The Capstan Shafts
The Capstan Shafts is the musical project of American lo-fi artist Dean Wells.
He has been releasing material under the Capstan Shafts name since 1999, through various indie labels such as Yellow Mica, Asaurus and "Abandoned Love Records".
Most of his albums are very cheap (four or five dollars) or even free.
His songs are typically short, ranging in length from 45 seconds to 2 minutes, and feature a full-band sound of guitars, bass and drums, all of which are played by Wells himself.
Every Capstan Shafts release to date has been recorded at home, giving the music a fuzzy lo-fi sound similar to bands such as Guided By Voices and The Mountain Goats.
Despite a prolific output of recorded material (his total output amounts to ten EPs and seven full-length albums), Wells has only performed live three times.
His recent album "Her Versus The Sad Cold Eventually", has led to an upsurge in media interest surrounding The Capstan Shafts; the album was given four very favorable reviews on music-news site Pitchfork Media by Matt LeMay of Get Him Eat Him.
Volapük (band)
Volapük was a French avant- garde band created in 1993 by the drummer Guigou Chenevier, along with Michel Mandel and Guillaume Saurel.
In the 1970s, Chenevier was a member of Etron Fou Leloublan, a band that was part of the Rock in Opposition movement.
Takumi Fukushima became a later addition to the group, playing on" Polyglöt" which was released in 2000.
Volapük announced their breakup in 2010.
The band's style draws from a number of Eurasian ethnic musical traditions, from Spain to the Balkans to Mongolia.
Unlike other avant- garde bands that rely on the use of non-musical sounds, Volapük's music retains more of their folk music roots.
Volapük is the name of an artificial language, which also draws its form from multiple language sources.
Volapük (band)
Volapük was a French avant- garde band created in 1993 by the drummer Guigou Chenevier, along with Michel Mandel and Guillaume Saurel.
In the 1970s, Chenevier was a member of Etron Fou Leloublan, a band that was part of the Rock in Opposition movement.
Takumi Fukushima became a later addition to the group, playing on" Polyglöt" which was released in 2000.
Volapük announced their breakup in 2010.
The band's style draws from a number of Eurasian ethnic musical traditions, from Spain to the Balkans to Mongolia.
Unlike other avant- garde bands that rely on the use of non-musical sounds, Volapük's music retains more of their folk music roots.
Volapük is the name of an artificial language, which also draws its form from multiple language sources.
Ferdinand Richard
Hervé Richard( born 25 June 1950), better known as Ferdinand Richard, is a French avant- rock bass guitarist and composer.
Richard was a founding member of the French avant- rock group Etron Fou Leloublan in 1973, and remained with them until they broke up in 1986.
He was also a member of Alfred Harth's group Gestalt et Jive in the mid-1980s, and collaborated with Fred Frith in 1989 to record" Dropera"( 1991).
Richard also formed his own group, Ferdinand et les Philosophes in 1990, and recorded two solo albums," En Forme!!"( 1981) and" En Avant"( 1983).
43 Songs
43 Songs is a three-CD box set by French avant-rock band Etron Fou Leloublan (EFL).
It contains all tracks from the band's five studio albums, "Batelages" (1977), "Les Trois Fous Perdégagnent (Au Pays Des...)" (1978), "Les Poumons Gonflés" (1982), "Les Sillons de la Terre" (1984) and "Face Aux Éléments Déchaînés" (1985).
It was released in 1991.
Some of the tracks were mastered from particularly noisy vinyl sources and there is no booklet included.
The box set cover depicts "Crazy Shit, The White Wolf" (the rough English translation of the band's name) on top of a broken Eiffel Tower.
Etron Fou Leloublan
Etron Fou Leloublan (French for "Crazy Shit, The White Wolf" or "Mad Shit, the White Wolf"), also known as EFL, were a French avant-garde rock band founded in 1973 by actor and saxophonist Chris Chanet.
They recorded five studio albums between 1976 and 1985, and released a live album, "En Public Aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique" recorded during a tour of the United States in 1979.
Etron Fou Leloublan were best known as one of the five original Rock in Opposition (RIO) bands that performed at the first RIO festival in London in March 1978.
Etron Fou Leloublan's music has been described as a blend of punk rock, jazz, French music hall, comedy satire and "avant-garde mayhem".
Capstan and Bowstring
The Capstan and Bowstring is a mechanism that converts rotary motion into linear motion and vice versa.
It is very similar in function to a rack and pinion but operates on a different principle, being that of the Polelathe.
It consists of a capstan which is a reel or pulley around which the bowstring is wound several turns.
As the capstan is rotated, the bowstring is pulled in on one side and reeled out on the other.
The free ends of the bowstring are coupled to the linear part of the mechanism, the" bow", which holds the string in tension.
Such mechanisms are not often found since the rack and pinion is generally more robust for the same job.
However the capstan and bowstring is easily fabricated by the home builder from scratch, where accurate rack and pinion mechanisms are not, and also require much looser tolerances between the working parts.
The angle between the capstan shaft and the linear element can also be variable without any special couplings needed, such as universal joints.
The cable is typically steel and can be tensioned at the points where it is connected to the bow.
Another feature of the capstan and bowstring is that it can be designed to slip at the ends of its travel if desired by the simple expedient of having the cable slip around the capstan, forming a simple torque- limiting clutch.
Capstan and bowstring mechanisms can be used wherever a rack and pinion or other rotary- to- linear conversion is found, such as in the steering mechanism of vehicles, etc.
The slip torque of the capstan can be set to any desired torque by adjusting the tension on the cable according to the capstan equation.
Dün (band)
Dün was a French progressive rock band, active from 1978 to 1981, during which they played shows with Magma, Art Zoyd, Etron Fou Leloublan, and almost became a part of the short- lived Rock in Opposition grouping of bands in Europe.
In 1981, they recorded an album," Eros", that apparently never secured proper distribution, and as a result is quite rare.
The French label Soleil reissued the" Eros" album, which included the four tracks from the original LP plus four bonus tracks, three of which are early demo versions of the tracks on the original release.
Speechless (Fred Frith album)
Speechless is a 1981 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith of the group Henry Cow.
It was Frith's third solo album, and was originally released in the United States on LP record on The Residents' Ralph record label.
It was the second of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
" Speechless" was recorded in France, Switzerland and the United States, and featured Frith with French Rock in Opposition group Etron Fou Leloublan on the first side of the LP, and Frith's New York City band Massacre on the second.
It is mostly a studio album with extracts from a Massacre concert mixed into four of the tracks on side two of the LP.
" Speechless" has been described as a mixture of folk music, free improvisation, avant- rock and noise.
All Music said that it is often regarded as one of Frith's best solo albums.
Dün (band)
Dün was a French progressive rock band, active from 1978 to 1981, during which they played shows with Magma, Art Zoyd, Etron Fou Leloublan, and almost became a part of the short- lived Rock in Opposition grouping of bands in Europe.
In 1981, they recorded an album," Eros", that apparently never secured proper distribution, and as a result is quite rare.
The French label Soleil reissued the" Eros" album, which included the four tracks from the original LP plus four bonus tracks, three of which are early demo versions of the tracks on the original release.

Question: Are Etron Fou Leloublan and The Capstan Shafts from the same country?
Answer: no