Founded in 1984
FRANCE IS THE PLACE TO BE
SEPTEMBER 16-17-18 FOR
ROCK IN OPPOSITION 2016!
Cuneiform Records is Proud to Announce that Three Cuneiform-Associated Bands/Recording Artists are among the Stellar Lineup at:
Cuneiform Records is proud to announce that three of its artists will be among the groups performing at the 2016 Rock in Opposition (R.I.O.) Festival to be held in France. This three-day festival devoted to artistically-uncompromising rock music celebrates “the incendiary spirit of Rock in Opposition” and will draw audiences from around the world. Featuring some of the most provocative, innovative, and artistically-progressive rock music created over the past three decades to the present day, the Rock in Opposition festival aims to “transport the creative flames and anti-corporate-rock aesthetic of the original Rock in Opposition movement into the new millennium.”
This year, for 2016, the festival will spotlight eleven of the most adventurous artists and bands on the current international avant-music scene. The full lineup for RiO-France 2016 includes:
Apollonius Abraham Schwarz (Switzerland)
Cicala-Mvta (Japan)
Half the Sky (Japan)
Jump for Joy (England, Germany, Netherlands)
MAGMA (France)
Nippon Eldorado Kabarett (Italy, Japan)
No Noise No Reduction (France)
Pixvae (France)
Richard Pinhas & Arthur Narcy (France)
Upsilon Acrux (USA)
Uz Jsme Doma (Czech Republic)
••••••
Three of the performing ensembles - Richard Pinhas & Arthur Narcy (France), Upsilon Acrux (USA), and Uz Jsme Doma (Czech Republic) are associated with the American label, Cuneiform Records. Two of these artists - Richard Pinhas (France) & Upsilon Acrux (USA) - have each released multiple recordings on Cuneiform, and Pinhas is releasing two new Cuneiform albums to coincide with his RiO-2016 appearance. A third band at RiO 2016, Uz Jsme Doma (Czech Republic), released an album on Cuneiform in 2010; most of its recordings are on the Czech Skoda and Indies labels.
RiO-France is 2016's essential event for fans of cutting-edge rock, avant-progressive, and chamber-rock music. Visit the official RiO France 2016 website for more information on the performing artists, festival schedule/program, transportation, lodging, tickets, and more: http://www.rocktime.org/rio/index.php/en/
Jump to:
Richard Pinhas - Upsilon Acrux - Uz Jsme Doma - Cuneiform - RIO France
••••••
CUNEIFORM RECORDING ARTISTS AT
RIO FESTIVAL-France 2016:
The three Cuneiform artists & associated groups appearing at
Rock in Opposition-France 2016 include:
Richard Pinhas & Arthur Narcy (France) - performing Sept. 17th @ 11:20 PM
Upsilon Acrux (USA) - performing Sept. 18th @ 6:15 PM
Uz Jsme Doma (Czech Republic) - performing Sept. 18th @ 2:00 PM
••••••
CUNEIFORM RECORDING ARTISTS AT
RIO FESTIVAL-FRANCE 2016:
Richard Pinhas & Arthur Narcy (France)
"Richard Pinhas is still a force in world music today… his music has the emotive depth that most other electronauts hardly begin to grapple with. Add to this its other attributes: alien atmospheres, futuristic imagery, feelings of the mystery of technology, precise clinical production, belief in creative and political revolution, an obscure intellectual base and references to science fiction…then there is a musical force that has little or no rival." - Audion
Ceaselessly innovative in a career spanning 40 years, Richard Pinhas is recognized as one of France's major experimental musicians. A composer, world-class guitarist and electronics innovator, he is a key figure in the international development of electronic rock music. During the 1970s, Pinhas' stature in France was analogous to Tangerine Dream's in Germany: the father figure of an entire musical movement. Years before MIDI existed, Richard was creating sophisticated electronic music using vast walls of the available components of the day. His band Heldon fused electronics, "diabolical guitar work" and rock to create a pioneering, aggressive music that was a precursor to the industrial music and techno to come. The groundbreaking music he created in the '70 with Heldon and solo remains vital and unsurpassed today, evident in its worldwide revival among a new, younger generation of musicians and fans.
In the 1990s, Cuneiform began working with Pinhas to reissue his Heldon and early solo recordings. The label also began releasing Pinhas' new recordings, as Pinhas continued to explore and expand rock's sonic edge in multi-layered instrumental works infused with influences from sci-fi and philosophy. Pinhas' subsequent work, featuring his "Metatronic" system of electronically treated solo guitar compositions, was as radically innovative as anything in his early career. Incorporating influences from and sharing aesthetics with the work of Fripp, Eno and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pinhas' guitar / electronics / spoken word works have appealed to longstanding fans while also attracting new admirers.
In the 21st century, Pinhas' uncompromising sonic quest has led him to joined forces with some of Japan's top noise artists, including Merzbow (Masami Akita), Yoshida Tatsuya, and Keiji Heino, as well as such other global sound explorers as Wolf Eyes and Oren Ambarchi. In recent years, in an astonishing creative surge, he has released numerous new solo and duo/collaborative instrumental works recordings on Cuneiform that fuse his guitar work variously with electronics, noise, other guitar work and/or drums, and continue to expand the parameters of rock. Pinhas' new releases, inspired by 21st century political and philosophical concerns, are astoundingly powerful and sophisticated musical works that rival those from his Heldon days.
Pinhas is also an active live performer. In recent years, he's done several extensive tours throughout Europe, in Japan, and in North America. Both solo and in various groupings, he's performed as headliner for festivals of avant-garde and electronic music worldwide.
Pinhas will perform at RIO-France 2016 in a duo with French drummer Arthur Narcy. The duo has performed and toured extensively together in Europe in recent years.
Pinhas' RIO-France 2016 appearance coincides with his release of two new - and stylistically different - albums on Cuneiform. One is a trio recording by Pinhas with two of his longstanding collaborators from the Japanese noise scene: Tatsuyo Yoshida and Masami Akita (aka Merzbow). Called Process and Reality, its name drawn from a book by mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead which Pinhas considers one of the most important 20th century philosophical writings, the album is a sonic experimental rock/ soundtrack to the demise of the Industrial Era. Pinhas' other release, with American guitarist Barry Cleveland, features the two guitarists in a quartet setting with West Coast musicians Michael Manning and Celso Alberto. Called Mu, a reference to Zen and the art of improvisation, the album blends world music, ambient, instrumental rock, sci fi and psychedlia into a gorgeous 21st century post-genre mix.
Cuneiform will release both Process and Reality and Mu on Sept. 16, 2016, the opening night of RiO Festival-France.
New Richard Pinhas Recordings on Cuneiform Records To Be Released September 16, 2016:
Recent Richard Pinhas Reissue on Cuneiform Records:
Richard Pinhas
CHRONOLYSE
(White Vinyl LP Reissue)
"Sur Le Theme De Bene Gesserit VII"
Purchase @
••••••
Upsilon Acrux (USA)
"Technically brilliant, rhythmically unbelievable, with just the right amount of melody...for fans of avant rock and insane jazz rock." - Disagreement.net
Upsilon Acrux is an instrumental quintet (dual guitars, keyboards, bass and drums). Their music is generally very intense, loud, hard-hitting and unbelivably virtuosic. Upsilon Acrux's music is demanding on many levels, but mostly it demands that you listen to it a number of times before forming an opinion, because only after you've gotten familiar with it can you get past the sheer complexity and onslaught of it all and hear the amazing musicality of what they are doing. This combination of blazingly fast, interwoven musical lines delivered at blinding speed mixed with their unique melodic sense makes Upsilon's music instantly recognizable.
Upsilon Acrux formed in 1997. Guitarist Paul Lai recalls that he and another guitarist, Cameron Presley, started the band in Vista, a town in rural California “45 minutes from San Diego but several world’s away,” and “out of a desperate need to play interesting music.” Adding Tom Cutler and drummer Jesse (Klecker) Appelhans to their lineup, they plunged into serious practice and adopted the name Upsilon Acrux - a name without specific meaning, but which the band agrees increasingly “fit” the music.
The band’s recorded debut was auspicious - the 10-minute instrumental “Before The Pirates Came” appeared as the opening track on a compilation of San Diego experimental music called Trummerflora 2, released by Accretions in 1998. Accretions released Upsilon Acrux’s first full-length album, In the Acrux of the Upsilon King, in 1999. The debut CD’s “inexhaustible musical invention” caught the attention of avant music’s most prestigious magazine, The Wire, who praised the music as “free jazz and hardcore fusion dominated by an astonishing kind of Splatter Prog.” Recorded by Lai, Klecker (Appelhans), Presley and Muir Tennerstet on bass, the 74-minute album was a “consistent assault on your regular rock instruments, accompanied by moogs and wacky sax” [Audion]. Upsilon Acrux subsequently released three more albums. In 2006, Steve Feigenbaum, head of Cuneiform ran across a video on Youtube of the group performing their latest material and was utterly shellacked by it. Contacting the band, arrangements were made for Cuneiform to release their next album. This CD, Galapagos Momentum (2007), was Upsilon Acrux’s 5th release. In it, the band returned to a “more natural rock-band” lineup with one drummer - Appelhans, two guitarists, Lai and Braden Miller, as well as bass player Eric Kiersnowski. Galapagos Momentum features 41 minutes of aggressive, intricate, athletic and composed post-punk instrumental rock contained on 10 tracks.
Shortly after the release of Galapagos Momentum, Paul assembled a new version of the band featuring himself and David Moeggenberg on guitars, keyboardist Phil Cobb, bassist Marty Sataman and drummer Chris Meszler and Upsilon went on an extensive tour, traveling and performing all the way across the US to the east coast and back again over a 4 week period. Soon after, they were tapped to open for Mission of Burma at a music festival in Kalamazoo, MI, where they performed for 3,000 people.
Returning home, the band played local shows and festivals and began working on new music, which culminated in the band's sixth album, Radian Futura (2010). Radian Futura is an album of explosive, intense and surprisingly beautiful, intricate, instrumental rock. Simultaneously physical and cerebral, challenging and melodic, Radian Futura is Upsilon Acrux’s most accessible yet sophisticated release to date.
Upsilon Acrux have since released their newest work, Sun Square Dialect (2015), on New Atlantis Records. The band is touring widely in support of their new album across the US and throughout Europe.
Upsilon Acrux Recordings on Cuneiform Records:
Upsilon Acrux
Radian Futura
"Landscape with Gun and Chandelier"
Purchase @
Upsilon Acrux
Galapagos Momentum
"So Thereby..."
Purchase @
Upsilon Acrux @ CuneiformRecords.com:
Upsilon Acrux on the Web:
••••••
Uz Jsme Doma (Czech Republic)
"[Uz Jsme Doma] occupy a paradoxical territory between infectious...giddiness and a uniquely strident, angst ridded avant-progressive urgency.” - Alternative Press
Uz Jsme Doma (pronounced "Oozh (rhymes with 'rouge') Smeh Dough-Ma) was founded in 1985 in Teplice, a small industrial town in the north Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, when that country was part of communist Czechoslovakia. Originally a septet, the band’s founding members were saxophonists Jindra Dolansky and Milan Novy, drummer Jula Horváth, keyboardist Jirí Závodny, bassist Petr Kerka, and guitarists Ota Chlupsa and Jirí Solar. The band’s name, “uz jsme doma,“ literally translates to, “We’re home now,” but is also used in common speech to mean, “Now I get it,” or, “Now I understand.” In Czechoslovakia during the 1980s, the government considered rock to be anti-social music, and the act of performing with a rock band (or creating any non-conformist/unapproved art) was subversive.
In 1988, the band became a sextet. Throughout the years, Uz Jsme Doma’s lineup continually evolved, morphing in size and instrumentation. But despite the influence of passing band members, the music was thoroughly composed by the same longstanding members and thus remained distinct at its core. While all of Uz Jsme Doma’s music is now composed by Wanek, founding member Dolansky had also contributed pieces to the band. Besides compositional integrity, Martin Velisek’s creative packaging designs for all the band’s recordings have helped the band retain aesthetic distinctiveness. Velisek began working with UJD in 1986, and has since designed all of its visuals, including posters, album covers, a limited edition art book and even stage costumes.
In 1989, the Velvet Revolution overturned 41 years of Communist rule. In an astonishing reversal, artists, writers, musicians and intelligencia—whose work was formerly banned— Four years after Uz Jsme Doma’s founding, the political climate in Czechoslovakia began to dramatically thaw. In 1989, the Velvet Revolution became leaders of the country’s political, social and artistic change. The band was not only legally permitted to enter the studio for the first time to record, but its 7“ EP, Rock Debut no.7, was released that year by a state-owned label, Panton. For Uz Jsme Doma, democracy brought artistic freedom; now able to openly pursue a career in rock music, the band began recording, performing and promoting its music at home and abroad - becoming known in Eastern Europe for their devotion to rocking and the push for artistic rights, whatever the state of politics may be. The group has since been releasing music, touring the world, working on multimedia and film projects, and collaborating with other groups like the Residents.
The group have a prolific touring history, having played in 39 countries, including Japan, New Zealand, and Israel, and almost every U.S. state across a span of 600+ shows. Aside from their six other studio albums, two live albums, 'best of' release, and live performance/documentary dual release, Uz Jsme Doma's May 2010 released Caves / Jeskyne has been licensed to Cuneiform for Western Europe and North America. The group's current lineup is as so: vocalist Miroslav Wanekm, bassist Pepa Cervinka, trumpeter Adam Tomasek, visualist Martin Velisek, and drummer Vojtech Boril, who joined in January 2016.
Uz Jsme Doma Recording on Cuneiform Records:
Uz Jsme Doma
Jeskyne / Caves
"Kapka / Droplet"
Purchase @
For more information about Uz Jsme Doma on Cuneiform:
Uz Jsme Doma's Official Website
Uz Jsme Doma on Facebook
••••••
ROCK IN OPPOSITION FESTIVAL - FRANCE
RIO-France 2016 PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
To request INTERVIEWS with any of the ARTISTS playing at RiO-France 2016, OR for schedules, programs, artist bios, transportation, FAQ, maps and any other queries you may have…
Come celebrate Rock In Opposition's adventurous legacy this September 2016 at RiO Festival-France, located at Cap Découverte, one of the most unique music festival venues:
Explore the various record label and distributor booths, bars, and outdoor food trucks
When not enjoying the music, you can swim, hike, bike, or visit the skate park on site
Finish out the night with on-site lodging at the furnished modern inn or tent camping, or stay at one of many inns in Albi or other nearby historic towns.
For directions to the venue, whether by plane, train, or car, please click here
Bonne Festival!!!
CUNEIFORM RECORDS
Founded in the USA in 1984 and dedicated to cutting-edge, avant-garde music of the highest caliber from around the world, the adventurous and long-standing Cuneiform Records record label has the most extensive catalogue of Rock in Opposition recordings in the world. For more information about Cuneiform Records, the talented artists that it represents, and the numerous adventurous music recordings it's released over three decades, please visit:
