absurd # 8

the commodities scrapbook

an introduction to go
it was the summer of 2002 that did the idea for absurd #8 was born. and sadly
remained shelved for almost a year, or at least the first part of this issue was
shelved due to various problems. on one hand you can call it boredom, on the
other the first graphic ideas around it didnt appeal a lot to me but the friend who
was to set it up found herself in lots of trouble as she changed a lot of jobs within
the last year and i didnt wanna bother her w my business. so somehow, this
issue comes in a kind of a scrapbook, a usual thing for absurd and something !
truly like to be honest as well. nothing but plain te"t #information$.
let me tell you a few details around this issue%
it was late june 02 when due to a bomb e"plosion was discovered and arrested a
part of the terrorist group &'(. since that day and for nearly the entire summer
suddenly #nearly$ all of the media especially radio ) tv were e"clusively dealing
with this topic in a completely phrenetic rhythm, being also summertime was also
a great prey for their voracious souls. it wasnt even possible to watch a film or a
serial as there were all around the *breaking news+ crap ) whatever telling you
the most na,ve, stupid details or scenarios about the group, their lives, families,
victims, whatever in a such a way that soon enough absurd thought that this
event should be considered as the official outbreak of the new dark age in
greece, or the groups most well orchestrated *strike+ but the most important
thing that absurd was noticing was the media and their way of presenting )
approaching the whole topic. as if a an entire system was working to create a
kind of a subconscious apathy via the informations non stop phrenetic repetition
day ) night. of course someone can say that this is not the first time that such a
thing happens, it happens daily, but was the first time as far as !m concerned to
be that e"tensive in greece at least.
being really fond of the way the media were performing this work in progress
thing, ! thought of the *commoditites+ issue. an issue which will be like a kind of a
project thing, based on a timetable during which the issue will be active,
uploading as many information as ! can be it interviews, te"ts, pictures or
whatever and by the time this period e"pires to end it.
in mind actually was ) still is, to ask totally silly, na,ve, ridiculous -uestions totally
inspired by the medias approach of last summer. somehow !ll try to remain as
faithful as ! can to this approach. besides as the media works, every now ) then
new meat lies on the hook, and as usual the more fresh it is the more attractive it
becomes, as the butchers know under which disguise to present it for the flies to
come ) rip it to shreds, especially if is presented in a tabloid like style, that
actually reigns anymore the greek media.
at this point my plan is to keep #8 active till june 200., perhaps this period might
be shortened but !ll decide about that later. in the meantime enjoy the *shelved+
stuff #apologies to my friends whose interviews were delayed$. the scrapbook
thing works as a link to various older *absurd+ faces and also efforts for new
ones, /ve told you is *fresh meat+ this issue needs to eat%
eetapes
rund und dem wat0mann
psychedelic pig
mi"er
paradigm
peter strickland #sonic catering band$
eetapes
history
guess ive always been a passionate music consumer, with a preference for the
better e"peri mental #mostly$ electronic stuff, anything but the ordinary crap.
which leads inevitably to all possible subcultures, underground lets say.
ive been active in the independent scene since around &182 when i accidently
began helping out sales at the kitchen, the first ever indie record store in my
hometown. we started organising concerts too #the klinik, mark stewart and the
mafia, the bollock brothers etc$ and i also got involved in a fan0ine #bla3bla$.
through the shop #which later became kk records$ and the fan0ine i got plenty of
contacts all over the world. it was a time when the cassette scene was still pretty
alive too, so all this lead to the foundation of 44 tapes #e"perimental electronic
tapes$ back in &18' 5 the cassette being the only carrier i could afford to
release%
for at least 6 years during the late eighties 3 early nineties, kris van der weken
and i did also a weekly live program called touchtone on local pirate radio
progres.
after being a one3man label for nearly &0 years, i was joined forces since &11' by
sven vercauteren, an e-ual3minded spirit. that was high time, /cause burn3out
was slowly coming nearer...
it was time then for a new phase too7 the introduction of the 89:.
the name 44 tapes remained however, why change a name;
another historical fact is our yearlong involvement in the annual independent
festival for music and arts at youth centre kompas, sint3niklaas, where we
volunteer to program the musical part in the main venue #human flesh, smell )
-uim, mimetic, bad sector, inade, troum, ah cama3sot0, vidna obmana, hybryds,
vance orchestra etc$. a great e"perience so far and to be continued<
releasing artists
doing a full release is always an intense interaction between the artist#s$ and us
as producers.
its really difficult to say afterwards who contacted who first andor did a proposal
to the other or vice versa, guess it all depends on the occasion or it just happens
by chance or whatever.
the invitations for the samplers however always go out from our side as
compilations are music compositions to us, with carefully selected known and
unknown projects.
compilations
were very fond of compilations because we like diversity in style and sound
above all. compilations are furthermore the ideal way of introducing debutants
among the more established acts. we do like giving new projects a fair chance.
someone should do it, thats our belief.
as our sampler output is reasonably high, we prefer thematic compilations to
make it easier on ourselves and the listener7 the name becomes recognisable
after a while, so people know what to e"pect. why make it complicated and
choose a new name for every sampler thats being produced.
a compilation name just pops up out of nowhere, theres no strategy behind it
whatsoever, when it sounds good, its =>.
more important ! think would be the underlaying theme7 just make it as general
as possible, so that all participants can find themselves in it 5 e.g. the notre3
dame series with the theme /the human being or elegy and its theme /life3death.
influencesfavourite projects
personally i was very impressed by some of the so3called insane groups, like
pseudo3code or human flesh #both lead by alain neffe of insane music$, which
opened a whole new world for me during the eighties. insane music was also an
ama0ing cassette #and few records$ label which was an e"cellent e"ample for our
label3to3be.
the best project of the nineties was #still is$ maeror tri for me.
the style i like most for the last decade or so is /ambient noise on condition that it
contains the necessary emotion and variety. its difficult to e"plain, its just a
feeling.
89:?9, other formats
we will never release cassettes anymore. we always liked the best possible
sound for our releases. unfortunately this was not always possible with a
cassette%
then the minidisc appeared and we truly believed it would break through one day,
so we started offering some releases #with digital master$ also onto ?9. but it
was never a success%
with the 893recorder for private use being released on the market at last #<$, we
found it high time to stop producing tapes, and this without any regret. music
should be listened to in the best possible technical circumstances, thats a fact to
us.
and what about the @8 i hear you say, well, ive never had oneA i work behind the
@8 all day at work, so im not interested in it at all when i come home. im more of
a digital audio freak.
sven has a mac laptop, for designing the sleeves and if we want a huge amount
of 89:s burned, we just ask a friend.
human flesh
the truth is7 we got .0 minutes of e"clusive new human flesh tracks.
as this is our very first official 893release for which we are obliged to charge our
customers the full 893price, we dont think its fair to them to offer only a mere
B@3length of new material, so we asked alain #neffe$ to record us some more
songs for this project. we are not asking for '0380 minutes or so, but would
already be pleased with appro"imately one hour.
anyway, alain agreed and until this day hes still working on it. sooner or later this
project will be materialised, dont worry<
future plans
were definitely making the switch to real audio 89, ne"t to the 89:.
our output is high so it wont be possible to release everything on real 89.
both the /ambient intimacy and /elegy series have come to an end now, after 6
volumes each we feel its time for a change.
a new compilation series #on real audio 89$ has already been planned, but we
dont want to reveal too much about it at this stage, just wait and be surprised%
new 89:s to be released before the end of this year7
/elegy 6 CD 3 the final volume #this morn omina, ras3al3ghul, yggdrasil, ld60,
anonE etc$
m.a.l #be$ incredible cosmic guitar from the seventies<
killy dog bo" #F>$ ama0ing ambient noise
the implicit order #FGD$ mental atmospheric collage music
/migraine va 3 a noise compilation #hypnoskull, kadef, proof of the shooting,
napalmed etc$
apart from that, we/ll see what comes up ne"t%
contacts7
www.eetapes.be
rund und dem wat0mann
guess the most of you know the name of rene heid aka mr. rund und dem
wat0mann whose label has offered us in the past ) recent years some really
memorable releases not only for their stunning soundscapes but also for their
e"traordinary packaging such as the flabbergasting idea fire company
*crusaders+ lp that was coming inside original lp master plates, etc.
but also rene for a long long time runs his mail order2
nd
hand catalogue, frankly
still cannot recall thanks to whom did ! track down his address sometime in early
10s, ! think it must have been gianfranco santoro of nail records though am not
so sure but ever since have found at times a lot of interesting items. below is a
little discussion we had recently around his activities%
so how did you come up with the idea of starting rund und dem watzmann?
to start a label no idea is necessary, just interest in music #or money making$. i
started collecting abstract music #lets take this as term for early industrial, atonal,
early electronic and electro3acoustic music as i collect it$ back in &1'1 and by the
years got deeper and deeper into this noise jungle. to fill some gaps of my
musical and artistic interest, i needed to make some own releases, which started
not as a serious attempt at all but with the years it became a -uite serious part of
my life.
i describe the philosophy of my label the following way7 rund und dem wat0mann
records focuses on e"traordinary vinyl releases and to a lesser e"tend of cd3
releases. the aim of these releases is to fully e"plore the wide range of
possibilities of especially the B@ format and the product packaging. each item
concentrates on a special theme and is as much a musical e"pression as it is an
artistic object. you can see all the releases so far well3documented at
www.wat0mann.nl
actually i guess i should have started by saying, how did you decide to
start you collectors list.
my catalogue is where i get my money from. with my releases i dont make any
profit unless these prices may indicate the opposite, but believe me, to release
e"traordinary releases does cost several times more than just a standard
packaged record. when you collect and look for records, trading is an important
and very useful part to get certain items. therefore you need some good doubles
and buy also records, which are not for your own collection. through the years i
got that much of records and contacts, it became my proffesion to deal with
*abstract music+
one of the impressive details in your releases is the cover artwork, id dare
to say packaging regarding a couple such as the ifco crusaders lp.
from which sources do you draw influence concerning it?
each of my releases starts with a good concept, which i initiate. !m not so much
interested in just releasing a record, im interested in adding something to the
bunch of releases in this world, which is new, different, e"ceptional, and which
make sense on both the musical and artistic side. i dont do special packages just
to make something catchyA packaging and music must intensify each other. i
work in narrow discussion with both the musician#s$ and the art designer. and for
most releases a long way has to be gone to get the ideas realised in the way we
want it to. there are also ideasrelease plans, which couldnt be realised well, so
they never got out. they are still in my head and maybe some time there will be a
new invent to restart these unfinished projects.
didnt you ever had the fear of lets say doing an eccentric allow me to
say so! cover artwork for a release whose sound or its rest concept might
be of less interest than the cover itself?
no< if the music doesnt fulfil my -uality e"pectation, it has to be improved or
redone. but e"perience shows, that working on such a project is a very good
stimulation for musicians and they do their upperbest to come with e"traordinary
music that fits the concept. often the music or musician is also the starting point
for a release. for e"ample the release by erwin stache is inspired by his musical
black cigar bo"es, which are making all sorts of sounds while opened. this act
inspired me to translate it into a release, so the packaging of the the 89 is mainly
black and while opening the digi3pack, strange sounds came off the packaging.
the reaction is similar to the one at staches performances7 child3like interest in
what is happening and pleasure in playing with it. another e"ample is the B@ of
feli" knoth, better known as feli" kubin. he is both film3maker and musician and
as such he made a short film of neurotic behaviour of himself. i wanted to
translate this film and its music into a release, playable on a record player. so the
whole idea of a 0oetrope, etc came up in me and now you can play and see 8
short neurotic films simultaneously on your record player.
what sort of problems do you usually come across regarding both the
labels release but also of the catalogue?
the main problem or better the hardest struggle is to get all ideas realised the
right way. most times the wheel has to be re3invented and that takes time and a
lot of research work. with each release i have to find e"perts on for me
completely unknown disciplines. and money is always a problem since the
projects can get -uite e"pensive.
as for the catalogue there are no problems besides to find great recordsA its
getting more and more difficult.
lately more and more labels issue vinyl, ill mention too some who do sole
vinyl releases eg. drone!. do you think that is a sort an opposition towards
the new technology that evolves maniacally day by day now or not be it cd
or dvd or whatever later!? and regarding collectables, a kind of fetish
lets say e"pressed by some people # their obsession for the vinyl medium
or an easier way to sell records for higher prices playing w$ this fetish?
we are dealing with independentalternative music. this indicated that we are
charmed by more independent and alternative sound carriers. nowadays that is
the vinyl. and to be honest7 look to this plastic jewel #what an euphemic word$
caseA its plastic, its not transparent any longer after a short period of time or
somehow broken, the front3cover #*cover+ 5 in fact a flimsy folded thin paper$ is
not what you e"pect to cost what it costs. and finally you dont know about the life
age, a 89 will have. the industry itself says, that a 89 will last 26 to 20 years.
after that period the 89 may not be playable anylonger. and in terms of a 89 it
means not scratches or surfacenoise, no7 it means finished. this knowledge
doesnt stimulate my 89 consumption, but im not dogmatic. its mainly about
music and if there are great releases on 89 5and there are3 sure i buy them.
regarding yourself, what do you prefer vinyl or cd?
89. i can easier part with it. it weights less and needs less packaging to send.
and its easier to get. so order 89s from me<
do you use %&'(? what do you think of it? a lot of people myself included
as well! regard it as nothing but an evolution of the tape which in many
cases too helps you in saving space too, to be honest, as my collections
case, how about you? any possibility we saw a rund release on %&'(? or
havent you made any such plans yet?
i buy 893: releases. for my own archive i still use ?8s. im old3fashioned and
since i started to archive music on ?8, i still go on and on and on%there will
come a day, i will use 893:s.
and yes, sure the 893: is what the ?8 a generation ago.
concerning a 893: release on my label7 if i can influence this boring disc into
something special, there will be a 893: release on my label.
what about artists$groups you like?
i like to many groups to name here, so i just list some artists, im fascinated by 7
ghedalia ta0artes, sema, pascal comelade, henry chopin, taj mahal travellers,
pierre henry, christian marclay, gordom mumma, nord, the l.a.f.m.s3clan, 0oviet
france, nurse with wound, hope alone cassidy and of course the artists, i did
releases of.
how about upcoming releases on rund?
im busy on awful complicated releases, which are still facing some technical
problems. therefore heavily delayed, new releases were planned ages ago. a
serie is plannedA i say no more%
taking a look at the network and how it used to be a decade ago # how
looks like today, seems that its evolution has somehow narrowed its
perception # e"pression concerning its distinction in minimal, power
electronics, to mention but a couple of labels used for the various styles
that have emerged. do you think that this category distinction struggles
at times artists or pro)ects who wanna do a more open minded work but
end in keeping up the trend # produce works according to it or on the
contrary evokes new ground for more e"perimentation?
the best would be not to put artists or music in some categories, but its a wood
out thereA there are so many releases and so much unknown, that it is impossible
to leave all unlabeled. some pre3selection is of use and that goes by labelling. im
afraid. there are already many music consumers, who buy all of a certain label
because of the e"pectation of a certain musical genre. and in fact most music
just answers on this e"pectation7 you want grunge #or whatsoever$, you get
grunge. not many artists are that independent, that they dont fit in any genreA but
these are the most interesting artists, they have my special interest< what i offer
for interested people, is to make a compilation tape of interesting music in their
vein. they tell me ,which artists or records they like most and i try to tape them
relevant material. in fact it must be music, im familiar with and which i sell%
if you have suggestions, ideas, etc, for my label or want to react on this interview,
get in touch with me through www.wat0mann.nl . the world is small since internet.
psychedelic pig
my first encounter with psychedelic pig, was sometime in 1H or 1' if ! am not
mistaken when james had sent me a copy of his mail order catalogue to feature it
in absurd #2.. since then we lost touch. a year or so ago he reissued on cd the
legendary masstisshadhu *shekinah+ lp originally issued in the 80s on united
dairies and last summer offered us a devastating compilation cd of previously
unpublished material from the ever influential #) beloved$ disbanded german
combo *die todliche doris+ including even on stage collaborations w einstur0ende
neubauten ) spk too< so a couple of months ago while workin on an article on
*deadly doris+ for my column in a greek /0ine ) via some e3mails e"change the
following interview was conducted7
how did you come up with the idea of starting psychedelic pig? # how did
you choose the certain name for the label?

i got the idea after seeing some auctions in the mid310Is where some people
were paying collector prices for records that were hard to find, yet still in print. i
thought Jwell, i might as well put out a list of stuff like thisJ and thatIs how it
happened. #ebay didnIt e"ist back then, of course.$ originally, i wasnIt going to
carry any 89s, but i decided that there was enough interesting music coming out
only in this format to make it worthwhile. iIm usually kind of secretive about the
origin of the name, but if you run a search in google, you will get some very
interesting results...

a few years ago you provided us the reissue of the memorable
masstisshadhu *shekinah* lp, originally issued in the +,-s on the united
daries label. how did you decide to reissue it? sort of a *rupenus*
aficionado? or not? really why did you finally used a different cover
artwork for the reissue rathen than the original one?

at the time, i had been in touch with r. rupenus a few times and through some
discussion it was agreed that i would put out the 89 re3issue of IshekinahI. ! had
originally hoped to put out the mi"ed band philanthropist album he made on 89,
but that was already going to be handled by siren records in japan. i had
originally intended that the packaging would include elements of the original
design, as i liked the typeface and skeleton motif, but rupenus sent me new
artwork to use. thankfully, he had colin potter re3master the tapes, and they came
out crystal clear. it should be noted that although r. rupenus is the most well3
known participant in these recordings, the driving force behind them musically
was a fellow named sedayne who also worked with rupenus on the
metgumnerbone B@. check out his website at7 www.sedayne.co.uk

.uite recently too you issued a 'allow me to say' sort of tribute compilation
of previously unissued die toedliche doris recordings. how was the idea for
such an edition born?

with die toedliche doris, i had already been communicating with wolfgang muller
a lot, since at the time, i had been getting copies of the dtd solo records on their
label from him for my catalog. somewhere along the way, it came up that he had
compiled a dat of, as he put it, J20 strange, rare and unreleased tracksJ by die
toedliche doris, and suprisingly enough, he had already written notes for the
individual pieces and had an english translation of them, so thatIs what got the
ball rolling.
)udging from the sole / releases you have on psychedelic pig, that you-re
rather keen on the +,-s industrial$ e"perimental scene or not?

ha ha, youIve got me in a corner with this -uestion< i do admit that i have -uite an
affinity for the underground e"perimental music of the 80Is and late '0Is, and this
is reflected both in the releases on the label, as well as what i carry in my
catalog. i feel a little guilty about not keeping up with all the current activity, but
iIve found that a lot of what passes for e"perimental music now in the post3digital
era just doesnIt move me. a lot of things now just seem to lack the sort of
creativity i look for. or maybe itIs just a matter of taste. to each his own.

any plans for future releases?

iIm actually putting the gears in motion now for a 2rd pig 89 release, but itIs still
in the very beginning stages, so !Ill stay -uiet about what it is, just in case
something doesnIt work out. if it does turn out okay, it will be something that iIll be
very happy to have issued and should generate some e"citement amongst
others as well.
how about fave groups$artists or other sources from which you draw
influence # inspiration?

well, inspiration comes from everywhere, really, but if i had to pinpoint one artist
that i think sums up what psychedelic pig is all about, it would probably be deficit
des annees anterieures #ddaa$. for me #and others i know$, this group represents
the kind of singular identity artists can attain for themselves by combining a
strong impulse to create with their own visionary ideas about the world around
them. thereIs also a charming naivete to their work that keeps it from seeming too
ironic or contrived, which i especially like to see.
besides the label you also run a mail order too, could you please give me
some infos on it?

the mail3order was started in &116, for the reasons listed in the first answer. iIve
always tried to carry a larger stock of B@s and a few 89s here and there as well.
iIm also really big on carrying second3hand items that are long out3of3print. i
charge pretty reasonable prices for most things, especially considering we live
now in the ebay age, where the sky is the limit on prices sometimes. my catalog
can be obtained by sending me a re-uest at7 jaslmbKerols.com .
anything else to ad?

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@!L 8902 forthcoming


mi"er
0 ' 1hen did you create the label ?

Gtichting ?i"er started in december &111, the first 2 releases on ?i"er #2 &0J3es$
were put out in ?arch 2000

/ ' 2here-s a lot of labels... especially devoted to e"perimental and
electronics. 3eeing that, what were your motivations with stichting mi"er.
&id you have a precise idea of the aesthetic you want to impulse to the
label ?

?y main interest lay and lies with diversity and dynamics. Babels tend to focus
on a very small part of #electronic$ music and also to crystalli0e when theyIre
successful with the choices made..eventually becoming stereotypes of
themselves. Po give the label a face, out of personal or other interests..itIs all fine
but for me ?i"er had to be something more alive and e"perimental, in the sense
that ! donIt want to go for a certain genre or direction. Po seek for originality and
-uality within several types of music is much more interesting for me and also as
a goal for a label ! think.

4 ' 3tichting mi"er looks like a collection same presentations...!. 1hy ?
&o you want to symbolize with it the connections that could e"ist between
all the artists, despite their musical differences, or only your own tastes ?
5y other words, 6s there a concept that could define the musical aesthetic
of 3.7. ?
6s it a way to say that the music you want to *promote* always ask other
fields of e"pression visual arts, etc! to offer its whole signification or
function ?

Phe artwork shows the ideas me and the designer have about this matter. Phe
packaging should be simple, informative and recogni0able. Phe link with the
music !Ive published lays there as well, no nonsense basically. Phe concept, if
there is any, is mainly that the music put out on ?i"er should speak for itself. !Im
not interested in the very hip multi media e"periments and far seeked projects or
collaborations. Phe things hopping over and between genres and defining their
own e"istence, are the ones worth it.
!n organi0ing events !Im more open for multidisciplinary projects but still these
screenings, performances or installations also have to have a -uality of their
own. Go many times sound just goes with image and visa versa, without asking
itself why; ! sometimes have the idea people are mainly busy with whatIs
possible rather than using techni-ues consciously to tell their story.

8 ' 9ou have published all types of supports : 4*cd, ;*, ;*ep, <=, 3plit <=...
could you say us something about that. 6s it a choice ? 5y the way, you
seems to have some predilections for short releases. 6s it a way to obtain
something special from the artists ?

Phe formats are coming from the type of music mostly..some things are just more
suitable for a certain format than others. Out there is a development though..! like
the B@ format as the time3span makes it possible for the artist to go through
several passages and wider compositions. Phe fact that you need to flip it makes
it very suitable for joint releases. Phe 'J 3es are perfect for short statements and
more conceptual stuff, the same goes for the mini cdIs.
! donIt have a preference for short releases but ! do think itIs a bit difficult to do
full length releases as the music ! want to release is mostly pretty demanding. !t
al depends on the material of course. Phe new PMF20 89 just released is 60
minutes so...

> ' 3.7. is e"clusively devoted to electronic musics. ?re you interesting in
their conceptual dimension ? 6s it possible for e"ample to listen in the
future to a more *rock* music ?

well, more and more electro3acoustics are coming in and #JconcreteJ$ music
based on ?ic3recordings and manipulations as well. Phis direction comes from
my personal interest in the big spectrum of electronic music. ! simply love the
absurdity, estrangement and beauty you can meet in electronic music. Phe
e"pressivity is huge but in a less obvious way. 4specially the last few years !Im
getting more interested in the co3e"istance of electronic and concrete music. Po
integrate the two creates a whole new universe again, refering to sound we are
surrounded by daily but do not notice and at the same time to the endless
possibilities and alienated appearances of electronic music.

@ ' 6s 3.7. a way to concretize some ideas you have about music ?

@artly yes. Out itIs definately not some sort of definition of my own thoughts or
mind boggles about sound and music. ! invite artists to see if theyIre interested to
work with ?i"er for releases or concerts, and from there on we see where it
goes. Gome collaborations work out smoothly and others die out before
reali0ation, like everywhere.. @robably my own thoughts do set out the red line
through things but ! also judge from project to project. Gome of them connect
more to my own taste or thoughts and others less and thatIs fine. Qor me ?i"er is
certainly also an entity on itself, but ! see that more as a platform on which these
projects can happen, rather than a billboard of my own likes.

; ' are you a musician yourself? 1hat are the pro)ect you-re involved in ?
does your activity as a musician has an influence on your activities with
3.7. ? Ar vice'versa? by the way, is it easy to run the two at the same
time ?

?ost of my time actually goes into my own music indeed. 4ither as Ooca :aton,
under my own name or as part of Rona Qumatori. Phe last year !Ive made a
soundtrack for a super8video performance by 9.:oosen JLet OackJA for a dance
performance called JGpent timeJA the 'J JOratraJ which was released on ?i"erA a
mini3cd J4n0oJ which hopefully is going to be released as part of the mini cd
series of 9iskono and some compilations !Ive made tracks for..
?y music is developing into more minimal and composed music, focused on raw
material and tiny sound3events, while it was first much more layering3based.
!ts more and more constructed from acousticconcrete and electronic sound, so
that development certainly influenced the way ?i"er is going, but is not binding.
Phings coming out in the nearby future are completely different so.. !nfluence the
other way around e"ists of course but is not really different from the way all other
released music does.
!t is not difficult to combine the 2, of course thereIs lack of time but ! guess that
has more to do with me than with the actual projects. Gometimes ! have to focus
on Gtichting ?i"er because thereIs releases coming or events happening, but
mostly ! have enough time for my own musical work.

+ ' 9our label is in my opinion closely related to many others : bottrop'boy
or drone records for e"ample. Bow do you consider the others labels and
have they an influence on your choices ? what are the label past and
present! that have an influence on you ?

(ot really, of course ! like certain labels but they donIt influence me in the choices
!Im making for ?i"er. Oottrop3boy is good e"ample indeed, Orom3Oron is a very
good series, Bucky >itchen ! like very much, ?etamkine released some brilliant
things as well as P0adik and Gtaalplaat, >3raa3k ! find a very tasty and steady
label.
8losely related to 9rone; ! donIt see that one...

C ' 1hat are the plans for the future ? for stichting mi"er and your own
music ?

!Im working now on a performance in a 8hapel in Dmsterdam which has very
uni-ue acoustics, which is supposed to happen end of Sanuary 2002 as part of a
Gandberg3e"hibition. Qurthermore ! would like to do more performances #in
Qrance;$ and just keep going with several projects..
Qor ?i"er ! just put out 2 new titles by PMF20, Sidai and ?eelkopde Taard. !Im
working on a concert series which is supposed to happen from Dpril to (ovember
2002 and of course releases later this year. Phis will be Soe 8olley8rawl Fnit,
anteye Lreije3Quchs, Bionel ?archetti a.o.

Gtichting ?i"er @.=. Oo" 61H.' &0.0 B8 Dmsterdam Phe (etherlands
UinfoKstichtingmi"er.nl V orders U mailorderKstichtingmi"er.nl V
www.stichtingmi"er.nl
interview released in decemberjanuary 2002 by jos laj dWrenn #naninani
corporation $ ) ?artijn Pellinga
discography
3?&0.0& FMPGaoulaterre &0J
3?&0.02 :adboud ?ens &0J
3?&0.02 !?@ electronics for defence &0J
3?&2.0& Ripper Gpy &2J
3?&2.02 Sean OD"h &2J
3?Xcd& Oattery =perated full length cd
3?"mcd& 8edric @igot mini3cd
3?"mcd2 Loodie@al mini3cd
3?i"3:& Rona Qumatori 893r
3?B@.0& >Yhn@immon Gplit Bp
3?'.0&2 >affe ?atthes 2Z'J
3?'.02 Trikken 'J
3?'.0. :echen0entrum 'J
3?'.06 Ooca :aton 'J
3?B@.02 de Taard?eelkop Gplit B@
3?Xcd2 PMF20 live in gronigen cd
3?i"3:2 Sidai 893r
discography of martijns own things..
Ooca :aton
3 J=ktaJ 8 speaker3environment, 2& Sanuari 2002, Dmsterdam
3 JOratraJ A 'J on ?i"er
3 J9utch QidelityJ, compilation 'J on Dntenne
3 JBoop edition 2J Puningspork 3 tu mIp2, website label Pu mI
3 J@ar tous les trous necessairesJ, compilation cd on 8avagen
3 J=pen noise #& and # 2J, compilation cd3rIs on =t20&
3 J a ?anualJ, compilation cd3r on ?icrowave
3 Jsleep3at3workJ, website platform
3 Bive soundtrack for JDlive<J, short theater play by 9.:oosen en Oart Gtuart
#(etherlands$, 200&, @erformed at =P20& Dmsterdam
3 Goundscore for JPhe QallJ, short film by Gami >allinen #Qinland$, 200&
3 Goundscore for J9esert :everiesJ, short film by Gagi Lroner #!sra[l$, 200&, part
of the JGonic 4ncountersJ e"hibiton at T&21 gallery
3 Goundtrack for JGpent PimeJ, dance performance by Bucas 8ondro #Drgentina$,
2002, @erformed at PheaterDcademy Dmsterdam
3 J4ntengJA cd3r on ?i"er,
3 Rona Qumatori 3 J9utch QidelityJ,
3 compilation cd3r by Dntenne, Rona Qumatori3
paradigm
paradigms a label that belongs to one of my favest, on one hand run by clive
graham, a member also of my ever beloved morphogenesis project, on the other
being a label that has offered so far reissues of real obscure #) till recently
neglected or *lost+$ diamonds such as the dwight fri00el *beyond the black crack+
cd or dubravko detonis ) ace0anet0 cd or pauline oliveiross electronic music to
name some. no matter that !ve been discussing for long w clive to do this
interview, ! was always delaying it ) doubt if ! had ever done it if it wasnt the cd
reissue of trevor wisharts monstrous *journey into space+ work that did ! move
my ass to do it at last. in the meantime heard the peter cusack ) ma" eastley
*day for night+ cd which ! hadnt heard at the time that this interview was
conducted but which is a cd that comes highly recommended. a work which
spans a period of nearly 26 years of recordingscollaboration and has some of
the best soundscapes !ve heard from both by date including lots of cleverly
treated field recordings% needless to say that the very first track of which #in
which peter cusack plays the bou0ouki$ brings in mind flashbacks from
soundscapes heard in greek movies of the 60sH0s%
how did you come up with the idea of starting paradigm;
there were several reasons, but i think the main one was that i wanted to release
a series of compilations of london music by friends of mine, and i also wanted to
put out some music by morphogenesis. in &116 it did not seem like a cra0y idea
to start a 89 label, but now i am not so sure.
really how did you come up with the reissue of the karuna khyal ) brast burn
lps;
i just loved these records but i could find no information about the groups. there
is no information at all on the covers. i really thought that they deserved to be
heard by a much larger audience so i transfered the vinyl copies to digital via a
super hi fi, and very carefully mastered the transfers. ive never released any
music this way before, and i dont think i will do it again, although i think there are
several records that should come out on 89. in fact it may well be that the best
way of reissuing 20 year old music is from unplayed vinyl rather than old
magnetic tape. i once transfered a copy of 9isco 2000 by Gun :a which is a
Gaturn release #ie pressed on camel shit$, and i spent over &00 hours taking out
clicks etc. i still have the results on 89, but the guy who said i could release it
turned out to be lying. i should have been more wise i suppose, but at least i
have a perfect copy of the music.
how about the variation compilations, some sort of promotion of londons
imrpove"perimental scene;
yes. london is a very creative place, and i have always known most of the people
who are doing interesting things, but there is very little promotion e"cept for
people that are well known. i was hoping that releasing some new london music
would lead to further releases for those people, but most of them have not done
much else. i think it is a real shame.
concerning at least a couple of your releases seems youre also reissuing
oddities from the nww list too #eg trevor wishart, rev. dwight fri00el, etc$
i think trevor wishart e"ists way beyond the (TT list. its like saying that
stockhausen or king crimson are nww oddities. the nww list includes &00s of
names, most of which are, i think, among the best e"perimental music ever
made. its hard to avoid the list if you are interested in e"perimental music, and i
have to say that dwight fri00ell and brast burn were both discovered via nww, but
! think there is life beyond the list, especially these days with the internet and
ebay, but in the 80s it was a very valueable resource.
how about morphogenesis; how did you become involved in the project and
how about your e"periences w the project till today;
i joined the group in &11& after meeting roger at a lamonte young concert. at first
i just went to morphogenesis concerts and rehearsals, but eventually i decided to
join in. it was the first time i had made any music, and it seemed to be the ideal
group for me. i still feel that way today, although we play a lot less these days.
this is partly because we hardly get any offers to do gigs.
any more morphogenesis material to e"perience on paradigm in the future;
i would like to put out another 89, but at the moment i need to sell more of my
back catalogue. it has become so much harder to sell 89s in the last few years,
and at the same time some of my distributors seem to have become e"perts at
crushing small labels. at the moment there are some plans to release some titles,
but they will all have to wait until i have the money.
how was born the idea of the 2 morphogenesis live cds; could you please give
me some details around them;
we are a live band, either live in the studio or in the concert space. all our best
music is made in front of audiences because this seems to bring out more
variable situations and tensions. ive always wanted to keep up to date on
releasing our material, but for a long time i got caught up in releasing other
peoples music, so eventually i had two long 89s of material that needed to be
released.
any sort of solo or other outputs you might probably be involved in besides
morphogenesis;
i would like to spend some time on a solo project which i have the time for now,
and the hard drive space, but i have no idea how this will work out or even what
kind of music it will be.
guess that trevor wisharts *journey into space+ was a great surprise for many. a
real ace, how did you decide to reissue it;
thank you. i wanted to put this out years ago, but trevor doesnt really like this
work at all. i had a hard job persuading him. he would only let me release it if he
could say that he now finds the record embarrassing, but it is probably my
favorite work by him, and it sounds way better than the original vinyl, which is a
dreadful pressing. i hope that most of my releases are a surprise for someone
somewhere. for me this is very gratifying.
and how about the other wishart stuff on paradigm;
im interested in all of tws back catalogue. i would have loved to release red bird,
but jonathan coleclough got there first. maybe there will be something else to put
out in the future, #hopefully$
perhaps any oddities for the future;
i think its important to keep e"act details of future plans -uiet until they happen. it
is very hard to get permission to release things and everything can change at the
last minute, or take years to actually happen, so i prefer to not talk about future
release. all i can say is that there is nothing sitting on my hard drive at the
moment
http7www.stalk.netparadigm
http7www.resonancefm.com
peter strickland
i still thank michael prime for the contact with peter strickland a couple of years
ago, one of the founding members of the sonic catering band project. peter was
coming to greece at the time #well hes often here actually id say$ so had the
chance to meet ) go out for drifting the couple of times we have met.
peters besides his activities with sonic catering band is also shooting short
movies and seems like filming will be the activity which he will spent most of his
time in the recent future, being either in the uk or in hungary where hes also
spending lots of his time as well working.
hes also running the peripheral converse label where the vast majority of the scb
releases was out but also releases of the eccentric bohman brothers, or the
splendid &0+ of clare connors. you can get an idea of scb ) peripheral converse
at www.soniccatering.com
being involved in a project whose major source for raw material is cooking, as
they were cooking on stage manipulating the produced sounds, the same holds
for studio work too, i was curious to see hows peters views on some topics of
his interestslife will be reflected as food or recipes.
enjoy the meal%.

starting meal
Lrilled aubergine slices. Larnish with chopped red onions, tomatoes and
parsley. Bightly dri00le with balsamic vinegar.
hungary
>YrY0Ytt 5 Biptauer cheese #creamy$ pressed through a sieve with half the
-uantity of butter. Geason with salt, red paprika, chopped chives and
chopped red onions. Gerve as a dip or on bread.
uk
Larlic ?ushroom ?oni @uree 5 mushrooms, chopped pineapples and onions
with garlic and lemon sauce served on a wrap.
filming
Oread and water
cooking
@umpkin soup 3 8ut a small pumpkin in half and take seeds out. 8ut what
is left into big chunks and cook in water until soft. Pake the chunks out of
the pan. 8ool, peel and mash with a li-uidiser. @ut vegetable stock in the
water left in the pan. Oring to the boil and then add the mashed pumpkin.
Dlso add orange rind, the juice of one orange, one spoonful of ginger paste,
single cream and yoghurt mi"ed in with an egg yolk #a small cup each$. Gtir
continuously adding a dash of salt and lemon pepper, nutmeg and a spoonful
of dry sherry. Oring very gently to the boil and serve with grated parmesan
cheese and fresh coriander leaves.
music
Mumous 5 one cup of cooked chickpeas, 2 spoonfuls of Pahini #sesame seed
paste$, 2 garlic cloves, spoonful of lemon juice, spoonful of mayonnaise.
Olend and serve.
fears on stage
@ancakes 5 plain flour mi"ed with milk in a bowl. Gtir well. @ut large
spoonful of mi"ture onto flat pan. Poss both sides until golden. Ddd lemon
and sugar, then serve.
project members
@eter Gtrickland 5 chocolateA 8olin Qletcher 5 8ornish @astieA Pim >irby
5 Morse :adish
reflections on early G8O days
Oaked Oeans on toast
reflections on current G8O days
=melette with pine kernels, rocket leaves, grated goats cheese,
pomegranate juice, chopped tomatoes and red onions
how do you feel drifting;
Ourek #cheese pie$ 5 feta cheese wrapped in puff pastry
bohman brothers
Gunday :oast 5 roast lamb with mint sauce #vinegar with mint$. :oasted
potatoes, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes served with gravy, baked
parsnips.
peripheral conserve
8hampagne.
entomology
Money with natural Lreek yoghurt, caster sugar and crushed walnuts
dessert
260g of butter, 2 cups of caster sugar, . eggs, & cup of all purpose
flour, & cup of self3raising flour, half cup of cocoa powder, & cup of milk,
& cup of chopped walnuts.
Qor chocolate cream7
260g of butter
& cup of icing sugar
.00g of chocolate #melted$
. teaspoons of brandy
@ut the sugar and eggs, one at a time into the butter. ?i" until frothy. Ddd
milk. !n a separate bowl, add two kinds of flour and cocoa powder. Ddd the
two mi"tures together.
Outter a baking tin and put mi"ture in. Oake for one hour at &80\8. 8over
with foil towards end to prevent burning.
Qor the chocolate cream7 beat the butter, icing sugar and brandy until
frothy, adding melted chocolate.
8ut the cake into slices. 8over the top with cream too. Qinally add the
walnuts on top. Beave in the fridge to firm.