review: Antlers Mulm - The Age Of Efficieny

I am quite sure I have said this before... the best minimal electronics is done by people who do not make this music because of this style but simply as a result of their way of working.

Antlers Mulm is not at all a name many people will come up with when talking about minimal electronics... but in the end this project by Hans Johm is just that. And... even better as Antlers Mulm treats us with some of the best minimal electronics around with this new album entitled 'The Age Of Efficiency'.

What makes the music so good is that Antlers Mulm combines in a very natural way elements of synth music, industrial and neo folk. Musically this is like the dark side of minimal synth. You hear the dark mood coming in from some neo folk hooks. The industrial influences are harder to find on this new album but if you are familiar with the older work of Antlers Mulm you can hear where all of this is coming from. Also the design shows the tradition this music is situated in.

'The Age Of Efficiency' is somewhere in between some of the poppier stuff Antlers Mulm has done... like the track on the 'Radio Resistencia' compilation... and the more ambient orientated pieces to be found for example on his previous album 'Of Withered Sparks'. In bringing these worlds more together on this new album the musician has created very powerful songs and more important a true style of his own... even more as before...

The minimalism of Suicide is hidden in the repetitive basslines. This combined with eerie minimal synth sounds, neo-romantic and at times folky melodies and vocals delivered in a sort of spoken word way results in songs both soothing and disturbing. Impressive!

Also in another way this album is impressive. The complete album consists of an LP, a one sided LP and a two track cd. One track on this cd is done together with Frank Machau known from neo folk band Orplid. This massive album is still strong and attractive to listen to. Which is an achievement... as often less is more...

'The Age Of Efficiency' is released on the label Sonderübertragung! which is run by Hans Johm himself. The release comes in an edition of 197 hand numbered copies. So if you want to hear one of the best "minimal synth" albums of this year you should be quick...

I wait your answer, Jérôme Fontan.

Shocked. I am shocked when I get a phone call from Bran from France… things are not good with Jérôme… most likely he has passed away… the next day this is confirmed. Jérôme had a cardiac arrest on friday evening (17 June 2011) and the reanimation came too late…

Most people in our music world will know Jérôme as the musician behind the elektro act Porn.Darsteller. Since 2000 he released some of the best elektro music around on the now defunct Invasion Planète label. With Porn.Darsteller he produced a body of work not still only relevant to date, but also influential when it comes to style, references used and image. Porn.Darsteller was erotic elektro with a pornographic touch, but this never was done in a cheap or easy way but always decadent and stylish.

We first met in Amsterdam in 2003 when I got the Invasion Planète crew to perform there at a festival. Porn.darsteller was always an important part of the label, next to Le Syndicat Electronique and It & My Computer, so Jérôme came over to perform live. Later on we met two more times when I set up other concert nights for the Invasion Planète crew in Holland.

I remember best the night we did in Rotterdam. Only very few people came to see these concerts then but the live performances were great. The best I think of the three times we did shows in Holland together. Also I remember we drank too much Leffe beers and drove back to Utrecht afterwards, where I lived at that time, to sleep at my place. The next day we had talks over breakfast, listened to some music and had a nice walk in the city… with me at least trying to get rid off a hangover from too much beers. They had to drive back more then 1000 km’s later that day to get back home.

Porn.Darsteller collaborated on two releases I put out in the early phase of my Enfant Terrible label. In 2005 he contributed an absolute stunning remake of the classic track ‘Covergirl’ by Dutch cult elektro pop legend The Actor. This track was released on the third record I put out. The next year I was blown away and got boosebumps when a cd arrived with his track ‘L’Ingénue’ for the first compilation I was working on.

This record became “Electronic Renaissance” and opened with this track by Porn.Darsteller. I knew this track already from his live sets and for me this record opening with this track was, and still is, more perfect as perfect could be.

Then when Invasion Planète stopped there was no contact for some time. It was an odd period for many people involved I guess but that is also a different story… probably one which will never be told. Anyway… a little more than two years ago I got an e-mail message… Jérôme wrote me that he had been following my label work and that his project Porn.Darsteller had come to and end and the album he was doing for Invasion Planète was cancelled.

Also he wrote me about the soundtrack he had done for an old silent Spanish film from 1929, entitled “El Sexto Sentido” (The Sixth Sense). And… he first mentioned his new project La Mort De L’Hippocampe. From there on the correspondence continued and he sent me the first recordings by La Mort De L’Hippocampe and the “El Sexto Sentido” with his soundtrack on DVD.

The first demo was a collection of tracks with some hints to elektro but rather industrial and experimental. Still this could be seen best as a sort of a product from a transitory phase. Even more as a few months later I got a message he had finished new pieces and when I got these I was instantly impressed by the sheer quality and originality of this work. He had tapped into a truly new world of music and art now.

This work consisted of two long tracks that evolved into different phases. Some parts where pure electronic music, but of the experimental kind. Other parts also incorporated medieval instruments and spoken word. As I was very enthusiastic I wrote Jérôme I was more than interested to make this into a record release with him. He liked the idea so we started to make plans.

In the meantime of course he could not stop being creative and he was always working on new music and he also set up a performance group around La Mort De L’Hippocampe which involved other artists as well.

Also a complete new work was written and recorded. Another two long pieces of experimental electronic music with some strange cabaret like influences in one part and moving in and out of phases of (un)certain textures. The whole of sound and structure made up for what could be called a piece of contemporary art music. This as it has very little to do with pop music in any possible way.

After some discussion we decided to make this the first release for La Mort De L’Hippocampe. Again Jérôme had been busy with formulating plans and making ideas real… he was starting a record label for his own called Verbascripta. We decided to make the planned release a collaboration of his new label and my Enfant Terrible label. Also we talked about this collaboration as a good way of working together… also for possible future projects.

We were both very enthusiastic about this all… both our activities and interests seemed to mix well and there were more then enough ways to work together and still do our own things as well. The record was fully in progress and we were working hard on getting all done for the planned release…

I wrote him on the status and all last Thursday… not sure he ever read my message… as Saturday Bran, a close friend of Jérôme, called me…

Jérôme, you will be missed… for your work and for your enthusiasm… and of course as a person…

So many plans were lying around and I had hoped to do so much more together… I had hoped to meet again later this year as we were talking about... I have always loved your work and I have always valued your opinion… don’t worry La Mort De L’Hippocampe will be released as discussed and planned… so once more people can hear the genius of your work and how you have evolved throughout the years… it is rare gift the talent you have…

I stop here… with the phrase you always ended your writings with to me…

I wait your answer.

M.

Flexipop: disposable pop or recycle art?

The article below was already published in slightly different versions, but on paper only, in the Dutch version of Vice Magazine (vol. 5, issue 9) and in Traces (issue 1).

Flexipop: disposable pop or recycle art?

Most people will only be able to guess what Flexipop is. For a few obsessive nerdy music fans like myself it is a cultural standard, a world of its own, or even THE world. Well here is a short lesson into the history of cheap produced minimalistic new wave pop music and how some people today try to turn it into a hype to cash in on it.

The name Flexipop is not a real genre name as it comes from an UK magazine that ran for two years from 1980 onwards. Each edition came with flexible 7 inch record. You know vinyl but not regular vinyl as you could use it as a Frisbee and even bend it and fold it and if it wasn’t damaged that bad it still would play.
Anyway, the focus of Flexipop and the discs was on new wave music. Many well known bands like The Cure, Soft Cell and Depeche Mode contributed tracks for a flexidisc, often the tracks where exclusive recorded. The Dutch counterpart was called Vinyl magazine and focused as they called it themselves on Modern Music. Basically this meant more experimental and obscure stuff from the counterculture and the then real existent underground. The flexidiscs that came along with Vinyl featured mostly these less accessible sounds of the new wave genre with tracks from bands like Tox Modell, Schleimer K and Mecano.

Think cheap, minimalistic and weird electronic pieces and unpolished and raw post-punk guitar stuff. During the 1990’s when all the world was listening to Grunge one music maniac started to make bootleg cd-r compilations entitled A Tribute To Flexipop and later followed by The Return Of Flexipop and None Night Of Flexipop next to some other titles referring to the same tradition. A total for more then fifty cd-r’s where compiled. All featuring something between twelve to twenty tracks per disc. Well that is what I call a repertoire! This was done not for profit but for fun only and to keep this music tradition alive.

These discs feature a fantastic world of music with tracks from tape releases, a-side but mostly b-sides from hard to find 7 inches and tracks from obscure independent vinyl releases. During the years when nobody listened to this stuff the name minimal electronics or minimal synth became some sort of genre definition for this type of 80's minimalistic synth-punk new wave music. Many bands featured found it an honor to be on this series, as back in the days but even more at that time only few people showed interest in their music.

Bit by bit a real cult following began to take shape. During the late 90’s this evolved into a new scene of musicians and labels producing and releasing new music in this stylistic tradition. Next to that some labels were founded that only started to re-release some of the old music. Mostly music that was never put to vinyl before. Some of this was bootleg stuff as not all the musicians that released their music on cassette tapes in the 80’s could be traced down straight away. Remember this was before the myspace, facebook and linked-in era.

Artists like Skanfrom, Bakterielle Infektion, Solvent, Lowfish and of course Le Syndicat Electronique paved the way for many artists to follow, just as labels as Genetic Music, ADSR, Invasion Planete, Suction, Was Soll Das Schallplatten and Kernkrach did their part in spreading the music to a small loyal fanbase. At the same time electro had a revival. Contemporary electro acts like I-F, Legowelt, Luke Eargoggle and in a way also Rude66 helped to shape the new electro scene, even though they had been active already since some years . Although sharing some esthetics and style elements the two scenes did not always meet each other straight away but in the end musicians, labels and audience began to mix.

The recognition of this Flexipop music as an important root for electronic pop music, even though still only for the well informed, give way to a second wave of labels and musicians to take their cue and inspiration from this style.
Social media made it easy to find the old cult heroes and ask their clearance for releasing archive music from the past. In the same way internet made it possible to reach a worldwide audience. While most labels work in the spirit of the old underground, as in a Do It Yourself attitude towards producing, promoting and distributing the music, some seem to see some cash in it.

For some years Peer -to-peer networks like Soulseek already make the Flexipop compilation cd-r’s available to everybody for free, like they possible should. But, today you can also buy compilations of these compilations on vinyl, cd and yes in digital format to pay for, from various labels. Every country some to have a Flexipop re-issue label today and it seems like every month there is a new label born which is doing the same thing.

I agree that some of this music has cultural value and not only because I am an obsessive music nerd in love with this music. I agree this music should be available. I agree some labels are needed to release this music on vinyl for the first time. But, there is a true overkill. There is a reason some of this music never made it to a larger audience as the die-hard cult following from the 80’s and 90’s. Not all of it is that good. It has cult value for sure, but not all of this music has cultural value. It seems not all labels are gifted with selective capacities or with the true blood of this counterculture music tradition.
So for the curious people who are still not sure whether this is simply disposable pop music are true art with meaning and value worth to be recycled I advice to login at Soulseek and download the original Flexipop cd-r’s, have nights of fun with the music and found out what gems these compilations hold for you. Then you can always get the contemporary vinyl productions with the songs that touch you in the end and do not need to spend hard cash on dozens of compilations of compilations. Also it should be in the true nature of any real music fan to be willing to dive into a style or genre and pick the few things that appeal to you and go on from there… and tracing the original releases in the end…

M.

review: Various Artists - Vanity Records / Finest Selection, 1978 to 1981

I am not a fan of bootleg's... I almost never buy them and I never will sell them in my webshop... but here is a record that is an exception. I will still not sell it in my webshop but it deserves to be mentioned. Also this bootleg is for a part justified as all music concerned is very hard to get... if not impossible. Next to that most artists will be very hard to trace down.

What we are dealing with here is a compilation around the well known but obscure Vanity Records label. This Japanese label was active between 1978 and 1981 and released ten albums, some singles, one compilation album and some cassettes and flexi discs. The music released on Vanity Records was experimental, avant-garde, proto elektro/techno among some other noises... often with a typical Japanese twist.

On this LP are twelve tracks by twelve artists. The liner notes are in bad English, but the tracklisting states the origin of all the music. But more imnportant it is a real trip into some excellent minimal and experimental music.

What to think of the track by Dada for example?! A deep scary bass drum is the basis on top of which some Pink Floyd like guitar improvisations are played... mind blowing! Equally good but very much post-punk is the Mad Tea Party piece. A track Joy Division or The Cure could have done when on a trip. A twisted reggae tune is served by RNA Organism and a strange and dark soundscape is delivered by Arbeit.

Then I did not mention yet a Japanse cover of a Joy Division track by Morio Agata, or a piece of Kraftwerk like minimal proto elektro by Normal Brain or the outstanding weird but scary minimal music tune by Tolerance or or or...

If you need more references... well I could name two of my favorite 1980's band to give an idea of what to expect... think Alesia Cosmos and think Ptose... if you dig those bands you will love this compilation.

While the originals are almost impossible find, or if you find a good copy you will need to pay a few hundred euros for it, I advice to pick up a copy of this LP now... or be sorry later...

review: Woud / Bebe Fang

Samling is a small label from Holland and has released up till now five releases. Next to three cd-r's and one tape they also published a book. The second and the latest release are both related to the Dutch band Eklin which I wrote about earlier on this blog.

The latest release is a cd-r by Woud. The cd-r itself comes in a small plastic bag with a fold out poster on A3 format with a nice black and white drawing by the musician himself. Woud is the bassplayer of Eklin and on this debut release he serves the listener three tracks of trippy ambient. Opening track 'Fire' is the most dark track and could be a ambient piece by Burzum... if he was on a happy trip. This as Woud never gets too dark... his ambient structures are more spacey and relax and peaceful instead of dark and mean.

Listening more and more to the disc and to the other two tracks the music goes more and more into a sort of ambient pop or dream pop style. With this music you do not need to take any drugs to start floating... the soft sounds, tranquil vocals and soothing melodies are all you need. And... it is a happy trip for sure!

Released earlier but still available and even more interesting as Woud is Bebe Fang. This is a duo with another Eklin member behind the controls. Bebe Fang is much more ritualistic as Woud, almost becoming some sort of folk music. This debut tape with five tracks feels like an obscure field recording from the heart of old Europe, or Scandinavia.

In away this could have fitted on the great Fonal label as it is freaky and experimental and as said folky in a weird way. The pieces without rhythms are more ambient like... in away as those of Woud but darker and more mysterious. When the rhythms come in the music truly becomes ritualistic and shamanistic. It works the same way into your system as some of the Zola Jesus pieces, but Bebe Fang sounds more authenthic... and again as said more like an obscure field recording as contemporary pop music. Really amazing and mind blowing... it gives me shivers and I love it... highly addictive!

Both releases are very limited... the cd-r of Woud is released only in an edition of 50 copies and the Bebe Fang tape comes in an edition of 100 copies. You can get both releases at the Enfant Terrible webshop here...

review: 7 inch releases update

The last few months quite some nice 7 inches were released in the minimal electronics and synth wave styles. For example Kernkrach hit back with an truly great new release by Bloodygrave & Die Lust. This duo released their 7 inch with four tracks in what you could call that typical Kernkrach style: lo-fi minimal electronics with a crazy and playful NDW twist. The music is poppy only because the tracks are catchy. As when it comes to the music itself it is quite noisy stuff and thus probably only for lovers of this style. If this was done in the 1980's on cassette it would have fitted the WSDP catalogue as well. Excellent packaging also... as most of the time with Kernkach releases.

Somewhat in the same style comes a new collaboration between Matthias Schuster (Im Namen Des Volkes, Bal Paré) and Malte Steiner (Konform, Notstandskomitee). Under the alias Akustikkoppler they recently releases a four track EP 7 inch on the always nice NLW label. If you know the work of the musicians the result will not come as a surprise: a mix of the structured elektro from Steiner mixed with the more new wave inspired moods of Schuster. But... it blends perfectly and the four tracks are careful shapes minimal elektro hits. From the melancholy 'Fernmündlich" to the rather noisy and dark "Kabelsalat" it all works for me. Excellent!!

Much more synth pop and new wave inspired when it comes to sounds and structures is the debut by Cosmic Hula Radiators. Released on the new F.K.K.-Musik label comes this two track 7 inch limited to only 150 copies. The A-Side ('Planquadrat') is an uptempo track and will work for sure on the selected dancefloors around the world. It is a very well done German sung synth pop track with a lovely analogue sound. So catchy and poppy but not slick! The B-Side ('Katapultstart') is less suitable for the dancefloor I guess and a bit more classic elektro pop with the vocoder vocals and more pounding beats and pulsating bass line. Curious what else will be released by this label and if Hula Cosmic Radiators can keep up this level of quality with their next release.

From the lovely EE Tapes label from Belgium comes a nice 7 inch compilation with music from the Insane Music label from the 1980's. Yes... another Insane Music compilation... apparently there is still lots of music in the archives as this 7 inch is smashing! Pseudo Code deliver a track in their freaky post-punk style. And there is Human Dance with the great dancefloor track 'Hex!'. A funny and melancholy instrumental synth pop tune. Bene Gesserit is present with two tracks and M.A.L. and Subject both contributed one track. Well in the end all of this is Alain Neffe with help from some people here and there. Alain also compiled this EP himself, so it is the master himself at work here. One of the better re-issue's lately...

Back to the present day and to the master of 8 bit minimal music: Neurobit. I am bit cheating here as this record is an 8 inch not a 7 inch... well it is still a small gem... This is the second 8 inch released by the musician himself on the Vatican Analog label he is involved in. This one is more melodic and tranquil as the first one. In a way this 8 inch is like a perfect dessert after you have consumed the Neurobit 7 inch released on Enfant Terrible as main dish. Playful sounds and trippy pulses take you away into another world... a soft and nice and friendly place... excellent and psychedelic in the same way as the music by Terry Riley.

All of the above releases are for sale in the Enfant Terrible webshop here...

interview Enfant Terrible with Blackout Musique

Below is an interview with me done by Blackout Musique. As the Canadian Blackout Musiqe webzine publishes in French only and I got several requests to have this interview available in English here it is:

- We don’t often receive Dutch music here in Canada. What can you tell us about the local music scene? Is there a strong opposition between mainstream and independent production channels?


Well… I have been active in the music industry here for many years and worked for and with various organizations next to handling my own activities. Even though there are of course different worlds which you could define as mainstream and independent I do not like to talk about it in that way… simply as I do not care much about a large part of the so called music industry… either what you could call mainstream or independent.

For me there are very few interesting people, venues and organizations here. Only very few concerts I like to attend are organized and only few magazines write about music I am interested in.

On the other hand there are some people who like me have a normal day job and are active in bands, or run a small label, or organize a concert from time to time… all of this takes place in a world of its own… as what you call mainstream channels ignore the music given attention by these individual people and small organizations. Or maybe these mainstream channels as you call them do not ignore it.. they simply they do not know and don’t want to know about this music… or are not capable of hearing and seeing the brilliance of the music I and some others work with.

In my opinion there are only few people with good taste and guts and that work to promote music instead of themselves.


- Enfant Terrible has specialized in the last few years in discovering numerous new talents through its various compilations. How do you proceed to find them?


This is like asking a cook his recipe. Anyway… I have been searching for new music to listen to as long as I can remember. Next to that I have been writing about music for many years. At some point I came across music I felt other people should also hear. That is how I started and is essentially still the reason why I am active with Enfant Terrible. I discover music I like and in some cases I like to give this music / these artists a platform to present itself.

Even though my focus has changed the last year a bit in sounds and I also incorporate visual art more and more in my activities. Also I have expanded my activities into other areas such as a radio show (called Radio Resistencia) together with Andreas (Lesbian Mouseclicks) and Peter (Sololust) whom I am involved with in a foundation and a paper magazine (called Traces) I do in collaboration with Johan from Seja.

This way I have more options to promote the music I come across in my endless searches… and in this way Enfant Terrible has become a platform, or a source for information, instead of “just” a label.


- Not only does your label publish underground artists, but it also does so almost exclusively on vinyl. How did you come to this decision and is it viable economically?


A cd isn’t anything in my opinion. While I consider digital music as in download mp3’s absolutely as a non-product, a cd is only a step away from that. When I started my label the idea of doing cd’s did not even cross my mind. This as I like a real product and also as I am a collector of vinyl records myself since a very long time.

I did one cd to prove to myself a cd could be a good product if taken care of… this was for me only partly a success… even though the I still like the compilation in question, “Radio Resistencia”, a lot… only the format was not satisfying in the end. A double vinyl would have been better… Well… you learn from mistakes… it is an ongoing process to continuously improve what I do…

It is not just that I release vinyl records… I release limited editions of vinyl records. And really limited editions. Not like some labels who say they do limited editions and re-press when the edition is sold out. When you buy an Enfant Terrible release you know that when it is gone it is really gone.

The way I distribute my records through a network or independent shops also makes it harder for a regular and broader audience to get hold of them, or even to know these records exist. That is done on purpose. I want people to take action and need to get involved to get hold of these sounds and products. You cannot walk into any shop and get these records. It is a specific product with specific content for a specific audience. You have to know… you have to be a illuminati… but I try to promote my artists as well as I can… so my platform is open for all to get involved… it is not a closed cult or anything.

Still I have no interest in serving a regular consumption minded audience. But I do care a lot about my audience, the people who follow my label and the people who truly are music enthusiasts. Also I am happy to have the support of this network of independent shops who help to get the music to the right people.

And… economically viable? No, but that is also not the aim of Enfant Terrible. All my activities are about creating cultural value not economical value… that is why I decided to have, and continue, with my normal day job and keep Enfant Terrible as a sort of full time hobby next to my full time job…


- There has been lately a “revival” of sorts for minimal & DIY electronic music styles from the early 1980s. Labels hunt down rarities for reissues and new artists adopt this musical language in a fashion often undistinguishable in sound from the original productions. What is your opinion on this?


To be honest I think a lot of irrelevant music from the 1980’s is being released right now. That is also the reason I do not sell all these re-issues in my webshop. Even though I know there are quite some people who buy all of these records. I select the few I think are really nice as a document, as a collector piece and are interesting to listen to because of the music.

For me every record has to have a cultural value. Sorry to mention this again but it a core value of my activities. That is also why I now focus on contemporary artists with Enfant Terrible, and move away from what I call the “sure center” of minimal synth sounds. I will keep releasing some more or less typical minimal synth sounds, but mostly I will release more daring music. Like the original pioneers played… these musicians did not play minimal synth music… they simply played music that was made by simple means as with equipment with limited functions. They created interesting soundscapes not just catchy dance tunes.

Contemporary bands who are just copycats of the 80’s sounds I have no interest in. I look for musicians I feel are working in the tradition on the pioneers of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s BUT who are also adding their own touches… often touches very clearly inspired by the world around us today or defined by ways of producing and thinking about music today.


- And finally, what are your plans for the label in 2011?


I will release the last 1980’s re-issue for some time on my label. For some time I have already been doing mostly contemporary music next to focusing on local Dutch talents. But I want to close an important chapter for Enfant Terrible. This chapter is the releases I did as a collaboration with Trumpett. Enfant20 will be a second Doxa Sinistra record. This is the re-issue on vinyl of the first tape “Via Del Latte’. Also it will mean the end of releasing their archive material. All relevant music from this Dutch 80’s tape label has been released through Enfant Terrible after this last vinyl LP.

Maybe I will release some other 80’s music in the near future, like continue the Spleen and Radionome sessions series, but for now I will continue with releasing contemporary music. Also I will continue to release new Dutch talents. And I will continue to broaden the sound spectrum for Enfant Terrible. So expect both some more experimental sounds as also some more poppy sounds.

And… I am working on some more projects that go beyond music as plain music… like I already do with the collaboration with Renée van Trier and the Kelly Correll Brown artifact for example.

Here is the Blackout Musique webzine...