Rock in Opposition
Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group Henry Cow in March 1978 when they invited four mainland European groups to come to London and perform in a festival called "Rock in Opposition".
"Reunions"[edit]
A "reunion" festival took place at the Maison de la Musique de Cap Découverte in Carmaux, France in April 2007. The spirit of the original festival was preserved in that only artists of quality, innovation and the willingness to be "in opposition" to the commercial music industry performed. The festival was organised by French music promoter Michel Besset and Roger Trigaux of Present,[8] who received Chris Cutler's sanction to use the name "Rock in Opposition".[9] The line-up at this event included: Magma, Faust, the Peter Blegvad Trio (including Chris Cutler), Present, Zao, Mats/Morgan, Guapo, NeBeLNeST, Salle Gaveau and GMEA.[10]
A second edition of the France RIO event took place in September 2009 at the same venue as the first, and with the following line-up: Yolk, Aranis, The Muffins, Charles Hayward, Kōenji Hyakkei, Present, Magma, Univers Zero, Combat Astronomy, Electric Epic, Guapo and GMEA.[8] The third "reunion" festival also took place at the same venue in September 2010, and featured Art Bears Songbook (UK, USA), Gong (France, UK), Caspar Brötzmann Massaker (Germany), Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (USA), Rational Diet (Belarus), Jannick Top/Infernal Machina (France), Thierry Zaboitzeff (ex Art Zoyd) "Cross the Bridge" (France, Austria), Full Blast (Germany, Switzerland), Miriodor (Canada), Genevieve Foccroulle (Belgique) and Aquaserge (France).[11]
The fourth edition of the France RIO also took place in September 2011, with a line-up of: Arno, Univers Zero + Present + Aranis ("Once Upon a Time in Belgium"), Alamaailman Vasarat, Vialka, Yugen, Gargantua, Panzerballett, Jack Dupon, Grumpf Quartet, Sax Ruins vs. Ruins Alone vs. Ono Ryoko, and Dispositivoperilanciobliquodiunasferetta.[12] The 2011 event was covered in the 2012 documentary film Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition by Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder.[13]
Two RIO festivals took place in 2014, the seventh French event in Carmaux in September, and a Japanese edition of the festival in Tokyo in November.[14][15] The line-up for the Japanese event was: Aranis (Belgium), The Artaud Beats (UK), Happy Family (Japan), Koenji Hyakkei (Japan), Mats/Morgan Band (Sweden), Picchio dal Pozzo (Italy), Richard Pinhas (France), Present (Belgium), Le Silo (Japan), SOLA / Lars Holmer's Global Home Project (Sweden/Japan).[15] Cutler, who features in The Artaud Beats, said of RIO Japan: "[RIO] is changed of course; back then it was a musician-led exercise in self-sufficiency fighting for new musical forms and independence from the institutions; now it is recast as a celebration of those times and those bands, and of the music they inspired. [...] Which, I suppose, is the way it should be. RIO ceased to be ours long ago; now it's yours. Take care with it."[16]
The 10th Rock in Opposition festival took place in Carmaux, France on 15, 16, 17 September 2017, and featured Aranis (Belgium), Cheer-Accident (US), faUSt (Germany), Le Silo (Japan), Miriodor (Canada), Trans-aeolian Transmission (France), Gong (France), Acid Mothers Temple (Japan), a.P.A.t.T. (England), In Love With (France), Guapo (England) and Slapp Happy (Germany/England).[17]