Heldon

Heldon
OriginFrance
Genres
Years active1974–1978, 2001
Labels
  • Cuneiform
  • Bureau B
Past membersRichard 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]

  1. ^ Walcroft, Justin. "The Way Forward: An Interview With Electronic Music Pioneer Richard Pinhas". SR-Mag. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Mitchell, Tony (9 November 2015). "Richard Pinhas: Electronique Guerilla – A Profile by Tony Mitchell". Cyclic Defrost. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Album Reviews". The Stranger. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Dorsch, Jim. "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. ^ "HELDON". Prog Archives. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  6. ^ Keenan, David (October 28, 2015). "Reality Is For People Who Can't Handle Science Fiction: Gallic Futurism in the French Underground 1969-1985". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Richard Pinhas | Biography. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2014-04-24.
  8. ^ "Ose". Discogs.
  9. ^ Masters, Mark (2014-05-29). "Richard Pinhas on lessons learned during a lifetime making experimental music". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-05-31.