One seldom gets a chance to review an entire label from beginning to end unless there is some kind of concept behind it. 'Now DAT's What I Call Music' is a project that fits the project's description and label. On November 1st Frans de Waard - yes, that Frans - dropped 16 DAT tapes filled by seventeen different artists (one is a split), each in an edition of seventeen copies, of which two were taken (one for the artist, one for the archives), so fifteen for sale. Rutger Zuydervelt meticulously executed the artwork, and That's it.
All DATs are recycled and reused because that's what it's all about. You don't throw stuff out anymore. The carbon footprint these items generated in the past - when humanity probably didn't even know what the word meant - is quite firm compared to, for example, a CD. So instead of throwing things away, it's better to reuse them. Now THAT's what I call a brilliant idea. If the 15 DATs are sold, the tangible part of this project is over. Now don't be sad. There is always Bandcamp for us living in a digital reality where they will appear in full once a physical DAT sells out.
This review is different than others because sixteen individual ones being as elaborate as usual would mean an extra Vital. I'll keep all the reviews shorter then normal but yet still tell you enough about the artist and music to hopefully make you curious enough to check out this wonderful project and its content. This is the first part!
ROEL MEELKOP - 2 (LIVES) (90 minute DAT)
The 90-minute DAT Tape from Roel Meelkop opens the catalogue. It is a registration of 2 live concerts, both recorded in Rotterdam. The 'Oude Kerk Charlois' track is a recording done by a microphone, through which natural reverb is added to the recording. Also, the church organ, played by Jasp van Gils, is something we don't hear too often in compositions the way it's executed here. The second 'Live' is recorded at the 'Noodlebar', an event organized by Dennis Verschoor. The Noodle bar event is a modular event by and for freaks of the knobular kind, and the recording was done straight from the set-up.
All who know Roel's output also know that he's not afraid to experiment with the absence of sound, and in both of these compositions, we can hear the dynamics of sound, silence, complexity and simplicity. One can only wish to have attended the events themselves, but at least we have these recordings.
CALINECZKA - FOUNDATIONS, CRACKING (120 minutes DAT)
Until now, I had never heard of Calineczka, and from now on, I'll hear more of him. I think that says a lot about me, but it should tell you, readers, a lot about Calineczka. The man behind this project is Ścisław Dercz (or Michał Jędrzej Stańczyk - Discogs mentions two names) and he is the man behind the Important Drone Records label, the cassette label from Spain: "sustained tone minimalism albums on cassettes" a.k.a. minimal sounds with maximum impact.
"Foundations, cracking" - subtitled 'all foundations crack eventually' - is a massive work. Almost two solid hours of in-your-face sound. 'In your face I've chosen wisely because it sounds like Michał chose a set-up where the directness of sounds was important. There are oscillators in the mix, no overproduction with shitloads of effects, but pure sound. And in the first hour, the drone builds and builds towards a great climatic moment. And then the drone is slowly built off again. But something has changed in comparison to the first half. Tiny distorted objects have entered the mix. Small cracks in the foundations. Impressed!
MODELBAU - ANNEX ANNUM (120 minutes DAT)
Here is the release from the man behind the NDWICM-project, Modelbau a.k.a. Frans de Waard. The piece he has chosen is called "Annex Annum" which he wrote for an exhibition series 'The Vault' at museum De Groen, Arnhem. Modelbau was asked by curator Quinten Dierick to create a piece to be exposed for a month in 2022, so Frans created and "Annex Annum" was born. With its two hours, it is the longest Modelbau piece ever, or maybe better, because creative minds can think of the strangest things.
So, we're not here to talk about a possible future; we're here to talk about the present, and that is those 120 minutes of Modelbau. The piece as a whole is super dynamic, which I'll translate for you as "it's not one sound with small variations into infinity". The composition has many different phrases ranging from drone and ambient to soundscape and more experimental sounds. Sound sources combined into the characteristic Modelbau sound with looped tapes and manipulated field recordings, and I think I even recognized a little guitar! Frans is a man of many faces, and this Modelbau release shows his pretty face.
ORPHAX - HET CONGLOMERAAT (34 minutes DAT)
The fourth one in this - so far brilliant - series is Amsterdam-based Sietse van Erve who've I had the pleasure of reviewing before. Sietse is the mastermind behind Moving Furniture, and as Orphax, he does drones. And he does them very well, I might add to that. "Het Conglomeraat" (which translates to The Conglomerate) is a 32-minute piece, and let's focus on the meaning of conglomerate first. "A number of independent companies forming a pact to have financial advantages or a sediment or stone built from different materials." It fits this piece very well because it uses many different sound sources, and a trained ear will probably be able to differentiate the origin of some of them. From subtle feedback sounds to straight oscillator sounds drifting in the air.
This drone is so strong in relation to its length - drones of 2 hours are no exception in this series - Sietse still manages to create a strong unity between the different parts in a relatively short time. Sounds are carefully mixed and moulded into this solid material. A unity yet still with recognizable parts. A bit like the method of Eliane, but he and I both love her work: That's not a secret, I think.
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