Du Dehors and proceed from there.

The two lengthy tracks that open and (almost) close the album are closest in style to Univers Zero, and in between them he lets his muse run free and pays homage to some of his influences. 'Coeur de Boeuf' - literally translated 'Heart of Beef' is a deftly executed tip of the hat to another great individual stylist, Captain Beefheart, and features some nimble marimba playing from future Univers Zero member Bart Quartier. 'Bulgarian Flying Spirit Dances' draws heavily on the East European composers who are an obvious influence on his work, particularly Bartok. 'Opus Rictus', despite the sombre title, is almost playful, propelled along by bass tuba and some agreeably daft massed voices. Denis' drumming is impeccable throughout, and he coaxes superb performances from all his guests. Jan Kuijken on cello and Dirk Descheemaeker on clarinet make particularly fine contributions.

This album is recommended to any fans of RIO and Zeuhl. Whilst it's not exactly easy listening, it's probably the most accessible of Denis' work to date.

Unlike the previous album, the tracks are shorter and some suggest a bit of humour something almost inconcievable with such somber music still very much in U Z mould.

Recommended only to the usual fans of such adventurous music.

If you are an unconditional U Z fan , you shall not be disappointed with those solo works. This sounds almost more U Z than some U Z albums, but with slightly less variety/palette of sounds. Among the guests are Hatzigeorgiou , bassist extraordinaire from Aka Moon anf future U Z collaborators Descheemaeker on winds Kuiken on strings. The music does not veer far from U Z albums and is just as somber.