Univers Zero: Peter Van Den Berg (keyboards); Kurt Bud‚, Daniel Denis, Michel Berckmans, Martin Lauwers, Eric Plantain.
Personnel: Martin Lauwers (violin); Michel Berckmans (melodica, oboe, English horn, bassoon); Kurt Bud‚ (clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone); Peter Vandenberghe (keyboards); Eric Plantain (electric bass); Daniel Denis (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Didier de Roos.
Recording information: Le Triton, Les Lilas, France (06/18/2005/06/24/2005); Les Halles De Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium (06/18/2005/06/24/2005).
All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology.
Photographer: Andy Kirk.
Arranger: Daniel Denis.
Belgian progressive jazz-rock fusion outfit Univers Zero was formed in 1974. Influenced by contemporaries like Magma and Henry Cow, the band continued its singular artistic development until splitting in 1986; however, since the mid-'90s it has reformed for various one-off concerts. This 2005 live show contains complex, multi-layered, and percussive compositions for wind instruments, violin, keyboards, and percussion, like "Civic Circus," which recalls at various times the works of Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and Gil Evans. The bizarre, dream-like melodies of "Kermesse Antique" are sometimes beautiful and occasionally nightmarish, while the Eastern cadences of "Toujours Plus A L'Est" conjure both avant-garde composer Edgard Varese and klezmer music.
