In the 20th(!) edition of the adventurous concert series ass-crack stage-hack, esc.rec. presents two exquisite, but intense Sunday-afternoon concerts.

Celer & Machinefabriek

Celer used to be a married duo, Will Long and Danielle Baquet-Long (Chubby Wolf). Celer self-released numerous handmade objects, made sound for installations and exhibitions, and released work on independent labels in the U.S., Japan and Europe. Unfortunately Danielle Baquet-Long passed away in 2009. Celer has since been continued by Will Long, who currently lives and works in Tokyo. The intent is producing works that reflect the sincere nature and importance of love, the impermanence of life, and the spirit of togetherness, through a relative and absolute symposium of expression.

In this concert Celer collaborates with Machinefabriek. Rutger Zuydervelt started working as Machinefabriek in 2004. Except for a few piano and guitar lessons when he was young, Rutger didn’t study music. Instead, he graduated as a graphic designer. The sleeves of his releases are practically always designed by Rutger himself, which is a crucial part of the music. Machinefabriek’s music combines elements of ambient, modern classical, minimalism, drone and field recordings. His pieces unfold as ‘films without image’, with a sharp ear for detail.

Machinefabriek has an excellent live reputation and performed once before at an earlier ass-crack stage-hack. That was a very impressive concert and this collaboration with Celer promises nothing less.

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra

Jan and Romke Kleefstra performed at earlier ass-crack stage-hacks too. But never before incombination with Anne Chris Bakker.

Jan and Romke Kleefstra mix poetry, music and video in a spatial and melancholic manner which originated in the empty menless landscape of Friesland. The fragments tell about the sensory experience of living in the land between the lakes and nearby sea. The music always arises ‘instantly’ during free improvisations. Several albums have been published of the collaborations of Jan and Romke. Those albums are all accompanied by a booklet with the poems in original Frisian and English translation.

With guitarist Anne Chris Bakker they soon release the LP “Griis” on the English Low Point, a comprised version of the music they played during their tour in Tokyo, Japan in 2010.

Date: March 18, 2012
Doors open: 15:00
Start: 15:30
Entrance: presale 5 euro, door 8 euro
Location: WILLIE in Havenkwartier, Mr.H.F. de Boerlaan 151 (rear entrance)

Order your tickets here.

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?

On January 29, the last day of an exhibition about social media in Kunstenlab, entitled #isthemessage, there will be an additional (and final) program with a presentation of Planeet Faceboek and a special edition of The Diamond Exchange. It starts at 14:00 in Kunstenlab.

At 15:00 esc.rec. presents The Diamond Exchange. In this special edition for #isthemessage, The Diamond Exchange not only connects two music lovers this time, but also two locations. One of the participants is at Kunstenlab, the other is at Podium Willie in Havenkwartier Deventer. The exchange of music and communication is via a live stream over the internet.

Participants in this fifth edition of The Diamond Exchange are Julien Mier and Maria Cristina Fazecas (MiaMia). They are both music composer and producer of (electronic) music and they have both released works through esc.rec. These are no strangers to each other. Actually, after booking them, it appeared that they are currently neighbors…

Entrance is free at both locations.

The 19th edition of ass-crack stage-hack. On February 17 Lomechanik is our guest at WILLIE in Havenkwartier Deventer. Lomechanik is the friendly, high quality label from Nijmegen (remember this?). En they bring a whole array of Lomechanik artists with them.

With Sam A La Bamalot (who also released a track through esc.rec. by the way), Raadsel, Kijk Een Ster, Terugklap, Jorg and oXane this will be a night to remember. But don’t take my word for it, just click their names and listen to some of their tracks. Especially if you’re into phat beats and dito sounds, this night cannot be missed. Seriously. It’s a line-up filled to the brim with promises for the future. In a few years you’ll say: “What? All this on ONE night? No way! And for free? Whacky!”

Oh yes. You read that right. Due to an exhibition opening at WILLIE earlier that night, there is no entrance fee for this event. So all you cheapskates are welcome too ;)

Date: February 17, 2012
Doors open: 17:00
Start: 22:00
Entrance: free!!
Location: WILLIE in Havenkwartier, Mr.H.F. de Boerlaan 151 (rear entrance)

January 28, 23:00-3:00 hrs. in Het Burgerweeshuis, Deventer: The fourth edition of The Diamond Exchange, with Arris Roordink and Albert Reinink.

Arris Roordink is owner and manager of booking agency Alles Los. Albert Reinink is city promotor at Deventer Schouwburg and ex-promotor of Het Burgerweeshuis. Both have a broad and extensive music collection. They have done business in the past, but never played their favorite music for eachother (as far as I know). I wonder where this leads us…

You have to pay 7,50 euro to get in, but then you also get to enjoy Deventer Dub Sessions with Red D + Makam Live + Davy Brandts.

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…

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.

Cathy van Eck is a composer and sound artist. Her work includes compositions for instruments and live-electronics, as well as performances with sound objects, which she often designs herself. She studied composition and electronic music at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and at the University of the Arts in Berlin. She performs her works regularly during festivals like Gaudeamus Festival in Amsterdam, TRANSIT in Leuven, NYCEMF in New York, SPARK Festival in Minneapolis, Klangwerkstatt in Berlin, Performance Festival Der Längste Tag in Zurich, Hapzura Digital Art in Israel, Avantgarde Schwaz in Austria and Spaziomusica in Italy. She is currently doing a doctoral degree at the Orpheusinstitute in Ghent and University of Leiden in the DocARTES Program, her dissertation subject is Loudspeakers and Microphones as Musical Instruments. Since March 2007 she has a teaching position at the department for music and media arts of the University of the Arts in Bern, Switzerland.

Cathy van Eck is going to perform ‘Song No 3′ for us. Extensive documentation of ‘Song No 3′ can be found here.

Radboud Mens has been a sound-artist since the mid-eighties and is now living & working in Rotterdam. In 1988 he started creating audio-installations and noise-machines. As Hyware and Technoise he has done numerous noise-performances, standing-wave performances and concerts. Since 1997 he also started making music using his own name and has released a lot of vinyl and CD albums on many different labels like Staalplaat, Mutek and Touch. On labels like Audio-NL and Vynalogica he did a series of minimal-techno 12 inches. Together with Dan Armstrong he is the founder of the ERS label. He also was a dj for the Amsterdam free radio station Radio 100, where he did a show entitled “Earbitten”, for 16 years; between 1986 and 2003.

Radboud Mens will play one of his installations for us, in which he controls three guitars simultaneously by making them resonate to sinewaves from his computer.

Wouter van Veldhoven was a guest in one of the previous ass-crack stage-hacks, some years back. Using reel-to-reel tape recorders, home-build music machines, cassette walkmans and toy instruments he creates musical oddities. Meticulously detailed sounds and simple, but beautiful melodies. Currently he’s building new instruments from second hand junk (like a prepared toy piano, modified taperecorders, automated violins and circuit-bend cassette walkmans). These instruments are gradually showcased in his new performances… He has released his music through Staalplaat, Digitalis and Eat This Media and frequently collaborates with the likes of Greg Haines and Machinefabriek.

All in all this is an extremely impressive line-up in my opinion! And a well deserved tribute to Dick Raaijmakers, especially when consumed together with the Raaijmakers exhibition in the Bergkerk. A day equally interesting for Dick Raaijmakers experts ánd for people who are not yet familiar with his inspiring work and the impact it had and still has on other artists and electronic music in general.

Havenkwartier Deventer is a 10 minute walk from the Bergkerk Church and parking is free.

This ass-crack stage-hack is realized with financial contributions by the City of Deventer, Foundation Havenkwartier and Esc.rec.

Date: December 4, 2011
Doors open: 15:00
Start: 15:30
Entrance: 5 euro
Location: WILLIE in Havenkwartier, Mr.H.F. de Boerlaan 151 (rear entrance)