Volapuk (the band)

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Volapük is the latest avant-garde band of the French drummer Guigou Chenevier. The core of the band is:

Guigou Chenevier - Drums, Marimba, Voices, Clavier, Sanza
Guillaume Saurel - Flute, Engineer, Violoncello, Mixing
Michel Mandel - Clarinet, Clarinet (Bass), Taragat

The band takes inspiration from a large number of Eurasian ethnic traditions, from Spain to the Balkans to Mongolia, blending them all together in an amazing mix of rhythm, musicality and humor. Unlike other avant-garde bands that make heavy use of various noises, Volapük's music is highly harmonious, always retaining a folkish warmth and accessibility. Volapük is also the name of the first artificial language, a nice metaphor for the kind of music Volapük creates.

In the 1970s the drummer Guigou Chenevier played in the Etron Fou Leloublan band, and was part of the Rock in Opposition movement - a punk-like musical adventure that started in the early 1970s as a reaction to the over-complexity of progressive rock music. In a certain sense, one could say Volapük continues the Rock in Opposition movement. On the other hand, they have moved toward modern classical music of the minimalist school scrapping off the electric instruments altogether.

They have released five albums so far:

1997 - Le Feu Du Tigre
1997 - Slang
2000 - Polyglot
2000 - Pukapok (Live album)
2003 - Where Is Tamashii?

Links

http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/volapuk.html

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