[1:1] In the beginning, when Frans and Christian created the Zero (Nul) and the Zero (Nul)
[1:2] The knowledge of experimental music in the Netherlands was a formless void, and darkness covered the void while the words from Frans and Christian swept over the face of the Netherlands.
[1:3] Then Frans and Christian said, “Let there be Nul Nul,” and there was Nul Nul.
[1:4] Frans and Christian saw that the Nul Nul was good and separated the knowledge from the void.
It’s not exactly how things started, but it’s the beginning; it’s how a friendship between two guys with a common interest in different music led to what first was Nul Nul, what later became the hard-copied Vital and what now is Vital Weekly; The weekly newsletter which lies before you with reviews and info on everything ‘different’.
The book has scans of all the editions, including the artwork. Now, the thing is that we’re talking about the Netherlands here. So, all original Nul Nul’s were written in Dutch. That language resembles German and Flemish and sounds like a phlegm cough-up each third word, so what makes this book enjoyable for you who doesn’t read a single word of Dutch? It’s been a hell of a job, but it’s been translated into English word-for-word. Because of this, it’s a great overview of what happened in the mid-80s in the cassette scene, in what now would be considered an underground art movement, music adjacent sound design … And it can be read and understood by everyone. No expensive apps, Google Translator of Babelfish is needed in any way.
But wait! There is more! With the book comes a CD with sound from the era. Music that has – or has not – been reviewed or mentioned in those four copies of Nul Nul. And it’s not my kind of music yet because, around that time, I just started listening to this kind of sound. But I have learned a lot of music since then, and this CD fills in the gaps I didn’t realize there were. It focuses on Dutch and Belgian experimental music in the mid-80s, and there are names of many well-known and still active artists. For example, Kapotte Muziek, ODAL and Mailcop (Roel Meelkop in an early guise). And there are tracks from artists that are maybe no longer active but who you have heard (Zombies Under Stress, Kanker Kommando and Vidna Obmana) and many names you might know after reading about them in “Nul Nul”. The most surprising track for me is the one by Vidna Obmana. We all know Dirk from his exquisite ambient works, but he has had a noisy experimental start, and “The Inquisition” is proof. Another track I want to mention is “Verbaal Automatisme” by Heer Peejee. This one-minute play on words (‘dieren of computers’ / ‘animals or computers’) is, for me, what made me choose my education back then. In the 80’s, we were caught between the choice ‘What’s smart’ and ‘Where’s my heart’. I chose computers because they were part of the future. But I would have selected art or philosophy if I were to choose guided by the heart. So, that one-minute exercise with words was, for me, quite confrontational.
Okay, to make a long story short: “Nul Nul” is more than a book; It is a time capsule of what happened back then, and it’s the fundaments of what became the world as we know it now. If you want to know more about mid-80s experimental music in the Netherlands and Belgium, don’t hesitate. It’s a great Christmas present for yourself.
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