Uzed is the fourth album by Belgian band Univers Zero. It was released three years after 'Ceux du Dehors', due to a change in line-up and a new repertoire, although the EP 'Crawling Wind' had been released in the meantime.
The album marked a turning point for the band. Univers Zero explored new electric colors, giving it a more rock feel with the addition of new musicians such as Jean-Luc Plouvier, who introduced the synthesizer, guitarist Michel Delory, who played a memorable solo in 'Célesta (For Chantal)', and André Mergen on electric cello and alto saxophone, who enriched the orchestral texture. Dirk Descheemaeker on clarinet and soprano saxophone, the return of Christian Genet on bass, this
evolution can also be explained by the arrival of new musicians.
UZED'is entirely composed and arranged by Daniel Denis. The recording and mixing were done at Daylight Studio in Brussels
in 1984, but to bring out UZED, the sound had to be improved by giving it more dynamic range, which was done at ICP Studios in 2024.
Line up:
DANIEL DENIS - drums, percussion, synthesizer
DIRK DESCHEEMAEKER - soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
CHRISTIAN GENET - bass, balafon, bowed guitar, tapes, whistle
ANDRE MERGEN - cello, alto sax, voice
JEAN-LUC PLOUVIER - electric and acoustic pianos, synthesizer, piano strings, percussion
Univers Zero represents one of the longest-living bands in Belgium. It was established in 1974. Drummer Daniel Denis
had the brilliant idea to gather together a team of professionals sharing the same taste for music. The band has adopted an instrumental progressive style. Over the last couple of decades, the band has also implemented a series of influences from chamber music - most commonly, chamber music from the 20th century. Even if the line-up changes a lot over the years, the overall sound of UZ remained fairly consistent.