Richard Pinhas | Artist
Richard Pinhas is a French experimental musician born 1951 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France. Pinhas, who plays guitar and keyboards, led the experimental rock group Heldon from 1974-1978, before embarking on a successful solo career. Pinhas remains one of the leading European experimental rock musicians of his era, and has collaborated with other prominent musicians such as Peter Frohmader (Necropolis), Pascal Comelade, Oren Ambarchi, Tatsuya Yoshida, and the bands Merzbow and Magma. As a young man, Pinhas earned a Ph.D. in philosophy at the Sorbonne and taught at that school. In 1972 he became a part of the electronic music group Schizo which eventually morphed into a new group Heldon. Pinhas and his colleagues were influenced by the work of Robert Fripp, in particular his work with Brian Eno. the music of Heldon blended electronic and rock forms and the first releases were self-produced and self-distributed. Various critics would later describe Heldon's seven albums as groundbreaking. His first solo LP, Rhizosphere from 1977, was performed entirely on synthesizers, except for drums on the side-long title track. The following year's Chronolyse ranges from simple sequencer pieces to "Paul Atreides," a 30-minute piece composed and performed entirely by Pinhas. The Iceland LP successfully captures the feel of an ancient, frozen land, followed by East-West which was Pinhas' most commercial work. L'Ethique from 1982 was a varied work with a more structured feel than some of his previous efforts. Pinhas then retired from music for a decade, but has since released new studio albums, totalling 36 up to the present day. Standout solo albums and collaborations include Rhizosphere (1977), East-West (1980), L'éthique (1982), Tranzition (2004), Metatron (2006), Ascension (2019) - with Tatsuda Yoshida, and Coda (2022) - with Merzbow. Also recommended is the 2006 compilation Single Collection 1972-1980. Pinhas also began experimenting with projects using spoken word during the late '90s (a methodology he first employed with Heldon), spoken by prominent 20th century visionaries and futurists including philosopher Gilles Deleuze, science fiction writers Norman Spinrad and Philip K. Dick, and French novelists Maurice Dantec and Chloé Delaume. The words, either taped or cut live in real time, in English and French, added layers of sound, texture, and conceptual meaning to Pinhas' music. Whilst at the Sorbonne university, Pinhas studied with French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. His PH.D. dissertation was titled "Science-Fiction, Inconscient et Autres Machins", based on the intersections of time, time manipulation, science fiction and analogue electronic music.
Artist Website: richard-pinhas.com
Featured Albums: Richard Pinhas
Related Artists: Heldon, Magma, Tatsuya Yoshida, Oren Ambarchi
