Humanist Advent Concept - Invasion

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	What's Good, What's Bad	03:15
	2	Light to Live, Love to Give	04:40
	3	Concept's Invasion	05:06
	4	Condensed Energy	05:17

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Conquest	11:15
	2	Oh! I Would Like	04:43
	3	World of Conviction	07:02

Photos

Videos

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Information/Write-up

Laval, Québec’s Concept was a deeply independent force in Canada’s psychedelic and progressive underground. Active from the mid-1970s through the late 1980s, the band issued all their material on their private Reveal label, combining freeform rock with cosmic themes, spiritual lyricism, and a unique philosophy they called the Humanist Advent.

Led by guitarist, vocalist, and producer Peter Riden, the group also featured Robert C. Schwelb (keyboards, vocals), Marc Ulus (bass, guitar, flute, saxophone, vocals), and Pier Heiken (drums, keyboards, vocals). All members contributed original compositions and took part in production, design, and lyrical development, each publishing under their own imprint.

Concept’s debut LP, Invasion (1979), introduced their exploratory sound with tracks like “Condensed Energy,” “Conquest,” and “World of Conviction.” A second album, Supra Surge (1980), expanded on their philosophical direction, centered around the “Supra Surge” suite. Both albums were self-recorded, self-produced, and issued in limited pressings.

In 1987, Concept released two additional cassette-only albums: From Home to Space and Beyond (Reveal R-C-87-5) and Long Awaited (Reveal RC-87 III), further developing their sonic and metaphysical themes. These tapes marked the final chapter in the group’s discography.

The band also issued two non-album singles. Their earliest, “Eliminate the Bill” b/w “Pour Une Faveur,” appeared in 1976, followed by “I Ain’t No Punk” b/w “Between You and the World” in 1981.

Concept’s music blends progressive structures, improvisation, and abstract lyrical content. Album notes often included poetry, philosophical commentary, and calls for listeners to join the Humanist Advent as “affiliates”—highlighting the band’s broader goals of personal reflection and spiritual awakening.

Though always outside the mainstream, Concept’s albums and cassettes have become sought-after artifacts among collectors of Canadian psych and private-press music. Both LPs were remastered and reissued on CD in Germany, helping to bring their work to wider attention. Together, these releases preserve one of the more idiosyncratic and spiritually driven chapters in Canada’s underground rock history.
-Robert Williston

Peter Riden: guitar, vocals
Robert C. Schwelb: keyboards, vocals
Marc Ulus: bass, flute, saxophone
Pier Heiken: drums

Produced by Concept
Recorded and engineered at C.I.S. and Reveal Studio
Design by Peter Riden and Pier Heiken

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