Univers Zero - 2004 - Implosion

Univers Zero 

2004

Implosion

01. Suintement (Oozing) – 1:13

02. Falling Rain Dance – 4:14

03. Partch’s X-Ray – 5:23

04. Rapt d’Abdallah – 3:01

05. Miroirs (Mirrors) – 1:19

06. La Mort de Sophocle (Sophocle’s Death) – 3:11

07. Ectoplasme – 1:07

08. Temps Neufs – 4:56

09. Mellotronic – 4:04

10. Bacteria – 1:28

11. Out of Space 4 – 2:53

12. First Short Dance – 0:43

13. Second Short Dance – 0:44

14. Variations on Mellotronic’s Theme – 3:05

15. A Rebours (In Reverse) – 1:56

16. Meandres (Meanderings) – 9:38

- Daniel Denis / drums, percussion, keyboard, samplers, accordion, guitar

- Michel Berckmans / oboe, English horn, bassoon

- Serge Bertocchi / saxes & tubax

- Aurelia Boven / cello

- Ariane De Bievre / flute, piccolo

- Dirk Descheemaeker / bass clarinet, clarinet

- Bart Maris / trumpet, flugelhorn

- Eric Plantain / electric bass

- Christophe Pons / acoustic guitar

- Bart Quartier / marimba, glockenspiel

- Igor Semenoff / violin

The thing that strikes most when looking at the track listing of “Implosion” is the sheer number of them (an unprecedented 16) and the average length. Once your album is inside your deck and spinning the shock comes right away: never had you heard such (and so much) synthesised/sampled music before on a Univers Zero album.

While the music may have evolved, the typical Univers Zero ambiances are still there and very much in the same spirit as before with the sombre but haunting atmospheres evoking the mysterious mid-east (somewhere between the Egyptian empires and the Sumerian era), but so much more. As one of the highlights, “Temps Neuf” or the lengthy finale “Meandres” are representing the classic Univers Zero.

Implosion is easily a 21st-century Univers Zero favorite. Most proghead should lend an attentive ear to the two Mellotronic themes but this album is must-hear for everyone enjoying challenging music.