Heldon

Heldon is a French electronic rock band created in 1974. The name of the band was taken from the 1972 novel The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad. Like its predecessor Schizo, it is above all the group of guitarist Richard Pinhas who released a large number of albums under his own name.
He has worked with numerous collaborators among which musicians of the band Magma as well as philosophers such as Gilles Deleuze (of whom he was a student) and writers such as Norman Spinrad and Maurice Dantec (the Schizotrope project).
Influenced by the work of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno, the music of Richard Pinhas and Heldon is sui generis and innovative and has in its turn greatly influenced the field of electronic rock.
The first releases under the moniker Schizo and later Heldon were entirely self produced and self distributed.

Heldon
Heldon - Only Chaos is Real

Artist: Heldon
P: 1998
We have here a strange cross of Punk vocals , Techno beats and the usual repetitive minimalism (that R. Pinhas is well known for). Please note the musical help of a few Magma-related musicians such as Wideman and the father-son duo Paganotti, but this is without any effect on the music. Actually , unlike most Heldon albums , the emphasis appears to be in the texts (the huge majority of Heldon in the 70's was instrumental) and they are rather deep , thoughtfull, tortuous and a bit revolutionary. However the revolt of the lyrics (in French for the most part but consequent percentage is also English), this album should only appeal to confirmed Pinhas fans and not really to progheads looking for yet another stunning work such as Heldon had developped in the 70's.
Line-up / Musicians:

- David Korn / vocals
- Antoine Paganotti / drums
- Olivier Manchion / bass guitar
- Norman Spinrad / lyrics and additional vocals
- Maurice G. Dantec / lyrics, analog synthesizers
- Richard Pinhas / guitar metatronic process & electronic
With:
- Alain Ranval / side guitar on "Holy Dolly"
- Duncan Nilsson / side guitar on "Holy Dolly"
- Bernard Paganotti / bass guitar on "Le Plan", "Ubik"
- Benoît Widemann / organ, synths, Minimoog bass
- Alain Bellaïche / side guitar on "Ubik"
- Philippe Laurent / electroloop on "Only Chaos is Real"

16,90 EUR
 
incl. 19% tax excl. Shipping costs
Heldon - Stand By

Artist: Heldon
P: 1979 / 1993
Stand By (recorded in 1978) has to be hailed as Heldon's signature work. It contains everything that is good about Heldon, all of its musical references and all of its originality. It is Heldon in its mature glory and no other band I can think of so convincingly toed the line between electronic and progressive rock. Progressive rock drums, bass and guitar blend and merge with bass synthesizer pulses and arpeggios; jazz keyboard solos ride overtop jittery electronic sequences; compositions move from dark moody electronic soundscapes to frantic, pulsing rhythms and then transform into improvisational jams or spacey laid-back passages embellished with slithering, smoking guitar solos. If Un Reve Sans Consequence is Heldon at its most experimental and aggressively original, this is Heldon at their most focused and purely stated.Stand By is outstanding document of all that happened in the 1970s.

16,90 EUR
 
incl. 19% tax excl. Shipping costs
Richard Pinhas - Single Collection 1972-1980

Artist: Richard Pinhas
P: 2007
Japanese Limited Edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork. A collection of tracks originally released on 7-inches. Includes Schizo, Heldon, T.h.x., and solo recordings. 15 tracks in total.

17,90 EUR
 
incl. 19% tax excl. Shipping costs
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