This is 'The Nightwatch Christmas Present' - an entire show dedicated to the exploration of the music of the Belgian Univers Zero-related RIO/prog band 'Present'. Combining the resources of CKCU, my own collection and the munificence of friend-of-Nightwatch, Bruce McEwen, I managed to get a sampling of their studio output. Enjoy!
| Present is a Belgian progressive rock group formed by guitarist Roger Trigaux in 1979. Trigaux was a founding member of Univers Zero and participated on the first two albums. After Heresie (1979) he left Univers Zero to concentrate on his own vision and founded Present. The early lineup of Present featured fellow Univers Zero members Daniel Denis and Christian Genet playing drums and bass respectively.We start out this retrospective with a representation from their 1st 2 LPs 'Triskaidekaphobie' (1980, Atem records), and 'Le Poison Qui Rend Fou' (1985, Cunieform records). |
| Promenade au fond d'un canal Present - Triskaidekaphobie |
| Le Poison qui rend fou part 1 - ram ram va faire pif paf Present - Le Poison Qui Rend Fou |
| Le Poison qui rend fou part 2 - didi dans ta chambre Present - Le Poison Qui Rend Fou |
| After being dormant for some years, Trigaux re-formed the band some of the band's original members as well as Roger Trigaux's son Reginald on second guitar and expat American drummer Dave Kerman of 5uu's, U Totem, and Thinking Plague, releasing 'C.O.D. Performance' (1994, Gazul/Musea records). Some of my favourite guitar work on this one! |
| Alone 2 Present - C.O.D. Performance |
| Next, 2 tracks from 1998's 'Certitudes' LP on Cuneiform Records - one of my favourites, songwriting-wise. |
| Delusions Present - Certitudes |
| The Sense of Life Present - Certitudes |
| Now a 6-part suite from 1999's 'No. 6' on Carbon 7 Records. |
| Ceux D'en Bas (Suite) Present - No. 6 |
| Finishing the Nightwatch with another 6-part suite called 'Souls for Sale' from 2001's High Infidelity album on Carbon 7, as well as a totally appropriate seasonal song, the 2-part 'Strychnine for Christmas'. Then we close out with a track from 2010's 'Barbaro (Ma Non Troppo)' on Ad Hoc. |
| Souls for Sale Present - High Infidelity |
| Strychnine for Christmas Present - High Infidelity |
| Vertiges Present - Barbaro (Ma Non Troppo) |
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12:12 AM, December 29th, 2014