MFA IME KVH

Review of Kasper van Hoek & Fever Spoor

2010-08-10T14:12:00.001+02:00

KASPER VAN HOEK & FEVER SPOOR - LAAGLANDSE HYMNEN (CDR by Anima Mal Nata)

The two extreme prolific musicians, Kasper van Hoek and Marcel Herms, with their own labels (Anima Mal Nata and Heilskabaal) created the CDR Laaglandse Hymnen. It seems like a popalbum, about thirty minutes with nine tracks. But that is not true. The short tracks are not poppy at all, but diverse what makes the album interesting.
Zwijg (dutch for be silent!) is as noisy as hell. Interbellum is really a quiet composition for a quiet moment and after that it is time for a spooky moment. Krakend Hoofd (Crusty Head) starts ambient and becomes more and more full, but still? the head doesn't explode. And so it goes on and on.
I really like this new release at Anima Mal Nata. For me it is the most successful album till now, because of the diversity in sounds and deliberate structure of the tracks and album. Highly recommended!

(Jan-Kees Helms / Vital Weekly 742)

Anima Mal Nata @ MySpace

Final work pictures 2

2010-06-29T11:48:00.000+02:00

Final work Pictures

2010-06-29T11:45:00.000+02:00

Yuri Landman & Le KRRGHH*@#$%!!-ensemble @ Gideon Festival

2010-06-08T11:35:00.001+02:00

Thesis Cover

2010-06-01T15:34:00.001+02:00

Upcoming shows

2010-06-01T15:21:00.005+02:00

Friday June 4th:
Gideon Festival
As part of Yuri Landman's 'Le KRGGHH@$%!!-ensemble'
Start 21:00
Gideonweg 9, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Saturday June 5th:
Open Studio's Groningen (free entrance!)
Start 20:00
Kraanvogelstraat 1, Groningen, the Netherlands

Sunday June 6th:
Gideon Festival
As part of Yuri Landman's 'Le KRGGHH@$%!!-ensemble'
Start ??
Gideonweg 9, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Collage

2010-05-26T11:58:00.002+02:00

Add

2010-05-26T11:56:00.001+02:00

HowTo

2010-05-26T10:11:00.000+02:00

TXT

2010-05-25T09:36:00.002+02:00

All work is made from a certain point of view, a paramount way of thinking, a belief, or, within the limitations of this book, probably the persuasion of art or science. And as I am no different from my fellow students, I must admit the existence of a certain factor responsible for at least a fraction of my final work. And as I'm fully aware of the fact that things, generally speaking, don't come into existence just like that, and believing this is no different with an artist about to create, I dare to say the active fraction of the factor mentioned earlier is quite large or strongly concentrated.

My different activities as an instrument builder, musician, label owner, designer and creator of almost – but eventually not – collapsing constructions will be analyzed from a 'pataphysical point of view in my thesis, as there is no room for that on these here pages. Fortunately, this won't affect my work because it can exist without being analyzed, or even while being analyzed in an unintended way. The way 20th-century art is experienced is 'pataphysical in itself. The thing the artwork resembles is a reflection in a metaphysical way. Analyzing this already-translated pseudo-truth and assigning meaning or functionality to it is an act of a 'pataphysical thinking, so … no need to worry, I'd say.
I'm not trying to make a statement in my work. Making statements in art should only be done if the statement itself is the artwork. But even then it will be a statement first and an artwork second, like a painting is above all something with paint attached to it; whether or not it might also be considered an artwork remains a question until the arrival of an acceptable answer. The added, artificial meaning will only be a diversion of the work itself, depriving it of its purity. Nevertheless, one is occasionally forced to consider his or her position in a more objective or external matter, like when writing this contribution or my thesis.

The present tendency toward extrovert individualism is gradually evolving into its opposite. No one is trying to liberate himself, to stand out. His/her striving is fictitious and, even worse, an act of collectivism. This can be seen in fields like politics, music and the spiritual (as it consists of non-matter), internet.
The social networks on internet, for instance, place everyone within one large group that seems to develop an identity of its own. The enormous amount of personal fragments can no longer represent themselves and they're being merged into something that has more statistical value than personal significance. Objection to this situation is as much part of the system as anything else, and so this is hard to fight from the inside. Contradictory thoughts are part of each human as well, and we don't see them splitting up into smaller parts of man when in doubt. If one wishes to withdraw his/her individualism from the group and restore his/her privacy, the only way to do so would be to distinguish oneself from all this. To achieve this, one must accept the situation, assuming you won't be able to detach yourself deliberately from something whose existence you fail to admit. Next, the process of birth must be set in motion, not physical birth but a more spiritual one, not denying that there might be some mental squeezing involved none the less. Birth is the only way that there can be separation without destroying the old, becoming a child of your culture, not destroying it and not having to answer to it.

The personal perception on which my work is based might be influenced by this: trying not to be overpowered by the phenomenon of collective consciousness and defining my own conditions based upon my findings; not taking things for granted but stubbornly reinventing everything; not willing to incorporate functions that are there only because of popular demand, without adding anything that is of importance to me.
Positioning myself beyond this mainstream doesn't make me an outsider artist, although people sometimes refer to my work as being ‘brut’. Just as any other artist, my work depends greatly upon personal views and opinions, thus turning it into something that's unexceptionally different. There are always terms to describe this privateness, but the term 'outsider art' is used all too easily nowadays. I see my work more as a form of involuntary passive resistance, being aware of the world around me and determining that I will not incorporate its stigmatized rules in my creative process.

Live @ FMI May 17th, 2010

2010-05-19T15:12:00.001+02:00

A Light Year Of Sundays -review-

2009-12-15T16:11:00.002+01:00

De wolk van muziek binnenrijden

Het is een van die dagen al fietsend dat je van iedereen houdt, je houdt van iedereen, je houdt van iedereen (behalve van dat ouwe wijf daar met dat rare hoedje op), en OP ZULK EEN DAG DUS, bestaat het, dat je zomaar ineens de wolk van muziek zou kunnen binnenrijden. De wolk van muziek. Een licht jaar van zondagen. Het heils kabaal. Hier is hoe het zou zijn:

op zulk een dag dus, dat je staat, op de overloop van het eerste verdiep, en je vrouw onder lamplicht, en haar haar licht op in het halflicht, en je denkt, en je weet dat dit het moment is waarop je nooit meer zonder zult kunnen, en jullie staan daar maar, en zwijgen, en het is het mooiste zwijgen ooit

op zulk een dag dus, dat je iemand tegenkomt op een koud & tochtig maar belangrijk stasjon, iemand van vroeger, een vriend misschien, iemand die je nog gekend hebt, die bij je in de klas zat misschien, en jullie gaan op kaffee want geen van jullie twee heeft echt iets beters te doen, en doorheen de straten gaat het, de stemming is allerhartelijkst, en in het kaffee, twee grote pullen bier besteld, al na twee slokken zit je verschrikkelijk verveeld met die gozer, met hoe die zun haar draagt, en hoe hij lacht, en zijn praat over kantoor kollegee en kantine, nochtans een goeje vent indertijd echtwaar, een waarmee je lachen kon of was hij dat wel, was het niet een ander misschien, jullie leken allemaal zoveel op elkaar in die dagen

en je probeert een verschrikt gezicht op te zetten
als je op je horloozje kijkt en uitroept Amai, is het zo rap?!

op zulk een dag dus, dat je jezelf terugvindt midst een herinnering aan het meisje dat één lijp oor had en het is jaren gelee dat je nog aan haar dacht, je zit te zitten, in die herinnering zit je aan je wrakke tafel als zij binnenkomt en een beetje buiten met haar meeneemt en zo te zien heeft het geregend, en je kijkt haar aan en je neemt onophoudelijk slokken van een grote mok hete sterke koffie en daar staat zij dan en je denkt: ooit moet ik hier buiten, en je denkt: ik moet de feiten onder ogen zien, en je denkt: dat lukt mij nooit met mijn rare krankzinnige ogen

of later nog, gesterrenoogd en balnaakt///

op zulk een dag dus, dat je tuis blijft om naar de regen te kijken
Kasper Hoek

of daarentegen juist besluit om ondanks alles toch naar je werk te gaan, en je loopt naar je schuur en de herfstbladeren wajen om je kop en op elk afzonder blad staat een mededeling; iets als omo wast door en door schoon misschien, en je pakt je fiets uit de schuur en het is een van die dagen, het is een van die dagen al fietsend, het is een van die dagen al fietsend dat je van iedereen houdt, je houdt van iedereen, je houdt van iedereen (behalve van dat ouwe wijf daar met dat rare hoedje op), en OP ZULK EEN DAG DUS, bestaat het, dat je zomaar ineens de wolk van muziek zou kunnen binnenrijden. De wolk van muziek. Een licht jaar van zondagen. Het heils kabaal. Hier is hoe het zou zijn:
Kasper van Hoek - a light year of Sundays

De ambians ten paars neigend. Kringels. Muziekkringels. Kringels muziek. De drones als een mist. En jij midst de mist. Soms komt er iets uit de mist tevoorschijn. Soms klinkt een geluid er bovenuit. Alleszins beweegt er iets in het struikgewas. Het kan een vogel zijn, een sluipmoordenaar, een fantasiebeest. Hier kan alles. Overal is zindering. Het water roert zicht. Wast. Plonst. Het kabbelt waar het gaat. Je peinst aan het zwartelichtendistrict. Het rommelt. Het wordt groter waar het staat. Maar net als je vermoedens vaste vormen dreigen aan te nemen, verijlt het. Het glipt je onophoudelijk door de vingers. Het muteert. Nu klingelt het. Drie sekonden, of drie jaar (je weet het niet/het is onmogelijk nog iets zeker te weten) hoor je belletjens & stemmen & herhaling van iets. Een schrapen is te horen. De geluiden vallen neer als regen. Als zomerregen. Als motregen. Dauw. Fijndraad. Iets nadert. Het kan horen zijn, of voelen, of alleen maar waarschijnen misschien. En treinen ook. Treinen die ter helle gaan. Er lijkt een freejazzer aan boord te zijn. Maar vaag. Drie, vier koepees verderop denkelijk. Iemand bedient een krankzinnig ingewikkelde masjiene. Een masjiene met antennes aan, en allerhande uitsteeksels. Een masjiene die piept en bromt en knarst en gonst en gromt en kraakt. Het kan een stemmingswisselaar zijn, die masjiene want de stemming wisselt hier per minuut. Droefnis. Melankolie. Een onbestemde vrolijkheid. Dreiging. Angst. Leven. Dood. De schoonheid van een total loss. Het mooiste dat je ooit zag, spuugt gal in je oog.

Hier is dus leven. Samengebald in een wolk. En je wilt nog, want er is nog zoveel te zien. Je wilt nog zoveel ervaren. Meer nog dan die gozer die misschien toch niet die gozer was, meer nog dan het meisje dan één lijp oor had, meer dan het lamplicht zelfs, meer dan alles nog. Maar de wolk muziek lost op en laat je in verwarring achter. Een weinig onvast op de benen nog. Maar vol van hoop

fiets je verder tot waar de wolk van muziek een droom kon wezen, een gedachteneksperiment, een hallusinaasie, je weet het niet, ook de gedachten eraan lossen langzaam weer op in je hoofd, alleen het gevoel blijft, een gevoel van innige tevredenheid is het, denk je

op zulk een dag dus

,,,of op alle andere dagen misschien.

tim donker

http://www.derecensent.nl/

Test Recording

2009-12-06T16:08:00.001+01:00

Test recording 3rd bridge overtone zither:

LINK

Homeswinger

2009-11-30T10:33:00.005+01:00

Last Saturday I've made my own Homeswinger during a workshop from Yuri Landman.
I'm still playing with it but soon I will post a sound file with my accomplishments.

Live @ FMI Oct. 9th, 2009

2009-11-07T14:27:00.002+01:00

Nedernoise

2009-11-07T11:12:00.003+01:00

Peter 'Stront' Zincken just released his Nedernoise 3x CDr compilation of Dutch noise.
It features on track made by me and other tracks by: Mosquito, Kristuskut, krimpoos, vernaggelkramp, Bitter, Drek dreka, dreka, Kapotte muziek, teenage arsosenist, Industrial passage, Hissyfit (van wie is deze track?), Infected needles, Margriet, Neurobit, Noisegekanker a gogo, Obselete office equipment, ALX, Terg, Belch, Chuck curry, darmkwardraat, Dasha bi, Doodseskader, Fcknbstrds, Fever spoor, Gaskroket, Het Evangelie, Jack Jack en de wandelende feedback, Kamp Chaos, LSD Mossel, Membus, Odal, Rinus van Alebeek, Roeben Swart, Chuck Curry, StirnerVincent Koreman, Vulvax+Stiff nipple of terror, Surd Sullah, Zyrtax and 850.

Review:
A while ago Jliat wrote me personally that the best noise seemed to be coming out of The Netherlands. Obviously I should send him this 3CDR with just Dutch noise bands, but I played it and decided to do the honors myself. First of all I am amazed by the amount of bands and projects found by Peter Zincken of Stront (meaning shit in Dutch). Himself being somewhat of noise legend, starting in the mid 80s as Odal, which he still does, but also as Dr. Bibber and a member of the Fucking Bastards. Over three hours of noise, but with a nice variety running along. Many new names for me, and hoping of course they are not all pseudonyms for Zincken himself, we find here Krimpoos, Vernaggelkramp, Bitter, Dreka Dreka dreka, Kapotte Muziek, Teenage Arsonist, Industrial Passage, Ezra Jacobs, Infected Needles, Kasper van Hoek, Margriet, Neurobit, Noise Gekanker A Gogo, Obsolote Office Equipment, Alex, Terg, Belch, Chuck Curry, Darm Kwadraat, Dashabi, Doodseskader, Fckn Bstrds, Fever Spoor, Gaskroket, Het Evagelie, Infected Needles, Jack Jack En De Wandelende Feedback, Kamp Chaos, LSD Mossel, Mem Bus, Nimwegen Terrorfront, Doornen, Odal, Rinus van Alebeek, Roeben Swart, Stirner, Tiws, Vincent Koreman, Vulvax & Stiff Nipple Of Terror, Zyrtax, 850 and Exploding Cunts. By my count I know about fifteen of these bands. Wailing feedback, distortion, but also darker edges, even silence here and there to augment the noise of others. A well balanced release, presented in the usual no-fi esthetic of Stront. The definite overview I’d say of how loud a small country can be. Jliat was right.
(Frans de Waard)

Looping

2009-10-28T12:18:00.000+01:00

Ever since experimental composers like Pierre Henry, Edgard Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen began with the looping of sound this technique has been used excessively.
Also in pop music it's a well know phenomenon. At first it was the repetition of identical patterns but later on, in hip hop and other music generally made with electronic media, also with real duplicated loops.

I'm not arguing the power of repetition, but I don't really get it. This looping technique is used is a very limited way in pop music nowadays. Just the same loop over and over again. Or four almost identical loops who are, as a whole, looped to get a slightly more complex result. Added to this are vocals and sometimes instruments playing solo. But with these last to taken out of the picture there not much left.
For fun just see if you can get an instrumental version of some modern, electronically made, pop songs.

It's not that I'm against looping, on the contrary, but somehow the rules of pop music prevent composers of using all aspects of the technique.
Some things not used in popular music that often are the looping of prerecorded sounds, in a way also a sampling technique. For instance this can be the sound of vinyl records (examples:NON (Boyd Rice) and Philip Jeck), but also other recorded sounds made by the composer himself.

One also can use loops of different lengths. Not just one loop of 2 seconds and one of 4 seconds (or 2/4 and 4/4), but also loops of 3 and 4 seconds.
These to different pieces of sound will, together, create unique sounds for 12 seconds, after which they are in phase again and it will turn into a basic, plain loop of 12 seconds.

Phasing in the way used by Steve Reich and others is the playing back of two identical tapes with looped sounds at speeds that are just a tiny bit different. This is also be done by musicians off course.
A first the sounds are in phase, after a while an echo occurs, then you will hear the same sounds twice, then it can get quite complex and later you will hear the same sound twice, followed by sounds echoing and in the end the loops will be in phase again.

I'm trying to create a looping machine that does all of these things. In the first place I can loop different sounds of the same length (pop music). I can use loops of different duration (like 2, 3, 5 and 8 seconds). And I can play with the phasing, not by changing the speed (and thus the pitch), but by playing a second loop that has a slightly longer or shorter duration.

My looper will have room four 4 loops.
1st: 1.5 or 5 seconds (switchable)
2nd: 2 or 6 seconds (switchable)
3rd: 3 or 8 seconds (switchable)
4th: 0 to 10 seconds that records the other three in order to use phasing (controllable by potentiometer)

Using this I will be able to use all techniques described above.
And maybe I will add some functions useful in this looping set up like a reverse function of each loop.
But I'm not so sure about that just now because without using the reverse I will have an “effect-free” looper that samples sounds without treating them any further.
I think t will be best if I try to make looped music in the most complex way by using as little as possible.
One can ask why I'm not using four loops that all have fully adjustable speeds.
Well, I will try that, but not right now.
I believe that the power of repetition is of great importance in looped music (naturally). But this is conceived not just by looping individual tracks of sounds, but also by making sure that there are points in time that all loops are in phase.
As long as I can't get the potentiometer to give me a precise value I have to use these predefined lengths.

2m70cm bass

2009-09-24T11:23:00.003+02:00

A little problem with my large bass guitar.
I can't get the tension right with the materials I'm currently using.
I need to get more 'industrial' stuff to avoid the metal wire to snap loose from the mounting point.
But already, with a too loose wire, I'm getting a sound when using a pick-up.

poP muSIC 2

2009-09-17T15:15:00.004+02:00

For my first endeavour into the realms of pop music I will take rock and roll to be my guide, my inspiration and support.
This means I have to make a guitar, a bass and a drum set. And maybe I need to work with my throat every now and then.

The bass will be made of steel-wire preferably 2 meters long.
The drums will be pots and pans mostly, with all types of microphones connected to them.
And the guitar will be like the first one I made ( LINK )

The only thin I have to do is hook this up to my controller and it will be chopped and sliced into repeatable patterns and voila: pop music! Rock'n'Roll!

YEAH!

pOP mUSIC

2009-09-17T15:10:00.000+02:00

After three test versions I'm now trying to create some kind of an 'finished product'.

One is a controller based upon the 0.3 test but with some adjustments.
All knobs for effects and eq are taken out witch leaves a cleaner version that just does what it does; pure clean live looping. Nothing else.

It will feature:
1 on/off switch
1 volume pot
4 volume pots (one for each individual sample)
4 switches or push buttons to turn the recording function on and off
1 pot to control the sample duration of track/sample four
4 switches to set the sample time
* track one 1,5 or 3 sec
* track two 2 or 4 sec
* track three 5 or 10 sec
* track four has a controllable duration that goes from 0 to 8 seconds, the switch determines where the centre point of the changeable time is. The recording time will remain 8 seconds. For instance: We turn the duration pot down to 4 seconds. With the switch in one position the played back sound are from the 0 to 4 sec area. With the switch in the second position it will play back the sounds from 2 to 6 seconds.

This device only does the sampling (together with a laptop).
The sound sources aren't included in the controller, so any type of input can be used.

The reason for the absence of fx and all is a simple one.
I want to explore the essence of repeating sounds. Where does it become structured.
John Cage once said the every random sequence of sound is structured as soon as it is repeated once.
I guess he is right about that. And with this idea as a starting point I will try to make pop music.

For now I will try to avoid to go into the difference between classical music, or contemporary composers, and pop music.
For now let's just say they differ in the extreme way pop music is based upon repeated sequences. And yes, I now about Vexations by Satie, the works of Steve Reich, and so on, and so on... But like I said, let's leave that for now.

Maybe my pop music will be oddball pop music, but it will still be pop music, just like all these 'alternative' and 'experimental' bands who think they aren't making pop music are still making pop music.
pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music, pop music.

pop music.

Aesthetics

2009-09-17T15:09:00.001+02:00

A question that pops up every now and them is about the aesthetics of my work.
My old installations of old cassettedecks, record players with nails as needles, packaging tape, computer speakers and other sound devices that cost less then 5 Euro at the thrift shop. Everything kind of thrown on a pile on the ground or a table. I never paid any attention to the way it was presented. Everything had a function and that was making noises, not looking pretty (or dirty or anything else with a purpose).

But after a while the way of stacking things on top of each other and not caring about much else had become my aesthetics. Or at least other people thought it was... Anyway, it became part of my work.

Off course it a good thing to have a somewhat fixed way of working with all elements of your work, including the visual. But is this really my way of doing things?
I don't feel comfortable with changing the appearance of my cassettedecks or other worn down equipment, but after a while I started making things that looked like I didn't care much. Sometimes it's just as easy to build something that looks nice or to make some 'hammer, nails and packaging tape' type of installation. So way always go for the crappy (yet sturdy) version?
I don't know to be honest.

Both ways are fine for me at this moment but there are this to consider.
Because I want to make different version of my instruments, versions that can be played by the audience. I need to make more user friendly ones.
An installation at a gallery works best if the public can understand the instrument and work with it.
Therefore I need to tide them up, make them accessible and more open. This works best with a cleaner approach to instrument building.
Same story with the one-user instruments I'm building. To let other people se the instrument on stage or in the studio requires the same kind of tidiness and simplicity in the design.

In conversations I had with Rob van Kranenburg one of the key subjects was the fact that working in my old crappy way limits myself in a way not intended. It's easier to convince people about the quality of ones work if it looked like they where proud of the result. A messy instrument doesn't sell that well.
I have to focus on decent, reliable, sturdy instruments that look like you want to own one yourself. They have to be clear in the way one should operate and play them.
Especially because I'm thinking of making small editions in the future and sell some of them to other musicians.

Using a laptop on stage

2009-09-17T15:08:00.003+02:00

Ever since I first did live performances I disliked laptop usage on stage.
Why?
Because of the audience.
Again... Why?
Well...
There are lots of so called 'laptop artists' who go on stage, sit themselves down comfortably, press a button and off they go. No one in the audience will be able to tell weather he's checking his e-mail or if he's actually playing music.
The computer is a kind of miracle box. It can do certain tasks if you ask it to do so, or you can tell the machine what to do days in advance. So how do we how if the person on stage is giving a concert or not?
We can not.

When giving the audience more of an idea about what you are doing, the performance get easier to understand for the viewers, or at least to some people familiar to electronic music techniques.
So, for the first three years of doing performances I chose not to use a laptop and so hoped to give the viewer a clue of what I was doing. If they would understand or not didn't really matter that much, but the idea that they saw what I did gave me the idea that I'd been honest to them. Instead of hiding behind my laptop and not looking like I cared so much, and not acting like I did anything.

But off course this is only true to some extend.
First of all, a lot of people think it magic what you are doing, regardless of what you are doing, so including a laptop won't change that.
Most people didn't understand my no-input-feedbacking-cassette-decks anyway. So that doesn't gave them more clarity and insight then me using a laptop.

What also is something to take into consideration:
It's music! In the above text I used the word 'viewers' a couple of times. Listeners won't judge me when I use a laptop. It's about the sound they're hearing. Not about what they're seeing - to keep it understandable will stick to pure musical performances where no eye are needed, in more theater-like settings things will be different.
So when it's about the sound rather then the visual, why not use a computer. It is up to the artist themselves to figure out how they will work with it.
And hopefully all the artist 'cheating' will be unmasked, just like singers who playback.

Probably the most important thing is HOW you use you laptop.
There are so many buttons and function to address it becoming a multitude of options. When one limits the functions he uses an element of skill is needed. Just like playing guitar or violin, the options you have seem little, but skilled musicians can get an almost unlimited stream of different sounds out of the instrument. They work on a higher level then just pushing buttons with thousand of different functions.
Laptop artist should think about the functions they need and stick with those. Use the laptop just like an instrument and not as a computer.
Examples are people making their own interfaces. Devices with less possibilities which work more intuitively. Turning knobs and using joysticks gives the artist a quicker way of sending commands to the computer, let's them think about timing, gives them a greater feeling of control. The small amount of options forces the artist to find ways to combine existing functions and find new ways to expand the possibilities of the instrument within the limitations of the device instead of just adding more programs to you virtual set-up.
This skill might be compared to musicians and their instruments.

A while ago I made an instrument/interface.
There are only 13 potentiometers (I only use 7) and 10 switches (I only use 4).
With 11 controllers I seem to have made an instrument which has limits and works in a way that one can gain skills by practicing. The laptop just stands somewhere near the instrument, I don't have to push it's buttons anytime during performances.
So I turned the computer into something else, something down to earth, limited, simple, something that can receive commands instead of giving the user option and that way leaving the musician in control.

Sound of Music / The Art of Musicianship

2009-09-17T15:08:00.001+02:00

Music/Sound/Art:

Before writing down some things it's always best to set boundaries, or tear then down, off course.
There are two questions or opinions who keep returning.
The first is weather it is sound or music what I'm making, the second if I'm an artist or musician/composer.

Both these questions rather bother me.

If sounds are the blocks with which we make music then sound is the medium and music is the artform. And when we see music as structured sound we can state that it must take some human involvement to turn the one into the other (to apply or recognize the structure).

A lot of texts about the main music principles give us a list with the aspects that music is made of; rhythm, pitch, dynamics and timbre/texture.
For some reason many people assume that music needs all of these elements to be called music, when they are, in fact, just some scientific way to decompose and analyze music.
There are tons of examples of compositions which lack one of these qualities and still fit the music category.

Apart from science, people base their preference for sound or music on feeling.
The music made by contemporary composers is something they might not get at all, yet still, they can categorize this as music. But modern experimental electronic music (example: sound collages) is seen as sound most of the time.

So can we say that people fail to see something as music when they think of it as racket, noise or random sounds? Perhaps. If the human involvement is needed to turn it into music they this can also decide not to do so. It just a matter of the frame you put around it.

John Cage made the choice of making both silence and background noise music with his 4”33 piece. Pierre Schaeffer did the same with audio collages. There are numerous examples like this, but when we give these artists the freedom to randomly decide what is and what isn't music, we should give the same freedom to people with a view more narrow.

Am I a musician or composer, or am I an artist?
A strange question. If you would ask a sculptor if he is an artist or sculptor, he might get a little mad at you. Of course he is both.
The same goes for me and my music. Sound is the medium I make my art pieces with. I am a musician making soundart. But a lot of people see music as something different then art. Probably because of the role music plays in our society nowadays.
Music is pure entertainment, when it comes to pop music, at least. This form of entertainment has a fixed set of rules. The musicians are seen as people who just follow these rules and therefor they are considered to have less of a creative process to come to their works as other artists.
Clowns could be artists but when all clowns are doing precisely the same thing then people might forget that it could be different and that 'clowning' could be an art.
Same goes for sound artists; just because general music doesn't take an artist to create it, it doesn't mean you can make music thought the process of art making.

I am a sound artist and I create music with sounds.

AINSI

2009-08-24T22:51:00.002+02:00

I played at Zomeravonden Festival @ AINSI in Maastricht on August 12th.
In an old cement factory (formally known as Enci).

I'm mixing the live recording at this time and I'm thinking of releasing it in the near future on cdr.

KvH-TxT

2009-07-24T12:18:00.001+02:00

See:

http://kvh-txt.blogspot.com/

for some of my texts about various soundart related topics.

Live at FMI June 17th 2009

2009-06-17T14:22:00.000+02:00

LINK

Sexton Creeps 25th of June no.2

2009-06-05T15:11:00.003+02:00

Plans are changed slightly.
I will play as the opening act for the Sexton Creeps on the 25th in Vera.
The same goes for Super88.

I might play along with some SC tracks though, but nothing is sure right now.

Sounds from my new instrument

2009-06-03T18:53:00.002+02:00

Two examples:

violin

melodica

KvH-Instruments blog

2009-05-30T12:56:00.002+02:00

http://kvh-instruments.blogspot.com

Playing with the Creeps

2009-05-05T14:12:00.002+02:00

June 25th I will be playing a show with the Sexton Creeps at Vera.

They will present their first full album.
I you saw them before, know one of their two ep's or if you're just curious...

GO TO FUCKING VERA!!!!

It'll be great!

Kasper van Hoek @ Mohr Alive Than Dead Society

2009-04-04T17:25:00.003+02:00

Kasper van Hoek @ Mohr Alive Than Dead Society
November 21st 2008
(additional pots & pans by Michael Dotolo)

Some pix from NP3 expo

2009-04-04T16:50:00.002+02:00

Someone directed me to this page a while back. There where some nice pictures from my expo at the NP3 gallery posted.

ALYOS Reviewed @ Heathen Harvest

2009-03-15T13:17:00.001+01:00

Another nice one! (happy, happy,)

- - - -

A Light Year of Sundays is essentially a compilation of songs produced between 2006-2008 which is imilar to his previous album Minerva LP which displayed choice pieces from 2004-2006. A Best of if you will, the album displays eight tracks of Kasper Van Hoek's experimental brand of Ambient music. The album is made up of field recordings and electro elements, including several drone-like sections and is fairly consistent throughout the entirety of the opus. A technique which proves very effective when creating ambient music of this formation. With each song averaging the five minute mark, the presentation here has lots of dimensions to offer.

An interesting aspect of this offering is that it seems the tracks have no titles. They are not written on the album layout, nor on the band or labels official web pages. This is perhaps something Kasper decided to do to allow the listener to depict their own image of each soundscape that is offered. A Light Year of Sundays is the thirteenth release by Kasper's label, HeilsKabaal Records and the first non CD-R release of his own albums.

The first and fifth tracks on this offering were originally released by Dirty Demos and are both based from field recordings. The violin passage toward the end of the fifth track is very captivating, creating a very dramatic change in the various sounds found throughout the entirety of the album. The opening sequence starts with a single midi note, ringing out for some time before it halts to a stop omitting silence, only to begin again with what sounds like someone walking along a path of tall crisp grass. As it snaps and breaks under foot, the listener is taken through several dark crescendos including what seems to perhaps be a brief journey through a cave. Travelling along a stream deep within its hospitalities the build up brightens with darkness till its finale. Both of these tracks are easily my favorites on the album. The first being very natural sounding, while the fifth is very modern sounding using more electronic elements.

The last two tracks of A Light Year of Sundays are tracks involving other musicians. The seventh is a remake of a Rutger Nieuwman piece in which I am not familiar with the name. The eighth and closing track to the album was created together with an experimental rock band from Groningen, Netherlands called The Sexton Creeps. Kasper used a broken Farfisa organ to achieve its core sound, giving it a very strange and unique element especially towards the ending of the album

A never ending climax which looms overhead leading you to very dark and vivid locations within your mind, this album is very effective in achieving the heightening of visages in ones mind. I would not recommend someone whose perception is altered from the effects of LSD to listen to this album, as I am sure it would cause them to either lose their sense of reality or want to end their life. Especially if they had headphones on. Each sound is perfectly mixed amongst the other occurring elements to achieve a well blended product of unity and ambient structure.

Mark Howitt

Review ALYOS in Gonzo (circus)

2009-03-09T09:13:00.001+01:00

De Nederlandse geluidsonderzoeker maakt er een gewoonte van om elke drie jaar achterom te kijken en enkele losse stukken te groeperen.
Acht tracks uit 2006, 2007 en 2008 onthullen zijn voorliefde voor field recordings die gemanipuleerd worden tot drones en zachte noise met concrete stoorzendertjes.
Ook het toeval (een computercrash) blijft een rol spelen. Defecte dingen voeden blijkbaar de creativiteit van Van Hoek: zelfs zijn orgel blijkt stuk te zijn. Geen probleem, want het onding steelt de show in een bijzonder knappe samenwerking met The Sexton Creeps.
Deze cd is samen met de uitstekende lp ‘Minerva’ (2006) het ideale visitekaartje van Van Hoek. 'A Light Year Of Sundays' komt in een handgemaakte hoes, en die zal in Groningen voor uren werkplezier zorgen want er worden duizend exemplaren klaargestoomd.
(pv)

(Furthermore new subscibers to the magazine can choose my cd as a welcoming gift)

Cinema Solubile

2009-02-13T17:05:00.001+01:00

Kasper, Federico, Fausto and Bas @ RKZ Bios:

LINK

Thank to hideki for recording!

2009-02-06T14:43:00.003+01:00

Recording made by Hikedi, Michael and me on Feb. 1st.

LINK

Video's

2009-01-29T12:53:00.002+01:00

Outtake from a performance for my semesterpresentation at FMI.

Second performance, later that day.

ALYOS review at Earlabs

2009-01-26T13:26:00.001+01:00

Kasper van Hoek - A Light Year Of Sundays (cd)

After the album Minerva we now have a second anthology by Dutch musician Kasper van Hoek called A light year of Sundays which contains music form the period of 2006 to 2008. On this release there is a step away from noise music and a step in the direction of drone and field recording based music.

Kasper van Hoek (main man behind Heilskabaal Records) is one of the growing stars in the Dutch electronic music scene. In the past I have heard a few of his EP's which dealt with improvised noise, though for his new album A Light Year Of Sundays he departs from this and turns it all into a more ambient sound.

A Light Year Of Sundays can be considered as a best of release covering the years 2006 - 2008, following his previous full-length release Minerva which contained material from 2004 - 2006.
On this new release Kasper van Hoek takes it all some easier. We find 8 untitled pieces build up from drones, field and instrumental recordings.

In 8 tracks we are taken through drones with heavy processed field recordings. The atmosphere you are drawn into is a familiar one, one of life in the city. With these tracks it sounds to me as if you are in a huge shopping mall and all these people are passing you by like ants in an anthill. You notice them, but they don't really notice you.
Walk from one shop to the other looking for the small things you need.
There is something alienating about this music, while at the same time it has so much recognizable elements.
Like in the fifth piece, you here these bells ringing and in the back voices appear. Haunted by dark soundscapes this gives the creeps. Fill this up with some melancholic strings (cello maybe) and you get a great piece that could fit in with a horror film dealing with human psychology
Greatly done.
The last two pieces show a slightly different side from Kasper van Hoek, where he reworks the music of other musicians making it his own. In the 7th piece he works with a musician named Rutger Nieuwman. Piano sounds are slowly shifting past each other, pushing each other a side.
In the last piece the band Sexton Creeps is added to the line-up. This piece is based upon an organ piece with other unrecognisable sounds. Only by the end of the track the band can be recognized by some drums playing, but that's about it.
These two tracks are nice, but not the strongest of the album and it breaks with the atmosphere that was build up at first.

A light your of Sundays is for me a step in a more interesting direction by Kasper van Hoek which he can dive much deeper in than his older direction in noise.
A nice release which really deserves some more attention.

8.5 out of 10

Sietse van Erve
Earlabs

Vera Poll

2009-01-24T13:28:00.002+01:00

I ended up at the 12th position (out of 74) in the Vera Poll for downstage concerts. (Each year the public is asked to rate the concerts they saw.)

I'm quite happy with my position.
Normally there are punk-, rock-, indie-, metal-, hardcore-, etceterabands playing (and some singer/songwriter etc.).
So for my type of music it is a nice position!

Other experimental acts downstage in 2008:
4DALADIEZ (37/74)
Franz Fjodor (40/74)
Neurobit (49/74)

And in the main hall Elektriciteit Is Onze Hobby ended up at position 117 out of 210.

EUROMONNIK

2009-01-20T09:45:00.007+01:00

A tv-item (by Izaak de Haan for OogTV) on Euromonnik, one of the side festivals of this years Eurosonic/Noorderslag weekend.
Featuring Elektriciteit Is Onze Hobby and Sexton Creeps feat. Kasper van Hoek.

VIDEO

New Releases

2009-01-19T13:32:00.003+01:00

Out now on HeilsKabaal Records:

Kasper van Hoek & the Sexton Creeps feat. Stephane Leonard (cdr).

And...

I appear on the "Black Mist EP" from the Sexton Creeps.
Based upon a recording of the Sexton Creeps I made a noise piece that was added to the track during the mixing of the ep.

Future releases:

7" lathe cut on HeilsKabaal Records.
Split/collaborative cdr with Fever Spoor (Marcel Herms from Anima Mal Nata).
and probably two cdr's on two different labels.

Out with the old!

2009-01-04T17:14:00.002+01:00

Just got a message today that my "Den Haag/Groningen/Froombosch" cdr on DirtyDemos is sold out.
Besides that I'm out of copies as well for the "The Past And What Became Of It" release on my own HeilsKabaal Records.

AND

I'll be playing on art's 1.000.046th birthday. Together with the Sexton Creeps at the Owsum gallery in Groningen.

3rd review ALYOS

2008-12-25T14:29:00.004+01:00

From "Cookshop"

I kinda like the light aspect of van Hoek’s mostly hand-drawn CD-R designs; he keeps the same template for this ‘pro’ CD as well, and you know you can’t ever front on a good carrot. But scrape off the surface and keep going… Realizing that within the ‘usual’ frame of inoffensive micro-dwellings, there are different kinds of thickening cartilages… of whatever swims downstream the carrot soup. Jellyfish?… Maybe some of crunchy-tender, not so quivering variety. Sounds sometimes similar to airplane takeoffs, ringing bells, and barefoot walks in murky pools… Never hostile, never timid, but suspenseful and precise, and even delicate, to an appreciable extent. Someone who sticks admirably to his (com)position - clearly striving for plasticity/expressiveness; A Light Year of Sundays is frequently musical, using very unambiguous melodic fragments, yet always suggests an unforced touch of the beyond. The image of the surrealistic drawing stays - you’ve guessed - until the end…

And in the end? The album is abstractionism today, and Kasper - the disguised musician - the abstractionist. Greatly appreciated over-average soundwork after several listens.

doru649

I like to be in a band!

2008-12-23T14:18:00.002+01:00

Maybe I'll start searching for people who want to join me.
I still don't know if I have the time to play in a band, but look at the following examples and give me one good reason why I shouldn't want to be in one.

Caroliner Rainbow:

Temple of Bon Matin:

Julie Mittens:

ALYOS review VeraKrant 23

2008-12-18T12:50:00.002+01:00

Kasper van Hoek - A Light Year Of Sundays (Heilskabaal)

Op zijn eigen label Heilskabaal brengt geluidskunstenaar en stadjer Kasper van Hoek A Light Year Of Sundays uit. Kasper maakt muziek met fieldrecordings, elektronica en subtiele noise. Denk hierbij aan de stijl van Machinefabriek. Luistermuziek die heerlijk piept en knarst. Kasper speelde ik oktober in de kelderbar van Vera. Samen met Stephane Leonard was dat. Ik was daar helaas niet bij, maar op de foto's op de site is te zien dat Kasper live met een uitgebreid instrumentarium en een batterij aan effectapparatuur speelt. Niet aledaagse zaken als een geluid dat ontstond na een computer crash en een orgal dat stuk is werden ingezet om het geluid dat A LightYear Of Sundays is te laten klinken zoals het klinkt: fascinerend. De stukken klinken allemaal redelijk sinister en zijn niet opgenomen om de party people op je feestje te laten dansen. Typisch zo'n plaat om in stilte van te genieten. Ontzettend leuk dat er in rockcity Groningen mensen zijn die in dit genre opereren. Thumbs up!

Yvar, VK 23 2008

Test recording for coming Friday

2008-12-17T10:51:00.002+01:00

CHECK THIS LINK FOR A LITTLE TEST RECORDING.

It's a 10 sec. loop.
It's going to be a much friendlier show next Friday.
But I must say I like the harsh industrial feel of this recording.

K

Live @ Vera Downstage oct. 25th 2008 (with the Sexton Creeps)

2008-12-14T12:43:00.001+01:00

Kasper van Hoek & Sexton Creeps from Kasper on Vimeo.

About naked women in Spoleto art-performances

2008-12-14T10:20:00.003+01:00

The naked body is a beautyful thing,
And hiding it is more of a crime
Then showing it is art.

Kasper

PREPARATION NP3

2008-12-13T16:52:00.004+01:00

I still have about a week to finish a musical instrument for a live performance in the NP3 gallary in Groningen.
Here are some pics of the building process:

Live review Nov 13th 2008 (h)ear @ KuS

2008-12-08T10:40:00.001+01:00

Das Synthetische Mischgewebe / Kasper van Hoek / dj Kimikal
13 November 2008

Donderdag 13 november was het weer de beurt aan (h)ear om het publiek kennis te laten maken met een weloverwogen keuze tussen 'oude' en 'nieuwe' electronica. Met een vijftigtal aanwezigen mag gesproken worden van een kleine groei aan bezoekers en was kuS op 13 november j.l. dus aangenaam gevuld. Dit mede door de lopende tentoonstelling van Jean Michel Crapanzano en de door de muzikanten in beslag genomen ruimte. Zo had eerste live act Kasper van Hoek een groot deel van de vloer gereserveerd voor het inrichten van zijn muzikale werkruimte. Hij liet ons ruim een half uur kennis maken met zijn soundscapes gebaseerd op het samen laten vloeien van live gegenereerde geluiden van met name viool en radio(golven), gecombineerd met een aantal effect apparaten en de welbefaamde chaos pad. Van hoek mag gerekend worden tot de lichting 'nieuwe' electronica artiesten. Deels schatplichtig aan de verderop omschreven headliner, maar dat niet alleen. Artiesten als Kasper van Hoek zijn wel degelijk bezig met het uitdiepen van hun eigen geluid. Geen makkelijke taak in een (electronica)wereld met een overdaad aan initiatieven. Hoe te onderscheiden is dan de vraag. Welnu, trouw zijn aan je eigen emoties en vooral durf tonen als het gaat om gevoel te stoppen in hetgeen je muzikaal gaat vertolken. Ik ben van mening dat van Hoek deze avond een aantal zieltjes erbij heeft gewonnen.

...

Mike Kramer

Spoleto

2008-12-07T17:28:00.002+01:00

Since the 29th of November we've been in Spoleto (Italy) to participate in some workshops. (mainly theather and Max/MSP based).

I made a composition of field/environmental recordings.
It will be presented on Monday the 8th.

CHECK IT OUT!

Ciao,

Kasper

Hail to the Hail Canon (from wikipedia)

2008-11-21T13:24:00.000+01:00

A Hail cannon is a shock wave generator intended to disrupt the formation of hailstones in the atmosphere in their growing phase. An explosive charge of acetylene gas and air is fired in the lower chamber of the machine. As the resulting energy passes through the neck and into the cone it develops into a force that becomes a shockwave. This shockwave then travels at the speed of sound through the cloud formations above, a disturbance which manufacturers claim disrupts the growth phase of the hailstones.
Conflicts between farmers and surrounding residents have been reported in newspapers in Colorado and Vermont, due to the cannons' booming sound.
The device is repeatedly fired every 4 seconds over the period when the storm is approaching and until it has passed through the area. It is claimed that what would otherwise have fallen as hail stones then falls as slush or rain. It is said to be critical that the machine is running during the approach of the storm in order to affect the developing hail stone. These machines can not alter the form of an already developed solidified hailstone.
While the history of hail cannons date back into the 18th century, the modern hail cannon has been developed extensively over the last 30 years with most development in the last 10 years.
The protected area for an individual machine is said to be approximately a 500 meter radius with a lower level of effectiveness as distance from the device increases.
Radar controlled systems are available to replace human operation of the unit which is particularly important in areas subject to hail storms at night.

from wikipedia:

2008-11-16T11:00:00.001+01:00

...A similar idea is being researched by DARPA in the United States in a project called Energy Harvesting, which includes an attempt to power battlefield equipment by piezoelectric generators embedded in soldiers' boots. However, these energy harvesting sources by association have an impact on the body. DARPA's effort to harness 1-2 watts from continuous shoe impact while walking were abandoned due to the impracticality and the discomfort from the additional energy expended by a person wearing the shoes. Other energy harvesting ideas include harvesting the energy from human movements in train stations or other public places...

1st review of my new cd:

2008-11-12T21:43:00.000+01:00

Recently I saw a performance by Kasper van Hoek in collaboration with some video guy, whose name right now eludes me. Van Hoek 'played' an old stencil machine and some direct processing. Nice, but a bit sketchy if he'd asked me, which he didn't. Not enough 'composition' and too much 'improvisation'.
Whereas from his releases so far we know he can do a real good thing. His 'Minerva' LP and 'Den Haag/Groningen/Froombosch' CDR were highlights so far. 'Minerva' can be regarded as a best of LP from the period he spend in art-school (2004-2006) and this new release, his first real full length CD 'A Light Year Of Sundays' is a best of from the period 2006-2008, and it may not be a surprise that it includes two pieces from the aforementioned CDR. I like that. Release CDRs as a more raw edged work and then a real CD with the best material. A bit like Machinefabriek did.
Ok, so the music, what is it? The eight pieces here are a far cry from his LP, which was based on crude electronics, worn out tape-loops and other broken machinery. The computer has taken over the role of the analogue equipment and this results in music that is much 'softer' and more delicately constructed than his early work. Perhaps micro-sound is an appropriate term for his music.
Van Hoek uses drones as the ground pattern of his compositions to which he adds highly processed field recordings, or sounds in action. The latter is a bit hard to trace back into this music. This all culminates in a rather beautiful final piece, which is a radical deconstruction of the rock band Sexton Creeps. Here too the drone persists, but various 'band' elements are cleverly mixed in.
Van Hoek knows how to create a composition that is not the culmination of loose sound events, but builds a strong, intense collage of sound, which is very nice to hear. Points of reference are Machinefabriek (but without the extensive use of guitar sounds) and even more to Roel Meelkop. This is a great CD, very well be a best of, from what I can judge. The only thing to complain about is the total absence of track titles and information about the pieces. Great print-work though!

Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly no.651

Just like Michael Knight and Michael Jackson

2008-10-03T10:52:00.003+02:00

I like KITs.

I'll be building these two in the near future:

The AVR Synth by Elby Systems from Australia
and
the PAiA Fatman.

The AVR Synth is a digital synth with a programmable Atmel microprocessor.
The PAiA Fatman is an analogue synth.

The AVR (I still have to think about my own case, I'll try to make something classy).

The Fatman (I'll use the case in the picture)

Sexton Creeps

2008-09-30T08:56:00.002+02:00

Currently I'm working on a track for the next Sexton Creeps album.
I've got handed a track and was asked to add something of my own to it.
Already I've put quite some time into the project and I think I'll be done this week.

Below is a video of Justine. A track from their previous "Cas" demo-ep.

weekly composition week 38

2008-09-22T11:11:00.001+02:00

Here it is!

LINK

weekly composition week 37

2008-09-22T10:41:00.001+02:00

Here it is!

LINK

weekly composition week 36

2008-09-22T10:37:00.004+02:00

I'll try to make a least one composition a week while staying at the Frank Mohr.

This is the first one!

LINK

Live Cinema

2008-09-19T13:22:00.004+02:00

The uncut version of a live cinema performance by video-artist Klaas Koetje and sound-artist Kasper van Hoek on request of Extrapool, Nijmegen, Netherlands. The performance took place the 6th of September 2008 and is a live-mix of analogue video, reverbing mics creating sound and image by Klaas Koetje and the glitch-devices of Kasper van Hoek. It was a first experimental show by the two of us and we consider doing this more and better.

For further information:
www.klaaskoetje.nl
www.kaspervanhoek.net
www.extrapool.nl

MFA IME KVH

2008-09-17T14:24:00.004+02:00

MFA (Master of Fine Arts)
IME (Interactive Media & Environments)
KVH (Kasper van Hoek = Me)

This blog will feature ideas/examples about/of my projects at the Frank Mohr Institute (specialization: Interactive Media & Environments).
My goal is to create a series of music-machines.
So a lot of circuitry, soldering and hardware-programming should be involved i guess.