In retrospect the previous Diamond Exchange was a testcase for several new features in the format of The Diamond Exchange (read here to find out what that format is).

Because this edition took place in two locations we needed to provide a stream which was audible in both locations. Audio quality was excellent and there was a bonus: the participants now needed to chat with eachother to communicate, which made their conversation more accessible to the audience, a definite plus! On top of that, the chat provided a way to document The Diamond Exchange. Just read this pdf.

So. For following editions I’ll be looking to provide chat functionality no matter what. And being able to link two locations together through a Diamond Exchange may also prove te be a very usefull and interesting feature. I can see the possibilities. Can you?

Two editions of The Diamond Exchange coming up this weekend!

The first is on January 28 (23:00-3:00) in Burgerweeshuis, with Albert Reinink (Deventer Schouwburg) and Arris Roordink (Alles Los). The second is a special edition for #isthemessage on January 29 (15:00-18:00) in Kunstenlab ánd Podium Willie, with Julien Mier and Maria Cristina Fazecas (MiaMia).

All locations are in Deventer. See you there?

I have no doubt this esc.rec. year holds nothing but sweetness… again ;)

For starters NEW is coming with a brand NEW release and esc.rec. signed up for the digital distribution again, just like last year with NEW 6.0. We see a lot of new names from the East of the Netherlands on this release and some old aquaintances from previous release(s). Check the full NEW 7.0 selection overhere. It’s got some pretty impressive tracks on there! As with NEW 6.0 this release is also distributed as a free CD release.

NEW 7.0 is officially presented to the public with a double release party:
February 10 in Merleyn, Nijmegen
February 11 in Burgerweeshuis, Deventer

Some time ago, Arthur van Beek of The Eddie The Eagle Museum in Amsterdam, asked me to come up with some (esc.rec.) artists for their Hackathon event. So I made a list. They went for Xavier ‘Xaf’ van Wersch and he also went for them.

Sadly I couldn’t be there myself that day, because the photo’s of Hackathon and the video below suggest I’ve missed out on a great party…

Check Gluid’s latest release on esc.rec. here.

Like said before, composer and theatre maker Dick Raaijmakers is to receive the Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award 2011 for his entire oeuvre. The award ceremony takes place in the Bergkerk Church in Deventer on 10 November 2011, and will be celebrated with a Raaijmakers exhibition which will run until 4 December 2011.

On the last day of this exhibition, esc.rec. organizes a special 18th edition of ass-crack stage-hack with a complementary program about Dick Raaijmakers at WILLIE in Havenkwartier Deventer. You can attend this program after your visit to the exhibition in the Bergkerk Church; WILLIE opens at 15:00 hrs.

Starting at 15:30 with a screening of the film ‘Op zoek naar een vergeten toepassing – A portrait of Dick Raaijmakers by Jacqueline Oskamp‘. Jacqueline Oskamp is also the author of the book ‘Onder Stroom’, in which she vividly describes the history of Dutch electronic music. She is present at the screening, tells us more about Dick Raaijmakers and answers questions if needed.

After you’ve enjoyed a good meal at WILLIE, the program continues with three concerts/performances/installations which have an obvious relation to the work of Dick Raaijmakers. Performing artists are Cathy van Eck, Radboud Mens and Wouter van Veldhoven.

Read more…

There’s a new N.E.W. release coming up. And just like last year with NEW 6.0, esc.rec. takes care of the digital release of NEW 7.0. But first we have to come up with a selection… The procedure is slightly different from last year to cope with the sheer amount of new entries. Read all about it overhere (in Dutch). Esc.rec. is still in the jury by the way, so that hasn’t changed.

Basically I would like to invite all producers of electronic music (in all genres!) from the East of the Netherlands to join N.E.W. now. Upload and nominate one of your own tracks and possibly win a spot on the NEW 7.0 CD or one of the many NEW showcases in 2012! Keep in mind there is a deadline involved: 1 December 2011.

Spread the word!

Composer and theatre maker Dick Raaijmakers is to receive the Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award 2011 for his entire oeuvre. The award ceremony will take place in the Bergkerk Church in Deventer on 10 November 2011, and will be celebrated with a Raaijmakers exhibition which will run until 4 December 2011.

The Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award is now in its tenth year, and the independent jury has chosen to mark this occasion by awarding the prize to Dick Raaijmakers. ‘We would like to take this opportunity to honour a very remarkable artist who is no longer a promising young man, but whose work continues to be promising,’ the jury stated in their report. ‘The great thing about Dick Raaijmakers is that he always retained his pioneering spirit and did not seem to know any bounds. Music, visual arts, theatre, poetry – he incorporated them all into one all-encompassing art form. He was a master of all arts, yet he never lost his own uniquely individual touch. Raaijmakers’ work possesses a certain sprezzatura. He is the rare artist who influences even laymen.’

Dick Raaijmakers (born 1930) is a Dutch composer, theatre maker and theoretician. He was one of the founders of Dutch electronic music in the 1950s and was a multimedia artist years ahead of his time. His works, installations and music and theatre performances were so original that they enjoy a worldwide reputation. His original ideas and novel approaches to art have inspired many, not in the least later generations of artists.

In the seventies Raaijmakers developed three ‘Ideofonen’, installations in which the speakers themselves create sound. Right now ‘Ideofoon 1′ is being reconstructed and is part of the exhibition Raaijmakers in the Bergkerk Church in Deventer!

On December 4, the last day of the Raaijmakers exhibition in the Bergkerk Church, esc.rec. organizes a special edition of ass-crack stage-hack at WILLIE in Havenkwartier Deventer to complement this exhibition.

More info about the impressive line-up of this complementary program very soon!

Twee, the new album by Gluid. For those of you who haven’t listened to it yet, I can’t make it much easier for you… Check it now on the VPRO 3voor12 Luisterpaal!

Nieuwe Electronische Waar (N.E.W.) organizes a conference day filled to the brim with masterclasses. On December 10, in Burgerweeshuis Deventer. The place to be if you’re into electronic music and want to learn more about hardware, software, mastering and mixing. All you need to get the best out of your tracks, both on record and in a live set.

Masterclass 1: Nobody Beats the Drum – Hardware vs Software
Masterclass 2: Kubus – Synthesizers, Sounddesign & Synthese
Masterclass 3: Delic – Software & Mix techniques
Masterclass 4: Rinus Hooning (Recordindustry) – Mastering
Masterclass 5: Arne Broekhoven – Online promotion
Masterclass 6: Pitto – Ableton
Masterclass 7: Steve Mensink – Hardwired

And there’s so much more… esc.rec. will be there too of course! Please look up the complete program overhere. Tickets are available through Burgerweeshuis for 10 euro.

And (as you may have noticed by now), the N.E.W. platform has had a massive re-design! There’s still some work to be done, but the new website is live and there’s more to come. Check it out!