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Arkham
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A Brief History
Belgium is not one of the countries best known for its contribution to the progressive rock scene. However, one
band that does often crop up when one considers the musical scene that originated form this country, one must surely
mention the group Univers Zero. However, the origins of this legendary band lie within a progressive trio
called Arkham, that during its brief history became one of, if not the most, popular Belgian progressive rock band.
Before delving into the history of the band, one should also ponder on the band name and its origins. First of
all, all those who know about the music of Univers Zero, also know of Denis' fascination of H.P. Lovecraft and his
works. Many of these works have been incorporated into the works of this band in one way or another, and it seems
that the H.P. Lovecraft fascination started way before the formation of Univers Zero, as the band name amply
indicates (Arkham is the name of a town central to the Lovecraft mythos). In actual fact I have also found written
down that the band name was actually Achime, and Arkham is the French translation of the town name.
Anyway, back to the history of the band which was formed in 1970 by keyboardist Jean-Luc Manderlier, drummer
Daniel Denis and bassist Claude "Piccolo" Berkovitch who had previously had a stint with Here And Now. The
band rehearsed for about three months, playing a music clearly influenced by the freer improvisational bands such as
Captain Beefheart and Soft Machine, before embarking on their first concerts which gave them instant
success within their homeland.
However in October that year, Berkovitch left the band to be replaced by Patrick Cogneaux, formerly of Knives
And Axes. Rehearsal space was shared with another band called Lyze, whose members included guitarist
Roger Trigaux, bassist Guy Segers and trumpet player Claude Deron. Deron would eventually join Arkham in the years
to come while all these three musicians would be fundamental to Denis, who would in time recruit them to form
Univers Zero.
1971 was a year of rehearsals and touring, with the band also playing major festivals in Belgium such as the
Cocripop Festival in Charleroi and the Freeshow in Josphat Park in Brussels. On September 4th of that very year, the
band also played as opening act for French legends Magma, a concert which would have a telling effect on the
band's future. Cogneaux himself left the band in late September 1971 and was replaced by guitarist/bassist Paolo
Radoni (Here And Now), by which time the band was slowly becoming less elaborate and improvised.
 The end of the band seemed to be near,
though they did augment their lineup to that of a five piece with the addition of trumpet player Claude Deron and
guitarist François Arnadeau (Jellyfish) which also allowed Manderlier to expand his compositions to that
based on jazz-rock bands such as Ian Carr's Nucleus. Musicians seemed to be lasting only a few concerts, such
as Christian Ramon who also appears on the only recordings of the band and was hired for one particular gig as the
band did not have a bass player at that time!
In March 1972, Magma were being restructured and band leader Christian Vander remembered the band Arkham
and asked Denis and Manderlier, to join Magma. Both joined the band but Denis only lasted a few concerts and
opted out due to clashes and personal differences with fellow drummer Vander. Manderlier remained with Magma
and appears on one of their finest recordings, the 1973 Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh.
The last Arkham concert took place in May 1972, in Holland with the lineup of Mandelier, Denis, Radoni and
Vincent Kenis (later of Aksak Maboul). In 1973, Denis and Claude Deron formed Necronomicon which in
1974 evolved into Univers Zero with the addition of Roger Trigaux, Guy Segers (bass), Patrick Hanappier
(violin), John Van RijmenanTt (sax) and Vincent Motoulle (keyboards).
Album Reviews
Albums reviewed here are:
Arkham
Tracklist: Upstairs In The Granary (5:11), Eve's Eventful Day (Part 5 & 6) (3:22), Monolithic
Progression With Anticipated Rupture (8:00), Brussels Shortly After (8:30), Bleriot: Visibility Poor (8:18), With
Assays Of Bias (10:21), Eve's Eventful Day (Part 3) (4:45), Riff 14 (8:48), Tight Trousers (4:37)
Musicians: Jean-Luc Manderlier (Hammond organ, electric piano, clavioline), Daniel Denis (drums,
whistles), Patrick Cogneaux (bass and some strange frequency modulations), Claude "Piccolo" Berkovitch (bass on
Track 3), Claude Deron (electric fugelhorn on Tracks 8 and 9), Christian "Djoum" Ramon (bass on Tracks 8 and 9)
All music composed and arranged by Jean-Luc Manderlier
Remastered by Didier de Roos at Fields Studio, Belgium, June 2001
Tracks 1, 2 recorded July 4th, 1971 at M.J.c., Feluy, Belgium
Track 3 recorded June 1970 at RTB, Brussels, Belgium
Track 4 recorded at "The Recreation", Brussels, Belgium
Tracks 5, 7 recorded 1971, Brussels, Belgium
Track 6 recorded June 26th, 1971 at the "Cocoripop Festival", Carleroi, Belgium
Tracks 8, 9 recorded April 28th 1972 at M.J.c., Verviers, Belgium
The only album that features Arkham material that is available till today is this offering from Cuneiform
Records. In itself the album features a number of live recordings from throughout the whole of the band's career,
and also shows the various line-ups that the band had as well as the variation in style that each lineup change also
brought about.
The earliest recording is from June 1970 and features the very first lineup that the band had with Manderlier,
Denis and bassist Claude "Piccolo" Berkovitch. Recorded at Radio Television Belge (RTB), Belgium's national radio,
one find a band that is already very keen on improvisation with influences from the already rich Canterbury scene
with Soft Machine at the forefront of their inspirations. Monolithic Progression With Anticipated
Rupture has a hypnotic touch to it as the band explore a number of melody lines that are expanded on in a
rhythmic way as the rhythm just pounds on and on giving a metronomic feel to the whole track. Only in the final two
minutes does the band rally unwind as each musician seems to wander off into a freer form of playing.
By November 1970, the time of the next recording on the album, Berkovitch was replaced by Patrick Cogneaux. The
whole music seems to have acquired a more dramatic feel in their style. Listening to this rather muffled recording
of Brussels Shortly After, the band seem to have adopted a style very much like various other trios from the
same era such as EGG and also in a way, Emerson Lake & Palmer. Of course the brunt of musical
excursions is borne by the keyboards while the bass and drums keep up an impressive rhythm which is only
occasionally joined in by the keyboards.
The majority of recordings on the album come from 1971 which could be considered as the most stable year in terms
of lineups for Arkham. Two recordings remain undated, and they are Bleriot: Visibility Poor and Eve's
Eventful Day (Part 3). Starting off with the characteristic whirling sound of the Hammond organ fan, Bleriot:
Visibility Poor could be considered as a form of space rock piece of music as it features mainly a series of
swirling and swooshing amidst the occasional keyboard doodle, almost like Keith Emerson in his famous
feedback "solos".
There are 3 parts of Eve's Eventful Day available on this album, Part 3 and Parts 5 and 6 (which were
recorded at a separate concert in July 1971). One of the main differences between Arkham, an many of the other
bands mentioned previously in this review is the fact that there seems to be a lack of a melody line that allows
certain tracks to have that essential distinctive touch. At time, such as in Parts 5/6 there does surface the
occasional melody, yet this is drowned in an aura of dissonance.
The final set of recordings are taken from a concert on April 28th, 1972 when the band lineup had once again
changed. "Session" musician Claude "Djoum" Ramon stand in on bass while a new musical vent appears in the form of
Claude Deron on electric flugelhorn. The addition of the flugelhorn gives the the band and especially Manderlier a
broader front on which to present music. In fact the material from this period (Riff 14 and Tight
Trousers) is possibly the best defined of the music that is available on this collection. One could argue that
it is also the least "rock" of what has been offered, yet Arkham thred the line somewhere between jazz and rock. At
times one can feel that the band has that Nucleus influence, yet they can stand it on their own and it is a
pity that they did not progress much further within the musical vein that they were in during this period. The
presence of the flugelhorn also seems to free Manderlier from having to continuously solo, thus creating a more
vibrant rhythm section as well as create various duets that would have been virtually impossible to come up with in
the trio format.
Arkham are an important stepping stone in the mainland Europe progressive rock scene. Unfortunately till today
they have only been a footnote with no recordings available to show what they were all about. Thankfully this is no
longer the case.
Nigel Camilleri
Related Websites
There is no official website dedicated to Arkham. However, various snippets of information regarding this band
could be found on the various sites dedicated to Univers Zero. However the best source of information regarding
Arkham would be the Cuneiform Records website.
However, should you have any further information regarding
Arkham that could be added to the site, do not hesitate
to contact me.
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