Wed, December 7: VROOOM #44

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7:

VROOOM #44

–– MEELKOP / HITZ / GENOVESI (int'l)
–– RADBOUD MENS (nl)
–– MONO-POLY (nl)
–– JOE KISSER (nl)
–– KUTWYF (nl)
–– RAGING EGO (nl)

location: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / entrance: €5
https://www.facebook.com/events/1063951550370157/

Tasty seasonal hotch potch of local artistry. Somewhere between soaring ambitions and the loving embrace of dilettantism. Come and have a drink with us and say byebye to 2016.

MEELKOP / HITZ / GENOVESI (int'l)
[Roel Meelkop - electronics / Nina Hitz - cello / Alfredo Genovesi - guitar]
The members of this trio have previously played together in other constellations, but never before in this specific formation. They will engage in a collaborative performance of subtle improv using guitar, cello, and electronics. Genovesi's brilliant guitar sounds (somewhere between Hendrix, Hans Reichel, and Derek Bailey) will be coupled with Nina's meandering cello work and Meelkop's delicate drones. Yum!
https://alfredogenovesi.bandcamp.com

RADBOUD MENS (nl)
Radboud is an esteemed sound-artist, composer, and sound designer who has been active since the mid-eighties. His music varies from rhythmically minimal electronica to conceptual music, within the broadest sense of contemporary music.
www.radboudmens.com

MONO-POLY (nl)
This modular synth / electronica boss-man started with his machines around '94. Throughout the years he amassed a ridiculous synth/electronica collection, and now leads a dedicated synth scene with Noodlebar. Dennis is keen to retain the contrariety of the human and non-human elements in performance. For Vrooom #44, Dennis will come up with an alternative to his more danceable set.
www.mono-poly.nl

JOE KISSER (nl)
Non-regular Joe Kuster spent most of his artist career dissecting animals and cooking inane objects to reconstruct its parts into three-dimensional artworks. 'Joe Kisser' is his musical other self, with which he'll investigate patterns of behaviour between his sound toys and more adult machines.
www.jeroenkuster.nl

KUTWYF (nl)
Kutwyf learned the ropes with Dutch noise institution FCKN' BSTRDS. A one woman noise act emerging from a fluorescent rubbish heap. Always a treat.

DJ RAGING EGO (nl)
Music snob with diva-like antics, but he does know how to play a really good tune. Raging Ego will provide comic relief for the ears inbetween live sets.

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This event is made possible with kind support of Popunie Rotterdam.

Wed, November 9: Pantropical x NZZN

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9: Pantropical x NZZN

PANTROPICAL proudly presents: the Mandolin Sisters and Les Filles de Illighadad, as part of the NZZN Festival 2016.

After stumbling over the brilliance of the Mandolin Sisters Pantropical, SONORE, and Koloni Gbg had to try get them to perform in Europe. Things have snowballed quickly and we now present an 18-date Mandolin Sisters European tour. Add to that a first ever visit outside of Africa of Les Filles de Illighadad (Sahel Sounds) and this Pantropical double bill should only harvest heartfelt ooh's and aah's!
Location:
Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 | entrance: 9 euro
FB event page

MANDOLIN SISTERS (in)
Since early childhood, the sisters Sreeusha and Sireesha from Chennai, India, have dedicated their playing to the electric mandolin, which was popularized by Uppalapu Srinivas in the 1980s. Encouraged by their musician father, the young sisters spent years training their technique and pitch perception abilities, devoting themselves to the mesmerizing sound of the five-string mandolin. The Mandolin Sisters belong to the Carnatic musical tradition which is one of the two main subgenres of Indian classical music associated with the southern parts of India, although it is also practiced throughout Sri Lanka. Not new to the game, the remarkable mandolin sisters have given roughly 2000 concerts in India and abroad throughout the years. Their electrifying performance will make jaws drop.

LES FILLES DE ILLIGHADAD (ne)
Les Filles de Illighadad come from the scrubby Sahel desert of central Niger, the village of Illighadad, a tiny assemblance of mud houses. Fatou Seidi Ghali plays guitar and is joined by her cousin Alamnou Akrouni Fatou, a renownend vocalist in Niger. Together they play rural blues music; communal, emotive music that to seeks to entertain, comfort the sick, and be in balance with the radiant ambience of its surroundings. The days in Illighadad are long, time is not measured by hours but by the suns passage, the movement of the animals and insects. This is the first time Les Filles are performing outside Africa.

DUCKFOOD (nl | rebel up!, pantropical)
Duckfood's massive music collection absorbs anything from renaissance to Moroccan trance. His DJ selections are colourful and not hampered by any preoccupation about genre.

NZZN 2016

NZZN.NL
facebook event page
presale

Tue, October 18: VROOOM #43 x PANTROPICAL

TUESDAY OCTOBER 18: Vrooom #43 x Pantropical

full line up:
– LOS SIQUICOS LITORALEÑOS (ar)
– POREST (ex-usa)
– MOREEATS (ch)
– MADROTTER (nl) – DJ

Once again Vrooom joins forces with Pantropical, bringing you indispensable Tuesday evening entertainment for open-minded ears. This out-there line up features the Argentine lo-fi psych gauchos LOS SIQUICOS LITORALEÑOS, post-globalized pop savagery of POREST (aka SUBLIME FREQUENCIES / Sham Palace's Mark Gergis), and stranger in their midst, MoreEats, topped off with rarely heard Indonesian folk music DJ'ed by Rotterdam expat MADROTTER.

location: WORM – Boomgaardsstraat 71, Rotterdam
20:00 – 01:00 | entrance: 8 euro / 7 euro presale
FB event page

LOS SIQUICOS LITORALEÑOS (ar / sham palace / annihaya)
From the outland countryside surrounding the small town Curuzú Cuatiá in the province Corrientes of North East Argentina, comes a rare treat for the ears. Los Siquicos Litoraleños is a unique band formed in 2004. Originally an all freeform improv band commuting between Curuzú and their other habitat Buenos Aires, their music soon developed into an highly original style incorporating elements of cumbia, lo-fi tape manipulation, chamamé (popular folk music of Corrientes and other regions), the angular guitars of Beefheart, and a rich variety of non-rock rhythms. Los Siquicos' first 2009 European tour was organised by a then still unnamed Pantropical, with heavy support of WORM. We're happy to have them back!
www.forcedexposure.com/FeatureSiquicos.aspx

POREST (ex-usa)
Porest (Mark Gergis) has issued a confounding trail of agitprop sound art, empirical hate pop, radio dramas, video works, and carefully rearranged realities on various labels including Negativland's Seeland. Porest’s overt embezzlement of human syntax and cultural misunderstanding broadcasts mixed messages that span from the puerile to the pedantic. Live solo and group performances have slipped between ostracizing binge-karaoke, soapbox harangue, and bridge-burning dirty bombs. Drawing inspiration from heavy exposure to global shortwave radio receptions, international organ trafficking, eastern-tinged Westerns and western-tinged Easterns, Porest continues to push the pulse of post-globalized pop savagery. Next to his own label Sham Palace, Mark Gergis also co-runs SUBLIME FREQUENCIES; the label that is pretty much mandatory material for anyone who follows Pantropical.
www.porestsound.net
soundcloud.com/porest

MOREEATS (ch)
Stand-up offbeat romantic pop hymns from Zürich, Switzerland. Someone described MoreEats as a curly haired Serge Gainsbourg, Pavement and Jonathan Richman hybrid, with an amazing accent. We would add some R. Stevie Moore in the mix too.
https://www.facebook.com/moreeats/

MADROTTER (nl) – DJ
Originally from Rotterdam, Madrotter aka Henk den Toom is an avid crate digger who has been living in a village outside Bandung, Indonesia for the last twenty years. He is the curator of the amazing Madrotter music blog, which is chock-full of great music from across Indonesia. Madrotter will spin many of his found treasures in Rotterdam: Jaipong (popular Indonesian dance music), early Dangut, Takdiran, etc.
http://madrotter-treasure-hunt.blogspot.nl/

NZZN 2016 coming up!

De Player, Vrooom & Pantropical present:

NZZN FESTIVAL – 4, 5 + 9 November
http://nzzn.nl/

NZZN (North-South-South-North / noord-zuid-zuid-noord) is a 3-day festival initiated by the above mentioned Rotterdam based organisations, in collaboration with Pink Pank, Dr. Klangendum, Futura Resistenza; who all operate on the fringes of the Rotterdam subculture.

The festival highlights the network that is flourishing between these platforms; not merely to cement and emphasize the common grounds, but also to celebrate the creative nucleus. The small-scaled, decentralized events that take place in characteristic and sometimes unusual locations, are particularly beneficial for a lively, diverse cultural climate; just outside the defined city centre borders there is plenty of room for risktaking, experimentation and adventure.

NZZN seeks to map out and showcase this peripheral Rotterdam of leftfield music, sound art, improvisation, and performance art with a vibrant mix of international and local artists. The festival takes places in various locations in the North and South of Rotterdam, in walking distance between the locations.

Confirmed artists:
Mandolin Sisters (in) – Les Filles De Illighadad (ni) – Jaap Blonk (nl) – Laura Cannell (uk) – Faut Haut (nl) – Costes (fr) – Duke-s (nl) – WaSm (nl) – Miaux (be) + more tba

more news soon!

Fri, September 30: Pantropical x Arab Cinema Festival

Partly in anticipation of our upcoming 'NZZN x Pantropical' event with the great MANDOLIN SISTERS (more about that later), we're posting this:

Pantropical x Arab Film Festival is an integral part of the annual Arab Film festival [http://arabfilmfestival.nl/ / 29 Sept – Oct 02]. A celebration of forward-looking, bass-ridden Arab dance music with GAN GAH, Deena Abdelwahed, Rocky B-The Tropikal Camel, and Duckfood. Venue = Roodkapje Rotterdam, within walking distance from Rotterdam CS.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
PANTROPICAL x ARAB FILM FESTIVAL:

– GAN GAH (ma)
– DEENA ABDELWAHED (tn)
– TROPIKAL CAMEL (il)
– DUCKFOOD (nl)

location: Roodkapje SUB
Teilingerstraat 110-130, Rotterdam
22:00 – 03:00 | entrance: 8 euro / 7 euro presale
facebook event link

GAN GAH (ma | low up)
He's on the rise; Gan Gah is a young, DJ / producer fed by traditional Gnawa and Berber rythms since he was born in the suburbs of Agadir. Now based in Brussels, he knows how to shake a dancefloor with his bewitching beats. Offering a clever combination of club music and traditional North-African music, Gan Gah's first EP “Souktronics” shows his love for both his Moroccan roots and modern electronic music. Moroccan Bass, you said?
soundcloud.com/gangahsnj

DEENA ABDELWAHED (tn | infiné)
As the main female representative of this generation of Tunisian DJs and producers, Deena Abdelwahed is not one to pander to commercial trends. She explores the urban rythms in the aftermath of the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution, where social conservatism has been on the rise and only a few clubs adapt to innovation. Deena caters to those who seek alternatives to electronic music parties that either serve as lazy entertainment or an excuse to blow off steam and vent social frustration. In the past few years, since moving to Toulouse, Deena has made herself heard at music festivals all around Europe winning over crowds with her energetic music.
soundcloud.com/deenaabdelwahed

TROPIKAL CAMEL (il | arabstazy, shouka)
The Afro-haired electronica/beats/global bass shaman from Jerusalem; Tropikal Camel aka Rocky B Assayag is a musical explorer traversing genres, creating an original musical language; a journey into Jerusalem's unique sound and a fusion of Bass, Techno, Hip-Hop and the raw rhythms of tribal Middle- Eastern and North-African music.
www.rockybb.org

DUCKFOOD (nl | rebel up, pantropical)
Duckfood's massive music collection absorbs anything from renaissance to Moroccan trance, so who else to ask for this Pantropical x Arab Camera special? His DJ selections are colourful and not hampered by any preoccupation about genre. Just dig in!
www.mixcloud.com/vanjeaf/duckfood-live-pantropical-_-12-09-2015-rotterdam-rebel-up-soundclash/

Wed, September 9: VROOOM 42

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: VROOOM #42

– ANDREA PARKINS (us)
– JEFFREY RODEN (us)
– PAOLO MONTI (THE STAR PILLOW) (it)
interviews: Tobias Fisher
curation: Martijn Comes

location: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / entrance: €6
https://www.facebook.com/events/171472296609736/

Our fall/winter season kick-off is basically a carte blanche for composer/producer, and collaborator Martijn Comes. Together with Martijn we present an evening of immersive listening pleasure. Tobias Fisher will conduct introductory interviews.

ANDREA PARKINS (us)
Andrea Parkins is a sound artist, composer and electroacoustic improviser. She engages with interactive electronics as compositional and performative process, exploring strategies related to Fluxusʼ ephemeral activities. She is known for her pioneering gestural/textural approach on her electronically-processed accordion, amplified objects, and self-designed sound-processing instruments. Andrea creates sonic fields of lush harmonics and sculpted electronic feedback, punctuated by moments of gap and rift.
www.andreaparkins.com

JEFFREY RODEN (us)
[with: Martine Von Gleich - violin / Arjen Leendertz - double bass]
Jeffrey Roden is a composer from California who spent most of his career in music as a bass player in a variety of genres and settings. Jeffrey's live set at Vrooom will however comprise a solo piece for (electric) piano. Additionally he will perform a piece for organ, double bass and violin, featuring the above mentioned Rotterdam-based musicians. Roden's work revolves around meditative, textural and slow-moving themes; constructed of repetitions and silences relying on the ability of the musician to create a space from which they themselves are both absent and present.
www.thebigtreemusic.com

PAOLO MONTI [THE STAR PILLOW] (it)
The Star Pillow is the alias of Paolo Monti's evocative guitar drone meets ambient project that saw the light of day in December 2007. The output of this artist from Massa/Carrara expresses the relationship between sound, space and human emotions. The Star Pillow's spatial, guitar-based excursions provides a soothing sensory trip.
www.facebook.com/thestarpillow
http://tavernarecords.bandcamp.com/

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• Tobias Fisher (de)
Tobias writes for the New-Zealand based arts magazine White Fungus and has contributed to online- and print publications such as All About Jazz, Klassik.com, Earlabs, Headphone Commute, Fluid Radio and many more. He is also head of the einzeleinheit and Ex Ovo labels (the latter in unison with Mirko Uhlig).

• Martijn Comes (nl)
Composer specialized in new media, sound design and electroacoustic composition. Comes is also curating producer and host of two radioshows on national Dutch radio; 'Kraak Helder' and 'Inventions for Radio' (Concertzender), and wrote various research works on popular, contemporary, and classical music.

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This event is made possible with kind support of Popunie Rotterdam.

Flyer August / September 2016

Tue, August 2: VROOOM 41

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2: VROOOM #41 
– GOAT (jp)
– ALBATRE (pt/de/nl)
– YPY (jp)

location: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / entrance: €6
www.facebook.com/events/151127555301252/

We're rounding off the first half of the season with this A-class line up! Don't sleep on the rhythmic assault of Goat; a mesmerizing syncopated pulse of synchronized muted harmonic picking, saxophone and drums. Rotterdam's noise rock pride Albatre are no slouches either, and with YPY (Goat's guitarist and Boredoms touring member Koshiro Hino) we're able to sample the current cutting edge of Osaka's experimental electronica scene.

GOAT (jp)

This Osaka-based quartet play guitar, saxophone, bass & drums. What sets this fantastic band apart is the intentional disregard of the musical scales of its instruments. Goat creates painstakingly crafted songs (yes; songs!) that consist of mesmerizing muted sounds that are produced naturally, in real-time. The trance-inducing 'minimal techno'-like pulse brought about from relentless repetition and the melodious sounds that comprise harmonics outside the twelve-tone system are both 'urban' and 'tribal'. Goat has been somewhat lazily compared to Nisennenmondai and Battles; but we think they're much better!

www.facebook.com/Goat-408629939245915

ALBATRE (pt/de/nl)

Whoever still needs to be introduced to Rotterdam's noise rock champions have been missing out. Albatre is a commanding display of urgent bass & sax noise, skewed jazz elements, meticulous drumming and abrupt moodshifts. Albatre spearhead the scene of artists highlighting the crossover of improv, noise rock and jazz made in Holland.

www.facebook.com/albatremusic

YPY (jp)

YPY is the solo project from GOAT's Koshiro Hino, who is a key member of Osaka's experimental music scene. Besides playing with Goat and touring with the Boredoms, he also leads another band called Bonanzas. His work as YPY can be described as oblique, dense electronica / techno with a heroic dash of industrial grittiness. Hino debuted in 2015 with the 'Visions EP' for the Berlin-based label Nous, which included moody and dance-orientated tracks ignoring the unspoken rules of club music. He also runs the birdFriend label.

soundcloud.com/koshiro-hino

birdfriendtapes.tumblr.com

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This event is made possible with kind support of Popunie Rotterdam.

Thu, July 14: Chupame El Dedo + Mdou Moctar

Remember last year's VROOOM x PANTROPICAL that took place at Roodkapje SUB? The event that featured a smoking live set by the Colombian LOS PIRAÑAS. Well, both Los Pirañas' Eblis Álvarez (also of Meridian Brothers fame) and Pedro Ojeda are back in town Thursday July 14th with their project band ChupameElDedo! And if that's not enough; Tuareg desert rock heroes Mdou Moctar/official (Sahel Sounds) are on the same bill as well; what's more to ask?

THURSDAY 14 JULY
location: PANTROPICAL @ WORM Rotterdam – Boomgaardsstraat 71, R'damdoors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / entrance: €6
www.facebook.com/events/1642597676061053/
www.worm.org/home/view/event/68761

MDOU MOCTAR (ne | sahel sounds)
In the crowded scene of Tuareg guitarists, Mdou stands apart. He is one of the few original artists willing to experiment and push boundaries. His unconventional style have won him accolades both in Niger and abroad. Mdou Moctar comes from Abalak, a town in the Azawagh desert of northern Niger. He taught himself guitar at a young age on a homemade instrument. Inspired by Ishumar, Mdou traveled to Libya where he worked odd jobs and managed to meet some of the now famous guitarists. This furthered his musical studies, and he returned home with an actual guitar and a dream. Rising to the status as local celebrity, he traveled to Nigeria in 2008 to record his debut album 'Anar' – a psychedelic electronic album of Tuareg guitar; which became a success throughout the mp3 networks of West Africa. “Tahoultine” – one of the standout tracks, was later featured on the 'Music from Saharan Cellphones' compilation. In 2013, Mdou released 'Afelan', his first international album. In 2015, he starred in the first ever Tuareg language film, a fictional story of the struggle of a guitarist trying to make it against all odds in Agadez.
http://sahelsounds.com/mdou-moctar/

ChupameElDedo (co)
Chúpame El Dedo (suck my finger) is a new band from Bogota, Colombia, featuring Eblis Álvarez (Meridian Brothers, Los Pirañas, Frente Cumbiero) and Pedro Ojeda (Romperayo, Los Pirañas, Frente Cumbiero, Ondatrópica). Their bold sound marries disorientating 'death metal' influences with manic salsa, cumbia, currulao & reggaeton rhythms. Get ready for a high energy live performance from this duo; you'll be headbanging whilst trying not to spill that damned mojito.
https://chupameeldedo.bandcamp.com/

Thu, July 7: VROOOM 40

THURSDAY, JULY 7: VROOOM #40
–– YZ & GOGOLPLEX (ma/be)
–– ZEN LU + CHEN MULIAN + ZO-ON SLOWS (cn)
–– SPOELSTRA (nl)

LOCATION: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / entrance: €6
https://www.facebook.com/events/743488305754244/

Vrooom hits 40! Oftewel uitgedrukt in percentages: plusminus 40% bijzondere electropop en post-postrock; 35% electronica made in China, 25% visueel vernuft… Younes Zarhoni zong al als zesjarige in de Antwerpse en Brusselse moskeeën en jeugdhuizen. Inmiddels geschoold in de mystieke soefi-zang en koranrecitatie maakt hij nu als YZ zijn versie van de eerder genoemde electro pop en het resultaat is verbluffend. YZ wordt live bijgestaan door het Brusselse Gogolplex videocollectief. Verder is er de XY records label showcase uit China. Zen Lu, Echo Ho en Mulian Chen zijn afkomstig uit Shenzhen en Peking, en alledrie gelieerd aan eerder genoemde, hard aan de weg timmerende label. Hekkesluiter is niemand minder dan onze eigen Spoelstra.

YZ & GOGOLPLEX VJ's (be)
YZ is the artist alias of Younes Zarhoni; born of Moroccan parents in Antwerp, but now active in Bruxelles. Little is known about this emerging artist but that is likely to change soon judging by his intriguing music; a catchy mix of gritty electro pop and Arab singing (Younes is a scholar of Quran recitation and mystic sufi singing). YZ is about to release a vinyl record on the Belgian Lexi Disques (Colombey, City Hands, TAV Exotic, The Rebel). At Vrooom, YZ will perform with the Brusselian audio-visual collective GOGOLPLEX.
https://yz-music.bandcamp.com/
http://gogolplex.be/

ZEN LU (cn)
Zen Lu is a sound artist, event curator, and founder of the Shenzhen city based independent label 'We Play!' as well as and numerous other projects. The reception of Zen Lu’s meticulous digital music and the events organized by him has played a major role in bringing a new wave of art activities to Shenzhen, for which the latter has been long considered a cultural desert.
www.zenlu.com
https://zenlu.bandcamp.com/

ZO-ON SLOWS a.k.a. ECHO HO (cn)
Echo Ho is a Beijing-born, Cologne based artist. Her work covers installations, live performances and audiovisual compositions. She works with field recordings and experimental electroacoustic composition. In 2015 she launched her solo project Zo-on slows; merging voice, experimental beats and pop.
www.echoho.net
soundcloud.com/zo-on-slows

CHEN MULIAN (cn)
Chen Mulian is a sound/visual artist based in Beijing who co-founded of XY Records. His electronica blends ambient/soundscape elements that alltogether evoke the guarded qualities of the eastern spirit. Most of his video works are made out of raw documentations.
http://chenmulian.weebly.com/

SPOELSTRA (nl)
Spoelstra: brilliant one man mutations of noise rock and electronics made live on the spot on a guitar, a synthesizer, samplers and effect pedals. Spoelstra knows how to mold his riffs, stumbling patterns, country style outbursts and tearjerker twists into a good song. To everyone's detriment, the man is sadly still one of NL's best kept secrets, musically. So enjoy his genius now if you haven't already. Think: U.S. Maple, The Rebel, Skin Graft.
https://narrominded.bandcamp.com/album/sports-and-finance

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This event is made possible with kind support of Popunie Rotterdam.

Sat, June 18: VROOOM 39

SATURDAY JUNE 18: VROOOM #39

–– PHONOPTICON (pt)
–– AFTERBURNER (AUDREY CHEN & DORON SADJA) (us/de)
–– REINIER VAN HOUDT (nl)
–– CANDLESNUFFER & LUKAS SIMONIS (au/nl)

location: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / 6 euro
https://www.facebook.com/events/1047986941946939/

#39: We welcome back vocalist extraordinaire Audrey Chen who will be accompanied by electronica artist Doron Sajda. Gustavo Costa also returns, this time with fellow performers Henrique Fernandes, José Alberto Gomes and Ricardo Jacinto, to extract everything out of the venue's space with the Phonopticon project. Also joining this chock-full happening: pianist and Current 93 collaborator Reinier van Houdt, and a mysterious wax snuffer...

AFTERBURNER
– DORON SADJA (electronics, light) & AUDREY CHEN (voice)
Berlin based Afterburner is the new collaborative project of vocalist extraordinaire Audrey Chen and electronica artist Doron Sadja. Some of you should remember Audrey's stunning live show with the Phil Minton at Vrooom back in May 2013... in Afterburner her idiosyncratic vocal growls and chirps are weaved together with Sadja’s dense synthetic atmospheres into a singular monolithic texture. Intimate, dark, chaotic and ritualistic, Afterburner have created a fascinating vision of romantic noise music that is all their own.
http://afterburnernoise.tumblr.com/
http://audreychen.com/
http://doron.sadja.com/

PHONOPTICON (pt)
Concert performance & audio installation inspired by the Panopticon prison which was designed by Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The Panopticon had a central 360º surveillance tower overlooking its cells. In Phonopticon, the architecture of implicit control and power is replaced by sound representations that are free and abstract; new ways of expression are explored within the areas of composition, performance, and electroacoustic spatialization. New self-built acoustic and electronic musical instruments are centered and played in the middle of the structure. The audience positions itself concentrically and is, in turn surrounded by eight loudspeakers installed at the outer limits of the circle.
http://sonoscopia.pt/en/projects/phonopticon

REINIER VAN HOUDT (nl)
Musician/composer who works with recorders, radios, objects, electronics and piano. Reinier focuses on matters that escape notation: sound, timing, space, physicality, memory, noise, environment - phenomena beyond interpretation and improvisation. He has worked with visionaries such as Francisco López, Robert Ashley, Christian Marclay, Luc Ferrari, Elliott Sharp, Walter Marchetti, and Alvin Lucier. He collaborated with CURRENT 93 on 2014's "I Am The Last Of All The Field That Fell...", with guest appearances by e.g. Nick Cave and John Zorn. He will be releasing solo work on various labels soon. At Vrooom Reinier will play music from his upcoming release "Paths Of The Errant Gaze".
www.reiniervanhoudt.nl

CANDLESNUFFER & LUKAS SIMONIS (au/nl)
Candlesnuffer aka Dave Brown is a guitarist and improviser from Melbourne. Dave has performed with e.g. Bucketrider, Western Gray, and as part of a trio with Anthony Pateras and Sean Baxter. Together with Lukas he dives into a lively and abrasive form of extended guitar improvisation that is mostly acoustic and surprisingly percussive in nature.
http://www.candlesnuffer.org/

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This event is made possible with kind support of Popunie Rotterdam.

Sat, May 28: VROOOM 38

SATURDAY MAY 28:

VROOOM #38

–– ALAN LICHT & TETUZI AKIYAMA (us/jp)
–– SEAMUS CATER (uk)
–– KOSTIS KILYMIS (gr)

location: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / entrance: €6
facebook event page

This Vrooom will showcase the diverse talents of Alan Licht, Tetuzi Akiyama, Seamus Cater, and Kostis Kilimys. Seamus' reductionist folklore (using a 1940s duet concertina) will be a nice contrast to the more abstract string jams of Licht, Akiyama, and Kilymis' electroacoustic live set. Nuno Homem (Sidewalk bookings) will be our cool 'in between' sound plasterer.


ALAN LICHT & TETUZI AKIYAMA (us/jp)
Since the late 80s, guitarists/composers Alan Licht and Tetuzi Akiyama have followed parallel paths, blurring the boundaries between rock and experimental music. Each collaborated early on with an elder statesman of the respective New York and Tokyo noise rock scenes (Licht with Rudolph Grey, Akiyama with Keiji Haino) and went on to define their own styles in various solo and group formats. The two first played together in NY in 2002, and toured New Zealand as a trio with Oren Ambarchi in 2004, resulting in 'Willow Weep and Moan for Me' – a kind of deranged drone-blues that was an extension of Licht’s work with Loren Connors, Akiyama’s bent boogie excursions, and Ambarchi’s patented booming tones. A decade later, Licht arranged a duo recording session with Akiyama in Tokyo. The two’s shared sensibilities were still intact. Ambarchi and cornetist Rob Mazurek were contacted to provide overdubs, making for two separate trios; the results will be released by Editions Mego this spring. Expect the live duo to put the spacious feel of those recordings into overdrive.
http://alanlicht.tumblr.com/
http://www.alanlicht.com/
http://www.japanimprov.com/takiyama/

SEAMUS CATER (uk)
Born in England, son of an Essex folk singer, Seamus Cater grew up surrounded by English revivalist folk music. He studied music and moved to Amsterdam in 2000, where he submerged himself in the experimental music scene. Seamus is a writer and performer, and organises the renowned DNK concert series and the Pest House living room sessions in Amsterdam. In his music he mixes English folk, jazz, and avant-garde into a seamless, enchanting blend. His literary songwriting and experimental instrumentalism is subtle and meticulously crafted. He just released his debut album "The Three Things You Can Hear" through Nearly Not There and the Lebanese Annihaya Records.
http://www.seacater.com/

KOSTIS KILYMIS (gr)
Kostis Kilymis is a Greek musician based in London. His electroacoustic music focuses on repetition, noise, immersive environments, and the relationship of sound with space. His live sets combine rhythm, field recordings and synthesised sound, reprocessed through the mixing board and microphone feedback; taking on aspects of the environment in which they are performed.
http://www.kostiskilymis.com/

Before, after, and in between the acts: Rotterdam via Aveiro / Portugal resident Nuno Homem will do a digital music selection for us. He runs the cool Sidewalk booking agency (The Space Lady, Tsembla, Ensemble Economique, Growing, etc.).
http://sidewalkbookings.blogspot.nl/
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Alan Licht & Tetuzi Akiyama are brought to you in collaboration with SoundinMotion / Oorstof.

Sat, April 30: VROOOM 37

SATURDAY, APRIL 30:

VROOOM #37

VROOOM is back at WORM with a great double bill. Just who will be able to resist the immensely evocative sounds of folk/singer-songwriter luminaries Josephine Foster and Stranded Horse? Expect haunting voices, psychedelic songs; introspective but of great scope. Latest update: UNDERBELLY recordshop will be present also!

location: WORM Rotterdam – Boomgaardsstraat 71, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00 / entrance €6 presale, €7 door
https://www.facebook.com/events/1544945055833502/
http://www.worm.org/home/view/event/62560

JOSEPHINE FOSTER (us) - with Victor Herrero
Josephine Foster is a Colorado-born modern American folk singer-songwriter. As a teen she worked as a funeral and wedding singer, and aspired to become an opera singer. Later she changed her mind and began to record her own songs that started her songwriting career. Josephine's albums are based on a wide variety of things; interpretations of 19th-century German folk songs, children's songs, poems (Lorca, Emily Dickinson, James Joyce, etc.), and Spanish folk songs. She also released an album of psychedelic rock ('All the Leaves Are Gone') which has drawn comparisons to Patti Smith and Jefferson Airplane, and 'There Are Eyes Above'; ukulele accompanied songs influenced by Tin Pan Alley.
http://www.josephinefoster.info/
http://josephinefoster.bandcamp.com/

STRANDED HORSE (fr/sn)
Originating from Normandy, multi-instrumentalist Yann Tambour first made music as ENCRE, a project sampling strings, piano and voice. Following album and EP releases under that name, Yann started to experiment with the kora (the lute-bridge-harp made from calabash gourd and cowhide commonly played in West Africa), gradually developing his own playing technique and building his own versions of the instrument. Marrying this with his singular approach to the singer/songwriter idiom, STRANDED HORSE (formerly Thee, Stranded Horse) came into being in the mid-noughties. In previous line ups of Stranded Horse, Tambour played with feted Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko, but on this tour Boubacar Cissokho from Senegal will do the duties.
http://www.strandedhorse.com/

This event is brought to you in conjunction with Sandwich-Island

Wed, April 6: VROOOM 36

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 06:

VROOOM #36
with:
– LUCAS ‘GRANPA’ ABELA (au)
– BOB BELLERUE (us)
– FILLINTHEGAP (it/nl)

location: Pink Pank - Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / start: 21:00
https://www.facebook.com/events/1097593303613787/

Vrooom number thirtysix; nail biting stuff! Find out whether Aussie underground guru Lucas Abela (formerly Justice Yeldham) finally became a sensible man or will revert to his older glass eating habits... if Ruben Brovida and Stefano Sgarbi will be minding that gap of theirs, and what Bob Bellerue has to say about all this!

LUCAS ‘GRANPA’ ABELA (au)
Granpa is the new persona for maverick Australian musician Lucas Abela. Abela performs on shards of broken glass turned into crude musical instruments. He purses his lips against the panes and vibrates them using vocal techniques akin to throat singing crossed with raspberries, creating an erratic array of strangely controlled, while oddly musical, cacophonous noise. While Yeldham is centered on ecstatic pure improvisation often resulting in maniacal performances, Granpa is an attempt to rein in the instrument and take it in a more musical direction. Abela hopes the change might help to dispel the negative connotations his bloody forays as Yeldham have created, the blood for some overshadowing a unique musical output. However this transformation is far from complete Yeldham being the Hyde to Granpa’s Jekyll, occasionally taking over his subconscious.­
http://dualplover.com/yeldham/

BOB BELLERUE (us)
Veteran experimentalist from Brooklyn NY. Over the last 25 years he has been involved in a wide range of creative activities; experimental electronic music, junk metal percussion ensembles, Balinese gamelan, sound scores for dance / theater / video / performance art, and installations. His recent sound work is focused on resonant feedback systems, objects and spaces, and Supercollider programming. Bob's work has been presented at dozens of festivals, and his discography includes an equally impressive slew of releases on RRR Records, Important Records, etc. He curates and produces music events, including the 'Ende Tymes Festival of Noise'. Before coming to NY, he ran the music/performance space the Il Corral in Los Angeles, and curated the 'Beyond Music' series and festival. He is presently working for Issue Project Room.
http://bobbellerue.net/

FILLINTHEGAP (it/nl)
FillinTheGap is Ruben Brovida and Stefano Sgarbi, an Italian duo that are active in The Hague underground scene, and are closely tied to the Sonology department of the Royal Conservatory. Their music is deeply rooted in the sonic explorations with electroacoustic devices, and developed through free improv and live processing. They aim to fill gap, the unknown, the unpredictable; the gap being the unsafe, unconventional spot that may exist between two different worlds.
http://www.fillinthegap.tk/

Wed, March 23: VROOOM 35

VROOOM #35
with:
– FRITS JONKER (nl)
– JANNE ERAKER / BRUNO FERRO XAVIER DA SILVA (nl)
– SATO NAOMI (jp)
– MACHINEFABRIEK / SUBTERRANEANACT (nl)

location: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 / entrance: €6
https://www.facebook.com/events/1702119436667253/

Not a night for one trick pony-isms. Fingertapdance the evening away, Vrooom, technicolor style.

SATO NAOMI (jp)
Sato Naomi is a skilled saxohonist, composer, and Sho player from Tokyo. She studied the Sho instrument (a traditional Japanese mouth organ) with Ko Ishikawa at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. She has collaborated with many composers and played with numerous ensembles, and currently is the Sho player in Atlas Ensemble (Amsterdam). Moreover, Naomi gives workshops and lectures (on the ‘Contemporary music scene through Japanese traditional music’) in many academies of music and universities worldwide.
www.sato-naomi.com

JANNE ERAKER / BRUNO FERRO XAVIER DA SILVA (nl)
Janne Eraker is a versatile Norwegian/German tap dancer. Her work is a crossover of contemporary dance, art and all kinds of music. She has initiated the Rotterdam 'Open Dans' festival (2009 - 2013), and has recently become the recipient of a three year Norwegian Artist Grant. For Rotterdam residents with a fair amount of interest in music, Bruno hardly needs an introduction; this virtuoso bassplayer spearheads many succesful bands. As a duo, Janne and Bruno wow audiences with their unusual performance.
http://janneeraker.com/
http://www.brunoferroxavierdasilva.com/

MACHINEFABRIEK / SUBTERRANEANACT (nl)
Bass-clarinetist / electronica player Henk Bakker (Subterraneanact) and expert knob twiddler Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) recently accepted a challenge to do a live duo improv session that was, in fact, partly rehearsed. The two hit it off like a pressure-cooker and the music was recorded and released as ‘Persistent Objects’. Tonight is basically a continuation of the project and mini record release party to boot.
http://www.hekvibes.com/
http://www.machinefabriek.nu/

FRITS JONKER (nl)
Frits Jonker made a career as a comic book-letterer and has been doing this for over 25 years. He also designs posters and logos, and could be generally described as an image fetishist. One of his works is a daily fanzine of which 2000 editions were archived in book form, entitled 'Showcase'. At Vrooom Frits Jonker will present a reading about the oddities of the music world, combined with other artifacts he has collected over the years; an inexhaustable grab bag of fun facts, and pataphysics.
http://showcase.thebluebus.nl/

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This event is made possible with kind support of Popunie Rotterdam.

VROOOM - UPCOMING + 'Between The Frames...'

Here's a quick rundown of upcoming VROOOM shows:

February 17:
Vrooom's READYMADE #1:
Dennis Verschoor, Jorrit Westerhof, Henk bakker, Memory stream, Hugo Costa
@ Poortgebouw - Stieltjesstraat 38, Rotterdam
https://www.facebook.com/events/1707409376212790/

April 6: PAUL DE JONG (nl / The Books) + LUCAS ABELA (au)
@ PINK PANK - Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
https://www.facebook.com/events/1097593303613787/

April 30: JOSEPHINE FOSTER (us) + STRANDED HORSE (fr)
@ WORM - Boomgaardsstraat 71, Rotterdam
https://www.facebook.com/events/1544945055833502/

More info to be announced.
Meanwhile, check out TOMOKO SAUVAGE, tomorrow during:

'BETWEEN THE FRAMES: Japanese Experimental Film/Sound Marathon'
Wednesday, February 11, 2016.


Filmwerkplaats Rotterdam and Sandwich-Island present a multifaceted event of experimental film and sound from Japanese artists.
TOMOKO SAUVAGE (jp / live)
The delicate work of sound-artist Tomoko Sauvage deals with the balance between controlled and uncontrolled noise; resonating from water bowls of different sizes, and amplified with hydrophones. Sauvage has been giving performances and exhibitions in Europe, US, Canada and Japan, often as a solo artist, but also in collaboration with musicians and choreographers. Her works have been released by and/OAR (US), aposiopèse (BE), and Dokidoki editions (FR).

FULL PROGRAMME:

19.00 – 21.00
● JAPANESE EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILMS (prolific years | 1975-1980)

21.00 – 22.00
● TOMOKO SAUVAGE (live performance)

22.00 – 23.45
● FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (Toshio Matsumoto, 1969, feature film)

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18.00 – 00.00 | presale: 6€ / door: 7€
Location: Worm – Boomgaardsstraat 71, Rotterdam

extensive info here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/915415275239718/
http://www.worm.org/home/view/event/37862

Fri, Jan 22: VROOOM 34

VROOOM #34
with:
– HAN BENNINK & OSCAR JAN HOOGLAND
– BMB CON. (Justin Bennett | Wikke 't Hooft | Roelf Toxopeus)
– WIM LANGENHOFF
& DJ Frederic Van de Velde.

location: Pink Pank – Delftsestraat 9, Rotterdam
doors: 20:30 | entrance: €6
https://www.facebook.com/events/1497857507187088/

Our first in 2016! Vrooom's 34th will take place at our newly found habitat PINK PANK. The place where Post-Office also have their base. It's tough not to wax lyrical about percussionist Han Bennink's first live show at Vrooom, but the rest of this bill is also the stuff of micro legends: BMB Con = one of the most mystifying sound/performance collectives from The Netherlands. Wim Langenhoff = the Philips company's former jack-of-all-trades and ex- New Electric Chamber Music Ensemble electro hippie.

HAN BENNINK & OSCAR JAN HOOGLAND (nl)
Drummer and multi-instrumentalist Han Bennink first percussion instrument was a kitchen chair. He never lost his taste for coaxing sounds from unlikely objects, and is still very fond of playing chairs. Bennink was a crucial figure for the creation of a European improvised music which developed a new identity from its jazz roots. With fellow Dutch pioneers, pianist Misha Mengelberg and saxophonist Willem Breuker, he founded the musicians collective Instant Composers Pool in 1967. Oscar Jan Hoogland represents the fourth generation of Dutch improvisers in the lineage of Misha Mengelberg, Guus Janssen and Cor Fuhler; smart pianists/composers with an itch to make music that cuts across genres. Artists that don’t take themselves too seriously, but whose whimsical music has real bite and brainpower.
http://www.hanbennink.com/
http://oscarjanhoogland.com/

BMB Con. (Justin Bennett, Wikke 't Hooft en Roelf Toxopeus)
BMB Con is a longstanding performance group working with sound, image, and whatever else they get their hands on. BMB con. was formed in 1989 by Justin Bennett, Wikke 't Hooft and Roelf Toxopeus and acted mostly as a fixed trio. Since 2006 BMB con. is a collaboration between the BMB con. core duo and various individuals and groups depending on the occasion.
http://www.bmbcon.demon.nl/con/

WIM LANGENHOFF (nl) aka Oscar Nuovo Electrico
Wim Langenhoff is an enigmatic figure; inventor & artist. He used to be the jack of all trades at the Philips compound. He invented the first Dutch D/A (Digital/Audio) convertor in 1965. As 'Oscar Nuovo Electrico' he became the driving force of the legendary New Electric Chamber Music Ensemble; a group of musicians and artists from Eindhoven that were pioneering electronic experimentation and improvision, which they started to incorporate in their 'happenings' (performances, paintings, lightshows) circa 1966. Later, Langenhoff became involved with the Instituut Voor Betaalbare Waanzin. Vrooom invites him in tribute to his inventions of whimsical contemporary electronics; the stuff that can fill up quite a few shelves in modern homes but still needed to be invented back in the day.
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This event is made possible with kind support of Popunie Rotterdam