Belle Jhum

Tony Coulter here, once again, after a seven-week blog-free siesta. What was I doing during my time off, you (didn't) ask? Among other things, I traveled to Belgium, where you get two countries for the price of one: almost-France and almost-Holland. While there, I did a guest show on Antwerp's freeform radio station Radio Centraal (thanks to Gerardo Sanchez and Peter Smets, hosts of Tabasco TV, for the invite). If you're curious, you can listen to the show here. I also, predictably enough, bought lots of records, many of which got played on my most recent Give the Drummer Radio show (hearable here). Finally, along with the usual touristic trips to dungeons and cathedrals, I was able to visit with one of my favorite musicians, Alain Neffe; to meet with Eriek Van Havere, proprietor of one my favorite labels, EE Tapes; and to see the Logos Foundation's wonderful robot orchestra play itself. For more on Neffe, EE Tapes, and robot orchestras, meet me on the other side of the jump.

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Let's start out with two brand new LPs featuring the music of two different Alain Neffe projects: Human Flesh (Neffe + a rotating cast of different collaborators) and Bene Gessserit (Neffe + Nadine Bal). While both LPs contain music recorded in the 1980s (all unreleased in the case of Human Flesh and half unreleased in the case of Bene Gesserit), it should be pointed out that Bene Gesserit is still very much in business. Indeed, Neffe really shouldn't be thought of as an '80s musician, even if the minimal synth fad is partly responsible for the recent wave of releases of his music: He may have used drum machines a lot, yes, but his music isn't really minimal synth or cold wave ... it's just Neffe Music, whether it's 1980 or 2011. I should mention, by the way, that the first Bene Gesserit cut below, "Orchestral Story," originally appeared as the B-side of a 1982 single; the other track is previously unreleased.

Human Flesh: Second-Hand Emotions and Half-Forgotten Feelings (OnderStroom Records, 2011) LP

Human Flesh: Petite fille de Marseille

Human Flesh: Un matin de plus ...

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Bene Gesserit: Half-Unreleased Madness (OnderStroom Records, 2011) LP

Bene Gesserit: Orchestral Story

Bene Gesserit: Neon Lights (Dub)

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Next up is a five-track EP on EE Tapes featuring four Alain Neffe--related tracks: two by Bene Gesserit; one by another prolific group of his, Pseudo Code; and one by Human Dance, the not very prolific (under that name at least!) duo of Alain Neffe and Daniel Malempré. Finally, to round things off, the EP adds a solo track from guitarist Malempré, who records under the name M.A.L. -- and who was, in fact, featured in my last BotB post (take a gander, won't you).

Various Artists: The Insanely Happy EP (EE Tapes, 2011) 7" EP

Human Dance: Hex!

Pseudo Code: How Can I Tell You?

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There are, of course, many fine non--Alain Neffe--related releases on EE Tapes. The latest is an EP featuring four tracks from the Belgian eighties band The Misz, who are Flemish, despite the French lyrics of one of the tracks below. All four tracks on the EP, incidentally, made their first appearance on a 1984 cassette-only release called It Ain't All Garbage, one of three tapes the band released between 1984 and 1987. I haven't seen or heard any of those cassettes myself, and thus can't tell you much about The Misz -- someday, perhaps!

The Misz: The EE EP (EE Tapes, 2010) 7" EP

The Misz: It Ain't All Garbage

The Misz: Le joli jardin

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Sticking with the Flemish side of Belgium, let's turn next to a 2009 album featuring a 45-member robot orchestra housed in the Logos Foundation's Ghent headquarters. The "members" of this orchestra are not so much robots in the familiar tin-man-on-wheels sense; what they are instead are instruments that play themselves via computer-controlled mechanisms attached to or enveloping them. The Logos robot orchestra, known as <M&M>, was developed by composer/performer/instrument builder Godfried-Willem Raes, whose music -- solo and as part of the Logos Duo, with Moniek Darge -- straddles various experimental styles and encompasses everything from fugues to sound-based improvisation. The album I've given you two tracks from, though, is something different: It contains arrangements of Baroque and Renaissance music, performed by the robot orchestra, which is augmented by a smattering of fleshapoids. The fine orchestrations are by Sebastian Bradt and Xavier Verhelst; the Purcell piece features tenor Ludwig Van Gijsegem, while the Cipriano de Rore piece features recorder player Marcel Ketels.

<M&M>: Ancient Music (Logos, 2009) CD-R

<M&M>: Dido's Lament (Henry Purcell)

<M&M>: Anchor che col partire (Cipriano de Rore)

Finally, to give you a sense of the range of sounds the Logos robot orchestra is capable of, and what they look like in action, I've thrown in a video of a performance of a fine and impressive piece composed by Sebastian Bradt.

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Let's switch gears now and have a look at some covers -- the first three of which house records I picked up in a Brussels flea market.

Collection Enfantine Blanche Neige: Robin des Bois, Vol. 1 (Blanche Neige, 197?) LP