Present (band)

Present is a Belgian progressive rock group formed by guitarist Roger Trigaux in 1979.

Trigaux was a founding member of Univers Zero and participated on the first two albums. After Heresie (1979) he left Univers Zero to concentrate on his own vision and founded Present. The early lineup of Present featured fellow Univers Zero members Daniel Denis and Christian Genet playing drums and bass respectively.

Present's first album, Triskaidekiphobie, was released in 1980, and was followed by Le Poison Qui Rend Fou in 1985. The group toured Europe in support of both albums.

In 1990, Trigaux began working with his son Reginald Trigaux (also a guitarist), as a duo, using the moniker Present C.O.D. Performance. They played a stripped-down and very loud repertoire of the band’s previous compositions, plus new songs written for the duo. An eponymous record was issued early in 1993. By year's end, Denis wished to concentrate on Univers Zero, but agreed to stay with Present until a suitable replacement could be found. The American drummer Dave Kerman from the 5uu's, Thinking Plague, U-Totem, etc. was recruited. This new line-up set out on a twenty-five-date tour of Europe; the last show was recorded and released in 1995 as Present Live by Cuneiform Records in the USA.

In 1996 Present recorded their fifth album, Certitudes. As Kerman was under contract with the Dutch band Blast for the year, Denis returned for the recording. Cuneiform Records released the disc in 1998.

Keyboardist Pierre Chevalier joined the group in 1997. The following year, a New Yorker, Keith Macksoud (the group's former driver and roadie), became the bassist. This new line-up played a five-week, twenty-five-show, ten-thousand-mile tour, zigzagging across America and back during the spring of 1998. Again, the last concert was recorded for a live album, though it would be a few years before being released.

In 1998, Trigaux traveled to Tel Aviv, to play guitar for a soundtrack L.P. by the Israeli band Tractor's Revenge. The recording engineer of the project, Udi Koomran, suggested that Trigaux return to Israel with the entire band, plus percussionist David Davister, for the next recording sessions in the spring of 1999. During their two-week stay, the group recorded over 100 minutes of new music. The finished project was split up over two subsequent albums, No. 6 (1999) and High Infidelity (2000).

In 2000 the French cellist Matthieu Safatly joined Present. The band, joined by two horn players, Fred Becker and Dominic Ntoumos, were the headline act at the Blaye Les Mines Festival in Southern France, for an audience of seven thousand spectators. (Others on the bill included Toots And The Maytals, Gong and Asian Dub Foundation.) The following year, the same group played with Anekdoten and Magma at the Freakshow Festival in Wurzburg Germany and in Gdansk, Poland for a festival performance the next day.