By Jose Oliveira & Rosine Alleva – Rock At Night EU Editors
In the 70’s Colmar established itself as France’s second rock capital, right after Paris. Pink Floyd, a progressive rock giant, led the way by launching a series of concerts that electrified the capital of Alsatian white wine. Supertramp, The Who, Santana, Yes, Manfred Mann, Genesis, and many others followed suit. This wave of prog rock—where classical music merged with rock—exerted a decisive influence on an entire generation of young musicians.
WLUD was born out of this pivotal era, a time when keyboards and guitars engaged in perfect harmonic dialogue. A band truly worth discovering—or rediscovering—especially after a long silence spanning over 40 years. Their style, blending influences from the Canterbury scene with jazz-rock touches, creates atmospheres that are at once turbulent, ethereal, and romantic. At times, one can also detect echoes of bands like Caravan and Camel, lending them a unique and captivating identity. A real gem for fans of prog and atmospheric music.
LINE UP
Interview
RAN – WLUD – Where does the name come from?
PW – The name WLUD comes from the first letters of the musicians’ surnames: Wendling (Philippe, keyboards), Labroche (Bernard, guitar), Untersinger (Gigi, bass), and Drago (Gianni, drums). Sadly, Bernard passed away in 2001, but the new guitarist is Luc Burkhart.
RAN – You honed your craft at a time when progressive rock was riding high. What drove you to embark on that path?
Philippe Wendling – Our musical beginnings go back well before Wlud was formed. We had each played in various bands and dance orchestras independently. One of those groups even covered songs by Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, and Manfred Mann.
Later on, three of Wlud’s musicians found themselves in the same variety band, Chrysalis. That’s when the idea took root: to launch a project of our own, driven by a shared desire to compose original material and break away from the standard routine of dance gigs and cover songs.
RAN: Which bands influenced you the most back then?
PW: The influences varied quite a bit from musician to musician. For me, it was mainly Yes, Genesis, and of course Deep Purple. And then there was the great Jon Lord, who has always been my idol.
Gianni: For me, it was pretty much the same: Yes, Genesis, and Manfred Mann at the time, but also King Crimson, Billy Cobham, and Camel.
Gigi: Zappa, of course, but also Ange.
Luc: Cookie Dingler… (general laughter). More seriously, all those great bands like Pink Floyd or Genesis, but also Zappa.
PW: We were supposed to open for Banned From Utopia in Colmar last year, but the show was cancelled after the wife of one of the American musicians passed away. All five of those musicians had shared the stage with Zappa at some point. It would have been a truly special moment.
RAN: All the great bands you mention captivated audiences not just with their music, but with their lyrics too. You, however, chose a purely instrumental style. Why?
PW: Simply because we couldn’t sing! We didn’t have that knack for it. We were focused mainly on our instruments. That said, it’s true that at some point, we might have started to miss it.
RAN: After a forty-year hiatus, what motivated you to return to the music scene now?
GD: It was actually pure chance. One day, a friend came to see me and asked if I had a WLUD record. Since I didn’t have any left to give or sell him, I told him I’d check with the record label. When I called them, I learned they were going out of business and couldn’t reissue the albums.
So, I contacted the studio where we had recorded, and one thing led to another; we decided to bring the LPs back and reissue them. As we spread the word about this project, Philippe made some connections, and Patrick Georgenthum—one of the region’s leading promoters—called us to suggest a reunion.
At first, I refused because our guitarist was no longer around—sadly, he had passed away in 2001. But Patrick persisted, making a very strong case. Besides, I had known Luc for years as an excellent guitarist and guitar teacher.
GD: Well, we had already had a bad experience. At one point, we tried to get the band back together with a guitarist—whose name I won’t mention—but he just wasn’t the right fit for us. So, we dropped the idea.
RAN: So, Patrick Georgenthum came along at just the right time…
PW: Yes, he’s a close friend and someone deeply involved in promoting progressive rock in Alsace. He used to be the director of the local TV station and is now the head of Zik’Inside, an association that books the best European tribute bands. He’s the one who got us gigs at Le Grillen in Colmar and later at Le Ried Brun in Muntzenheim. We were also the subject of a documentary for the TV7 channel.
RAN: On September 15th, you’ll be performing at the Colmar Jazz Off festival… That bodes well for the future.
PW: Last year, we were supposed to open for Banned from Utopia—those five American musicians who played with Frank Zappa for a few years—but the concert was cancelled. That was when we were contacted about taking part in this jazz festival. It gave us extra motivation to keep the project going.
RAN: How do you perceive the difference between the music industry of the past and the one today?
PW: It’s a completely different world. Back then, we recorded our albums in one go. We’d just make two or three minor tweaks if there was a mistake… But we were recording on eight tracks, and we all played at the same time. If someone messed up, we had to start all over again, from beginning to end.
And we had tracks that ran for seven minutes. Today, albums are made almost note-by-note using computers. It’s a completely different way of recording—and even of composing.
RAN: Prog-rock has evolved over time, incorporating elements from other genres like metal, electronica, and even jazz. As musicians, how do you view this evolution?
PW: It reflects the times. In fact, the new track Luc composed is much more rock—bordering on metal at times—than the WLUD sound of the 80s. Yet it remains beautiful and retains the signature WLUD sound that defines us so well.
RAN: And what about you, Luc—the latest addition to the group—how do you view this evolution?
Luc Burkhart: I don’t really think about it in terms of age or anything like that. I simply try to bring my own musical world and integrate it into what’s already there. I also try to be as respectful as possible of what was done before, because there was a guitarist there who laid down some really great parts. So, I keep the essence of all that and then add my own personal touch.
RAN: Faced with this new generation of musical styles, do you think prog rock can still endure?
Gilles Untersinger: I think so, yes, because there is still an audience for it. Besides, everything else sounds so much alike… In terms of sound, it feels like there’s nothing truly new under the sun among today’s singers. There is still a genuine audience for progressive rock.
RAN – How does it feel to still be performing in front of an audience after all these years?
PW – Every performance remains a source of joy. It is a real pleasure to share that moment with the audience. Many fans come back after 40 or 50 years, which makes the experience even more special. We’ve never stopped playing, exploring other styles and lineups along the way. These days, even though we have other projects going on—Gigi, for instance, performs a lot with bands like The Rolls—the desire to make music is still there.
RAN – You must have had so many experiences out on the road; do you have a particularly memorable anecdote?
GD – One of my most memorable experiences was our recording session in Paris, at the Polydor studio. After that, we had a gig at the Golf Drouot. I remember it particularly well because we faced major difficulties getting there. It was the middle of winter, and our old diesel van had trouble with the fuel freezing. We struggled all night to make the trip and finally arrived just in time, at 9 a.m. After setting up our gear, we played. It was an incredible experience, even though we were exhausted.
RAN – What instruments do you currently use on stage?
PW: I use instruments that are between 15 and 20 years old—mainly Trinity and Korg models. I have two of them because, in WLUD, we need a wide range of sounds, so I require multiple keyboards. I use a Numa for organ sounds, and a master keyboard paired with a sound module that offers various piano sounds.
GU: My instrument is a 5-string Fender Jazz Bass.
LB: As for me, I often play a Fender Stratocaster—the Jeff Beck model.
GD: I’ve played Gretsch, Sonor, and Ludwig kits, but recently I treated myself to a custom-made kit from a craftsman specializing in wooden snare drums and drum sets. The brand? HASSLER! It’s incredible!
Photo Gallery
© Bertrand Hug
I was born in Portugal and lived the Sixties exploring the great UK Rock magazines: "The New Musical Express" and "Melody Maker". Ray Charles and Pat Boone were my father’s fav. I became “The Great Pretender”. Cliff Richard was our Elvis Presley. As a beach boy, with my first guitar, I met a beautiful French girl on the beach! It was the Summer of 69!! We got married and rock music was our dowry. In France, I became a Wine Genetic Research Scientist. One of my works contributed to the decoding of the genome of the vine! As a rock journalist, I’ve worked twenty years for the Portuguese and Brazilian Rock Press. I ‘ve interviewed so many great artists. Then, one day I met FRANK ZAPPA! I got into trouble for introducing my wife to "Uncle Meat"!
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