Yol & David Curington – A Typical Sunday

Artist: Yol & David Curington
Title: A Typical Sunday
Keywords: dada  noise, experimental, sound art, 
Label: Steep Gloss

The typical Sunday, according Yol and David Curington starts with a wake-up call that feels like a rusty chainsaw that is on full swing to saw your bed in half. Wide awake with wide eyes, you might wipe off the rubbish to see the curtain-less windows spray out a blinding eyesore of sunshine. Yep, Sunday had begun and it almost felt like a Monday. Scruffy, rusty and in a tormenting way, we get up to follow David and Yol on their last day of the weekend.

They begin the day with a prominent stroll. They are clearly already angered from a rough awakening. They seem to be triggered and annoyed with everything that cross their paths. Nobody and nothing is safe, as it becomes eerily clear that these gentlemen are clearly no morning people. 
It’s easy to imagine newspaper stands being roughened up, bins being tossed over and early street folk having to pass them in a rather large circle. Yol and David seem angry, irritated and highly caffeinated. Together they are a first to the concept of “rise and shine” and who can blame them?

The neighbors might be pleased to know when they are out, but once they are back, they quickly make the best out of their days. For them, it means as much chaos and noise as possible. But they are of the good kind, no boring dullness is spotted as these two go apeshit and bonkers of the more energetic kind.

Yes, at times it does feel like your worst DIY neighbors of an entire neighborhood all molded into one, slamming away, screaming at the end of their lungs, bouncing off the walls and smashing the pieces of furniture. Radios might be thrown around in bath tubes and other shocking things. Be careful of them, they will watch you from the street or through their broken windows. No one is safe, especially joggers need to make a run for their lives!

You might not enjoy living next to them, but you would definitely pay good money to join them. As even though their aggression seems literally through the roof: it does feel highly liberating! Who doesn’t have that urge inside to go absolutely bonkers, destroy and yell? Don’t drop anything in and let out all that steam+ These two get it off their chests, out of their lungs and out of their systems.

Yep, these two are the true winners in this dirty, grimy, awful mess that has so much wild energy within it that you might feel like it’s a session of good punks who scream violently incoherent madness while smashing their equipment into a fractured puzzle that can never be put back together again. It is loud and vile, but oh so inviting! If you have this playing on a tape, your cassette player might actually die; but, it will do so, in a worthy psychotic way! 
https://steepgloss.bandcamp.com/album/a-typical-sunday
KN 

Petros Vouris – The Lost Village

Artist: Petros Vouris
Title: The Lost Village
Keywords: experimental, ambient, electronic
Label: Dog Park

I have been quite lost these days, wandering around in the lost village dreamed up by the memories of Petros Vouris. If you follow me here, you might become dissolved forever in these lost and found audio paths of this imaginative place too. It is easy to walk in, but not so easy to step out. Think of it as a daydream that doesn’t belong to us, yet is kind enough to open its hidden doors. Be kind and look around, but be respectful as these sounds will watch your every move.

Upon arrival, it is like entering a western ghost town, with nobody inside except us lost listeners and here and there a bit of round flying hay. But the more you sink in these sounds, the more alive the village and everything around it becomes. The walls seem to breathe, the floors seem to glow and the entire air has a certain warmth to it. It’s easy to trick your mind into thinking that this is all a sentimental bundle of thoughts. A certain feeling of lost life that keeps an eye on you from every angle that is felt, all drenched in a shape of kind-hearted love that makes it as if we are in a comfy labyrinth under the guidance of guardian angels. Not particularly our ones, but they do seem to want us not to be harmed.

They come in dreamy shapes or as rough as Cicadas in a summer field. They crawl and float around our ears, between our legs and up our arms. Nothing is scary, but it does come across as an intense shimmery journey. It is not an everyday occurrence to be invited into such a sentimental personal space, taken for a voyage to become one with the mystical memory slots of the mind of this sound artist named Petros Vouris.

In some areas it feels as if we took the wrong alleyway, suddenly floating deeper into the depths of a dark cave, in which cool tear drops fall from the ceiling. The good thing with music experiences of the experimental kind is that you don’t get wet, or are required to bring an umbrella. It is like a labyrinth made out of memories, heavy and light, warm but cool and very personal. Yet, I am here, as a listener, lost, bewildered and interested. I hope to see you there! I will wait for you near the sound of the doomsday bells…
https://dogparkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-lost-village
KN

Gifgrond 86! The party report!

Gifgrond #86 (flyer by Kai Nobuko)

Last Saturday the 86th episode of Gifgrond happened. Legs were kicking, arms had been flying and heads had been bopping: In other words: it was loads of fun! I was there, risking getting infected by a party bug that had gone around Gifgrond since its birth. I got it instantly upon arrival. A couple of the effects is that you would grow a spontaneous mustache and would dance to every good thing that hits your ear! I haven’t stopped dancing, but still managed to write a little report which you can read here:

DJ Oscar Der Winzige (photo by: Frank Janssens)

It was a full-on program. With Oscar Der Winzige as the deejay who super glued all the happenings together with a sensible mix of easy listening material. You could spot some jazz, or nod your head along with more ambient-like material. Oscar Der Winzige’s set was in stark contrast to what the live artists of the night would bring. But it was also needed and nurturing, giving a nice audio palette to catch a breath and hear things that you haven’t heard before.

F.M.I. (photo by: Frank Janssens)

After a while, it was up to FMI to baffle and stun with a formidable showcase! This was pretty much the case in every sense of the word. FMI had his electronic setup perfectly fitted in a case, just took the lid off and his beast was ready to mingle! It was refreshing to see, so well organized and compact, but what sound and patterns flew out of that box! You could easily see that this FMI was a true designer, one that had thought of everything and wow; that neatness sounded so good! The eardrums got pleasantly blistered and twisted with percussive sounds that came at us in interesting ways, from polyrhythms to abstract shenanigans that always had a true force of excitement within them. No bass or high frequencies had been left out, all plonking away like a salvo of freaky drums from an alien world!

Photo by Frank Janssens

Of course, after this showcase of FMI, we needed Oscar Der Winzige to deliver our ears a sensible palette cleanser. This music-loving deejay delivered in the extreme kind. But it didn’t take long before the training session would start, provided by the band named Trainer. This was the first time Trainer performed outside of Germany and they seemed to be full of adrenaline from their journey. They were hard as nails, ready to split some skulls if they had too!

TRAINER (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Gifgrond was ready for this post-rock noise punk whateverism. They swung at their guitars and bass as if they were punishing them forever being made. The drums got hit like a builder would smack a stone: super tight and in place, yet all together they came across as nonchalant in a “screw it” sentiment kind of way.

TRAINER (photo by: Frank Janssens)

The vocalist was also captured by the party bug, going around like an announcer of a doomed future, readily mingling in the crowd like a prophet of upcoming disaster!
Their sound was infectious, edgy, screwy, tight, raw and perhaps even post-apocalyptictic. They brought the room temperature to hot-headed levels! The crowd loved it, in fact, it was hard to resist to stand still, dancing as if time on earth had been running out, which seemed the way forward!

TRAINER (photo by Frank Janssens)

When the Trainer’s training session stopped, it was quite pleasant to have the savior in the shape of Oscar Der Winzige hop back in, calming our minds and bodies with relaxed sounds to regulate our racing heartbeats. Everyone needed this as the next artist, in pure solo form, would pump in so much energy and excitement that the entire building would end up in an infectious party mode. Yes, it was the work of Chris Imler who armed with a drumkit some bleepy blops and a microphone came to conquer, slam dunk and deliver!

Chris Imler (photo by Frank Janssens)

Not everyone had grown a mustache just yet, but it was clear by looking around that the party bug super spreader was now playing in the spotlight and that every single being was touched by it. Arms, legs and heads started to fly and swing around from all angles with every bit of music that Chris Imler delivered. His groovy style of tight and yet so free, happy-go-lucky vibes got everyone focused and dancing. When a song stopped you could just hear the hearts scream “We want more!”, which Chris Imler luckily gave and provided. He certainly did not disappoint, as he elevated everyone in an energetic bliss that would not be forgotten! What a great live performer and what a load of fun!

Chris Imler (photo by: Paul Beekhuis)

Oscar Der Winzige took the rest of the night away, calming the people down like a nurturing doctor of sound, making sure everyone would be able to go home happy and safely.  The hotness inside was in hard contrast to the coldness of the outside world, but the newly knitted exclusive Gifgrond scarfs had arrived right on time to even eliminate Mother Nature’s coolness.

The Gifgrond scarf!

Now Gifgrond visitors could put their favorite place around their necks, go into the world and spread the party bug among the regular folks. It surely had been an amazing time, with new faces here and there, great diversity of music, and lots of good vibes. Lots of happy memories have been made!

Chris Imler & Oscar Der Winzige

Speaking of making unforgettable things: the next Gifgrond will be on the 25th of May & before it, also at the Gifgrond space, there is the opportunity to join a workshop in which you could make a lo-fi sampler recorder!

It will be from 11:00 to 16:00 and will be done by the extremely talented sound artist Marti Guillem and only cost 50 euros! It surely is an opportunity you don’t want to miss, just like the next Gifgrond that will hit that night. Make sure you reserve a spot: info@gifgrond.nl
Line up and more info:
http://gifgrond.nl/program/
KN

Gifgrond #85! Party report!

Gifgrond #85! (Flyer by Kai Nobuko … but dont tell anyone!)

Gifgrond had its 85th episode last Saturday. If you don’t know by now what Gifgrond is, you unfortunately have been missing out on a great bunch of fantastic underground parties. Based in a rather unique and cozy location in the south of Holland, this place has been pumping out festive or engaging noises as if there would be no tomorrow… Still, even the 85th episode felt as fresh and young as ever!

It’s hard to pinpoint what it is that keeps the Gifgrond energy so sublimely fresh, but I put a lot of credit to the organizer in the shadow. This unstoppable person’s taste in sound and music has such a good nose for the right stuff, that even covid cannot stop her nostrils from sniffing the good stuff. Always a brand-new load of challenging talent, from top deejays, to experimental sounds, energetic punk or, simply, the indescribable… with this knowledge in mind, wish me luck to report on it all.

It was, of course, not to my surprise that the latest edition was one that had me smashing the imaginative like-button harder than hard. The night was a no-brainer with prominent names like Clôture électronique, Vive La Pop, Montagne Rouge and DJ Rosa to cater to the visitor’s needs! Also, a nice flyer was made. I think it was made by me, but at this moment, for bias’s sake, we have got to keep that a secret…

DJ Rosa (photo by: Frank Janssens)

It hadn’t been all too long ago when my ears had heard a pleasant worldly mix by this DJ Rosa somewhere on the internet. She had been playing around, from big festivals to other worldly places, so it was ultra nice to hear this deejay spin her enthusiastic tunes in the intimate setting that is Gifgrond. Luckily, DJ Rosa proved to be the ideal person to go for this coziness by supplying a kind of festive mood before and between the live acts of the night. Until it was, of course, her time to rise and shine. This spinning maniac, going all haywire, was the party food for the feet that like to dance! The mood is so important & DJ Rosa’s Gifgrond’s debut felt ideal and right!

Clôture Électronique (photo by: Frank Janssens)

But let’s talk about the first live act: Clôture électronique! Unfortunately, with trains refusing to move from Leipzig, the promised act named STAXL couldn’t be there, but Clôture électronique was a great and worthy replacement. Armed with a table full of blibbety bloob machines, the artist became like a Picasso of sound.

Clôture Électronique (photo by: Frank Janssens)

With a trans inducing care, the artist introduced layer upon layer, firmly packed in an engaging rhythmic adventure to lose your marbles in. I kept thinking, this is as if the entire Gifgrond audience had been beamed into the privately flying spaceship of Clôture électronique and all of us hoped that its unique flight would never stop! I was quite lost for words, but if I had to describe it, I would call it: excellent trippy shit!

Montagne Rouge (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Now it was time for a great band named Montagne Rouge. If the name makes you think of France, you might be thinking right!

Montagne Rouge (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

This excellent trio twisted a different kind of energy in the room, something along the broad lines of mathematical krautrock with a steamy happy energy that got people dancing as if gravity didn’t apply to Gifgrond anymore!

Montagne Rouge (photo by: Frank Janssens)

This band had such a good attitude and positive energy that it became a power-up feast for many! I kept thinking that this band was like an irresistible chroissant of French garage music! It was sooo tasty to my ears! A bright hot pot of active music that was irresistable to not dance upon!

Montagne Rouge (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

Vive La Pop (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografir)

The French clearly did a neat take-over as also coming from this country was “Vive La Pop”! I had done my homework by blasting this band’s demo on repeat in previous weeks, to the point that my neighbors banged my walls and door! (Probably they wanted to know who this band was!) So my hopes had been high and “Vive La Pop” did not only not deliver, it leveled itself up in this very fun live format! With a nice table of gear, the members of the duo faced each other as if to play a game of chess.

Vive La Pop (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Indeed, every move they made with their hands and machines was a check-mate one, but far from an egocentric battle, but a balanced collaborative exploration that also came across as hypnotic at its finest!

Vive La Pop (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Viva La Pop was like a live techno trip on the industrial noise spectrum with plenty of color to be playfully mesmerized by! What’s not to love? Freedom was in the air, it touched the hearts of many! merci!

DJ Rosa (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

With DJ Rosa to end the night with more music to freely dance upon, the 85th episode was another epic cycle of blatantly cheery alternative fun. A special night where people would let go, dance as freely as they wanted to be, a night of great sounds, rhythmic vibes, love and lovely people in front, among and beyond the scene & just a very great, great, great feast in general! Yay!! Let’s do some more of these! chapeau!
http://gifgrond.nl/
KN

Satanique Samba trio – So Bad

Artist: Satanique Samba Trio
Title: Só Bad
Keywords: samba, bossa nova, experimental, avant-garde, brazilian music

So bad might be the situation that the bird on the cover of this album is in. But honestly, I couldn’t detect anything bad music wise. In fact, the Satanique Samba Trio might make the whole Satan thing look pretty good. Even if it involves dancing the samba for an eternity on a floor full of burning flames, the “So Bad” music experience makes such a tournament pretty appealing. Sure it’s hot, you might lose a few pounds, and end up like the bird on the cover, but way towards it, seems to be not unlikable. It is a festive happening!

With plenty of trip tronics to tip-toe through, the listeners with the shortest attention span are catered for and cared for. Speedy music sensations that are mostly around a minute, yet within each and one of them you will find unique micro worlds to happily jump around in.  Satanique Samba Trio shakes their samba balls as if it’s a speed-run between sun-burned mathematicians. There is always something going on, with unexpected twists and corners, but doctored out to the point that it might even make a listener feel a bit like they had benefited if they had paid more attention at school. Full of unexpected twists, brains might twist while their bodies ride these exotic vibes as if they are happy little ponies made out of melodic meat.

Satanique Samba Trio is quick, calculated and surprisingly fun. I guess Hell is the kind of place you would expect great parties to be given, but with this music already out and available before entering such realms, you could simply enjoy an experimental samba feast without going through the effort of sinning to get in! It offers so much, at every point you are tossed into another individual. Every single track has its own persona and identity. You might not enjoy speed dating, but you will probably enjoy speed dating these tunes!

So Bad is soooo good! So don’t get fooled by the Satanique Samba Trio, they might actually provide you with musical entertainment like an etch-a-sketch full of ideas and inspiration. A warm, exotic cast of fun and frolic is what this is! The only negative thing is that even with 30 tracks full of wonder, it goes by very quickly! But that can simply be resolved by throwing the whole thing on repeat. You will not be bored as every time you will hear a new thing, a brand-new detail, a musical twist that tickles your mind forever! Go and grab a copy. It’s highly recommended!
https://sataniquesambatrio.bandcamp.com/album/s-bad
KN

Various artists from Mandjoogoordap to Binningup – Noise Cancelling

Artists: Furchick, Alex Winner, dont know, Jeremy Von Kobra
Title: Noise Cancelling
Keywords: electronic, ambient, field recording,
Label: Dog Park https://dogparkrecords.bandcamp.com/

Silence doesn’t exist. This is especially true when you suffer from tinnitus. But that ringing tone aside: step into the world, and you will be surrounded by various noises of various kinds. Heck, you don’t even need to go out. (I hate old-fashioned ticking clocks with passion!) To process these sounds you need either a brain that makes it all digestible, or perhaps drain it all out by being focused on something as big as Noise Canceling by the likes of Furchick, Alex Winner, dont know & Jeremy Von Kobra. I (from YeahIKnowItSucks) suggest you: go for this latest suggestion. What a good thing this collaboration is!

Together they will bring found sounds of various kinds into a pleasant mixed match that will make you appreciate the noises of the world instead of hating on them.  Don’t expect car honks or talkative people in a nearby gossip salon, but pleasantries like calm watery flows, birds, cozy melody-lines and dark winds that might announce a refreshing storm. Perhaps you hear the sunshine without the empty screams of tourists on a holiday… My point is: Noise Cancelling focuses on the good and not the bold, hectic or the ugly!

In the first track on the release we will experience all artists together, cozily draping us in a world of the wonder of sound. These noises aren’t out canceling each other, but working alongside, politely giving room and space as they compliment themselves. They don’t say “what a nice blouse you got on” or “your hair looks fabulous today”, but they will graciously make way in order to all get a fair share of the spotlight, a place where they kindly shine and do their own thing, as the others bow and share a helping hand.

 What follows are 3 tracks that put some of these individuals’ (I presume) favorite noises under the magnifying glass. But don’t expect this to be troublesome or hard work as a listener. You don’t need to be a Sherlock Holmes sniffing around details to enjoy these tracks, as somehow they get served up in digestible works of pleasantries. You don’t need to do anything, just sit back and relax while they present themselves for your pleasure.

Dont know’ gives us the sound of speedy cars passing by on lonely roads, tropical birds singing songs of praise (to each other and you) all while a minimal puff of fine music is massaging the ears to a nice state of comfort. It’s short but ever so kind!

Jeremy Von Kobra gives us music to drown out all the other noises. It’s kind and calm, maybe a bit dark, yet beautiful. No harshness to wipe out the world’s loudness, but a shadowy realm in which the ears are opened up and filled with an immersive sound that feels to me like a Satie piano performed in a tunnel in which an upcoming train is approaching. But there won’t be any fatal crashes happen. Instead, Jeremy Von Kobra opts for a more ghostly “crash”, a soft breeze of noise that washes out all over you.

Alex Winner takes this airflow and opens not just the curtains to reveal shivers of bright sunlight, but also the window itself. Tropical birds sing lucid dreamy things as ultra warm tones flow in like a comfy blanket to hide under. In this cozy state of sound, you will feel all safely tucked away. In a world where there is no silence and a lot of noise that drives a highly sensitive listener into the nearest lunatic bin, It’s good to know that there is this work of Alex Winner, Jeremy Von Kobra, dont know and Furchick to amplify the good and pleasant noises to cancell out the baddies! See them as the A-Team of sound and this as the plan that had come together and worked! 
https://dogparkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/noise-cancelling
KN

Graffiti Mechanism – Nebulonic

Artist: Graffiti Mechanism
Title: Nebulonic
Keywords: lobit, minimal, ambient, 8kbps, live
Label: sub65 https://bbis.us/~newform/sub65/

After 10 years shimmering in a well deserved hiatus, the one and only unsung superhero of the lobit sound has popped up with a return of sheer beauty! I’m writing about nobody less than Graffiti Mechanism’s Nebulonic! A work of heart that will instantly hypnotize its listeners with a pleasant minimal coziness with a lot to offer. Slowly paced as it might be, the rhythms and melodic minimalism will make your heart dance with joy.

Nebulonic calms down, providing you with a pleasant hiding space of warmth and coziness. The outer world simply doesn’t exist anymore when this carefully crafted hypnotic state of music takes over. It happens for an instant and follows a cosmic path with plenty of unsuspecting pleasantries at each corner. Minimal ambient with rhythm and sound at a pace that provides true bliss!

As if the fuzzy 8kbps sound isn’t enough to warm the ears with goodness, the album is lovingly filled with the artifacts that came from an elderly laptop that provides surprisingly the sweet warm crackles that vinyl lovers expect to hear from their beloved dust-meets-needle vinyls. Its warmth upon warmth, extra goodness that makes the future of artificial intelligence bleak, as this producer’s secret instrument “a heart and soul” is key here! 

This full-length album will bring you extreme warmth and coziness in just a tiny hand of megabytes! With toned rhythms and spaced out minimalism, Graffiti Mechanism takes the listeners by the hand for a journey so deep that it almost feels like a slow-paced holiday. Do I hear a didgeridoo? Are we zoning out in a thinly dimmed room in which we are kindly sheltered from the outside world full of crazy hecticness?

Graffiti Mechanism slowly brings the funk in a groove that will lower blood pressure to a pleasant pace and does it all in a style in which you know that the main secret behind it all isn’t just the warm sounds, melodies, intoxicating hypnoses… it is the soul of the artist! It’s in there! Dissolved, ingrained and felt in these shadowy realms of pure bliss!

 It’s been ages since I’ve written a review about an album, but with such a handcrafted original coming back after a ten-year hiatus, “Nebulonic” certainly shocked me back into writing mode! It’s gorgeous, tiny and big. Size does matter and, in this case, it can be any size that you like! Peek out of these cracks, put on beloved headphones, sit in the dark and tune in to this phenomenal goodness! Oh! And it’s free!!
https://archive.org/details/s65139
KN

Gifgrond 84th party report!

Flyer by: Kai Nobuko

Last Saturday was the 84th Gifgrond party! I had left my body at home and flew to Gifgrond in my odorless and see-through soul form: ideal to be the observing fly on the wall, with the freedom to move around without being spotted as an obvious reporter.

My disguise got me in early and being an early bird provided quite some interesting backdrop information. Here are a few highlights from my findings: one of the performers named Pakkyōne had accidentally ripped the front bit of the pants that this artist was wearing at a previous gig, but luckily, the befriended people at the legendary “Sam Sam” clothing shop gave a good family Gifgrond deal for two indestructible pants without peepholes! This was the solid reason that there wasn’t any crotch-less indecency at this feast, but more focus on the actual sound and playful entertainment! Which I would be glad to inform you about later…

As there seemed to be a common theme of bad luck turning into good luck! Not just a hole in the pants resulting in two new pants to the rescue, but also Erik Alalooga would have a bit of bad luck to start with. Erik Alalooga’s flight to Gifgrond (and Extrapool) from Estland had a 10-hour delay, but luckily the artist was flying a day ahead & all the gigantic luggage had been allowed in without a hassle. Erik Alalooga would have enough time to refurnish the Gifgrond space into an Erik Alalooga home away from home, or perhaps it’s better to say: a mad lab of sound!

The beloved Gifgrond cooks named Marcelle & Hans were not in gifgrond kitchen, but they and their food were still the unseen heroes of this colorful behind-the-scenes backdrop. Marcelle was unfortunately sick, but still battled on with Hans at home, cooking a wonderful meal to fuel these artists with the right kind of delicious energy that was so needed! I was lucky to find it good soul-food, so I could also nibble it freely: it certainly was delicious!

 When the Gifgrond doors opened at 20:30, guests were greeted by the always fun & challenging musical journeys coming from the record collection of this joyful DJ Rikkert. He created, as always, a very warm welcome with twinkling rhythms and pleasant oddities that felt like one of the finer drinks in music form.

DJ Rikkert (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

When the intoxicating sounds of DJ Rikkert faded, it was time to head down into the laboratory of Erik Alalooga. I say this without exaggeration: Erik Alalooga really transformed Gifgrond into the place that many mad scientists would turn green from jealousy! A big part of the floor was filled with remarkable home-made constructions, industrial DIY machinery that all created fascinating sounds, rhythms and even music.

Erik Alalooga (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

Wheels click, screws would slide down iron, wheels were turned like a science project with an intriguing audio/visual trip as the ongoing result. I kept thinking how this all suited the Gifgrond environment so well, that its historical industrial looks suddenly seemed to be given a respectable new life by this genius inventor named Erik Alalooga. Absolutely fascinating! 

Erik Alalooga (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

After a moment of DJ Rikkert doing his thing, it was time for Pakkyōne to take over. The new pants seemed to have done wonders as the confidence of this artist was big enough to fill up the entire space. With an unchanging strong facial character undisturbed by nothing, Pakkyōne took the Gifgrond visitors through a sonic journey that was clearly made for listening. With tonal sounds and special vocal cords on the throat singing spectrum, Pakkyōne made this set into something that would take the previous laboratory scene into one that would feel like being in the realms of an ancient mysterious temple, with Pakkyōne as the leader of the sound ritual.

Pakkyōne (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

With music boxes being mangled, the imagination stretched, I certainly felt as if my (and probably also other attendees) soul was rinsed by this performance in which voice, noise and music boxes were successfully mingling together to open the mind! It felt like cleansing!

Pakkyōne (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

The last show at this Gifgrond event was the one that would bounce my soul back to the dance floor. It was time for Miss Tetanos to unleash the powers of energy upon the people. With a never-twirling whirlwind of sound, Miss Tetanos had the sound to open up portholes to other dimensions or simply blow everyone away into a pulp.

Miss Tetanos (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

This Belgian alternative electro trance fusion spectacular gave the drums an enormous beating, their machines a finger-tip knocker! Never in my life did I witness a theremin being played so well and yet being as punk as it could get! You could see that the musician had clearly had been sick of piano lessons and voted to never touch a keyboard again!

Miss Tetanos (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

With music that was blasting out like a wildfire, the trio kept it all under their control, while at the same time surpassing insane boundaries of power! They kept going stronger, without any sign of tiredness, they battled their set out with incredible force of cheerful success! 

Miss Tetanos (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

With all this newly generated energy, DJ Rikkert took the night away, letting his fans dance and twirl happily until the end of the night. What a full on experience this 84th episode of Gifgrond was! From being in an intimate sound laboratory, a ritual of throat and noise, to the excursion of ballistic bombasticness; this Gifgrond had it all! It was time for my re-energised soul to go back to my body again, making sure to bring it along next time…
The next Gifgrond will be 27th Jan! Don’t miss it! 
Www.gifgrond.nl
KN

Gifgrond episode 83!

Gifgrond has always been a place to discover your instant favorite live music performers, bands and deejays. Sometimes the venue smoothly redips into the colorful cast of classic characters, that wil always be readily present to thrill you. But at other times, Gifgrond whips out a brand new can of goodness!  Going for the classics, (with the exception of the familiar face of DJ Krikkrak) had simply not been the case at last week’s 83th Gifgrond party.. It was all brand new! Fresh! Think of glitter & glammour with a nice splash of color and a brush of new fancy blackness! It might hurt the eyes, you might have to squint a little, but all worth it!

The legendary place was certainly ready to be pleasantly filled with a fresh bunch of never heard (at Gifgrond!) music before! Once inside, I personally was stunned. Looking at the floor filled with instruments, I could imagine it becoming a where-is-Waldo game in which players had to identify which instrument belonged to which performer. Excitement was hanging in the air as 3 bands, plus deejays Rikkert & Krikkrak were there to play, sing, beat and spin! 

DJ Rikkert (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Take, for example, the opening band of the night; the Berlin Trio named “13 Year Cicada“. They have been touring all around but not only have they never made it to Gifgrond before, it was also the very first time in 7 years that they were putting on a show in the Netherlands! As if this band had the assignment to make up for these lost years, they got in as the first band of the night and cracked open a bunch of live music that was impossible to dislike. What a talent, what a genre-bending-twisting bunch this was!

13YC (Photo by: Frank Janssens)

13 Year Cicada simply went for it. The bassist swagged around with a tight coolness, the drummer slammed the drums with the swinging mathematics of a strong professor and the pleasant sounding voice/synth provider did everything to get the Gifgrond crowd swinging in a madly electrifying soulness.

13YC (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Yes, soul, R&B, electronic, math rock… nothing was too out of their reach for them to successfully toss in their creative blender to cook up their own sound.. They showcased a diverse set of music that at times made me think of an alternative answer to “little dragon”. They provided an emotional escape through rhythm and heart. Music that seemed to suit the doom and gloom of the world, placed it on the ground and hopped over it like a surreal bunny whose tail had been on fire. If that doesn’t make any sense, then let me rephrase: it was very good! 

13YC (Photo by: Frank Janssens)

Of course, the trouble might normally come when following up a band of this excellent order.. but the Parisian duo named Dear Deer had no problems at all! They popped up as the second live band of the night and started all bright and sparkly!

Dear Deer (photo by: Frank Janssens)

There was simply no need for a disco ball as the members of Dear Deer would outshine it beyond doubt! Fierce and strong was their presence as they played their strings and catapulted their sounds over the floor.

Dear Deer (photo by: Frank Janssens)

New wave, electro, post-pop rock and what not! They seemingly had an endless bag full of their own strong sound to be proud of! Gifgrond was digging it, swaying and moving in the cozy confinement of its tight attendence.

Dear Deer (photo by: Frank Janssens)

The last band had come all the way from Switzerland to take the night away and top it all off! It was nobody less than Omni Selassi, a trio that seemed experimental at their core with the courage to not shy away from whatever fitted their needs. Omni Selassi simply had no difficulty bringing a whole arsenal of styles to the premises.

Omni Selassi (photo by: Frank Janssens)

All gloriously drenched in their own vibe that can be described as material to solidly fly away on!

Omni Selassi (photo by: Frank Janssens)

What a style, what a vibe, such coolness would turn the hair of Robert Smith grey! Music, non-music, noise, dead punk, hallucinative sounds were words that popped into my slowly rendered incapable mind!

Omni Selassi (photo by Frank Janssens)

Omni Selassi (photo by: Frank Janssens)

They were the kind of band that makes you want to talk about for weeks on end! If you were searching for a band that delivers “unexpected” music, then this might be your answer. With heavy guitar, drums and the voice of an angel, things became the soundtrack of a broken wasteland in which dread dances with glimmers of light. Absolutely moving and mind-breaking! 

DJ Krikkrak (photo by: Frank Janssens)

The night of live music was great indeed, but also big kudos to DJ Krikkrak and DJ Rikkert for successfully playing the artistic oddball tunes to compliment every moment between the bands and take the afterparty to the next level of happiness. Gifgrond 83 felt as young as ever! but dont believe me by my word, but see the quality photos done by gifgrond photo veteran Frank Janssens or simply move your ass, eyes and ears to the next Gifgrond!
www.gifgrond.nl

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Gifgrond #82 party report!!

Gifgrond flyer by Kai Nobuko

A week ago, on a very nice Saturday evening, there was the feast of all happenings: the 82th episode of Gifgrond! It was as exciting as it could be with the nicest and sweetest musicians, who would delight your ears with dedication and personal attitude. Of course I had to come, but as a true reporter with integrity and honesty, I went in under cover. Disquised as a regular fly, I flew into Gifgrond, hid and observed from within the shadows and was deeply pleased.

Before it all started I checked into the back area to see that the artists had been lovingly catered by the cooking arts of Marcelle and Hans. I flew into the pan with the few leftovers and truly enjoyed what they had made. This healthy meal made me flap the wings of my disguise even harder. Luckily, the doors opened shortly and my enthusiastic movements were nicely camouflaged by the fair number of Gifgrond visitors. With my buzzing eyes, I even saw Stakattak among the audience! They had been playing their asses off at the murfmurw zine presentation (I flew by earlier!) and now clearly came to the right place to celebrate the existence of the rest of the day! 

From the moment that the doors opened, A. Certo was deejaying a nice collection of music, enough for people to settle into their new environment. I personally took the time to fly happily into some bottles opened by Gerrie and enjoyed the sight of them being carried back by Paul when they had been emptied. Such a smooth operation this Gifrond! But then it was the supreme moment! Time for the first live performance that this Gifgrond had to offer!

A. Certo (Photo by: Frank Janssens)

It couldnt have had a better opening than the very beautiful and bewildering performance by Francesco Giudici. This artist didn’t just give our hearing capacities a dreamworld to float on, Giudici also brought us wonderful visuals realized by video artist Aline d’Auria of the beautiful Wolf in all its strength and glory. Personally, I have a total weakspot for wolves and foxes, so behind my disguise as a fly on the wall, many sentimental tears dropped down onto the floor. Seeing something so magnificent as the wolf beaming on the Gifgrond wall along with the majestic soundscapes that Francesco Giudici provided was a thing that went through everyone’s hearts and bones. With a guitar in hand, the artist became a magician, opening this episode of Gifgrond in a mesmerizing way. Dreaming and floating, through dark shadowways and soft fur paths of the raw Wolf, Francesco Giudici made me feel like there was more to this all than it being a party, it made me feel connected and gaining even further respect for the Wolf.

Francesco Giudici (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Then the moment of strict beats came. It was the time for the tightest drummer in this universe, known as Sheik Anorak, to bang and play in a way that even Thor the thundergod might fall from his wagon! My wings from my fly-disguise started to tremble from excitement! What a structured sound and groove this Sheik had for us! It came along with a nifty wickedness of melodic rhythmic guidance & a deep sound that would make any whoopy cushion jealous. Sheik Anorak was in deep control of that Gifgrond space by grooving out while at the same time inserting malicious stops to keep everyone alert and on their wobbly toes! Sheik Anorak knows how to count and that you can count on! Even though this was a superb drummer in all its full glory, if they had billed Sheik Anorak as a mathematical marvel it would also have been believed. The tightness of this drummer was intertwined with fun, which certainly empowered and delighted anyone in its orb. My disguise as a fly almost became a fatal choice when someone started to dance almost upon my head, but as you may have noticed: I have survived and enjoyed every second of this powerful set!

Sheik Anorak (photo by: Frank Janssens)

You might think that after such a secure bashing of rhythm, things couldn’t possibly get any better, but then you might have not calculated the ingenius music of Mondkobold before. Mondkobold was next , led by two atmospheric candles on the table. The artist clearly had the power and the knowledge to channel sounds from all kinds of places. With ease, Mondkobold showcased a whole arsenal of musical knowledge, all that somehow came wonderfully mashed in a unique brew of uniqueness. All this was beautifully brought out in a togetherness that took me and all fellow Gifgrond visitors from one interesting scenario to the next. For example: One moment I felt like I was flying away with playfulness on a magic carpet after rubbing an oil lamp, and a few minutes later I felt like dancing on a railroad track chased by a high speed train who was kind enough to provide the beat! At other times, I felt like being transported to a field with fairytale friends in some fantasy-fueled techno fest and then, a few minutes later, I was happily being mesmerized by intoxicating melodies. But whatever Mondkobold had brought out, it always came with a beat! People cheered, spontaneously burst into silly dances and the atmosphere was catapulted into greater than great!! I was happy to be a fly on the wall as otherwise i would clearly be mashed on the floor by the happy dancing feet all around. It was very exciting and I felt quite a buzz!

Mondkobold (photo by: Frank Janssens)

I didnt want anything to end, but luckily there was A. Certo to deejay in between and after all these amazing live sets, taking the night away in a cloud of goodness that nobody of the attendees would ever forget! Burned like a tattoo from the inside, Gifgrond 82 was yet again a huge success! I flew around and noticed that on the 7th of October there will be another Gifgrond! So trust this fly and keep a spot clear for it in your agenda! 
www.gifgrond.nl
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