Heldon | |
|---|---|
| Origin | France |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1974–1978, 2001 |
| Labels |
|
| Past members | Richard Pinhas Patrick Gauthier François Auger Didier Batard Georges Grunblatt Philibert Rossi Jannick Top Michel Ettori |
Heldon was a French electronic rock band originally active between 1974 and 1978, and led by guitarist Richard Pinhas.[4] Other members included synthesizer player Patrick Gauthier and drummer François Auger.[5] The name of the band was taken from the 1972 novel The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad.[6]
Influenced by the work of Robert Fripp (and sometimes evoking his work with Brian Eno), the music of Heldon blended electronic and rock forms.[4] The first releases under the name Schizo, and later Heldon, were self-produced and self-distributed.[7] Jim Dorsch from AllMusic would later describe Heldon's seven albums as "groundbreaking."[4]
Pinhas had previously led the band Schizo and also released six albums under his own name.[7] Pinhas has worked with numerous collaborators, including musicians of the band Magma, and music journalist and multi-instrumentalist Hervé Picart.[8] He was also associated with philosophers such as Gilles Deleuze (of whom he was a student).[9] and Jean-François Lyotard,[2] as well as writers such as Norman Spinrad and the essayist and novelist Maurice Dantec.[7] Pinhas completed his PhD in Philosophy from the Paris-Sorbonne University in 1974, teaching for one year and beginning Heldon.[2]
The Pinhas/Heldon catalog was reissued on CD by the label Cuneiform, and later Bureau B.[4]