Les Batteries

An international left-field experimental Rock In Opposition band. Initially proposed in 1985 by Guigou Chenevier (France, Etron Fou Leloublan and Inouï Productions) as a trio with fellow drummers Rick Brown (V-Effect, Fish & Roses, 75 Dollar Bill) and Charles Hayward (This Heat, The Camberwell Now, Massacre). Tapes of ideas and parts were exchanged and a rehearsal period and short tour were scheduled.

Noisy Champs (named for the Parisian suburb where the trio’s initial rehearsals were set) is the group’s first album, recorded in Switzerland at the end of a second tour in 1986. Further touring as a trio in Europe followed, including a residency at the Museum of the French Revolution in Vizille to prepare a commissioned program of music inspired by the Revolution.

Hayward left the group in ‘87 and the remaining duo continued, recording its second album Démesure Révolutionnaire, featuring primarily music composed for the museum program. The next few years saw Les Batteries continuing as a duo, while occasionally adding a third member. Notably Claude Marcœur and Albert Marcœur helped perform the group’s three-drummer program at various times. One exceptional performance by the group featured Brown, Chenevier, Claude Marcoeur and special guest Billy Cobham at a theater in Marseille.

While primarily active in Europe, the duo played a few times in the US. “Bataille De Valmy”, a reprise of one of the Démesure Révolutionnaire songs shows up on the WFMU’s compilation of live-on-air recordings They Came, They Played, They Blocked The Driveway. During one tour of the US, the duo recorded their third album, Bell System, with John McEntire of Tortoise. Also appearing on a track of the album is Tortoise bassist Douglas McCombs.

In 2002 Brown and Chenevier contributed a track, "Heaven Help Yourself", to the compilation No more… (no mouroir) on the French label InPolySons

At the urging of Dominique Grimaud (Grimo, Vidéo-Aventures, organizer of Musea’s reissue series Les Zut-O-Pistes) Noisy Champs was released on compact disc in 2010, the first authorized appearance of that album’s music in digital form. The reissue includes additional material recorded in the years after Bell System’s release: five new tracks featuring Brown and Chenevier and a solo piece by Hayward.