2
0 0 9
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[22 APRIL]
2009
REVIEW OF 3 ALBUMS
ON TOKAFI
-Een Onvermoede Bocht
(Signum, 2009)
-Kurt's Zimmer Publikation
(Signum, 2008)
-High Intolerance Towards
Low Energies (Tonefloat, 2008)
A private escapist: Van
der Vleuten is living artistic "realness"
When, in 2007, an online magazine interviewed Ignace
Schretlen about his upcoming collaboration with Maarten
van der Vleuten, the Dutch Poet had nothing but praise
to bestow on his compatriot. What impressed him most,
Schretlen said, was van der Vleuten's uncompromising
tendency to invest a lot of time and passion in projects
without thinking twice about their commercial viability.
It goes without saying that this kind of approach almost
by default implies a creative existence outside of the
mainstream canon and far away from medial hypes. While
other acts are busy honing and displaying their supposed
„realness“, after all, van der Vleuten is
actually „living it“. In almost a quarter
century of producing and churning out records, he has
found a way of staying true to his ideals while silently
participating in almost all major developments that
have shaped and transformed the landscape of electronic
music in the 1980s and 90s. And if a particular idea
caught his imagination, he would allow nothing to stand
in his way.
„Een onvermoede bocht“ („An unexpected
bend“), the aforementioned handshake with Schretlen
which has now finally been released on Signum Recordings
after several delays, is a good example for this philosophy,
marking the physical manifestation of van der Vleuten's
long-standing desire of combining the worlds of poetry
and music. Even as Schretlen was still penning his pieces,
van der Vleuten was taping intuitive improvisations
to the sounds the words would stir up in his head. With
the author's background in a former career as a surgeon,
topics range from the bewilderment of anaesthesia, unexpected
calls in the middle of the night, childhood memories
of his father, the bitter loss of loved ones and, as
in the title poem, the proximity of dream („a flood“)
and death („the ocean“). Van der Vleuten counters
this diversity and intimacy with an equally eclectic
and private sonic galaxy, navigating between tender
analogue Synthesizer fantasies („Vader“),
microtonally crackling dronescapes („Zijn Verhaal“)
and cosmic sequencer pulsations („almost 10-minute
„Het Wiel van Armando“).
Even though each track is essentially a spontaneous
impression, every note is carefully placed here. As
van der Vleuten recently revealed in an interview for
Dutch broadcaster VPRO's „Cafe Sonore“, he
was taught to compose quickly while working on a project
in the late 1980s which saw him musically comment on
up-to-date news reports on the radio. A story would
break on Monday and leave him with a day and a half
to score, record, edit and master an entire piece before
handing it to the courier just on time before the Wednesday
transmission. You can sense this duality of immediacy
and precision on „Een onvermoede bocht“, which
feeds from a close connection between the lyrics, which
Schretlen himself delivers with a brittle tone and exact
metrum, and the accompanying music.
Just as Schretlen adds preciously little ornamentation
and avoids superflous dramaturgy in his rendition (strangers
to the Dutch language will find his aspirated Tilburg-accent
to be comforting and melodic), the arrangements almost
exclusivey begin with an integral reading of a particular
poem, during which sound seeps in and then quickly takes
over. What, to some, may seem repetitive is the logical
consequence of a thorough understanding of the fundamental
mechanisms of poetry: It is most often not the actual
words that matter but the silence that follows them.
Van der Vleuten's music extends into this space by offering
an acoustic interpretation of this intense and hyper-aware
quietude. The result is an even deeper sensation and
a more detailed grasp of a poem's implications: Just
like drinking Vodka with raspberry syrup and Tobasco
(a Polish speciality) leaves a taste of sweetness on
your tongue, a spicy sensation in your throat and a
delightful warmth in your belly, the audio-literary
cocktail of „Een onvermoede bocht“ delights
the ear, the heart and the mind alike.
The remarkable attention and care which has gone onto
the packaging („Een onvermoede bocht“ comes
as a combination of a book and a CD in a specially designed
cardboard box including a printed medical spoon) goes
some way in explaining how important the „Gesamtkunstwerk“-aspect
of his trade is to van der Vleuten. Which is why it
should come as no surprise that he was only to happy
to participate in an installation project initiated
by visual artist Karin van Pinxteren. For „Kurt's
Zimmer“, Pinxteren sought for inspiration in the
work of German author Kurt Tucholsky, who was admired
for his intellectual sharpness, wit and political humour
and whom she particularly revered for his insightful
analysis of human interaction.
Through a combination of undiluted nostalgia (the installation
consists of a hybrid between a stylised merry-go-round
and a plain black room with a wooden floor) and a brutally
honest perspective on history (Tucholsky's work was
quickly banned by the Nazis after grabbing power and
„Kurt's Zimmer“ was consequentially displayed
at the conjunction of Dutch concentration camp Vught
and a high-security prison), Pinxteren asks questions
through psychological visual queues and the irresistible
force of memory. Van der Vleuten, meanwhile, supported
her aims by composing a Waltz, both disarmingly naive
and intriguingly dark, which would play for 2:40 minutes
every ten minutes, before lapsing into a break of quietude.
Again, the interaction between music and silence is
essential, as is the idea of sound as occupying a similar
space as poetry and images: „To me all music, if
it really wants to be of meaning, should contradict
the time it was written in“, German composer Johanes
Schöllhorn said, „because we are, after all,
imaginative beings capable of empathising with other
times, states of being and utopias.“ This, too,
appears to be van der Vleuten's perspective, whose music
is escapist in a private way: It leads us straight into
our inner self.
All the same, it has taken quit a bit of time for him
to discover his true musical identity. In striking contrast
to these art-oriented projects, there is also a second
side to his personality with a strong love for the dancefloor.
Since 1986, this side has made itself heard through
several club hits and ambient projects under pseudonyms
like Major Malfunction, Zimt and In Existence, some
of which have by now attained the status of underground
classics. There was certainly no contradiction at work
here, though, as van der Vleuten released cuts selectively
and on a variety of self-created imprints in order to
avoid having to water down his vision. And yet, it would
take until late last year and the release of „“
that he would officially attach his civilian name to
a project.
It is not hard to see why he chose this record as his
„coming-out“. With its myriads of layers and
highly detailed production, „Intolerance“
sounds like the kind of work which was thought over
and refined to perfection for years. On four tracks
(two for each side of the Vinyl), van der Vleuten creates
a dense web of tense musical lines held together by
reoccuring themes and subtle transformations. Inspired
by the contrast between the intense peace and sinister
side of religion conveyed by former monastery „Regina
Coeli“ and an outside world dominated by an endless
influx of increasingly obtrusive input and information,
mutated chants and threatening backwards sounds clash
with microscopic crackles, percussion and sonorous synthetic
choirs on top of a rhythmically undulating ground bass
pad.
Breaks between pieces are fluent and hardly ever particularly
incisive – one probably has to think of these tracks
as constituting an interrelated suite. Rather delineating
a mysteriously expanding and inflating state than a
collection of individual tracks, the album appears to
stand still in a moment of complete concentration, as
though a thousand thoughts were flooding the brain within
fractions of a second. Which is probably also why a
lot of ideas and motives are closely and yet discreetly
connected here: The generous use of delay, for example,
seems to mirror the ornamental medieval vocal techniques
of his samples.
Even though „High Intolerance towards Low Energies“
is a confounding and intensely physical experience for
most of its duration, it comes to rest in closing finale
„Limbus Infantium“, which soothes the gaping
wounds with lyrical melodicism. It has made all the
difference in the world in terms of public reception:
While „Een onvermoede Bocht“ en „Kurts
Zimmer“ have largely failed to attract the imagination
of the media, „Intolerance“, with its hints
at Dark Ambient, Noise, Electronica and Cinematic Soundscapes,
has received a warm welcome in the most diverse publications.
Maarten van der Vleuten will not have wasted too much
time on their respective sales figures, however. Commercial
viability, after all, is the last thing on his mind
when composing.
By
Tobias Fischer - TOKAFI online
|
—
[28 MARCH]
2009
INTERVIEW ON VPRO RADIO
SHOW "CAFÉ SONORE"
Saturday, march
28, Maarten appeared on the dutch VPRO radio show CAFÉ
SONORE with a live interview.
The show starts at 21:00
hrs and the interview starts at 00:13 hrs.
interview
here // mp3 110 mb
Café
Sonore
Radio
6
|
—
[06 MARCH]
2009
MAARTEN'S 1992 REMIX FEATURING
AS TIESTO’S CLASSIC TUNE OF THE WEEK
Maarten's remix (from
1992) of Hole In One - X-Paradise (DJ G-Spot Remix) featured
as TIESTO’S CLASSIC TUNE OF THE WEEK on his radio show
TIESTO'S CLUB LIFE
see
the playlist of Tiesto's Club Life 101
|
—
[FEBRUARY]
2009
SOUNDTRACK FOR SHORT MOVIE
Maarten just finished writing
and recording the music score for the short movie "CLASSIFIED"
by Karin van Pinxteren.
|
—
CURRENT RUNNING PROJECT
[19 FEBRUARY- 27 MARCH]
2009
'Tangible Traces- Dutch Architecture
and Design'
EXHIBITION CURRENTLY LOCATED IN ERASMUS
HUIS, JAKARTA, INDONESIA
featuring the soundtrack De Vierde
Verkenning written and recorded by Maarten as "In-Existence"
|
—
OUT NOW
[28 JANUARY]
2009
limited edition - orders are taken here
|
—
—
[23 JANUARY]
2009
Album review in FRET
Bij tonefloat weten ze hoe ze de vinylkoper moeten verwennen:
een prachtige klaphoes, geweldig artwork, 180 grams vinyl:
zo hoort een plaat te zijn. maar het gaat natuurlijk om wat
er op dat vinyl staat en ook in dacht opzicht wordt de luisteraar
op zijn wenken bediend. tenminste, als die van duistere ambient
houdt. want maarten van der vleuten levert zijn donkerste
en intenste werk ooit af. de plaat is opgedragen aan het niet
meer bestaande regina coeli klooster in vught en symboliseert
de overkill aan geluid waarmee we dagelijks om de oren worden
geslagen. een geslaagde tegenstelling. in de vier collages
met een lengte van zo'n tien minuten gemiddeld komen soundscapes,
percussie, gezangen, gebeden, stemmen en noise allemaal gefragmenteerd
langs. zonder dat het een chaos wordt, want van der vleuten
is een meesterverteller met geluid. perfecte muziek voor de
donkere dagen na kerst.
source: fret / muziek centrum nederland
|
—
[08 JANUARY]
2009
ALBUM REVIEW IN "GONZO CIRCUS"
review in Belgium based magazine
of High Intolerance Towards Low Energies (Tonefloat TF41)
"Hoe valt te verklaren dat een muzikant die, verspreid
over ruim twee decennia en onder meer dan 26 verschillende
pseudoniemen, massa's releases op zijn conto heeft staan,
toch nauwelijk (nog) een belletje doet rinkelen ? We hebben
het hier over een Nederlander nota bene, niet één
of andere obscure producer uit een godvergeten hut op de evenaar.
Misschien doet het ambientalbum 'Moonwater' dat hij in 1993
onder de vlag In-Existence uitbracht op het R&S sublabel
Apollo her en der nog wat stof opwaaien; alterego's als 48V.
Phantom power, Flux, Major Malfunction, E144 of Cryptic zijn
echter grotendeels in de vergeethoek beland, de liefhebber
van dance uiteraard buiten beeld gehouden. Dansmuziek en meer
bepaald (ambient) house, trance, progressive, acid, elektro,
techno,... dat is de natuurlijk biosfeer van Maarten van der
Vleuten. In dat milieu heeft hij een solide reputatie opgebouwd.
Op 'High Intolerance Towards Low Energies' is van al dat
echter geen sprake. Dreigende soundscapes en drones (die gelukkig
niet verglijden tot stereotiepe dark ambient), gestut door
subtiele percussie, diepe bassequenties en rake, sfeerversterkende
samples, maken hier de dienst uit. Dat is niet nieuw. En ook
geen flauw reanimeren van In-Existence. Onder die naam is
Van der Vleuten namelijk altijd muziek blijven maken. In 2005
verscheen zelfs al een eerste release op tonefloat, meer bepaald
'Vow of Silence' op de onderafdeling C Records. 'High Intolerance
Towards Low Energies' onderstreept opnieuw de kwaliteiten
van een man die in een rechtvaardige wereld al lang geen (her)introductie
meer hoefde. Deze fraai verpakte elpee komt in een editie
van 500 op 180 gram geperste exemplaren. Op is op!" Gonzo
Circus
(thanks to Dirk)
|
—
[03 JANUARY]
2009
Album review by Bob
Rusche aka Tip
van Bob (X-RATED)
You might know Dutchman Maarten van der Vleuten from his
earlier work using a lot of different aliases like Integrity
or Major Malfunction. For his more ambient work he was In-Existence,
producing good albums like Moonwater or Vow Of Silence. Nowadays
he is just Maarten van der Vleuten, and surprised everyone
with his latest album "High Intolerance Towards Low Energies".
This is one mighty album with some very dark elements, mixed
with voices from far far away. You get four long tracks, each
with dark synths and drones, and these voices make up every
track to be the perfect soundtrack when you are exploring
graveyards or old monasterys. Track two is called Regina Coeli,
inspired by the old monastery with the same name. When you
read this you may think of a Cold Meat Industry release, but
this record goes beyond most albums on this label. This comes
straight from the galaxy with sparkling synth lines, but always
gloomy.
This is a very exciting album only available on vinyl, pressed
in a limited edition of 500 copies in a luxurious gatefold
sleeve. So hurry up and get this album!
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2008
—
[28 DECEMBER]
2008
"Visionary
Milieux"
Maarten will appear with
two tracks on the upcoming 2 x cd compilation-album "Visionary
Milieux" on the UK based label ISIGTUTEOT Records.
This release is an Ambient compilation with tracks from Joan
Malé (aka Monoceros), Maarten van der Vleuten, Tom
Roberts and more. This will be released as 2xCD-R with glossy
covers, printed and lacquered discs in durable cases. There
will be a bonus download pack available to everyone who buys
one.
Maarten will appear on the album with 2 tracks; "Solar
Observation AR 981" and "Lower Imbrian". Also
2 tracks can be found in the bonus download pack; “A
Thousand Shooting Stars" and “HAARP 6792.5kHz”.
press
info sheet
|
—
[22 DECEMBER] 2008
ALBUM REVIEW IN "CREATIVE-ECLIPSE"
Maarten Van Der Vleuten "High Intolerance Towards Low
Energies" LP (Tonefloat Records)
Maarten Van Der Vleuten ist ein niederländischer Musiker
und Produzent, der bisher unter 26 verschiedenen Künstlernamen
Detroit Techno, Electro, House und eher Experimentelles und
Ambient aufgenommen hat.
Van Der Vleuten, 1967 geboren, veröffentlicht mit der
"High Intolerance Towards Low Energies" LP sein
erstes Album unter seinem Geburtsnamen, den er fortan für
seinen musikalischen Output verwenden will. "High Intolerance
Towards Low Energies" ist eine von Tonefloat sehr ansprechend
gestaltete LP, limitiert auf 500 Exemplare, und auf 180g Vinyl
gepresst.
Das luxuriöse Gatefold Cover mit einem eher rostig anmutenden
Artwork trifft gut den submarinen Charakter des Albums: Man
meint von der Wasseroberfläche des Meeres langsam abzutauchen,
Druck baut sich auf, je tiefer man sinkt. Dröhnen in
den Ohren und plötzlich sieht man in der Tiefe ein altes,
mächtiges Schiffswrack auf dem Grund liegen. Der Rost
zeigt, dass es da schon gar Jahrhunderte liegt. Neugierig
und interessiert umkreist man es, aber irgendetwas scheint
nicht zu stimmen. Flüstern und Murmeln, wabernde Stimmen
und rhythmisches, maschinelles Stampfen. Nervöse, pulsierende
Bass- Frequenzen und seltsame, gebrochene Melodiefetzen. Halluzinationen?
Tiefenrausch? Man weiß es nicht. Maarten Van Der Vleuten
gelingt es auf "High Intolerance Towards Low Energies"
ein eigentümlich dichtes Gewirr aus Drohnen und Ambiancen
zu schaffen, das in seiner Gesamtheit zu überzeugen weiß.
Dass Van Der Vleuten mit dieser LP ein anderes Bild im Kopf
hatte als mein submariner Eindruck, ist nicht weiter schlimm.
Er legt den Fokus der Interpretation eher auf eine radikale
Darstellung unserer sich immer schneller beschleunigenden
Umwelt und will diesen Eindruck mit "High Intolerance
Towards Low Energies" eingefangen haben. Diese Intention
passt auch wunderbar zu dem unruhigen, fast bedrohlich wirkenden
Charakter des Albums. Die enthaltenen 4 Stücke offenbaren
eine nervöse Welt in der man entweder immer wieder ob
der Bildhaftigkeit paralysiert und staunend stehen bleibt
oder eben wie im Fieberwahn durch einen Irrgarten voller unruhiger,
fremder Stimmen stolpert.
Rating: 8/10
source; www.creative-eclipse.com
|
—
[09 DECEMBER] 2008
Maarten's new album "High Intolerance Towards Low
Energies" appears on number 7 on the 'Best of
2008' end-of-year list by Bob Rusche (X-Rated,
KinkFM)
TIP VAN BOB
THE BEST OF 2008
01. Irezumi-Endurance
02. Anduin-Forever Waiting
03. Dahlia's Tear-Under Seven Skies
04. Rapoon-Time Frost
05. Rod Modell-Incense & Black Light
06. Nimh-The Unkept Secrets
07. Maarten van der Vleuten-High Intolerance Towards Low Energies
08. Von Magnet-Ni Prédateur Ni Proie
09. Steve Hillage & Evan Marc-Dreamtime Submersible
10. Non Toxique Lost-England Ihren Feinden Schenken
11. Cybo-Rendered Senseless
12. Murcof-The Versailles Sessions
13. Jóhann Jóhannsson-Fordlandia
14. Phelios-Dimension Zero
15. Klangwart-Stadtlandfluss
16. Manifesto-Core
17. Vestigial-Translucent Communion
18. Future Sound Of London-Environments 1
19. The [Law-Rah] Collective-Inspiration
20. Konrad Kucz-Vita Contemplativa;Litania
21. Black Sun Productions-The Milky Smell Of Phantom Sperm
22. SGNL_FLTR-Exhalo
23. Abandoned Place-Shadow Of Memory
24. Morphon-Om Mars Venus
25. Paranoia Inducta-Black Paper
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[05 DECEMBER]
2008
NEW EP Flux DeLuxe
DIGITAL RELEASE ONLY
Maarten van der Vleuten - Flux DeLuxe
|
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[04 DECEMBER] 2008
'Tangible Traces- Dutch Architecture
and Design'
EXHIBITION CURRENTLY LOCATED IN HONG KONG
Music used;
In-Existence - De Verkenningen
Signum Recordings
|
—
[18 NOVEMBER] 2008
REVIEW IN "VITAL WEEKLY"
number 653
-----------
MAARTEN VAN DER VLEUTEN - HIGH TOLERANCE TOWARDS LOW ENERGIES
(LP by Tonefloat Records)
Maybe I heard of Maarten van der Vleuten, but perhaps I didn't
know it was him. Apparently he worked under no less than 26
different pseudonyms, but as you might have guessed, I can't
mention one, but judging from the press text he dabbled in
'dance' music circles, which makes it perhaps more odd to
find his name here on this spacious music label. But if you
listen to the music it perhaps makes more sense. Van der Vleuten's
music these days has little to do with 'dance' music, although
we can find vague traces of it, in the multi-layered electronics.
There is rhythm below, very fast, very low and very subdued.
On top there is a whole bunch of sound struggling to arise
from the mix, along with some drone like sound. There is a
lot happening here, which makes a very captivating listening
experience. There are faint traces of ethno music inside this
otherwise quite psychedelic mass of sound. Its not difficult
to see why Tonefloat, a label of textured music, would release
this.
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—
—
[01 NOVEMBER]
2008
ALBUM ON TONEFLOAT
After a long waiting the album
is finally out now.
For ordering info please check
the ToneFloat
store.
Lp in full colour gatefold sleeve with postcard insert.
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FOR
MORE (OLDER) NEWS ITEMS CLICK HERE
|
