Dark Entries published an in-depth interview with Gone Bald. They talk about the 16 year history of the band, baldness, underground music, the line-up changes, being a duo, improvisation and their favorite records. Read it all here.
The latest Gone Bald album Waiting It Out also got some great new reviews. Built on a Weak Spot says that ‘Waiting it Out it shows that Gone Bald are still overflowing with ideas, even if the presentation hasn’t necessarily budged.’ Perte et Fracas says ‘Waiting It Out is the best album of Gone Bald.’ Festivalinfo rates the album 3,5 out of 5. ‘The guitarwork is razorsharp and the drums are raw and aggressive.’ The track Christmas Song got a mention on the website Stubby’s House of Christmas: ‘For two people, they sure make a lot of noise.’
Door by Puin + Hoop was pronounced Album of the Moment by Written in Music: ‘One of the most memorable Dutch albums of the year.’ Den Helder Actueel compares Puin + Hoop to early Pink Floyd and krautrock bands like Faust. ‘A remarkable audio trip.’ Vital Weekly says De Objectieve Lach, Puin + Hoop’s collaboration with Herman Wilken and Coen Oscar Polack, ‘is not as strong as Door, but then this is undoubtedly more a work of improvisation.’
The Fine China Superbone album Make-Machine got 3 out 5 stars from the Belgian zine Kwadratuur: ‘It sounds like four conservatory educated artrockers took speed and started experimenting.’
The track Flutheelal by het Het Fukking Licht from their sold out album Kutplaneetwas included in the mix Secret Chords & Apparitions by Peter Van Cooten from ambientblog.net. Listen to it on Fluid Radio.
Quasi Quasi by Kruno JoÅ¡t | Gijs Borstlap got 4 out of 5 stars from Chain D.L.K.: ‘If you are looking for guitar improvisation that doesn’t quite cross the line into straight noise, this would be up your alley.’
The Door, the debut album by Puin + Hoop on Narrominded is getting some great reviews. Festivalinfo gave the album 3 out of 5 stars (‘an exceptional record’). Moors Magazine strongly recommends the album ( ‘subtle and refined’). Vital Weekly says Door is ‘a major step forward for Puin + Hoop’. Subjectivisten – Het Shaduwkabinet calls the album ‘abstract, but human and sensitive at the same time’. The online radio show Beautiful Extremes played the track Bomendocumentaire twice, once on November 16 and once on November 23.
The latest effort by Gone Bald, Waiting It Out, got a raving review by File Under: ‘What a band. What a record.’ MusicFromNL compares Gone Bald to dEUS and Dark Entries says ‘Gone Bald does nothing new, but what they do, they do with great craftmanship’.
If you still don’t own a physical or digital copy of the debut album by Hunter Complex, go here to download/preview the mp3 of the track Chinese Restaurants. The album got three more reviews. LiveXS calls it ‘decadent disco’, Written in Music says the album sounds has a sober undertone and Festivalinfo rates the album 3 out of 5. The online radio show Beautiful Extremes played the tracks Dance by Hunter Complex and The Classic Handbuzzer by Spoelstra from his album The Almighty Internet. Listen to the fragment of the broadcast on April 20 2010 in the player below.
Beautiful Extremes also played Unique Visitor by Spoelstra from The Almighty Internet on April 13 2010. Listen to that fragment in the player below.
Some people really hate Spoelstra’s music, but others try to get to the bottom of Spoelstra’s The Almighty Internet. ‘The rest of the world will look at him as a special kind and plays Spoelstra’s music as an acoustic weapon. I belong to that majority’, says Festivalinfo. The German magazine Aufabwegen sees a different purpose for Spoelstra’s electro music: ‘Musik für Sonnenstudios mit Anspruch’. Oor also has an interesting opinion on The Almighty Internet: ‘Irritate, that’s what Spoelstra does. And that’s a compliment in this case.’ Click here for some footage of Spoelstra live at Worm in Rotterdam and here for a review of a gig he did with The Ex and Julie Mittens in the Bar & Boos in Leiden. ‘Spoelstra’s set was quirky, irreverent, slightly demented and a hell of a lot of fun.’ The radio show Beautiful Extremes played the tracks Day of the System by Spoelstra and Here Is the Night by Hunter Complex on March 16 2010. Listen to the fragment in player below.
Some Narrominded related press in the first week of 2010! Newspaper Haarlems Dagblad published a small article about Garçon Taupe’s election for best dance track of 2009 and his contributions to Poke 20 and Retro Retry 2. Read the article here. Belgian website Kwadratuur reviews Retro Retry 2: ‘This pleasant listen brings you contemporary and slightly futuristic electronics. This album makes a very nice blueprint for the latest generation of laptop artists in the Netherlands.’ USA based webzine PopMatters has some doubts about the album: ‘Too much context gets sacrificed for too little connection’. And finally, the Dutch website Festivalinfo writes: ‘Narrominded again presents a delicious collection of underground tracks on their fourth Split LP. Maybe the disadvantage of the Split LP format is that the styles don’t match completely, but the electro fan will find two great EP’s here anyway.’ There are also some charts going on: Split LP #4 holds a #2 position on OOR’s Underground Top 5, and Garçon Taupe’s Lobo holds a #8 in Remute’s RA DJ Charts. Also, the radio program Beautiful Extremes, hosted by Oscar Smit, played the tracks Lobo by Garçon Taupe and Here Is the Night (Coen Oscar Polack’s Morning Version) by Hunter Complex from the Here Is the Night EP. Listen to the fragment from the broadcast on January 5 in the player below.
Posted in press | 6 January 2010 | 11:00 | comment
Two reviews for Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World this week. According to dance magazine DJ Broadcast ‘Another Another Green World is actually a nice way to get introduced to Eno’s work and to check out the original album while your at it. A good idea and well done.’ Festivalinfo says ‘all tracks, maybe except Spoelstra’s, shine with respect for the original version. Still, all artists stay true to their own sound, making this album mainly a good introduction to the fourteen participating acts.’
Posted in press | 16 December 2009 | 14:13 | comment
De Objectieve Lach by Puin+Hoop + Herman Wilken + Coen Oscar Polack got 8 out of 10 stars from Dark Entries: ‘An enchanted piece of industrial.’ Subjectivisten/Caleidoscoop calls the album ‘an apocalyptic pleasure that won’t let you go easily.’ Festivalinfo says it’s ‘a must for electro fanatics.’ Beautiful Extremes, an online radio show hosted by Oscar Smit, played an extract of De Objectieve Lach:
