Yes! New Modelbau! I’m a sucker for Frans’ way of approaching a composition. There is a vast book written on his releases, released by Korm Plastics but sadly sold out. Though not everything, because there is always the subjective part, a.k.a. the listener’s perspective. Having reviewed 26 Modelbau releases over the last couple of years, I consider myself an above-average listener. I not only listen, but I have to write about it, so every listen I listen to Vital Weekly, I try to ‘deep listen’. It’s voluntary work, but I take it seriously. If you send me a release of 3 full hours of harsh noise, yes, I WILL have heard it three hours and I WILL have listened to any change in modulation or depth or mix or … And don’t try me out by adding a little ‘Hello Bauke’ in your composition and then send it to us and to see if I notice!
“MOOK” seems weird to me. There are a few reasons, and I’ll go through them bit by bit. First is the release itself, the hardcopy. Modelbau is of a level that a CD or vinyl release is what puts the cherry on top. Like the vinyls on Love Earth Music and Moving Furniture (collab with Scanner / Robin Rimbaud). True beauties. But here is another side of releasing things. A thinline jewel case with an insert and a sticker on a CDR, like we saw in the 90s. People have labels and approach things with a high level of DIY. I have to say, there is a certain beauty in it, reminiscent of lofi art. But for my personal taste, it should have been a bit more on the higher end, especially when it comes to the music. The compositions are lofi, so with this release, it all fits. It’s grainy in the sense of choice of sounds and composition. It’s not the rounded form of sound but lots of square wave and (for lack of better words) crunchy sounds, molten into an ambient tapestry. There is a certain crudeness in the choice of these sounds, like an analogue mini synth. If so, you can compare this composition to an amalgamation of various sounds created out of experiments. Raw and unpolished, entirely in sync with the chosen format of release.
The compositions themselves are thrilling. There is constant movement, hypnotizing loops and layers, and the three tracks, totalling almost 40 minutes, are very dynamic. It’s not a minimal drone where, after some time, you notice changes; no, it’s more like a drone/soundscape mixture without any addition of organic field recordings pushing a defined state or emotion. It’s the sound that creates the time and space in which you live. And as the sounds are minimal – at moments a bit glitchy – the time and space you get to occupy while listening is minimal too. It all feels very suffocating. And well, there are organic sounds (voice samples/radio), but these are taken out of their actual perspective and meaning, adding a different layer of weirdness here. And that was only the first track! The second and the third tracks are not much different in structure, which is in sync with the method of Modelbau using a similar setup for a full release. So it’s all in sync, though it must be said that the second and third tracks have a bit more noisy moments. Which I do NOT mind at all! So yeah, another Modelbau release has been added to my collection, and I’ll be listening to it quite often. Great stuff!
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