Aksak Maboul
Encyclopedia
Aksak Maboul were a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 avant-rock band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 founded in 1977 by Marc Hollander
Marc Hollander
Marc Hollander is a Belgian musician, producer and creator of the independent record label, Crammed Discs.Hollander was a founding member of the Belgian avant-rock group Aksak Maboul in 1977, which released two albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits...

 and Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis is a Belgian musician and record producer. He was a member of the avant-garde group Aksak Maboul and of The Honeymoon Killers, an experimental rock band...

. They made two studio albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine
Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine
Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine is the debut album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was largely the work of one of the band's co-founders, Marc Hollander and was credited to Marc Hollander/Aksak Maboul...

(1977) and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits
Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits
Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits is the second album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland in February and August 1979, and released on LP in January 1980 on founding member Marc Hollander's Belgian independent record label, Crammed Discs...

(1980), the last one with ex-Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...

 members Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...

 and Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...

. They were also active in the Rock in Opposition
Rock in Opposition
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...

 movement.

History

Aksak Maboul began in 1977 as a duo of Marc Hollander
Marc Hollander
Marc Hollander is a Belgian musician, producer and creator of the independent record label, Crammed Discs.Hollander was a founding member of the Belgian avant-rock group Aksak Maboul in 1977, which released two albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits...

 (keyboards, reeds, percussion) and Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis is a Belgian musician and record producer. He was a member of the avant-garde group Aksak Maboul and of The Honeymoon Killers, an experimental rock band...

 (guitar, bass guitar, keyboards). Marc Moulin
Marc Moulin
Marc Moulin was a Belgian musician and journalist . He was a member of the avant-rock band Aksak Maboul in 1977 and formed the pop group Telex in 1978...

 (keyboards) and Chris Joris
Chris Joris
Chris Joris is a Belgian jazz percussionist, pianist and composer. He is the son of Jan Joris, an opera singer. Joris joined Aksak Maboul in 1977, appeared on their first album but left the group later that year...

 (percussion, keyboards) joined later, and with this line-up, plus guests Catherine Jauniaux
Catherine Jauniaux
Catherine Jauniaux is a Belgian avant-garde singer. She has been described as a "one-woman-orchestra", a "human sampler", and "one of the best kept secrets in the world of improvised music". Her solo album, Fluvial is regarded as one of her most accomplished works...

 (voice) and others, they recorded their first album, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine
Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine
Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine is the debut album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was largely the work of one of the band's co-founders, Marc Hollander and was credited to Marc Hollander/Aksak Maboul...

(French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 for "Eleven Dances for Fighting Migraines"). It was released in 1977 under the name Marc Hollander / Aksak Maboul on an independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

, Kamikaze Records.

Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine was a playful mix of musical form
Musical form
The term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...

s, culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

s and genres
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...

. With drum machines and looping organ lines, it shuffled between improvised
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...

 jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, ethnic music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

, electronics
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 and classical music. It was largely an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 album with snatches of singing and voices.

In late 1977 Aksak Maboul started performing live, during which time Frank Wuyts (percussion, keyboards) replaced Joris and Moulin, and Denis van Hecke (cello) and Michel Berckmans (bassoon, oboe) of Univers Zéro
Univers Zéro
Univers Zero are an instrumental Belgian band known for playing dark music heavily influenced by 20th century chamber music. The group's name has had three variant spellings, the others being Univers Zéro and Univers-Zero....

 joined. In early 1979, Hollander invited Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...

 and Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...

 of the recently defunct avant-rock group Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...

 to join Aksak Maboul on their next record. They rehearsed together, performed in a few concerts and then went to Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg
Kirchberg, St. Gallen
Kirchberg is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:Kirchberg has an area, , of . Of this area, 59.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.9% is forested...

 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 to record their second album, Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits
Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits
Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits is the second album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland in February and August 1979, and released on LP in January 1980 on founding member Marc Hollander's Belgian independent record label, Crammed Discs...

(French for "A Little of the Bandit Spirit"). This was released in 1980 on Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...

, a new independent record label Hollander had created to release the album.

Un Peu de l'Ame des Bandits was more intense and experimental than their first album. It contained complex written sections as well as improvised ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...

 pieces. It used sampling before samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...

 were invented and was a mixture of tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...

s, Turkish
Music of Turkey
The music of Turkey includes diverse elements ranging from Central Asian folk music and has many copies and references of Byzantine music, Greek music, Ottoman music, Persian music, Balkan music, as well as more modern European and American popular music influences...

 tunes, chamber rock, noisy punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 and pseudo-Varèse
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....

 music. Like the first album, it was instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 with a little singing and voices.

Back on the road again, Aksak Maboul joined the Rock in Opposition
Rock in Opposition
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...

 (RIO) movement and in April 1979 they performed at an RIO festival at the Teatro dell'Elfo in Milano, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Aksak Maboul were one of the last of the original RIO bands.

In early 1980, Hollander founded the Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...

 independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

. A few months later the original nucleus of Aksak Maboul (Hollander and Kenis) and the core of a Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 band Les Tueurs de la Lune de Miel joined forces to become The Honeymoon Killers
The Honeymoon Killers (band)
The Honeymoon Killers were a Belgian experimental rock band originally formed in 1974 by Yvon Vromman, with J.F Jones Jacob, and Gérald Fenerberg...

. They toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 between 1980 and 1981, although still under the name Aksak Maboul. "Bosses de Crosses", one of the first pieces they composed, was included on the CD re-issue of Un Peu de l'Ame des Bandits. They later recorded an album Tueurs de la Lune de Miel / Honeymoon Killers and toured for a few months under that name.

The last recorded work by Aksak Maboul appeared on a 1984 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

, Made to Measure Vol. 1, where the original duo of Hollander and Kenis contributed seven tracks of new material composed for a play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 by Michel Gheude based on the life of Maïakovsky
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.- Early life :...

. The music here has been described as "minimalist rock" and is very different from their two studio albums. By the mid-1980s Aksak Maboul ceased to exist as a group, but Hollander and Kenis continued to play an active role in Crammed Discs' musical policies.

However, Aksak Maboul have produced a new track in 2010, for Tradi-Mods vs Rockers on Hollander's Crammed Discs label, the tribute album to the Congotronics series
Congotronics series
The Congotronics series is a collection of albums devoted to electrified traditional music from the Congo, curated and produced by Vincent Kenis for the Crammed Discs label....

. Aksak Maboul's contribution is "Land Dispute", a new take on a song by Congolese
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

 band Kasai Allstars
Kasai Allstars
Kasai Allstars are a 25-piece musical collective based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The musicians originally come from five bands, all from the Kasai region, but originating from five different ethnic groups: the Songye, Lulua, Tetela, Luba, and Luntu...

.

Members

  • Marc Hollander
    Marc Hollander
    Marc Hollander is a Belgian musician, producer and creator of the independent record label, Crammed Discs.Hollander was a founding member of the Belgian avant-rock group Aksak Maboul in 1977, which released two albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits...

     – keyboards, reeds, percussion, drum machine
  • Vincent Kenis
    Vincent Kenis
    Vincent Kenis is a Belgian musician and record producer. He was a member of the avant-garde group Aksak Maboul and of The Honeymoon Killers, an experimental rock band...

     – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion

Temporary members and guests

  • Marc Moulin
    Marc Moulin
    Marc Moulin was a Belgian musician and journalist . He was a member of the avant-rock band Aksak Maboul in 1977 and formed the pop group Telex in 1978...

     – keyboards
  • Chris Joris
    Chris Joris
    Chris Joris is a Belgian jazz percussionist, pianist and composer. He is the son of Jan Joris, an opera singer. Joris joined Aksak Maboul in 1977, appeared on their first album but left the group later that year...

     – keyboards, soprano saxophone
  • Catherine Jauniaux
    Catherine Jauniaux
    Catherine Jauniaux is a Belgian avant-garde singer. She has been described as a "one-woman-orchestra", a "human sampler", and "one of the best kept secrets in the world of improvised music". Her solo album, Fluvial is regarded as one of her most accomplished works...

     – singing
  • Frank Wuyts – percussion, keyboards
  • Michel Berckmans – bassoon, oboe
  • Denis van Hecke – cello
  • Geoff Leigh
    Geoff Leigh
    Geoff Leigh is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily soprano sax and flute. He was a member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including Red Balune, Random Bob, Black Sheep, Mirage, and Ex-Wise Heads.-Biography:Geoff Leigh's...

     – saxophones
  • Guigou Chenevier – drums
  • Fred Frith
    Fred Frith
    Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...

     – guitars, bass
  • Chris Cutler
    Chris Cutler
    Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...

     – drums
  • Bob Vanderbob – saxophones
  • Yvon Vromman – guitar, vocals
  • Gérald Fenerberg – guitar
  • Jean-François Jones Jacob III – drums
  • Véronique Vincent – vocals

Studio albums

  • Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine
    Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine
    Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine is the debut album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was largely the work of one of the band's co-founders, Marc Hollander and was credited to Marc Hollander/Aksak Maboul...

    (LP 1977, Kamikaze Records, Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

     / CD 2003, Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...

    , Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

    )
  • Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits
    Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits
    Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits is the second album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland in February and August 1979, and released on LP in January 1980 on founding member Marc Hollander's Belgian independent record label, Crammed Discs...

    (LP 1980, Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...

    , Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

     / CD 1995, Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...

    , Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

    )

Appears on

  • Various artists: Made to Measure Vol. 1 (LP 1984, Made To Measure
    Made to measure
    Made to measure typically refers to clothing that is sewn from a standard-sized base pattern. A tailored suit is a common example of a made-to-measure garment...

    , Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

    ) – Aksak Maboul contribute seven tracks of new material

External links

.
  • http://crammed.be/index.php?id=34&art_id=2Aksak Maboul pages on the Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs
    Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...

    website]...
  • Aqsak Maboul / Marc Hollander Chris Cutler homepage.
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