Henry Cow
Western Culture

"Independence is only a valid first step if followed by a revolution". With these words, Chris Cutler initiated his "revolution" obviously meant not in a violent sense, but revolution of intents, musical and ideological first and foremost. It was March 1978, and the so-called Rock In Opposition movement was born, opposing and decisively distancing itself from the musical trends of the time when disco music was pervasive, progressive was drawing... conclusions of a transformative season, and even punk, born with entirely different goals, had become a commercial product for record companies.

This desire to transcend every scheme materialized in an initial movement which, together with Henry Cow, included a handful of bands from Italy (Stormy Six), England (Henry Cow), France (Etron Fou Leloublan), Belgium (Univers Zero), and Sweden (Samla Mammas Manna). In that same period, marked by mega musical and artistic festivals, the promoters of the movement were in the recording studio in Switzerland, laying down what would be the last artistic strokes of their too-brief career. The album would be released at the end of the year with the title Western Culture, practically after the group's dissolution and the expansion of the movement to other bands proposing avant-garde genres similar to those of the beginnings. Thus, the movement, covering an unexpected commercial interest, became manna for record companies, and the ideological, social, and cultural cue was quickly converted into a true musical genre, now including dozens and dozens of groups.

The epilogue of Henry Cow remains the true and only example of RIO not only musically understood but, due to its strong social and political charge, also as a banner of the movement. Compared to the previous albums, the so-called “Sock Trilogy” (Legend, Unrest, In Praise Of Learning), “Western Culture” is a significant leap forward towards more total forms of music where the structures are often only glimpsed, and everything develops between improvisations and simple sound frameworks, where the instruments move freely, avoid, rise, sink and recover at will. The music elevates to a concept, broadening every possible sonic horizon, embracing rock, jazz, experimentation, noise, early industrial, Canterbury sound, chamber classical, minimalism, merging into a whole that is simply the Henry Cow sound. A sound never static, never equal to itself, emblematic of evolution and progressiveness, as understood at its inception. This is all thanks to the capabilities of the multi-instrumentalists that form this extraordinary avant-garde team.

“Industry” starts the game, leaving no doubt about the combo's intentions. Its intricate harmonic structures are thousands of leaves in free fall, from twisted branches that are the backbone of the tangle. The notes of the winds seem to reject every melody and unravel only to let us savor an unexpected pleasure fordissonance. They become even harsh and aggressive in an almost liberating finale, where Frith's guitar becomes lacerating. It is still Frith leading the start of “The Decay of Cities” shattered, jagged, skipping, majestic at times, dark and frightening at others, a true mirror of society. With the following “On The Raft,” the first part “History & Prospects” concludes. The second part “Day By Day,” desired and entirely written by Lindsay Cooper, is dominated by her, with bassoon, oboe, and various winds. These are four tracks essentially different from the previous ones, written by Tim Hodgkinson. The breath is still labored, but the crossing of notations rummages in the field of counterpoint; there is always the sound tension dictated by dissonance and the free spirit of the scores, but the sound is more homogeneous and seems to follow a greater love for contemporary music of avant-garde classical inspiration, with minimalisms and symphonies of extraordinary inner and evocative strength. “Falling Away” and the concluding “Half Sky” are rich in all of this and well represent the spirit of the extraordinary musician who composed them. This very last one and its moving cry of the clarinet in the central part of the track represent the dissolving of something exhausting, before the rebirth of the explosive finale. And then there is no more Mayakovsky, no more hammers and mirrors, industries and decays, everything is reduced to its own essence and, at the same time, everything is ready to be reborn.

This is the closing act of one of the greatest and most innovative bands of the '70s, then there would be all those who inherited from them and with them continued, Art Bears, Cassiber, News From Babel … but these are different stories.

p.a.p. sioulette