First in the Kringloop Kassettes series is a C90 by Roel Meelkop. And when I opened the preview I received in VLC I already saw something strange … At least, what I thought was strange. All Meelkop releases I knew up to this point have longer tracks where silence forms a part of his compositions. Negative space in an audio perspective; It’s not what you sometimes hear, but the absence of sound gives the moments of silence a specific meaning. And just when I thought I was getting some more Meelkop just the way I like it and how I got used to it, he’s presenting a tape with 16 (!!) tracks ranging between 2 and 9 minutes. Not one long drone or experimental piece but loads of experiments that give an insight into his mind and how he developed as an artist.
I am not going to regurgitate the words he wrote about this choice – you can read it all on the Bandcamp page at the bottom of this review – but if there was ever a Meelkop release that gives me insight, it’s this one. A collection of sounds, noises, loops, manipulated (field) recordings, plays on frequencies, effects, works and reworks of a man who developed himself as one of the leading experimentalists in the Dutch music scene. And here it comes: The reason WHY he does what he does and WHY he NOW sounds the way he sounds can be derived from this tape’s contents. So, for fans, this release is an absolute must-have, even if it’s only a digital download.
And at this point I will copy one sentence from the promo text. “So, in the spirit of the cassette days, please feel free to (ab)use these tracks in any way you like.” And that is an open invitation to the world to be heard. Listen, use, recycle and abuse the basics that led Roel Meelkop to become the artist he is now and try it for yourself. And if you release stuff, send a download code to Roel and Kringloop Kassettes too please. Or to me. Or make it a ‘Name Your Price’-release (like this one is) for the world to enjoy. It would be great to see/hear what you do with it. I know I’m gonna try something.
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