Experimental Music From The Netherlands

Seamus Cater - The Three Things You Can Hear (Nearly Not There Records / Annihaya Records) Seamus Cater is a musicians based in Amsterdam who has in a faraway past worked a lot with electronica, but since a few years works in the tradition of English folk, Jazz and Avant-Garde music. On The Three Things You Can Hear we hear a blend of these styles, resulting in a mininal form of folk music which you could also place in the field of minimal music. The album is very intimate and fragile which is partly due to Cater his own playing. But also has to do with the help he got from musicians such as Koen Nutters, Morton J. Olsen, Johnny Chang and more. Thew Three Things You Can Hear is released on CD, Vinyl and download and directly available here: https://seamuscater.bandcamp.com/album/the-three-things-you-can-hear

Gonçalo Almeida & Rutger Zuydervelt - Jangadas (Cylinder Recordings) After last years Doze Ruinas the duo of Gonçalo Almeida and Rutger Zuydervelt return with a new collaborative work. Where the first was studio manipulations of Almeida his double bass by Zuydervelt now they teamed up for a live performance at Koffie & Ambacht in Rotterdam. The 30 minute live performance was edited down to 20 minutes and presented as this EP. The result is an inimate release where the doulbe bass and electronica play together very well. There are abstract experimental parts, where other parts are more ambient like. As such it is a diverse release with enough to discover. Jangadas was released as 3" CD-R and download release and is available here: https://cylinderecordings.bandcamp.com/album/cr012-jangadas

Eigenheimer - Eigenheimer Presents Dodaars (Self-released) Eigenheimer is a Nijmegen based musician who comes from the lo-fi experimental hip hop scene and incorporates a lot of heavy bass in his work. Though for his work Dodaars a huge step away from this has been taken. With a full collective of Michiel van de Weerhof, Maarten Brijker, Julian Edwardes, Nard Koeman and Lot Broos he recorded live pieces at Kytopia in Utrecht. The result from these recording sessions is a warm soulful sound with lots of room for experimentation and psychedelic elements. An important role in this seems to come from Julian Edwardes his piano play, which seems to get a lot of freedom to improvise. Eigenheimer Presents Dodaars is released as cassette tape and download and available here: https://eigenheimer.bandcamp.com/album/eigenheimer-presents-dodaars

Wouter van Veldhoven - A head stuck in tapes (Self-released) It has been quiet for a while from the side of Wouter van Veldhoven, the Utrecht based musician. But he didn't sit still. This release combines 3 different releases that never found a label, or maybe did but eventually never got released. If you are not aware yet with Van Veldhoven his work this is a really good starting point because it shows very well the different sides (except maybe the techno work) of what he does with reel to reel tapes. With his tapes and his other instruments he creates a very warm, but melancholic ambient sound. Due to the slowness (created by the tape loops) it also sounds very dreamy. A head stuck in tapes is released as download release only and available for pay what you want here: https://woutervanveldhoven.bandcamp.com/album/a-head-stuck-in-tapes

Wieman - Alive Futarist Minifesta (Korm Plastics / Attenuation Circuit) Frans de Waard and Roel Meelkop team up with Jos Smolders for this Wieman release which was recorded to celebrate 100 years of Futurism. On Alive Futarish Minifesta the trio takes us past some history of electronic music by plundering sounds from everything that was released since 1914. With this they have created their own sound world which gives many recognizable references, but never copying the classics. Due to this way of working it became a release with lots of variation with loads to discover. The release is available on CD via the Wieman website here:https://wieman.bandcamp.com/album/alive-futarist-minifesta

Cinema Perdu - A Perfect Negative (Audio Visual Atmosphere) Cinema Perdu is the solo project of Martijn Pieck who also records under his own name and is part of The [Law-Rah] Collective. With Cinema Perdu he creates his own take on modern classical music, which as his name already suggests, with an important cinematic feeling to it. As if it is soundtracks for non-existing movies. For his double cassette tape release "A Perfect Negative" he has created two different parts where he worked with samples from classical music which got treated by modular synths and computers. The two tapes deal with different sceneries / emotions. Tape one is called Underexposed and the second is called Illuminate. Both are ambient, but the first is a bit darker where the second is a bit more droney and a slightly lighter touch. A Perfect Negative was released as tape now sold-out but you can still get the download here: https://audiovisualsatmosphere.bandcamp.com/album/a-perfect-negative

Orphax - Time Waves (Moving Furniture Records) Orphax is Amsterdam based Sietse van Erve, who also runs the label Moving Furniture Records. On his album Time Waves he combines the live recordings from a performance at the BIMHUIS for a STEIM event with live recordings from home. The result is a 45 minutes long drone piece which represents Geologic time. The music is a natural flow of sound, just as in Geologic time changing very slow with new layers being added and removed over and over, in a random way, only with an occasional unexpected change. A rather relaxed minimal drone work. You can get Time Waves on CD and download here: https://movingfurniturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/time-waves

Glice - Fleisch (Narrominded) The duo of Ruben Braeken (Apneu / Katadreuffe) and Melle Kromhout (Fata ‘El Moustache’ Morgana) wanted to do something new aside their guitar music. With an interest in noise they have started Glice. With first signs of life in 2009 they now are really active and Fleisch is their first physical release. Armed with loads of pedals, keyboards, synths, microphones and what's more they get together to create an interesting combination of drones and noise with a psychedelic twist. The tape is released in an edition of 50 and available here: https://glice.bandcamp.com/album/fleisch

Kevin Verwijmeren - Those Glorious Heights (Icarus Records) Kevin Verwijmeren is a young musician based in Delft who combines hist studies in physics with creating music. Other than physics his music is not that abstract. Instead it is lush ambient drones, sometimes warm, sometimes a bit colder, always relaxed, but melancholic. Those Glorious Heights is released on vinyl by Icarus Records and available directly from the artist here: https://kevin-verwijmeren.bandcamp.com/album/those-glorious-heights

Radboud Mens - Cycle (No Rent Records) Rotterdam based musician and sounds artist Radboud Mens has been active for quite some years already with his first releases dating back to Mid 90's with various projects. In his work he has gone from pumping techno to abstract noise to conceptual sound art to experimental ambient. Some of it has been solo, others were in collaborations such as with Staalplaat Sound System or with Michel Banabila. For this cassette tape from late last year he worked solo and recorded almost 1 1/2 hour of old school ambient tracks that often recall the best of Brian Eno, while at the same time also incorporating newer sounds and methods. This album is recorded with a huge arsinal of instruments going from Ableton Live and Max to self mde fluts from drainpipes, glass and more. You can get the album on cassette tape and download here: https://radboudmens.bandcamp.com/album/cycle

Technicolor Sewer - Superluminal Communication (Self-Released) Technicolor Sewer is the Rotterdam based duo of Sanja and ΔΔ amd together they produce a lo-fi electronic sound which reminds of 60's experiments. As addition to this the tracks are in mono (or that might be a mistake in the export, waiting for a confirmation). It reminded me of Broadcase, but without vocals and slightly more experimental. Get the album for free on their bandcamp here: http://technicolorsewer.bandcamp.com/album/superluminal-communication

Julien Mier - Excerpts & Outtakes (Self-Released) Julien Mier is an in Amsterdam living musician who works mainly in the field of poppy IDM tunes with a very cheerful twist. This is probably the most poppy music you will find on this blog. On this self-released EP he has combined some tracks that were never released before. While it isn't a complete album it gives a very good idea of what he is doing. You can listen and get the release here: https://julienmier.bandcamp.com/album/excerpts-outtakes

Magriet Kicks-Ass - The Equator Upside Down (Self-Released) Magriet Kicks-Ass is a sound artist who often creates her own installations For this release she worked with a hot metal plate on which droplets of water are falling. These sounds seem to be reworked live, but what is really going on is really difficult to say. The resulting music is a form of musique concrete with loads of sweeping sounds and small blops and wooshes. Peculiar one could say the least. The Equator Upside Down is released as CD and download and available here: http://margrietkicks-ass.bandcamp.com/album/the-equator-upside-down

Wieman - Plays Goem (Trenkel) (Kvitnu) Wieman is the project of Roel Meelkop and Frans de Waard who also play as Kapotte Muziek and in the past worked as Goem. As Wieman they took a complete new way in workking, always using a musical inspiration from older works. For Trenkel they have used as starting point their old music made as Goem. Because the source is really rhytmical music here we also get to hear this. The result is a slowly deforming minimal piece. Later on we will post some other new stuff by Wieman, because there were two other interesting albums last year. Wieman - Plays Goem (Trenkel) is released on CD and download by Kvitnu and can be ordered here: http://shop.kvitnu.com/album/trenkel

Bas van Huizen - Kluwekracht (Moving Furniture Records Bas van Huizen lives in Xi'an, China, but originates from the city of Nijmegen. For his new album kluwekracht he recorded 10 pieces with guitar, voice, singing bowles, objects and computer. Bas van Huizen his work fits well with the currently popular "Power Ambient" happenings (seriously, who made up that name...Power Ambient), which has clearly shows on this CD-R album. On one side it is very noisy, almost chaotic, while on the other is atmospheric and very detailed. The result is a haunting piece of work. Kluwekracht is released by Moving Furniture Records on CD-R in A5 artwork and as digital release. You can listen and order here: https://movingfurniturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/kluwekracht