Rock in Opposition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by Henry Cow in March 1978 when they invited four European groups to come to London and perform in a festival called "Rock in Opposition". The groups that performed in the inaugural event were:
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- Henry Cow (England)
- Stormy Six (Italy)
- Samla Mammas Manna (Sweden)
- Univers Zero (Belgium)
- Etron Fou Leloublan (France)
In December 1978 the five bands met in Switzerland to formalise RIO as a chartered organisation. Its primary aim was to represent and promote its members. Three more bands were also added to the collective: Art Bears, Art Zoyd and Aksak Maboul, and further festivals were held in 1979 in France, Italy and Sweden.
Chris Cutler of Henry Cow established Recommended Records in 1978 in the UK as a model for a non-profit music company. Its initial goal was to provide RIO artists with a record label to release their music on.
RIO as a movement did not last long, but its legacy still persists. While RIO never referred to a type of music (the original RIO bands were quite diverse musically), it is still often used by listeners, musicians, and distributors to classify bands (generally bands that appeared at the RIO festivals or bands related to or derived from the RIO bands).
Bands familiarized with the RIO movement and genre today include: Thinking Plague (USA), Present (Belgium), Miriodor (Canada), Ahvak (Israel), NeBeLNeST (France), 5uu's (USA), Guapo (UK) and U Totem (USA). The term "RIO" today is almost synonymous with Avant-progressive rock or Experimental rock.
[edit] "Reunions"
A "reunion" festival is scheduled to take place in France in April 2007. The spirit of the original festival will be preserved in that only artists of quality, innovation and the willingness to be "in opposition" to the commercial music industry will perform. Currently the lineup is: Magma, Faust, the Peter Blegvad trio (including Chris Cutler), Present, Zao, Mats Morgan, Guapo, NeBeLNeST, Salle Gaveau and GMEA. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Squidco. Rock in Opposition.
- Interview with Chris Cutler Henry Cow drummer discussing RIO.
