Gifgrond 81 big xl party report!

Gifgrond flyer by Kai Nobuko

Last week, on a hot and very sunny Saturday evening, I had raised my nose highly in the sky. I sniffed something very peculiar in the air! My noseholes picked up something very interesting. A sense of adventure, a thing of excitement, an encouraging brew of a potential journey!

Where did this inviting, yet seemingly party-like odour come from? My curiosity became stronger and stronger until I couldn’t stop myself from going into full detective mode. I wasted no time and put on an interesting face,  and sniffed firmly again: this is the perfume of a mystery that must be solved!

Hmm…yes, there it was again! I was happily excited as my nose suddenly recognised the distinguishing strong smell of a brand new Gifgrond episode mixed with potentially some fruit! Did I smell some Kiwi’s? I tapped myself on the back and whispered that I was a “great detective”. The kind who always solves any case even if all odds are against it! 

I took in a big whiff of fresh Gifgrond air and noticed the irresistible sense of DJ Krikkrak and Logosamphia whisking me over. (A deejay and an artist who had already made their way into my thin folder of music-heros.) But I could also pick up some brand new odours that danced happily inside my nose… was this Osica? Or perhaps Nuances D’Engrais? Or maybe it was that very distinctive oily flavor of Kevin Diesel? Those last artists I was kinda unfamiliar with, but somehow, by following my nose, I knew that this unfamiliarity would soon be history.

I put on a clever disguise, walked and walked until I reached the source that led me to this journey: Gifgrond 81! A poster revealed I was (of course!) right! Osica, Kevin Diesel, Logosamphia, Nuances D’Engrais and DJ Krikkrak. Their names were all on it! And they are performing tonight! C’est magnifique! 

Amazing line-up!

Once in, it didnt take long to be happily embraced with the fun deejaying skills of the never disappointing DJ Krikkrak. His exotic sounds were simply amazing from the start. I felt each tune and every crackle of the vinyl drilling away at the purest pleasure centers of my brain! Every bit of music DJ Krikkrak gave a spin made me curious. What are these pretty sounds and who put them out for us all to enjoy? A lot of questions didn’t get answered, but it didn’t matter. I knew it was DJ Krikkrak who delivered the good stuff; a mix of freaky fun that was all laid down in a sense of utter ease.

 In fact, DJ Krikkrak might be the subtilest and most confident deejay I’ve ever encountered. Krikkrak drops such audio dope in such a relaxed way that it might trigger those thoughts in which you question your own sanity. Soooo good!

DJ Krikkrak (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

Luckily, there was enough time to be completely drowned away in Kikkrak’s brilliant insanity just yet. As there was the first performing performer of the night, yes, it was nobody less than Kevin Diesel, ready to blow any mind away. Within an instant, thoughts had been shot to the far end of the moon as it was invaded by the delicate mix of sounds and distortion by this solo artist.

 Kevin Diesel really held its name high up by providing Gifgrond 81 with a whishy-washy mishy-mashy headdrainer of the highest order. At one point my ears picked up the sound of a cat whailing & at another the vibe of  adventurous boat-sinking sounds of mermaids singing their wonderfully disturbed songs on their legendary rocks… 

What was this magic? It is not the usual sound you expect coming from the artist’s table on which a pair of Volcas are spewing out all they have got: but then again, Kevin Diesel seems to be able to make these synths sound like the eruptions of a hot volcano! The ground was shaking, the Gifgrond-soundman was holding onto its speakers like there was no tomorrow! An excellent rumble of noise delivered instant satisfaction!

Kevin Diesel (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

And yes, the sound explosions of rhythm and glitch was exactly what the artist kept providing. With a fair amount of distortion, it felt like catnip to all the lucky people who were attending the party. The audience might not have been cats  but they surely started to behave like them with Kevin Diesel blasting out its goodness! 

After the smoke of Diesel cleared up, it was time for the second life-changing act of the night; Nuances D’Engrais. My goodness, this artist had no trouble at all continuing the mayhem. It had dropped us straight into the heath of pure action. My eyes spotted someone twerking on the floor, which is a sight that says its great stuff to go ballistic with! Just like a cuckoo wizzard, Nuances D’Engrais got everyone sucked up into an irresistible music trance. With a very distinctive style, ruled by a very insane deep bass that would make every appendix wobble & a fair amount of classic chopped up drums, this artist broke the few possible boundaries that had been left unturned.

Nuances D’Engrais (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

 Nuances D’Engrais provided an enchanting style that simply made all the walls of Gifgrond wobble, as if they had been made out of rubber. Pacemakers might have skipped a beat! Towards the end, the artist treated the unclogged ears with an epic orgasmic ambiance, which felt to me like a surprising bit of headspace, something that sounded similar to the sound of heaven after traveling through a wild and excited ride inside a buzzing wormhole.

 The audience was already ecstatic when Kevin Diesel was driving the sounds, but when Nuances D’Engrais came in, it simply placed the state of minds into an absurd higher order! What a performance, what a sound! What the heck? Could this increase even more?

Well… enter Osica! A duo of giants that seem to have been coming out of nowhere. Bringing camera and screens for a visually-pleasing glitchy spectacle in sheer happening form, along with a teamwork of sound that sounded so bold and brave that it might aswell have resurrected the dead with ease. What an amazing sound Osica had; very strong, together, a proper team of boombastic sound modulators, kicking and highly captivating. The crowd of Gifgrond 81 was so into it that their energy bounced from them to the artists and from Osica back to them again! A vicious circle of hyper-ballistic teamwork that made every single soul part of the performance!

Osica (photo by: Frank Janssens)

 Maybe it is fair to also give some kudos to the Gifgrond sound-engineer as the sound tonight was excellent! Osica’s audio-visual experience was set to the max without hitting the distortion levels. The big kicks could be felt in all their mighty glory!  Osica just blew the air away with this very energetic set in which beats and melodic lines bounced around inside every happy ear-drum! Nobody seemed to be resistant to Osica and its modular banging sound, as certainly every single individual at Gifgrond was dancing ballestically.  Osica seemed to feel that vibe and used it to warp their set into even higher realms!  Big beats, heavy kicks, nasty lines of sounds… Osica let them work hard for them and the audience clearly loved every single bit of it!

Osica (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

Maybe at this point the smell of Gifgrond must have been made out of sweaty party-goers, but as the vibe was so good & the sound so bold, nobody seemed to notice.. There was simply no time for that, as when Osica left the floor, a great Gifgrond veteran took over in his own unique style! Like a frantic looking character that wouldnt have been misplaced in the fairytale part of nearby Efteling, it was nobody less than Logosamphia himself! 

Logosamphia (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

It was the confident feeling of “take’ em away”, as when Logosamphia takes over a party, you are simply said; guaranteed in for a treat! Keyboards were played upside down, vegetable friends were turned into sound sources and Kiwi’s brought a fresh amount of vitamin C to the show! This fireball of energetic energy flew from one side to the other, heavy bass, beats in twisted scènes, melodies that would make people fly away on magic carpets to far away lands in which reality and fiction melted into one hot brewing source of cheerful excitement!

The confident Logosamphia unleashed havoc in all the right ways! Aladdin might have dusted its oil lamp and wouldnt be able to wish for a better sounding act than this! The logosamphia’s sound was simply set like a frenetic fireball of joy, a sight to behold and that simply never disappoints. You get what you need with Logosamphia, as there are simply no other reliable artists out there who you can trust to deliver the goods! If the audience became even more fruity, he might have packed them for a future performance!

After a great set of live-fun, DJ Krikkrak took any left-over braincells away from all that managed to survive these excellent sounds. So glad I’ve got a good nose for adventure as this thrilling episode of Gifgrond 81 was simply a bold show of gratification after gratification! So full of energy and good time excitement! Be sure to point your nose towards the bright future: the inviting sense of upcoming Gifgrond 82! 
http://gifgrond.nl/
<KN>

Gifgrond #80 amazing party report!

Flyer by Kai Nobuko

The 80th edition of Gifgrond was incredible! It took me a few days to recover from it, but the gained smile on my face is still here to stay! I was already highly in the mood because of this special Funderground episode show broadcasted on Beachy Head Radio ( https://beachyheadradio.com )in which a whole parade of old school Gifgrond artists paraded by in a 2 hour mix.
https://www.mixcloud.com/BeachyHeadRadio/funderground-57-gifgrond-celebration/

But nothing could possible prepare me for the actual real thing!

 The line-up for this 80th episode of the one and only unique party in Tillywood, the Netherlands, was simply almost too good to be true… with the great sound engineer Cees, Bob & Paul providing drinks, 3 live acts and an incredibly energetic deejay, the space had packed itself with a crowd that needed no airplane to fly around the venue! People who forgot how to dance, danced! People who lost their hearing skills years ago finally could hear music again! Yes, it was loud and energetic to the max, but there was also another special layer to this Gifgrond edition: a feeling of togetherness and love!

But let me start at the very beginning of the evening.  Upon my sneaky undercover early entree, my nose was met with the lovely smell of incredible food. Backstage, the artists were treated warm and kindly with an obviously delicious meal cooked by the kind individuals; Hans & Marcelle. I could not resist sampling some of the leftovers. Let me tell you: I was surprised there was even a tea spoon left: so delicious! This must be one of the secrets that would turn these artists into a special force of Gifgrond goodness! 

Brainhack Musicbox (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

Soon enough, the official outside doors opened and the floor filled up with a curious crowd made out of people from various parts of life. This lucky crowd were in for a very special treat tonight! The band named ‘Brainhack Musicbox’ all the way from war-torn Ukraine, was the first one to do their music magic. This incredible trio gifted the public with a zone in which introverted forces melded into one.

Brainhack Musicbox (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

This was a creative melting pot of synth jazz meets experimental, all flowing through a whole array of conceptual spaces in which each unique sound improvisation became interactive with another. A distinctive horn in its own world, a string gliding up and down and bleeby synth patch work sparred with each other to embrace their differences and combine them for good! These musicians represented Ukraine like no other with their flag proudly in the middle, making this not just a performance to be extra thankful for, but also letting us all think about the terrible shit situation within their home country. https://brainhackmusicbox.bandcamp.com

Brainhack Musicbox (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

I wasn’t the only one drifting away with these sounds and thoughts, as the entire Gifgrond seemed to feel solidarity within them. When the performance by Brainhack Musicbox had come to an end, the Gifgrond organizer T took the stand with the help of a special favorite Gifgrond attendee, Andrew Cartwright as the translator, to sell clothing with the money for it going to Ukraine.

Andrew Cartwright

To increase this even more, V-Fest a new magazine by Steph Byrne also spontaneously chipped in by selling V-Fest and every bit of money went to the same goal!

The solidarity of Gifgrond was through the roof as, at the end, 240 euros had been raised, which simply made this 80th edition open a whole new level of things! Not just the eyes and the ears were filled, but also the heart! 

Cesar Palace (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

This, of course, had to be celebrated & my goodness, who could have done this job any better than the Berlin-based Cesar Palace?  Cesar Palace was the one and only drummer of the extraordinary kind who could elevate the sentimental mood into one of pure action. Armed with two feet and two hands, the drummer worked every rhythm around to open up entire new portholes towards new and better worlds! These grooves and steady attacks wiped us all out by surprise, making us travel through different zones in which the beat was key, but the noises weren’t unkind either! The full enthusiasm could be heard and felt like an active vacation that nobody knew they had signed up for! Even now, days after, I’m longing to go back to wherever Cesar Palace took us. Luckily, the artist’s bandcamp provides some nice audio adventures for home use. https://cesarpalace.bandcamp.com/

Piet Du Congo (photo by: Jostijn Lightvoet Fotografie)

Then it was time to increase the madness by leveling it up. Insert: Piet Du Congo! A mad artist from Belgium, a breakcore hero and tattooist all in one! Tonight Piet Du Congo had the audacity to even make the people who never danced come out in action, revealing some old school Gabber among the Gifgrond crowd! Piet Du Congo was on hot fire, giving no rest to anyone with a continuous salvo of beats, fills, breakdrums, kicks and a wicked sense of video chopping! Total mayhem erupted as the energetic sounds and bright triggering visuals banged on banger after banger. A continuous flow of breakcore made me think of sending Piet Du Congo to the Kremlin, as I don’t think that building would survive! Gifgrond however, seems to be holding its ground in these hardcore sounds! https://pietducongo.com

DJ Ibrahim Kazoo (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

After all the action, it was time for Gifgrond veteran DJ Ibrahim Kazoo to completely take over! Ibrahim Kazoo took this job very seriously and elevated the night to a higher climax than any usual Tillywood bed-adventure! With an eclectic mix, DJ Ibrahim Kazoo enlarged the lovable mood of universal love in various ways, making this 80th episode of Gifgrond one that would go down as a very special unforgettable treat! 

Piet Du Congo.. not only a breakcore hero and a artist, also tattooist!

The next day, in the daytime, armed with brand new blisters under my feet from dancing, I sneaked into Gifgrond for another look..  Piet Du Congo was up and this time he was skilfully tattooing, making sure that (one of the lucky few) the owners of these fresh pictures would go home with a memory that would last even if their memory itself would fail! DJ Ibrahim Kazoo’s arms were looking very good!

DJ Ibrahim Kazoo showing his new art arm by Piet Du Congo

With this beautifully satisfying picture in mind, it was time for me to sneak out again, looking back at this Gifrond episode very dearly. What a lovely place, so full of surprises, solidarity, love, creations, vibes and… what will it bring next time? 
http://gifgrond.nl/
<KN>

Gifgrond #79 party report!!

The flyer for gifgrond #79 (by: Kai Nobuko)

I went to Gifgrond last Saturday and managed to not only survive it, but loved it too. In fact, it was amazing! DJ Krikkrak played all the ridiculous tunes that a grotesque genius clown would have gathered through lots of crazy research, perfectly aiming to get that jolly vibe going, one that would turn any sensible being into a dancing maniac. An eclectic mix of fun that would bring instant joy to anyone’s world! So lucky Gifgrond has Krikkrak deejaying once again! Lots of respect and top notch kudos for bringing such a thoroughly enjoyable session, one that makes you truly want to know each record that Krikkrak honored by giving it a spin!

DJ Krikkrak (photo by: Frank Janssens)

Geier Aus Stahl was incredible. This electronic musician brought a good sounding set of tools to the music’s work flow. The synth bass would resonate the air so much that it could be felt buzzing itself away through the collected bodies of the audience. The artist had an incredible buildup with lots of moments that were intimate and others that rebelled to burst out into a revolutionary act of personal freedom. With this brand, Geier Aus Stahl immediately stole the show, treated the attendees well with a confident, unique twist that seemed to feel like a personal rise from darkness that escaped into rays of light. A well thought out live set of nice sounds, vocal expressions & melodies that went from intimate and personal, to joyful by the means of original unexpected rhythmic moments that would make even a wingless caterpillar fly! 

GEIER AUS STAHL (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

RAE seemed to provide a more introverted journey for the attendees and their beloved set of ears. RAE’s tools of the trade seem to have gone for turntableism of the noisy listening-sort. Each sound was played in what came across to me as a special breed of theatrical antics, elegant and very aware of control. The performer showcased a set of what a Gifgrond-veteran described in my ear as “nice Records”. With a brew of noise in noise, it was clearly a perfect gateway for a life-long case of tinnitus, which makes the set one of those that many people will stick by to many for the years to come. Totally worth it and probably more enjoyable than getting a tattoo. The Gifgrond crowd thoroughly enjoyed it, as seen by the many heads that bounced along with approved looks and an applause that hit the noise levels just as hard at the very end. Good energy was highly prevalent this evening & this delivered inner cleansing was clearly needed and appreciated. 

RAE (photo by: Frank Janssens)

The (let’s face it) headliner band of the night was definitely Daisy Daisy. I personally had been listening to their “Fairy Liquid” for a couple of days on repeat and was curious how the sound of the instant party (as captured so well on that release) would resonate when played life and in such a pretty cozy spot as Gifgrond…

DAISY DAISY (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

Wow! It truly surpassed all the high expectations! Surprise, surprise! The sound of this trio was so alive that they lifted an entire level up from their “tooth fairy” hit. Daisy Daisy had put out their flowers, so to speak, and with excellent energy they filled the void in a caffeinated state of bursting punk rock. The voice of the singer had that rotten manic sound without the annoying bits, effectively spearheading every word with pure confidence over the air-tight fanatic tightness of drums and guitar!

DAISY DAISY (photo by: Frank Janssens)

The effect was that the Gifgrond visitors now seemed to be in total extase, they turned into a dancing bunch of individuals, highly dedicated to their various spastic body moves that this band’s uplifting sound excellently triggered! 

DAISY DAISY (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

Gifgrond 79 was a huge success, successfully exchanging energy from performer to crowd and back again! It was a night of giving, getting, receiving and even making the already high expectations raised like there was no tomorrow! Oh and there was music too! 
www.gifgrond.nl
<KN>

Gifgrond 78 blew my mind!

The latest Gifgrond has been absolutely mind-blowing! Three live acts that purely kept on slaying, with sounds, music, vocals, ideas and their entire existence! When entering Gifgrond, the eyes could glaze over the many heads that the event had attracted, it could clearly view the stunning sights of paintings by Sophie Monroy that had found its way unto the walls. Stunning pieces of artwork that gave Gifgrond a modern cave-like environment, one in which your guts would immediately know that this space is the place to be!

Artwork done by Sophie Monroy

Upon entrance, the ears would immediately get attracted towards the exotic tropical-flavored music brought to us by DJ Sajjra that slowly glued people to the impressive sound system. The excitement was high as well as the anticipation for what’s to come! Luckily, there was no room for complaints when Ame De Boue had the honor to pump up the volume by kicking the night in through music!

DJ Sajjra as photographed by Frank Janssens

Ame De Boue was the right artist at the right time. With a well-balanced mix of dark electro pop, the mood was clear and compact. Each song was well-thought-out, balanced and digestible. With live electronics and pleasant vocal skills, this artist managed to put humanity back into the darkness. At the right moment, Ame De Boue would even bring out a melodica to give even more soul to these songs. Every tune was left with a longing to hear more from where it had come from and luckily Ame De Boue had plenty to give to fulfil the needs of the newly addicted fans of this sound. Each song stood strong and fierce, with vocals that came across as if they had been made like a tank and music that simply made standard minimalistic synth Goth look like they could go back to the drawing board. Efficiency was what this artist was all about, with tunes so to the point that it was easy to unload with. Nobody could resist happily bouncing up and down with this gift that kept on giving.

Ame De Boue .. photo by: Frank Janssens

Új Bála came up next, which was a perfect step towards a different dimension. With a nice bunch of electronic tools that this artist was clearly very familiar with, it became apparent that this would be a journey of music that wasn’t just for the ears, but also one for the mind. Új Bála was clearly deeply into the sounds and rhythms, to the point in which the artist became mesmerized in its world of continuous music shaping. Odd grooves with seemingly random sounds formed outer worldly rhythms to clearly freak out upon.

Új Bála photographed by Frank Janssens

Each element became like sonic puzzle pieces, floating in the air for everyone’s mind to grab and connect as they seemed to fit. Personally, I had many moments that I felt euphoric experiencing Új Bála’s music. At times, I wanted to cheer the artist on, to even push the boundaries of the intelligent performance in the hope that even aliens could retrieve this as a source of interest. But in all honesty, Új Bála didn’t need any encouragement as the musician was clearly unstoppable at any time, clearly not making any concessions and heading towards a planet of its very own. And let me tell you; it was a fantastic world to be in!

Duflan Duflan as photographed by Frank Janssens

The end finale was the band named Duflan Duflan which admittedly was the right group to elevate the night into unforgettable proportions! In other words, Duflan Duflan was absolutely incredible! With a drummer looking as if it had stepped straight out of a medieval fantasy world, the shadows on the wall morphed into a hard fanatic surrealism. This drummer was like Thor, super tight, hard, frantic and insanely fanatic. With such a tightness going on, it could only get better and better with more talented matched band members along the way.

Duflan Duflan as photographed by Frank Janssens

The vocals and synth parts were delivered by a very petite looking person who simply made you question reality. Every word came out came with such force and passion that it was like a well aimed sword that poked precisely into your ears. There was no escape, one big stab fest that made me feel like passing out in a base of pure euphoria. To elevate this all was the unmissable and the very base of it all: the bassist! This artist delivered a bass that was such a powerful force of good that all together it felt like my brain did multiple out-of-body experiences.

Duflan Duflan as photographed by Frank Janssens

This bass was dumping a heavy load of heavy staleness that all seemed to wonderfully flourish by! The whole Duflan Duflan adventure was such a full on emotion that the wall of sound and rhythm simply took me out and back, out and back and out and back again. It was releasing so much dopamine that I have to blame the awesomeness of Duflan Duflan for me penning up this review weeks later than intense! It was sooooooo good! And DJ Sajjra would keep spinning even more and more tunes! Gifgrond 78 was simply mind blowing!!
www.gifgrond.nl
KN

Gifgrond #76 epic party report! Spoiler: it was amazing!

Oh Tillywood, what would we do without you? Your sandy streets, your bars next to pubs, your students that speak Dutch and American in the same sentence & of course your best hidden secret: Gifgrond. It might be the best hidden secret, but is it really? I mean lots of weird individuals know where to find it. They found the cryptic directions, probably on the bottom of a bottle, or perhaps an illustrious friend had whispered the location smoothly into their ears… One thing is sure; the right people know it & when you are there, you know you are “there”.

Some special people, like Marie Gavois & Michel Klöfkorn had come around even before the show had started. They had been there to record audio snippets from the sound check rehearsels of Dezeffe, Stakattak, Somaticae and Moineau Ecarlate. The four live acts that had been setting everything up so they could go in full performance mode later on… From these and 80 other soundcheck recordings Marie and Michel would create a 22-hour-long musical radio piece for Radio Art Zone (at the Capital of Culture Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg) which wil be broadcasted live on September, 1, 2022 thru; Radio ARA (LU), Resonance FM, Resonance Extra and Sound Art Radio (UK), Wave Farm / WGXC (US), ORF Kunstradio (AT), Jet FM and Π-node (FR), Radio Tsonami (CL), Radio Panik (BE), Radio Lumbung documenta 15 and more… so if you need a artsy sneaky peak behind the Gifgrond scenes you now know where to go… https://mariegavois.wordpress.com/

But for us “normies” we go through the front and at normal visiting hours. And so
The Doors (not to be mistaken with the band of Jim Morrison fame) opened up at 20:30 &  I walked in as just any regular human would do. I was going for the vibe of being a person who just discovered this place for the first time… to give it that honest impression that only a true, unbiased journalist could give. completely incognito, armed with a fake mustache, fake head, real heart and ready to be like a sponge to suck up all my toxic surroundings. My plan worked, as nobody seemed to have recognized me. Finally. I could view, write and report on the real deal!

It was DJ Krikkrak who greeted everyone’s ears upon entrance with a sublime eclectic mix in which trumpets met psychedelica, oddball goofiness with a nice darling twist of punk that had always been around the corner. The mood was set and it was good! Very good even! The thumps up towards this deejay of the night couldn’t be counted on two hands! Not even two calculators could do the job!

DJ Krikkrak (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

With the magical atmosphere hyped up to it’s best, it was the perfect time for Moineau Ecarlate to pop up! And that is what Moineau Ecarlate did! This artist took the prominent spot of the center stage with a sublime hard noisy live show. It was amazing and groundbreaking interesting! What a show! With an intense live set the artist moved the sound barriers by shaping it all into an incredible lawnmower-rave that had rumbling tapes and a bottle at its inner core! With a full amount of delicate passion, Moineau Ecarlate got into it & couldn’t let go!  The full on attention the artist and it’s sound showed every eye and ear that with limited things you could create a creative swooping set of energetic noise! It was fantastic and moving!

Moineau Ercarlate (photographed by Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

After this amazing show, one of the earlier heroes of the night; “DJ Krikkrak” smacked on some tasty psychedelic weirdo stuff. It made my brain wish that all intermezzo moments in the world could be as awesome as these fine in between times created by this deejay. Unfortunately the world has plenty to learn, yet fortunately the visitors of Gifgrond got served the best and the highest of the highest. Speaking of that… Somaticae!

Somaticae had the precious task to fill the void with sound as Krikkrak faded its sound. This was something different and yet very fitting! With squeaky inner ear-reshaping electronic sounds, this artist really got it all onto a next level. The music was as if it came from another planet, in sound and rhythm it truly shook the earth and the walls with it’s unique style. It was as if a brilliant intelligent life form had nestled itself in the mind of Somaticae and rooted its music style through the artist’s fingers. It was hard, it was smart, it was weird, it was like an Aphex Twin bouncing ball done by mind-blowing aliens! Incredible stuff!

Somaticae (photo by: Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

Of course, Krikkrak threw in some smooth ways to light up the air again, ready to make way for the arrival of a three-piece band named Stakattak! Howly mowly! What a sound, what a bunch of individuals, what a tightness, volume and vibe! Stakattak delivered a superb energy that was very nice in all the rough ways!

Stakattak (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

It was the fire that would burst everyone into a participating flame! The band members switching each others instruments, the lead singer going for a stroll among the crowd and… the energy was out of the world! Frantic, manic, excellent, punky stakatakking away! What could be possible to be written about it more? They came, they turned on the volume, they played, they stabbed their music out and simply conquered! It was freaking engaging in all the best manically ways! If you didn’t lose your sh×t by now, nothing else could possibly do it for you! They smashed it!

Stakattak (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

The last live performance of this (might I say?) brilliant Gifgrond night was by nobody less than Dezeffe! Dezeffe was the perfect act to take everyone off their feet into a frantic dancing oblivion! It was amazing to see someone so technically skilled on one specific music tool to bring out a mind-boggling fun adventure for the dance floor! Everyone was caught by it by surprise, making the entire Gifgrond shake in all the good ways. Buttons were pushed, lights flashed and everything became one in a big excersize between rhythm and sound! The night surely couldn’t have ended better! Even though, DJ Krikkrak would spin records until the early hours, making it a next level elevating experience that any party guru could bow down for!

Dezeffe (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet Fotografie)

I have to do my best to make sure this one is written about in all the right ways: so here is my honest conclusion… Gifgrond was really letting these artists shine, or perhaps Dezeffe, Stakattak, DJ Krikkrak, Somaticae and Moineau Ecarlate made Gifgrond shine! They had been so diverse in their own unique style, ways and sound, yet they felt as a perfect match. All had been showing out most creativity, a full amount of true energy! You could see and hear that they loved doing what they do, which is an adrenaline generator for all among their midst! This was one of those nights you won’t forget! Epic!
http://gifgrond.nl/
KN

Stakattak and your undercover reporter (photo by Jostijn Ligtvoet fotografie)

Greg Nieuwsma- Elephant

Artist: Greg Nieuwsma
Title: Elephant
Genre: elephant style with a big touch of new Greg Nieuwsma style
Label: wormhole world https://wormholeworld.bandcamp.com/

Its been a while that i wrote anything, but i promised myself to slowly get back to it. Why not start with this lovely piece of a release that even though sober as hell, certainly brought nice images to my mind:
Playful elegant elephants playing in a field as Greg gives them a organ that made me think of the organist in The Doors, that is if hè was influenced by the sunny sight of happy elephants dancing and prancing around. A melodica might bring you the sparkling elements, perhaps its a accordeon, a digital didgeridoo or a violin of some kind.. whatever Greg is playing; its a miraculous melodic brew that makes sure you wil respect the Elephant, but also the artist as the composer. Yes: i bow to you Greg! Not to be confused with the cookie sausage roll chain Greggs, but yes to the music making skills of Greg Nieuwsma. But dont bow too long as that might be uncomfortable.

This is not some shit that places a stone on a keyboard and calls it ambient, Greg is playing melow mellodies of various kind that are like a well made dream to get lost in. You might think that elephants are big and heavy, but in Gregs world they seem so light and floaty, majestic even. As if we had taken some special substances to witness elephants in a totally different light. This music takes us higher than the invention of melodic notes have to offer. Thats a nice one to quote if your name was Greg Nieuwsma and wanted a little snippet of good words about your creation.

It is somehow making me think of a scène in which colorful elephants wearing pink tutu-things. I see them as they are weightlessly tip toeiing on the organic melodies of Greg Nieuwsma who goes through various hippy-esque moments. At a certain point it surprisingly wouldnt be out of place as a soundtrack for a movie featuring the one and only Bela Lugosi, but in most part its like a enlightened melodic path of lucy in the sky without the Beatles pop idiotery. We dont bow to octopus gardens or yellow submarines with the creator of this Elephant around!

Its intense and beautiful, very listenable, like a miniature adventure in which the composer kindly embraces electronic fluffs to quickly brush away the dusty reputation that musical organs usually have. Everything fits together and there is no dull moment, which is great news for people like myself with a attention spam of almost zero. I guess the biggest elephant in the room is that we didnt hear them toot their trunks and that Greg Nieuwsma gave them interesting happy melodic moments you would probably not have imagined when thinking of elephants as we mostly see them. Big and chunky with a great memory.

This artist clearly honors the Elephant much more with a load of respect and tons more of beautiful inspiration and musicality. Thanks to Greg the Elephant might finally get the well deserved respect that it so deserves & we should applaud that. But not too loud as it would annoy and disturb the music. Best is to make no own noises as you hear and experience Greg’s Elephant, it would help to get it all better in your ears and mind.

This elephant of music is like a bunch of balloons, musically liberated from previous elephant-stigma, telling a story through melodies in a  what-i-would-say lovely bunch of well played psychedelica. The more you listen to Elephant by Greg Nieuwsma the more you feel like you have been beautifully lost in a trance in which carefully crafted melodies take you out of your mind, so you could join these tip toeing floating elephants in the air & never think of elephants in the same way again.

So if we place all silliness aside, this elephant is a melodic trip-adventure that would allow even the most sober anti-drug person in the world feel as if they had been on a wonderfully satisfying music-high! Absolutely wonderful! Somehow i think of a scène in dumbo the flying elephant in which the cute elephant is losing its mind, but this Elephant here is no panic attack triggery madness, but a trip you can take over and over again. Or if you have the memory of a actual elephant, even once: as its so good!
https://wormholeworld.bandcamp.com/album/elephant
KN

Party report Gifgrond#75

In a long unwanted covid break (not to be confused with a screwed break-beat), even the illustrous poisonous place named Gifgrond had to do the unthinkable: clossing its doors. Inside the hardcore crew of delicate party people danced and danced, they might not have known that it would be the longest party ever to have attended, but that it would take two years for Gifgrond to open its doors to the toxic outside world again was truly not expected at all.

Finally on the 14th of May 2022 it happend: The inside crowd let the fresh breeze of air from the outside world run through their lungs again, but it wouldn’t take long before they met a flog of curious outsiders that wanted nothing more than to do the polar opposite: to go in with them and celebrate the existance survival of the one and only Gifgrond!

And so it happened; history was yet again made & Gifgrond #75 flourished instantly as a reborn party with strong people that had been glad to drop the survival mode for the one of pure celebration. For this special occasion a star-lineup consisting of Fra Zedde, Nova Guardia, Hassan K aswell as the legendary dj Krikkrak had been beamed in. A crew that had all in their might to be glowing up the auditory earways of all the weirdos that had willingly popped in.

The ground was instantly shaking from the excitement in the air. The wall had been glowing, another wall had spontaniously removed to reveal a mini garden!  Gifgrond had changed and yet its flapor and poisonous charm stayed the same! Old faces and new faces intertwined as they exchanged energy and soon enough a familiar atmosphere made its way all around.

The wall was glowing at Gifgrond!

Gifgrond picked up where it had left before, as if no pandemic had ever happened… The shadows of the past mingled among the new guests while DJ Krikkrak wobbled one unfamiliar hit after the other! Oh, hè wobbled them so nicely, that it felt as the music was the blood and Gifgrond was the heart. Sensation after sensation left even the speakers themselves surprised: is this sound truly coming out of me?

DJ Krikkrak ^ Photo by JostijnLigtvoetFotografie

Fra Zedde was the first live act of the night, blowing the people away with its nifty whole all-hands-on-deck approach. With the undefinable sound-making skills this master of its craft got things twisted, beaten or twirled up as a result. Like a mad inventor who wanted to make sure the spectrum of all frequencies could be yours, Fra Zedde simply pushed them all out in a way that even the deaf could hear again. Many miracles happen on a Gifgrond night and this was certainly no exception! There was a fresh energy in these noise explorations, something of a roaring dragon that had been awokened after a good long sleep.

Fra Zedde – photo by: Frank Janssens

A great match was the live-act that followed; Nova Guardia, who brought a whole space ship of equipement to be sure the walls could crack if hè wanted them to do so. Wires everywhere, things had been lighting up; it was as if the artist had turned the entire Gifgrond erea into a personal aircraft and he was there as the trusted pilot, ready to treat everyone for a bumpy flight in the new night. Would they crash, or fly like a robot bird with epilepsy? With his controlling hands hè blasted one manically excellent vibration out after another, drilling noises so hard that they could be experienced all around.

Nova Guardia ^ Photo by JostijnLigtvoetFotografie

At the end of it all it was the legendary festival and underdog favorite: Hassan K to smash it all up with a freshly dose of adventurous energy. With a Persian sense of melody, hè rocked the place like a outerwordly being who heroically rides music instead of camels! Fanatic riffs hè shook out of his guitar as if the artist was the  jimmy Hendrix of electrifying noise!

Hassan K ^ Photo by JostijnLigtvoetFotografie

Armed with a remote control hè controlled the glitching rhythms as if life was a game, and hè the game-master! Gifgronds audio levels became beyond mayhem and Hassan K shocked it like it was on fire! The heath of it all made it all a sweaty business, but the results had been that all visitors had thinned nicely and that without any dieting! Oh and the smiles all around had been as lid as the sun!

Hassan K ^ Photo by JostijnLigtvoetFotografie

After this it was DJ Krikkrak again, who took away the night with more obscure dope tunes anyone could handle, ready to make sure that this succesful epicness of Gifgrond #75 would go down in the history as the party that wil conquer all! Nothing could stop it! Even if there would be an apocalypse, you could sure count on this special place that it wil keep on blasting and celebrating!
http://gifgrond.nl/
KN

Hunting Dog – Pseudobody

Artist: Hunting Dog
Title: Pseudobody
Keywords: Electronic, experimental
Label: Grimalkin Records

We are big animal lovers over here & cats and dogs are probably on the top of the chain in our book of amazing friends! But the Hunting Dog that we have discovered while walking on the Grimalkin Records area, might be standing fiercely upfront of the whole animal collective. Listening listeners of our monthly funderground show on beachy head radio might have heard our favorite Hunting Dog aswell and if they did, they certainly wouldnt have forgotten the experience. Rumor goes that these listeners are still howling at the stream!

My personal first encounter with the music of Hunting Dog  was to me inmediately the green light for that miraculous feeling of walking into a room in which you found yourself to be the winner. With the outstanding and very one-of-a-kind music that this Hunting Dog makes it feels like you stumbled upon your award winning reward and best prize to celebrate your winnings with!

So if that is only us stumbling upon one tune by Hunting Dog, you can imagine how fantastic it would be to roll out an entire record for us all to be blown away by. This is exactly what it feels when pressing play of Hunting Dog’s Pseudobody! A release released on Grimalkin Records that wil make your head go “poof” and your legs go bang! Maybe the other way around, but it wil affect you regardless! The original sound and style is giving out vibes that are truly out of this world, its a class apart in the music world, only a label pall like Ishtar Sr. might be from a similar realm in space. And yet it is sounding so familiar, especially to the vast open eared and minded fans of the label that has given these talents a place that must feel like a well welcomed home.

It must be noted that Hunting Dog’s Pseudobody is so out of the ordinairy and original in its own right, that any attempt of describing it would be ridiculous. So lets try to be ridiculous: Its diverse, not to be boxed and yet so very itself. Hunting Dog simply doesnt run away for experiment, or wicked coolness for that matter, material that would do well at nightly underground dance clubs aswell as the boomblasters in the back alley cool-cat of streets. If you want to chill and need it as an ambience piece, Hunting Dog’s music can also easily be played loudly without problems too. Its that kind of magic that keeps on giving.  There is such a special elixer of sound and style going on, one made out of upbeat quirkiness that is perfectly dubbed at the same time in the coolest chill: it works so well that you simply dont know when not to hear Hunting Dog… as somehow Pseudobody suits every possible occasion.

With all its atmospheres that are universal and a firm set of paws deeply dug onto the glitchier side of sound, Hunting Dog even dips into the sensual side of Sade without having to fear lawsuits. Breakbeats and cosmic sounds of future vibes wil make many heads wobble in a agreeable agreement: experiment and dance music are the best of friends! Thanks to Hunting Dog they form the new energetic chill pill that we all need to be infected with! My advice is get yourself hooked on this or simply throw yourself a bone towards this album, follow that trace in order to find that eureka moment of encountering perfection in all its unexpected unconventional ways. If you dont, im sure Hunting Dog wil Hunt you down and get the music into your ears by force! It has that edge that you wil be grateful either way!

To sum it all up: Its like Hunting Dog had gone out in the world, hunting on all the best possible things out there (you?), munched and chewed on it for a good while and than created a very own unique creation of it, one that most normal dogs (or cats) would have never had the spark or the mindset for. Hunting Dog created a very infectious (we want more!) sound over here, one in which the Future and the recent past blends together for a relaxed or energetic (depending on your own mood and setting) experience! So tune in and find yourself howling at the link from pure appreciation!
https://huntingdog.bandcamp.com/album/pseudobody
KN

Cat Temper – Furbidden Planet

Artist: Cat Temper
Title: Furbidden Planet
Keywords: space synth, synthwave, synth cat, catwave

Time to go into a special kind of space! Lets hop into the vessel of the catronauts for a full edged adventure of melody and strenght and head down the cool place that is the Furbidden Planet. Flyioneer and spacecadet-cat Cat Temper easily meows itself into our ears as a captain who knows the way through this galaxy.  From the start to finish of this tour we hold on tight as we fly through dangerous looking holes and avoid flying cyberdogs. Strong and with a clear knowledge of direction our supersonic Cat Temper provides us the sound that sounds as futuristic as it is feline.

Here we fly! Through scary heart pounding unknowns and pretty illustrious scènes. Dont worry as we are easily in the right safe paws for this adventurous flight in space, a speedy happening that wil keep no alien fish safe and no moving light unseen. As we fly along with Cat Temper we can enjoy the big synths that are played by an obviously eager tail, one that provides melodies of excellent adventures and wil always create a safe and sane outcome to hold onto, even though the mood is one of excitement and excellent thriller thrills, we always land on our legs. Besides we have backup lives if needed! 

Absolutely nobody would be surprised if a cat version of Michael Jackson would turn up and do a moon walk on the surface of the Furbidden Planet. Just keep staring out of the window to see where our journey wil be headed and if any special rain of furballs wil be dropping down on us.

The big boss its whiskers wil thrill with each bass vibe that is coming out of its beloved furry behind. Dont worry, even though gravity is non existent here, the litter wil stay nicely in its box thanks to a steady speed and control by our space cat’s antics. The entire backalley wil be floating in this wild tour around the catlaxy. There is no need to worry as Cat Temper wil be easily wowing the alien neigborhood away. Its clear leadership wil make us sit back and lick ourself behind the ears; even though the excitement of flying through the dangers of the truly unknown, with a cat like this as our guide its perfectly okay to lower our shield and feel protected.

Yes, with all its smoking hotness Cat Temper lets its paws hit the keys in all the right motion. We go forward, through all the starfields, slide through pretty sights and get a glimpse of dangerously dark looking surroundings. Its just like a movie in which the soundtrack is creating all the scènes, yet it is real and all happening in our heads.

Science fictional rooftops are explored and no high tech fence is left out of its watchful cats eye control. With a minimal effect of pure ease,  the flying guide passes through various effective ways. Our four legged synthwave superstar supplies the smoke and the fire, has no problem to toss the stolen open tuna tune cans around like a nice cat version of Robin Hood. We can lick our noses as we ride this right flight with our trusted castronaut at the controls.

With a whistle of a cool villain variant Cat Temper calms us down whenever it is dodging a laser bullet. Every passenger wil probably agree that our hero simply provides a safe, but exciting rush to all who appreciates these future-retro vibes. After a while its not wrong to expect flying night-riders, steaming smokey manholes and tossed over bins in a backyard full of distopian space things.

This is the scenery in which super heroes fly fancy ships or jump from futuristic station to ufo. We can all agree that having big cat ears and special laser eye sight to spot any suspicious meal along the wat is a great deal on the survival scale. The cool and rough looking outside has a subtle  rightiousness to it, one that makes our furry friend the naughty hero. A hero that keeps frowning upon danger, clearly vibing its pure purrs to the point of utter steady coolness! We wil land safely, but we might just want to keep on flying with this new addiction of pure catventure! Maybe we wil find a flying ball of wool!
https://cattemper.bandcamp.com/album/furbidden-planet-2
KN

Various artists from Western Australia – Furchick throws a curve ball

Artists: various artists from Western Australia
Title: Furchick throws a curve ball
Keywords: experimental

Hello, how are you? Hope you are well. Happy New year and all that crap! Here we are and here we go! A compilation of various western australian artists that have all something very special in common: they have been mixing and matching their own soundarts with that of the legend that us Furchick. If thats not a reason to dig up the old school pen and notepad… so thats exactly what I did and here is the result:

Airlock & Furchick throw a curve ball unlike i have ever seen a curve ball being thrown before. It is as if the fax machine of a workaholic office teamed up with ancient floppy disk drives to fork up an anarchistic master piece. Who needs a hairy band when the technology goes on a determent strike and wil throw itself to the win!?
Yes, with the data being squeezed this way, they come close to resemble screetching guitars that are the equivalent of the shocking vibe that happens when you poke a fork in a electric socket. Its strong and bold, steady and wil have no problem to mess your hair up. With a grip that might fry a regular person’s mind into a melted curved ball, the human voice of reason shines through. A sign of sanity and collaboration to hang onto. Hold on to it and you might avoid being danced upon by parfumed strangers as you crash on a hard shining ballroom floor.

Deep Ecology & Furchick Kindly offers us a sweet sentimental escape in the shape of a pretty wonderful flight in their own space. Its a timeless area in which kids can stil be kids and usual worries are banned to the basement of pure forgetfulness. Coughing cuttlery are here the backbone for a rhythmic touch and warm tones of a long gone sailor are the cozy scarfs around it. We dance, we cuddle, we hold arms and hands like lost poets touched by innocent thoughts of a better space. After a while the horn of the ship wil make its way through the fog, clearing itself like a ugly duckling from its bullied tale. Once we are all here we can all breathe again, succesfully congratulating eachother on having a new found life within found forgiven sounds.

Here it is Times Of The Sines and Furchick to come out to synthrock with the youth, the funky bells and the factory sounds. We shake our bums over here as the slippery farts that flop out of them form the essential electric baselines to go energetically in a upstep mode, getting us the power to travel like a modern day Santa – all around the world. Nothing can stop us now, we are on the move, riding the glitter scènes of industrial smartness, while still keeping our delighted faces in to the contagious forms of pure positivity. Flashy lights, sporty spice and here and there a back to the Future time machine! Break all the rules and barriers!

Checkout Chick & Furchick dip their noses behind the checkout spot, dealing with the customers of the modern world. Here its like miniature disney, upbeat capitalism with a sunny sight. Small talk rules the customer and its overly friendly cash register. Pretty tooth paste greetings with a smile and silly ballooney “good days” and “not bad” text balloons are exchanged while money and consumer products are changing hands as if its a free for all. The silliness and absurdity of this daily happening is super emposed over here, but instead of clowning about both Chicks create something cozy and familiar from it. It smells of the good old village days where paranoia and bad grumpy people had never been spotten before.

Jeremy von Kobra and Furchick are taking us back in the shape of the animals that we are, by carefully tossing us in the pit of nature. Its a deep hole, yet wide enough for all of us to hang out in. The sides have a mushy sound, somewhat damp and mad house-like, yet with enough soapy wetness that it would be easy to slid away in our straightjackets and become as animalistic and gay as we could be. Darkness might be intense over here, but somehow we feel at home in this jungle of depthful adventure. Little queer voices cheer like creepy crawlers in a eighties horror flick in the back, but the extential sounds of holes opening all around us give us that shimmer of hope. We wil surive, escape and become stronger in all our mad saneness.

Furchick and Vetch twinkle up the scène by letting the pages of an old book slide by like a well muffled sound effect. Here the dust and bookwurm pooh might reach the inside of our noses, but we wont cough from it, as the music is too mysterious to make noises through. Its like being inside the basement of a rustic library, behind a normally locked door in a area full of books with the right knowledge that might vaporize itself if it ever reaches the eyes of a wrong crowd. Drowned librarians make words behind their hands as doors rattle and weird intensions prosper. Its like a poem without words, a moment in which we can get lost and never come out agajn.

But Eileen Glynn and Furchick come to the rescue like the secretive heros that they are. They swing and sing, rocking out in the middle of a home party in which a dog blows the nose like a trumpet & the strong folk tones spiral greatky within the ears for a very warm feeling inside. It is like a lowkey party in which the kitchen area could be used for drums and the rest of the place could be the function-zone to host a warm gathering of friends. Here we smile, we wobble and groove in a humble social mood of togetherness. From here i think its only fair to throw a curve and start all of this music from start to finish again!

You could join this audio journey by clickity clack on the following link:
https://dogparkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/furchick-throws-a-curve-ball
KN