musacolmuso

2011-10-18T08:46:00.000+02:00

| FRANCESCA GRILLI & GIORGIO ANDREOTTA CALO’ |

Hoop Doop meets Francesca Grilli and Giorgio Andreotta Calò
Interview by: Agnese Roda

“HOUSE WITH A VIEW ON ART LIFE”

How did you start thinking about being an artist? Is there a specific moment you realized that was the beginning of your career? It can be anything … a meeting, a revelation, an inspiration …

Giorgio: When I moved to Holland I was able to work as a “full-time” artist. That was the only condition, because it allows you to think of yourself as a real artist. And it turns a dream, ambition, and aspiration into a fact. As a young kid, I wanted to be a fisherman.

Francesca: I think it has always been a requirement for my well-being. Since childhood, I remember myself drawing, the effort I put in the first ones, into realizing them. I do not remember ever having thought you could have done anything else in life. Then, in order to make Art, I became a full time artist and it ‘took a little’ time to achieve it. I like to think life itself is the art form that accompanies me, and the final work is the result, the fruit of it.

What do you like about your job?

Giorgio: A vision becomes reality. I like being a spectator of any work and I can get excitement, energy, from it. I love challenges. Heavy, hard work is an experience that allows you to do any work, always different, always new. I have no risk of getting bored.

Francesca: The feeling and the strength. Appearance, occult, talisman, coded messages, language, and what is indecipherable. People who know me think I can find all these things in my work. It is my intimate daily practice of finding myself. It ‘s my sport, the oxygen in my bones. As well as torture and punishment.

Do you work every day? Could you describe a typical day at work?

Giorgio: I always work. My work is the result of a continuous time invested and never limited. It shapes from meditation and solitude, as well as sharing with others. I cannot separate my life from work. They are only one thing.

Francesca: Since Agata, our baby, is born work rhythms are different. Before I was used to working disciplined, dedicated to it. Now I start my day with kindergarten and rhythms are dictated by life. In Amsterdam, I have a study in the Smart Project Space, but the real work is done elsewhere, outside, in different locations and ideas come at unexpected times.

Your partner is an artist? How do you live a life of art?

Giorgio: I really appreciate Francesca. To some, the condition of artistic life is very heavy. Painful, unbearable.Francesca and I chose for a life where the art is very present. I hope this will become a privileged status for my daughter, an intense and happy presence, and an experience where there is no heaviness and pain.

Francesca: Art life can be reality, even though not always surrounded by an atmosphere of romance and absinthe. In fact, it is hard and pragmatic. There are clashes with yours and the other person’s ego and that is your mirror. You grow together, always trying to be true, to support and sustain each other. It requires patience and love. But it is also super fun, especially when Agata will be older, she will be swept away by our surreal projects, life, and work. I could not think of my life in a different way.

What are your artistic influences?

Giorgio: I am mainly influenced from artists who have operated in Between the 60’s and 70’s.

Francesca: Maya Deren, Demetrio Stratos, Walerian Borowsky, and Laurie Anderson.

What inspires you on a daily basis?

Giorgio: You cannot be inspired daily, because inspiration is a state of exceptional depth, which comes from an impulse. One of the thousand you face every day.

Francesca: Giorgio gives me the possibility to think deeply on the job and I thank him for this kind of not easy, but essential exchange. Agata is the purest and greatest thing I have ever made. In this moment of my life, family feeds my inspiration.

What music do you listen to?

Giorgio: My musical knowledge is very limited. I also read very little. Probably because I invest too much time in listening, observing, feeling.

Francesca: There were several musical phases in my life. I have listened to so many different things. Lately I have been researching lullabies, and I also try to use them in my work. I use sound in a wide and extensive way.

Favorite movie?

Giorgio: Tarkovsky created 7 masterpieces.

Francesca: Picnic at Hanging Rock, Peter Weir, 1975

If you weren’t an artist, what would your job be?

Giorgio: I have never thought about it. I did a lot of jobs in the past. Maybe I would have been a doctor, like my father. It would have been a good way to understand him better and try to live in a completely different way.

Francesca: The life is art; I would do everything I could get from it.

Why making art today is important?

Giorgio: Today valuable and important things are measured in economic terms, in market terms. If you do not exist in the market, you do not exist as an artist. Of course, this has nothing to do with the value of the work itself, because making art does not strictly mean generating financial gain. It does not necessarily refer to the product of a cultural industry. The question might then be, why is it today that producing profit (making money) is important? Why does Economy decide about aesthetic value (defined as the convergence and synthesis of higher values, “the Beautiful” as a whole)? To be able to answer these questions I should go far in writing. Reality remains then as a response to this situation, the artist today can become a form of resistance and commitment, even in defense of a social role and values, which are completely missing nowadays.

Francesca: Our most intimate side is usually disconnected from real community life. It is our duty to try to reconnect our souls with the rest of the world. Art, in its widest sense, allows you to create this bridge to link yourself and society, even though it is a deep and painful experience. The artist in contemporary society covers the role the Wizard had in the past. Every community should have Art, to illuminate the path and identify new ways to follow it.

A story of Bijlmer Rap!

2011-09-02T08:44:00.000+02:00

DRET EN KRULLE – BIJLMER STYLE |

Hoop Doop meets Dret en Krulle.
Interview by: Agnese Roda

Photos by: Attilio Brancaccio

What’s your name, where do you come from, how did you become a rapper?

I am Dret, I am 25 years old and I come from Bijlmer. Amsterdam South East. Neighbourhood Kraaiennest.
I was always interested in music, and with music I mean all music.
I don’t know when it was; I think I was 10 or something, at that time I already listened to some hip-hop tunes…
A friend of mine showed me some CDs from No Limits Records he was bringing them almost every week… I went so deep into them… I was almost like a collector; I had to have everything from them.
I was really into hip hop, I like it very much but at that time I wasn’t even making my own music until my cousin brought me to his project team. I was 14 or 15.
This is cool, I thought. I started joining him and then we made a group called VaderLozeTroepe. We were five guys. I was always with him; we are cousins and he is also my best friend.
Later on I met Krulle via an ex of mine.
He looked older than me. Already when he was 13 he had a beard and a big moustache!
When I am with Krulle, people think I am the young one. But he is now 21, while I am 25.

So it is more than 10 years you rap together?

Yes man, we go back 10 years. When I met him he was already rapping and I heard a song from him, it was about his teacher and he was kind of brutal in the tone. I thought “you filthy mouthed little boy”…you are good, I like that.
I felt we were the same… If I want to say something, I say it, and if you don’t like it: Fuck it!
I told him I am going to take you and you are going to rap with me.I brought Krulle to VLT. We were always linked to them; it happened they represented us.
VLT was my cousin’s project, it was never meant to be big…
When I had Krulle “under my wing” we started performing all together. More people started to follow the project. But, it wasn’t making money.
My cousin had responsibilities so they were doing it only for fun… but people wanted to have more…

Then when did you arrive to De Grote Prijs van Nederland on your own?

It happened when M.O en Brakko won De Prijs in 2008. I thought if he can do it, we also want to do it. We liked to try it, we didn’t have anything to lose, so why not…
How are we going to do this? We thought. We had to make things clearer for people.
Was it Dret en Krulle, or VLT?
So we gathered all the guys and explained them we wanted to try to participate, under the name Dret en Krulle. They agreed. The duo began with De Grote Prijs.
If you look at the videos before that, you see video from VLT with Dret en Krulle rapping.
Our first independent video was “Verder”.
De Grote Prijs is a performance battle and they look at how many people you bring, if you rock the crowd. In 2009 we won and our story changed. We didn’t start this to go big, but it turned out like that. And I really like it.
We just said… Fuck, we give it a shot, and until the first final we didn’t take it so seriously… the sound wasn’t perfect… but they gave us the benefit based on the feel for the potential we had. When we arrived to the final, we took care of all those things, we mixed all the beats, and we went practicing…
We had never practiced before! Never in life, maybe just few minutes before the show…
The final helped us to make this all thing serious and professional…
If we can go to the finals, we can go big, we are good… we said to ourselves, if we can get that chance we are going to rock… and we are going to win…
I remember the last seconds of the performance, when we felt we were going to win, it was such a good feeling!tv

Then when did you arrive to How did you career change?

It is Holland, so it is not that big like the US, but people around recognize us.
In 2 years we made Holland recognizing us!
2010 was a lot of gigs, every week a show, especially in the South of Holland, Tilburg, and Eindhoven, Den Bos all the big venues.

What about the choice of rapping in Dutch?

It is our language, we never rapped English. When I talk, I talk in Dutch.

Any other influences?

In the neighbourhood we have the so-called Bijlmer Style. Robbert Coblijn made it possible.
When we were with VLT we met him, he had the Bijlmer Style cds, merchandising…
This guy doesn’t make music; he only invests money in projects from Bijlmer.
He said, “I want to work with you guys”.
Now we are Samen Sterk with Marvin Fonseca. Those two guys made things possible; they first brought music to Bijlmer to make people aware of it and then invested on it.
If you were from Bijlmer you wanted for sure to be in the cd. District 7 we were in!
Now we are still working with the same people.

What do you listen to?

Hip-hop, reggae, dubstep, drum and bass UK grime.

How is your album going to sound?

For our album we don’t try to sound like anything else. There are no rules; only it has to sound good!
It doesn’t have to be like something, it has to sound like us. Of course there are influences, mainly dubstep and drum’n bass, but also hip-hop.

Anybody featuring you?

We try to keep it “us”.
The featuring’s are for vocals, something we cannot do ourselves, like reggae rapping…
We have collective projects but those are different than albums, maybe more for Internet.

How is your neighbourhood?

We love it!
If you meet somebody from Bijlmer and you ask him where does he come from, he is not going to
tell you, I am from Amsterdam, he is going to say, ”I am from Bijlmer”. It is a Stadsdeel promotion.
When I am abroad I never mention Amsterdam, I say I am from Bijlmer.

Is Bijlmer different from Amsterdam?

Yes it is.

First of all it is a different mix of black ethnic groups. I was born in Suriname and my parents came to Holland when I was 3 years old, directly to Kraaiennest. At that time there weren’t too many people living there, there were Surinamese, Antillean later, then Dominican and the last one to arrive are African.
That is Bijlmer.
In the early years you couldn’t see white people and if you saw them they weren’t the typical white people. All the white people we met we were like” Wow man, what happened to you?’
Now many different people live there, many flats were torn down.
People left for places like Almere.

Is Bijlmer different from Amsterdam?

A little bit. When I was young it was.
Now it turned into a lovely area, not dangerous at all. 20 years ago, that was a different story.
Netherlands was nice, Bijlmer was … no words!
Even Amsterdam was looking at us a bit scared.
If you were in Bijlmer people started looking at you, Hey nice shoes man, nice hat… I even like your shirt and suddenly you were naked. Take it off… and you were not going to say no.
I was very young and I got robbed once. I was maybe 8 years and they guy looked so big, he was probably 20. I just got a new bike, Kraaiennest was very big. The Arena didn’t even exist. I was biking when this guy came “Stop. Give me the bike”. And I was “ Are you fuckin serious?”
Give me the bike… and he was serious… he took it and he went away.
Then I was alone and I thought “Fuck, now I have even a bigger problem, I have to say it to my mother”.
I thought I would have preferred to be arrested by police, so I could stay out for a reason, instead of going home and say to her my bike was stolen.
But that was the only time.
If you grow up in an environment that is tougher than the rest, it will also make you a tougher person.

How are people from Bijlmer?

People in Bijlmer don’t go out of there.
If I go out, I go to a coffeeshop and go back.

Aren’t there coffeeshops in Bijlmer?

No. It is not possible.

If you are from Bijlmer you don’t want to go out of Bijlmer, and if you are not from Bijlmer you don’t want to go to Bijlmer.
We maybe don’t have very high-level education, diplomas, and stuff like that, but we are very talented in music, in art, theatre, sport, and bikes.
People here don’t have much and they try to get the best out of it.
We are also very passionate, no matter what we do. When somebody is happy we share it with everybody.
When we went to Paradiso for the Final performance, all Bijlmer was there, full of emotions.
Things like discrimination don’t really exist. We just look for honesty.
You can be white, a nerdy dude but a cool guy, then you are for us a nerdy dude and cool guy.
We see it.
If you come to Bijlmer and you try to be someone you are not. Then it doesn’t matter if you are big or not, we are going to fuck you up!

Heroic Failure. A day with Artist Jozeph Van der Heijden

2011-08-26T10:36:00.002+02:00

| HEROIC FAILURE |

Not everybody can say, “I have spent a day with Napoleon.”

I can.

Last week I met the Dutch Artist Jozef Van Der Heijden and spoke with him about his project “Heroic Failure.”

The concept behind was conceived a long time ago in his mother’s library, when he read about historical characters in biographies available on the bookshelf.

He found one about Napoleon and immediately felt attracted to his character and his myth.

From there, years later came the idea of choosing Napoleon’s story as a theme.

Reading more and more about him, he learned there were even more books written about Napoleon’s life than about Jesus. - What is impressive about Napoleon is the propaganda he made for his image! - says Jozef.

Later on, he discovered movies about him, and from these he could dig for more knowledge. One was a particularly inspiring, black and white images, from Abel Gance, a 1927, epic silent story about the rise of Napoleon and France.

It was a very interesting movie, he thought, but it was about the rise and magnificence of Napoleon. In life what I like the most are the mistakes, and the process related to making mistakes.

I decided then to title my work “Heroic Failure” and what I focused on, was the failure of the hero.

After you reach the top, and you fall, there is a sort of drama, and this is what I find interesting to analyse. In the end winning is not interesting, because you can learn more from when you fail”. I thought I could have been Napoleon myself, first because as an artist I could have worked with myself, which is really convenient, because I am always available, second because we have things in common: small, thin, like fashion, make mistakes!

In 2006 Jozef was exactly the same age as Napoleon was when he lost the Battle of Waterloo (1815) and was exiled to Saint Helena island. This is when Jozef started his project.

The work is about me being Napoleon. It is a continuous comparison in between me and him… curriculum vitae, zodiac signs… It is a composite work, where I mix short videos with photography, fashion, and performance, depending on what is needed.

I will stop recording the work in 2012, when I reach the same amount of year, 6, from the exile to Napoleon’s death.

Reading about his life Jozef got many hints for a comparison, for instance he could study small facts that became historically important, so important to be in books.

When he was in a battle in Egypt, he cut his hair shorter because he was warm.”

I thought, “I could have also done the same thing and make an heroic act.”

I cut my hair; I took a picture of it and turned it into an act.

I even got a page in a newspaper. I found it very interesting, I am nothing, the fact that I cut my hair means nothing, but because I did it as Napoleon, I got a page in a newspaper. Isn’t it fun?’ The imitation/emulation becomes a fun project… the goal is not to be accurate, but playful!

My “being Napoleon” is not made with the intent of being accurate, it is more based on improvisation.”

When I was in Art school, I was used to perform with this friend of mine. We never rehearsed before performing, because we wanted people to see us improvising, and making mistakes. People laugh about mistakes! You can feel it is mean, but I see it more as hilarious.

In Dutch, there is a particular way of saying “Geen beter vermaak dan leedvermaak” that literally means “there is no entertainment if no amuse .” It is a really Dutch concept applicable to the situations where by making mistakes you make people laugh. The important thing is that you laugh about it, you laugh about making mistakes!

Things don’t have to be accurate all the time; I have a kind of rejection for accuracy.

The fashion part where I build up costumes is also based on a fun approach. I sew them with the help of friends or on my own,

I also create merchandise, always imitating Napoleon style…

I have an espresso cup with my Napoleon face and mini sculptures. I like all kinds of publicity; I like people to talk about me, because this contributes to build up the image… exactly as Napoleon liked to do…!

And even in the failure, people will always remember you.

Interview with Manuela Talana

2011-08-26T10:22:00.000+02:00

About Manuela
› 34 years old Italian
› Holland Director of Studiolingua,
Italian Language and Culture School

Hi Manuela, tell me a bit about your first time in the Netherlands
I came in 1996 to visit my grandparents.  My mother is Dutch and lives in Italy since 1971.  During that trip I decided to stay in Holland in order to learn Dutch.

Did you speak Dutch when you arrived?
Not at that moment cause my mother has been always speaking to me in Italian.  I immediately followed a Dutch course, and once I was speaking fluently, I found a job in Alkmaar as a secretary for a cosmetic company.

After that very first job, I passed the selection procedure for an administrative job position at the Italian Cultural Institute.

That was in 1999.   I worked there for 11 years. I started as an administrative employee and I ended up being a "factotum."  But I learned everything I know. Everything, really!

And then?
I started realising I could have stayed there forever. It was funny and at the same time scary to think about it, cause people do not always imagine themselves doing the same job for the rest of their life! At least I do not.

I was sometimes bumping into some documents to add my signature, official papers where it was stated I was entitled to cover that position until 2041, when I would have turned 65 and entitled to retirement…

So, you left and established your own business in the Netherlands?
It was not that easy. In the beginning, when I first quit the job, I had to recover from a long hard working period, therefore, I decided to take some sort of "sabbatical period." A break with a number: 44, like my vacation days.

And a world full of ideas in front of me. After a while I came back, to be myself again. I visited my parents in Sardinia, went back to my hometown, "the nest,” and rested. During my break number 44, many teachers and collaborators in Amsterdam did not know I quit the job and started calling me on my private number, asking for the usual feedback about the coming year at the Institute.

Many of them were upset hearing I left the job and started brainstorming on how it would have been nice to have a school.

And then it happened: I got my energy and my bravery back, fold it in my suitcase, and flew back to Amsterdam. I went to the KVK and asked about the possibilities and discussed my idea.

I figured out the easiest way was to build anEenmanszaak; I could be the director and president, while teachers are "direct" employees.

Then, it was time for a name and we decided for Studiolingua. Later, we found a perfect location, an old school in De Pijp! We thought maybe it was destiny! From that moment, the adventure began!

Why a school project?
We started focusing on what we wanted to offer and to whom. We realised we wanted to reach a Dutch "Italofilo" audience, the Dutch who loves Italy, and that we wanted to provide a full immersion on Italian culture and language.

Apart from language courses, we wanted to have fun and give an overview of our peculiar bizarre country: Italy, with all its contradictions, beauty, poetry and art. We started designing and structuring courses, alternative kind of lessons like: Dutch to Italian translation course, The divine comedy: Dante Alighieri’s readings lessons, The Reading Club: discussion about Italian books, Mystery in Italy with movie and documentaries and a see & discuss session about the dark side of Italian history, Italian Pop music, a lesson DJ set about music in the 20th century..

And the language courses?
The courses are tailored made for a small group of people (max. 10) depending on their level.

We focus on improving the learning process in a direct, fun and immediate way, like we do for the Italian class for children where they learn to speak through games and theatre acts… always according to the EU learning guidelines.

Of course, we give enough attention to the grammar basis, but we also want it fast and fun so students can say something already in the beginning.

Furthermore, we have also created flexible packages, adaptable to our audience needs: you can choose to attend only one lesson, or buy the whole course. Studiolingua combines Dutch efficiency with a warm Italian heart!

Any survival tips for the expats?
No one will help you if you do not try to make it yourself first. You always have to find out things by yourself.

Here you can keep your values, but at the same time adapt to a more structured and focused country, where people learn to make it by themselves. In the beginning they can look like closed people but that is misleading. They are open to (almost) everything international; they like to share this passion for what is different and allow you to be different in their country. But you have to show you can make it for yourself.

Interview with Stephane Serra

2011-08-26T10:21:00.000+02:00

About Stephane Serra (aka Hank Disaster)
› Co-creator & Art director of Bon Esprit
› Entertainer, writer, event designer, DJ & producer
› South of France and around, French West Indies - Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Where does the name Bon Esprit come from?
The name "Bon Esprit" is taken from the French journalist and radio speaker Alain Maneval, who was sharing great music options / suggestions. Bon Esprit was his way of expressing something cool and relaxing; something that gives a good feeling… We thought the expression reflects our idea of a great evening.

How did it start?
Back in June 2009, I and my friend Cecile started hanging around with other French and at some point we decided to go deeper: Jean Baptiste "Blusher" found a bar in Reguliersdwarstraat, we posted a Facebook event for a party and 300 people showed up!

We started throwing parties on a monthly basis and after the "first experiments," we were charging a couple of euros so we could afford to built and establish better line up every time.

Code 21 and Minibar were big hits and thus, we decided to find a stage, Winston Kingdom.

We established a company and started live acts, underground artists, mixing... Rock & Roll with electro noise… such as: The Anomalys, We love Machines, Children su madre, Fata “El moustache” morgana…

Soon, with Winston's collaboration, we met our trustful sponsors: Absolut Vodka and Zarb Champagne.

What about the Bon Esprit team?
I am in charge of the programme and artists, venues and partners, while the following have been - and some still are - involved even though most of them work on their projects:
› Bertrand "LePop" was responsible of our visuals for more than a year before creating his own fashion brand.
› Romain "Shishibey" is DJing, creating the werdest dress codes and doing all the things that he is the only one to do (No comments).
› Nassim "Nashroom" takes care of the finance (project and pre-parties).
› Jean Baptiste "Blusher," Ulysse "Mr U" and Cecile "Minou" make sure that everybody is enjoying every second (by using our famous Absolut Vodka Guns for example)!
› Gregory Duris and Dylan Glyn Jones are in charge of our visuals and Monyart is our official photographer.

Tell me more about your parties
The inspiration is French Punk Chic; we throw parties for people who like surprises! We had, for example, Le Cat Fight (8 women DJing)...

Photos by Monyart

...fancy dress picnicks in Sarphati Park, iPod Battle in Mini Bar, Southern Redneck party with crazy electro and much more.

We believe in quality and diversity; we want to offer our crowd as many happenings as possible at the same time.

For example, thanks to Linda and Jeff, we brought a Zarb Champagne and Absolut vodka bar at Jeffery West's shop - a designer shoe shop with an incredible identity - and mixed it with Fiiixfrom Ficha and temporary expo of artists including Monyart, Amstersam and Monark, three very talanted Amsterdam-based artists.

Your daily life inspiration?
Art and especially, poetry. Poetry is my Thai boxing!

Upcoming events & projects?
Once per month at House of Rising (Saturday) as well as Winston Kingdom until September; we have already booked several bands (Fusee Doree, Fata "El moustache" Morgana, The Brimstone Days, Bomber Leo, King Kong Kobra) and DJs (NoaBoner, Bloody Disco,S.A.D.P, Pascal Montfort and his parisian friends, Alex Kaseta).

The Itinerant Zarb Champagne bar will keep on moving all around town with a stop at Jeffery West's shop in the beginning of June and we will organise a number of private parties for companies.

Finally, we work with Audiopleasures and also discussing about teaming up with some talented expat crews to organise a festival in September but sssshhhhhhhh!!!! It's a secret!

I enjoy interviewing people with a story to tell, a project to unfold, a dream to share… always with an amazing bottle of wine selected for the occasion.

For Stephane's unique style, Purato, Feudo di Santa Tresa, 2009, Nero D'Avola di Sicilia (still red, 13,5%) was chosen.

Produced by organically grown grapes, one of the "main expressions of Sicily" took the third place at the Internationaler Bioweinpreis (2010).

Plus recycled glass (85%) and packaging with vegetable-based ink!

Interwiew with Anett Kulcsar

2011-08-26T10:17:00.000+02:00

How did you fall in love with music?
I saw Kraftwerk - my first big concert - when I was 10 and wanted to know more.. to learn everything!  

Your music background in Hungary?
There was a club called Black Hole, where they were playing Primus, Bad Religion.. I was too young to enter but I was hanging around with older guys, part of the local underground community.

Then, I attended a couple of acid parties - the first house parties in Hungary, organised by some friends in unexpected locations - and I wanted to play. However, I soon realised that I had to have my own equipment and in order to buy technics, mixer and records.   Salaries (just like the political system) in Hungary were crap so I decided to move abroad. 

First years in the Netherlands?
I moved to Holland in 1996 to replace an au pair for a few months. I thought it was a good opportunity to save some money and see a new country.  

I took a bus full of girls, some of who were going to end up in the red light district, according to the travesty in the next seat who was responsible for bringing them over. Btw I am not sure if they were aware of that.. 

I spent three months with a crazy, wealthy family and then, an astronomer I met at a meeting organised by an Hungarian association offered me another job! 

How did you end up with turntables?
I bought an Akai turnable for 1 gulden on Queen’s Day; really old-school so I had to practice a lot.  

Georgio Schultz, who had sold me some vinyls when I was in Hungary, was playing in Zandvoort and I decided to attend. During the performance, I met one of his crew members, who told me a lot about their work and asked a friend if I could sleep over since the next train was hours away. Btw this friend became my boyfriend later and taught me a lot about the Dutch culture.  

Anyway, I started playing in Haarlem and organising my own parties, the Womenwaves, at Stalker and later on at Patronaat. Then, I was invited to play at a party with an old schoolmate from Budapest, with whom we started a new concept, the Budapest Delight.

After working as a medical secretary for almost three years, I decided to study media technology. Georgio’s introduction to production and the Human Computer Interaction class (final semester) gave birth to my project: a live act where you could interact without standing behind a laptop. 

My alter ego, DANSOR (dance + sensor) was born!

I graduated with this cum laude and started performing in clubs (Sugar Factory, Paradiso and many more), but not everyone "was getting it." The Wii was not launched yet :)  

My aim is to combine and apply techniques used in experimental music / art scene in clubs with danceable music.

What are you working on lately?
I work as a Freelance Designer and just started a label called Comport Records together with local artists (Soundbalance, Von Smir and Mr. Minimalistic).  

My music was also released on many different labels including Sensei (UK), We Are Live (UK), Whose Haus (Canada), Little Mountain / This Is (NL), Comport (NL) and Nervous (US).

I also switched to Wiimotes for shorter acts (15 minutes) and started discovering Kinect together with oneseconds. In fact, we recently had our first Kinect installation, "Avoid The Void" (Comport Records Showcase, Patronal).

For hourly performances I use the Akai APC-40 - Akai still rules ;) - and prefer to play live with other musicians like I did with Saskia Laroo (trumpet) the last time. I really loved that!

Agnese enjoys interviewing people with a story to tell, a project to unfold, a dream to share… always with an amazing bottle of wine selected for the occasion.

For Anett Kulcsar, Pignoletto Prima Edizione, Cuvee 09, Vallona’s farm, Castello Serravalle (BO), Italy was chosen.

A sweet and strong aromatic wine from Pignoletto grapes and age-old vines; white and gently fizzy.

London, Beijng, Shangai. The music of lights.

2011-03-10T06:08:00.009+01:00

In the last months I traveled.

Biting the lights of the night.

Feeling it light.

Wanting one more bite.

A bit more.

London isn’t grey at all.

Beijng is a composition for mac and darkness.

Shangai arrives in the end, like a symphonic orchestra.

An interview with myself as an Expat!

2010-12-22T07:06:00.002+01:00

My name is Agnese and I try to explore what "being abroad" really means; an essence of who I am, where I come from, where I am now and who are the people around me.

This is "an interview with myself" as an expat!

Why did you move?

I moved to Amsterdam to escape a failed relationship; a broken heart without job, house or love that had to re-define itself through a new challenge. Moving abroad was a risk and a necessity.

Why Holland?

I did not choose Holland. It just happened! After an MA and numerous "low-paid" jobs in Italy, I caught myself applying jobs all over the world. I was desperately looking for a new start, a decent contract, a feeling of safety. But nothing was coming up. I changed my CV so many times that I did not know who I were anymore. And then, I bumped into a wonderful poem from a Polish poet, Wislawa Szimborska.

Suddenly, I knew; I could neither "be selected" nor adapt if I was not myself, if I did not take full advantage of my skills and talents.

And just like that, it happened. I applied for a job at an airline company and three days (plus a translation test, a capacity test and an interview in English and French) later, I was hired.

And it gets even better! One month later, I had new friends, a job training to follow (something never seen in Italy) and a gorgeous apartment on Java Island with a lovely Swiss artist.

Now, one year later, I am writing, following an electronic music production class at SAE Academy, DJing and organising parties among others.

Even though still "fine-tuning," I think I have found my way.

What happened during these years?

I figured out more about me; things I did know and acts I thought I could not perform:
› living alone
› laughing when people do not understand my funny, Italian accent

› enjoying small things like buying flowers, ordering a beer in Dutch or meeting people on the street
› falling in love in English and healing a broken heart with a smile

But above all, I learnt not to be scared of the future and see life as a challenge where you always get something if you look from a different point of view.

How did you develop? What did you find out about yourself?

I struggled a lot in the beginning. I was impatient and stressed; I wanted to grow too fast. However, in order to flourish, you have to wait. At the moment I am mastering how to wait!

How do you feel right now?

More relaxed, more focused on the things I love and on the beautiful people that I meet and am surrounded of.

I learnt how to trust people and have fun. Everything goes: cheap rock bars, vegan restaurants, Chinese massage shops, wine restaurants…

It is so easy to fall in love with Amsterdam. You just have to be yourself!

Any tips for expats?

My Brazilian friend Christie once told me: "Holland is the country of perseverance. If you are good, sooner or later you will discover it, and you will make another step!"

Moving abroad means discovering another you and that takes time.

During this interview, Soglie Vecchie, Rubicone Sangiovese, 2008, Brisighella, Italy was selected. Ancient vineyards and sunny hills inspires the great taste of this main regional grapes Sangiovese. Red, still, herbal, cherry structure with a full body. An intense inspiration!

published on www.iamexpat.nl, 13th December 2010.

An italian short story: BARACCA.

2010-11-13T19:11:00.005+01:00

BARACCA

Sona nata nel 1980 in Romagna, sulle colline fra Imola e Bologna, non troppo distante da Lugo.

A Lugo c'e' la statua in memoria di Francesco Baracca, un aviatore molto celebre ai tempi della prima guerra mondiale, tutta bianca e di marmo. Il suo volto e la posizione eretta e fiera del corpo imperano nel bel mezzo del centro cittadino accanto alla piazza del mercato, una chiesa, qualche bar.

I miei genitori portavano me e mio fratello al mare attraversando la Romagna, passando per paesi come Lugo, caratterizzati da edifici surreali, piazze circondate da portici. Ogni volta che passavamo da quella piazza, mia madre parlava di De Chirico e dell'architettura metafisica. Secondo lei, De Chirico doveva averla vista quella piazza e poi riportata nei suoi quadri dalle atmosfere di città sospese.

Durante gli anni del liceo a Imola ritrovai riscontro sulle pagine dell'Argan di quella famosa metafisica, che per me rimase sempre un concetto stretto alla memoria di un tempo in cui si passeggiava tranquilli e spensierati e la vita e le cose che mi venivano raccontate sembravano rimanere nell'aria, fermi, metafisici, in una realta' che congiunge corpi terreni e corpi aerei, cose finite e significati ritrovati. Il giro della piazza sulla vecchia Fiesta di mio babbo era sempre troppo veloce. Mentre parlava e parlava delle prodezze della squadra di calcio a cui il Baracca aveva dato il nome, allungavo il collo per vedere meglio la statua di marmo bianco e me la ricordo sempre in modo stordito, inebriata dalla forza e del rumore del rombo del motore. L'auto girava e la testa anche, mentre mio padre raccontava che la madre di Francesco Baracca, detto "l'asso degli assi" aveva donato il logo che suo figlio aveva fatto disegnare sui suoi aerei, a Enzo Ferrari che stava avviando la sua azienda automobilistica. Io ho sempre visto il cavallino rappresentato sulla torre della Ferrari presso l'autodromo di Imola quando con mio papà andavamo a vedere il Crame, mostra mercato delle automobili e ricordo l'odore dei motori e il fascino delle auto d'epoca e dei percorsi che avevano compiuto attraverso i secoli, passando stagioni, situazioni sociali, quartieri che oggi hanno tutta un' altra conformazione o che sono scomparsi.

Quando ci passavo accanto con mia nonna Lidia che si faceva chiamare Gianna, mi diceva che durante la seconda guerra mondiale sentiva eguerra mondialela testa anche, tanti aerei passare e lo stomaco impazzire dai crampi perche' non aveva da mangiare, solo castagne bollite e a volte la polenta; il rumore forte degli aerei che passavano le teneva impegnata la mente e non le faceva pensare alla fame. Anni dopo scoprii che le castagne erano il frutto del mese del mio compleanno, novembre e che l'arte dell'aviazione era stata celebrata per potenza e veemenza del motore anche da un poeta chiamato D'Annunzio di cui imparai a memoria la poesia "Pastori" quando ero in quinta. La ripetevo a mia nonna mentre lei cucinava il risino in brodo e i tempi di migrare si mescolavano ai sapori di quella casa. Con il trascorrere del tempo le storie che ho ascoltato e i racconti della mia famiglia hanno preso un'altra forma, si sono intessuti alle opinioni, alle passioni, alle idee. I viaggi e la ricerca di altri spazi mi hanno spesso portato a riflettere sulle modalità di trasmissione delle storie, a come si trasportano da bocca a bocca, da paese a paese, da padri a figli.

E la risposta e' l'aria.

E nel mio caso anche la statua bianca di Baracca.

Ripenso a quel volto fermo e fiero ogni volta in cui vivo una nuova situazione di spostamento. Porto in tasca e in valigia tutti i giri attorno a quella statua e l'apparente immobilità delle idee e dei valori che quelle storie hanno costruito. Memorie verbali che apparivano fantastiche a una bambina, rappresentano ora i valori della mia terra e della mia famiglia.

E Baracca? Quali racconti avrà ascoltato a Lugo, quando la piazza non aveva la statua? Cosa portava con sé mentre volava? Il bisogno di esplorare, di scoprire nuovi orizzonti geografici, un nuovo modo di vivere per il suo paese? Anch'io sono salita su un aereo per scoprire la mia vita, per trovare il mio spazio nel mondo.Un aereo mi ha portato ad Amsterdam con due impossibili valigie da trasportare e dentro tutta la mia voglia di esplorare e di scoprire dove arriva l'orizzonte in una splendida città di cui mi sono innamorata, e dove spesso non distinguo più il cielo dall'acqua.

Ho ricercato nella valigia e nelle tasche la memoria di Lugo di Romagna, i suoni, i sapori e gli odori della mia terra, per raccontarli ad un pilota dagli splendidi occhi a mandorla e vicissitudini familiari ai confini fra esotismo coloniale e praticita' olandese, con tutta una serie di influenze, suoni, sapori ed odori completamente diversi da quelli di una Lugo, attraversata dai ricordi. L'unica cosa a cui mi aggrappo nei momenti in cui sono senza di lui sono le sue storie, sulla sua famiglia, i riti, le cene, le feste, i racconti della famiglia, le foto viste negli anni insieme, immagino come abbiano influenzato la sua vita e come si siano intrecciate alla mia. Senza l'aria e senza gli aerei non li avrei mai incontrati.

Difficile non pensare alla mia terra, per partire ci è voluto coraggio e forse anche una buona dose di incoscienza, ma altrettanta ne occorre per restare e vivere i cambiamenti del mio tempo.

Altro coraggio occorre per trasmettere la storia con coscienza e con orgoglio perché resti viva, nelle statue, nella gente, nei cuori. Non è possibile tornare indietro e il nuovo orizzonte è l'atmosfera aerea fra spazi fisici, spostamenti di corpi e spazi di memorie, ricordi e storia di generazioni, tracce del tempo che portiamo con noi. Nell'aria che preme sul corpo, che si solleva in volo e che poi atterra e vive, respira e affronta giorni di luce e sole, così come una statua immobile a testimoniare la gente che si incontra e si mescola. Questa vita, la mia terra tra i confini, sempre in cielo, sempre in terra, me la porto tutta dentro come il cavallino rampante sugli aerei di Baracca. Continuerà tra le scarpe sotto il letto, i ricordi in tasca e le valigie sull'aereo.

published on "Bomba a bordo e altri racconti" IBN editore, Rome, Italy

www.aviolibri.it

This is my life. I don't feel I'm always working, I feel more like I'm playing!

2010-10-18T11:17:00.011+02:00

I met Laszlito in a quiet day during the week in his studio with the Goodfellas in Utrechtstraat.

Drinking sweet caramel flavoured japanese tea, Laszlito, multitalented spanish artist, brought me into his arty Wonderland of creative projects, ideas and musical thoughts...

Laszlito Kovacs

Barcelona, Spain - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Graphic designer, Illustrator, Moviemaker, Music Lover.

Where does your name come from?

I took the name from Jean Luc Godard's Breathless.

Which music do you like?

I just like music, but I'm not one of this super expert!

I don't have favorites. I like everything if it's good!

Our podcast is very ecleptic…

Cheesy song… we don't want to make it serious, only what we like!

How did you start the Endtopic project?

I have a studio in Asturia, even though I'm from Barcelona…

www.diseco.es

With Endtopic we started with a newsletter that now is published every friday!

3500 subscription.

We thought about having a podcast so we started like that.

We have 65 hours right now, maybe more and we also have a friend playlist!

www.endtopic.com

www.goodfellasnetwork.com

What are you listening to now?

Sufjan Stevens now, the new album. I really like him now!

I like Four Tet, Cat Power, Bill Callahan from Smog.

The American band War Paint.

I'm really into Jacques Tati movies, the soundtrack from Jour de fete, another music I really like.

I'm always listening to music, especially while I'm working, it's also very relaxing!

I also like Moon Dog I found him the viking of the 5th Avenir.

He was living in NY near the Radio City Hall. He was used to make his own music instruments and his clothes, he was one of the first recording sound from the street and he was blind since he was 6 years old.

Some people call him the first minimalist.

How did you start with music?

My uncles really loved music, so I started with them, even if I don't like that music anymore.

Classic Rock, Dire Straits.

In their library I found many things like The Beatles and more conceptual things.

And then this radio in Spain, they were broadcasting old tunes.. old pieces like jazz and movies soundtrack…

My father also had a tape recorder in the car and we were traveling from Barcelona to Galicia, only listening to one tape: Roberto Carlos!

Sometimes I listen again to it a guilty pleasure. Super cheesy.

How do you find Amsterdam?

I think is an active city for gigs and concerts.

But the parties… I have another idea about parties!

What are you working on right now?

I'm doing graphic design for musicians in Spain.

We're making a music film and documentary for Remate.

We went to NY.

Remate is the name of the music project, he's a solo performer from Madrid, but for this album he asked the collaboration

of amazing musicians like the cello player from Anthony, Julia Kent.

He took inspiration from 5 pornostars, and all of them have a common element: Luv in the name!

He never met thems but he wants to sing one of his song in front of them!

The album is called Super Luv.

You can download it for free on the platform.

We made a setting for the movie.

We had this idea the album should be two covers and two different girls, so I asked them to come here.

They are very different, but we tried to have the idea to develop the image of this two girls looking the same cause we all look the same… same make up, same clothes!

The atmosphere is more 70's.

The movie Badlands reminded us about the make up the girls are wearing.

www.superluv.rematemusic.com

What do you like when you work with music?

When I have the freedom to interpretate music through graphic design…

I cannot separate them.

I'm being inspired all the time.

Other projects?

I also have all the things I like!

Amsterdam Works is an example!

It's a project about what I like from Amsterdam.

I have this japanese camera and I go to places with it and I make small videos.

I add music I like to that. In every video I also add info about the place.

A'dam radio receptor…people can send me songs…

Spotify... it's amazing…

Poolga, art and wallpapers for Iphones.

You can download wallpapers for your iphone.

And I asked Lullatone to make sound for them!

So you have a wallpaper with japanese sounds!

This is my life. I don't feel I'm always working, I feel more like I'm playing!

Do you like more music or movies?

I don't know if I like more movies or music… maybe both!

More on Laszlito:

www.laszlito.com

Then I had this workstation, super fun! I learnt how to use it and I realized when I wanna know something I don't stop till I know it!

2010-10-15T21:17:00.014+02:00

Marco Antonio Spaventi

30 years old

Rome, Italy - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Electronic music Composer, Producer, Engineer, Lecturer.

When did you start with music?

From my dad. He was always playing guitar and piano.

My grandmother is a pianist and my aunt teaches at the Conservatory.

In my house they played jazz and classical music.

I started with piano, but later I quit.

How old were you?

12,13 years old.

After I quit with the instrument I was still attracted by music and I started playing the piano when I was alone at home, so nobody could see that I was playing again.

How did you discover music?

It's a funny story. A very friend of mine, my oldest friend, he was my sister boyfriend at the time.

He was really into 60/70's stuff: The Doors, Pink Floyd...

He brought home an album from The Doors and I started listening to it. Later I asked him to borrow me a box with Led Zeppelin music.

And he agreed.

I started with Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath.

But the music passion came thanks to the keyboard player from the band The Doors, … I started playing again.

But I wasn't into electronic, into production, I started enjoying playing, I taught myself through records.

I was playing the compact disc and play with them. I bought scores and practiced a lot.

Then I was in high school and friends suggested me to compose.

Since that moment I never really thought about it.

And then I had this workstation and it was super fun. I learnt about keyboards and how to record them.

and I realized when I wanna know something I don't stop till I find it.

Then the turning point. This band was looking for a keyboard player.

A band from Rome called Cerchi nel grano .

These guys were absolute genius in composing.

There were these two brothers, one of them is really a genius, but as a genius is also not able to organize himself.

They are two lazy asses.

Typical italian.

We also made a video passed on youtube!

Who did produce your music?

The producer was Mao. We met him and we had a deal.

We are talking about old times when the labels didn't have such an internet distribution.

We went to Milan to this man who was investing money on the project, he said:

"I don't mind investing 60 millions in music, I trust Mao. I pay for the distribution".

We made the release very quickly. 3 days in the studio and we had it.

And then?

Then it's when I got hooked up with the studio recording thing.

We had an hard disk record we used in the studio and then import stuff in the computer!

I did everything by myself.

When we went to the studio, I wanted to know everything!

In that way I discovered something about myself: when I want something I can do it better than others.

What did bring you to The Netherlands?

To cut the long story short… I was finishing University, Electronic Engineering, in Rome and I wanted to study something with audio.

At a certain point with the band I had to take a decision, or I study or I do it with music..

But I said let's pick up the pieces.

I checked Sonology in Den Haag… very experimental Master in the University… Conservatorium.

This guy friend of mine did it, in Berlin.

But then I made a cd with music, very crappy…

I got told I couldn't go.

I put a lot of expectations,but this guy said no.

Later I heard about SAE.

After University I needed to go out from Italy.

Options were England, or Amsterdam.

I choosed the second.

I wanted to do the class I teach now, Emp.

But then i talked to Leslie, a supervisor at Sae and I went for the Audio Engineering full time Master.

As a student I was always in school, I was helping… I was digging into the subject.

And perseverant.

Then I asked if I could work there.

I spoke to Dennis, the Manager, and he agreed. I started working on my birthday, on the 20th of March.

I started as a supervisor and later they asked me to teach the EMP.

And do you like it as a teacher?

It came out spontaneously to help out students.

They were happy about me and they asked me to become a Lecturer.

I also completely wrote my works, my teaching classes.

A good investments of time, so now I know them by heart and I have more time to keep myself

updated!

The other impact Holland had to me… a few months before coming here a friend of mine played loads of underground techno stuff,

especially dutch producer… an mp3 compilation…

Unite Moedius….

it's a really underground act from Den Haag. early 90's when the techno scene came to Europe.

Before that I was listening acoustic stuff, more played.

Those stuff showed me music made out from a machine.

And then I met all these people here. One is my neighbour.

So these people introduced me to instruments as well.

In Amsterdam I didn't have instruments.

I met this Icelandic guy who produces hip hop.

Now he lives in Sweden. He is a synth lovers… he had these vintage stuff.

When I got money from work I started buying.

I had a contact from Sae I met a dj called Turn up the bass.

I started collaborating with him. We played in festivals, at the Heineken Hall, so much music and people… 5000 people.

I had money and I bought loads of stuff. I was producing.

Since then I have five releases: 3 in Italy with italo disco and one from Holland.

Jazz project is a very new thing. I worked several times with the jazz guitar player, so I helped him in mixing and then we found each other common interest for jazz and soul… and we started in July… this is the freshes thing Electric Odissey…

Do you party?

I like it a lot, I started doing it really hard here in Amsterdam.

Which club?

I care about the music programm in the evening, Melkweg, Trouw, Air…

For the Amsterdam Dance Event now I work with school, and we organize classes.

Ableton help desk.

Are you happy with what you have now?

Teaching, freelance work in the studio mixing , recording, I help musician with the production.

I have:

what I produce myself,

what I produce with the guy from Amsterdam,

what I play in the jazz trio.

I don't have so much time left.

And I'm happy with it.

More on Marco' music:

http://maspaventi.com

http://soundcloud.com/erre-1

http://amsterdam.sae.edu/en-gb/home

With Marco we drink a red bio wine Margalh de Bassac, Domaine Bassac, Delhon Freres, VdP des Cotes de Thongue, 2006.

It's a strong still red wine with fruity strawberry hints and red fruits, very pleasant and with a full body.

From Languedoc, South France.

Very tasty with tagliatelle al ragu'!

Holland is focused on quality: you have to be good!

2010-10-07T07:58:00.013+02:00

Fabiana Dammers
25 years old
IJmuden, The Netherlands
Singer Songwriter, Italian literature and culture student.

How did you start with music?

When I got my guitar, I was 17 years old, but I sang already since I was a child.
Then I graduated in 2009 at the Conservatory here in Amsterdam, at the Pop Department. I studied Pop Singing and Guitar, Singing as main subject and Guitar as a side instrument.
I'm a singer-songwriter.

What are your influences in music?

I like Nick Drake, Damien Rice, Iron & Wine.
My first inspiration was Bright Eyes and their singer Conor Obrest.
Rock music, pop and even metal.
I used to play bass in a trash metal band!

What's this thing about Italy?

My mum is Italian, so I always felt connected to Italy and therefore I want to improve my Italian language skills and deepen myself into the cultural side.
I want to sing in Italian, but I'd like to be more able to express myself.
This year I started at UVA, Italian Language and Culture.
It's more theoretical than Conservatory, where you have to practice and play a lot, to perform.

How is to be a musician in the Netherlands?

It's a lot about who you know. Then you can have a certain number of gigs!
In 2008 I won the Grote Prijs Van Nederland, a music contest and since then I made an album coming out now, I have a manager and somebody booking gigs for me.
I can make a living out of it and I can express myself on a creative side.
This is a very good thing!
But Holland is also focused on quality: you have to be good!

Artist fabfolk playlist performed at Talia on the 24th Sep 2010, with some of her comments...

All this craziness
It's a love song.
Can't say no
16
I love this song. I always get excited when I play it. Excited I mean, not sexually!
Make me whole
Blinded
This is another love song. Actually they are all love songs. No, there are some which aren't!
The girl you love
Round-about-town

What are you drinking?

With Fabiana we drink Cedrata Tassoni, a vintage kind of soft drink very popular in Italian bars in the 70's.
www.cedraltassoni.it
It's made of cedar, lemon tree with particular sweet taste and fizzy bubbles, served fresh with ice and with a green lemon kiss colour!

I'm drinking a kind of Sprite. It's sparkling, light and sweet.
Cozy!

Fabiana Dammers will start her tour on the 15th of October.
Listen to her music on:

www.myspace.com/fabianadammers

Sponsored and promoted by Talia

www.i-talia.net

People come to Amsterdam for the space and openess they can have here, they feel free to live their music and art experience

2010-09-22T23:09:00.008+02:00

Nikos Nakos

27 years old

Athens, Greece - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

dj, music lover, co-founder of IamExpat

Some music memories.

Secondary school.

I didn't like Greek music from a very young age, so I was more into pop and classic rock. my older brother was into rock...

The Doors, Rolling Stones, Animals... Nirvana.

But soon I realized that this music was just not my style.

What does "classic" mean for you?

Classic, the way that many use that word, is a song that had massive success, a hit.

I appreciate more the concept and the story behind the track: this gives me the feeling of something that won't fade through time.

Commercial music doesn't last in time.

What is commercial in Greece is dance/pop music, but more close to the eastern music style, it is really popular but nothing of true quality. The traditional Greek music though is something different as it gives you so many cultural and historical aspects.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't like the classic popular folk rock music.

I'm not attached to those songs, they don't stay!

I want to see the ~~future~~ progression in a track, the new production, something alternative and different.

New music trends are important, cause this brings you more knowledge!

Give me an example! What is non commercial?

The Playlist listening for example,

I always want to do something new and progress my music style!

Music tells a lot about the time we're living now, I don't wanna be stuck to old sounds. I like to be aware of the contemporary music and explore new sounds all the time.

This is something comes from my inner inside.

I believe I have managed to reach a good level of open-mindedness with regards to the music and I have collected a quite good music selection from various genres.

The music “track”

I started with CDs from Nirvana, Unplugged, Green Day, The Black album from Metallica.

Then internet in general, Discogs (a digital music library), Soundcloud, Last Fm...

Your first musical production?

My first creations were cassettes. I was recording from radio sources and cutting tracks, collecting many songs.

I was trying to create collections with a relevant content, story, and also a value of record of the time.

I was then creating the name, cover and packaging.

That was a big activity.. drawings, names, titles for specific collection.

Cassette period..

Then with cds. Playlist burned with Nero. And now only digitally.

A memory from that time?

During schooltrip I was making playlist for the party trip!

I was in a student committee and once we collected money from sponsors for a party.

We bought audio equipment and I played playlist edited for that purpose.

It's was a compilation of moments of time.

And what about your dj skills? How did you start?

After that time I bought software I could mix music with. I couldn't play tracks and listening in the headset cause I didn't have headphones.. so I was trying to match them only by remembering.

I went to electronic parties in Athens, I discovered electro, progressive, minimal from Germany, deep house, deep tech, heavy basses.

Tell me about your duo Groove Service!

I was tired also of that scene (the electronic).

Tired of that crowd.

I widened my music style and started to experiment more.

Then I discovered Nu funk, classic funk and soul.

When I teamed up with ILias we started playing music that clearly aimed to the dancefloor

We were mixing familiar songs from the funk, soul, reggae scene but with more effects, electronic elements, beats, digital sounds, and vocals. Vocals from soul 60's, 70's, undergound hip hop scene in US and UK and legendary reggae MCs & selectors.

How does music come out from your website IamExpat?

It's an online review about the expat artists based here. With our future plans for the website we aim to focus on that, because it's about the ones that live here.

A reality not covered by other websites.

Music it's part of the Lifestyle section and in the new version of the website it will be about all kind of artistic events and recreational events

Music section will be handled mainly for promoting festival, events and concerts.

Thanks God in the Netherlands there are plenty of music events.

People come to Amsterdam for the space and openness they can have here, they feel free to play their music and experience art .

We want to promote that area and that freedom through Iamexpat, cause this brings the community closer.

We want to update our readers with ~~all~~ the best music ~~and~~ events that are going on, clubs, parties, and of course projects and alternative ideas that happen in spaces like Rietveld, Rijks Academy, Foam, Smart Project Space, OT301.

With our website, we started with business and practical stuff and now we can go more into depth, touch all the expat –related topics and promote the expat lifestyle in the Netherlands!

It's always good to show your strength: we can talk about expats cause we're expats.

Upcoming projects?

For IamExpat:

A festival called Todays Art.

In Den Haag, September 24th/25th.

What do you do for this Festival?

We're media partners and we run a promotional campaign.

We introduced ourselves as IamExpat and they knew us.

It was nice hearing that!

We focus on the lifestyle in the Netherlands as it is an important part of the expat life

How did it start the idea of IamExpat?

I started working part time, trying to have create an organizational thinking : we were feeling the need to create a community.

Then it became a full time job, turned into a real business!

We can work so many hours and we still have enthusiasm and creativity.

The website reflects our daily life and this is what gives the boost to find more information for expats.

Though IamExpat we send a message about the importance of the expat population and all in all, we give a positive image about the Netherlands and how expat-friendly the country is!

Upcoming projects?

For Groove Service:

We organize a gig in OT301 called “Proved to be Grooved”.

We have gathered a team of expats and Dutch djs/artists, who are going to bring groovy tunes and forms of art in the great venue of OT301.

My latest airplay:

Dj Agent 86 - All About The Money (Badboe re-edit)

Blend aka Mishkin - Love Cup ft African Simba (Farm Fresh Remix)

Terry Lynn & Johan Hugo - Jamaican Girls

Marley Marl - The Symphony Ft. Big Daddy Kane, Craig G., Kool G. Rap And Master Ace

Mos Dub - Summertime Running

The Bamboos - Turn It Up (feat. Lyrics Born)

Tahuna Breaks - Giddy Up

Jungle Brothers - Because I got it like that (Ultimatum Stereo MC's mix)

The Captain - We Will Rock You

Mr. And-7 - Oye La Rumba (Remix)

The memory of a golden classic.

2010-09-02T19:27:00.011+02:00

"Then, O my beauty! say to the worms who will devour you with kisses, that I have kept the form and the divine essence of my decomposed love!".

An unexpected "outdoor trip" to Appeldorn, Nord Holland, last Saturday, turned a 2004 red wine into a time framing and decomposing tool to dig into music memories and a family heritage rist watch suddenly became a symbol of "golden classic", beating the time as a past and present "trait d'union".

Right like a mix of tracks in a djset, or a family photo album, the watch was mixing and alternating moments of discoursing about how modern music has been and keeps on being influenced by rock' n roll, blues, soul and jazz classics from 60's to 80's.

To make the atmosphere even more vintage than what we started with, we were sitting at the table in between "lekker" fat Swedish meatballs with blueberries jam, mostard and handmade Romagnoli's Tortellini, when this red wine, Cabernet Franc, Madiran, 2004 suddenly appeared from a "time lost" fresh canteen of the house of my friend's mother.

And like the soft plumcake small cakes "madeleines" made the Proustian character from "A la recherce du temps perdu" dreaming and remembering about a time hidden from the present... my friends started digging into a pile of old vynils, talking about how songs can last through time and what made them being listened to from fathers and sons; passed and played on now dusty turntables, but still in your minds when we hum their tunes, or we listen to modern music tracks.

Where does the modern sound of today come from?

Those tunes means time and inspiration for new generations. Are we able to remember, to recognize those inspirations?

As the role of memory is central to the Proustian episode, so it suddenly was for that Madiran 2004 based conversation where music flashbacks, adventourous search for musical paths, generational jumps, family history and personal discoveries, were being listed to make an original classic playlist; to show ways of listening and playing far from internet and downloading and days of taylor made tunes for songs, at the dawn of live electronics experiments... where the goal was to be Music Craftsmen.

Thanks to the Dutch "vintage sound lovers", after glasses of wine and Van Halen's jump in the past they figured out a Golden Classic Playlist from the early days:

Hereby some hints from my friends:

The Beatles Lady Madonna
Boston Long time
Elvis Presley Always on My Mind
Focus Hocus Pocus
Genesis Mama
Johnny Guitar Watson Gangster of love
Marvin Gaye I heard it through the grapevine
Paul Simon Still crazy after all these years
Ray Charles I got a woman
Steely Dan Deacon Blues
Stevie Wonder Isn't she lovely
The Jackson Five I want you back
Van Halen Jump

An art, a zen and a memory regained today in White Stripes, Interpol, Artic Monkeys and many more.

While we were having music sips and glasses of wine I started comparing wine to music. What was the wine soaked in? Where did it take his inspiration?

In a jovial strong structure wooden scented, blackberry hints that gives a resistent vinosity...6 years of finesse in a flavour. Surrounded by a French landscape.

Later in the evening, remembering and exploring the roots of nowadays music, thanks to years of music experience as guitar/drums/piano players from one side and a dj background on the other side, the bottle was finished!

A good taste and flavour of roots and inspiration stayed with me and brought me in between Morfeo's arms... to wake me up the day after without headache, wondering why...in my mind a melody was repeating.

And where did it come from?

When you are young you tend to set up boundaries: shit, or wonderful things. Classical music was my choice and I forgot about the rest.

2010-08-18T07:45:00.003+02:00

PASCAL MEYER

30 years old

Itzig, Luxembourg - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Pianist, Dj, Cook, Photographer, Language Genius.

Let's start with your music memories...

As a kid I only remember the first piece I played was from a Luxembourg folk tunes songbook.

I'm not sure about that… I remember at that time I wasn't allowed to go to piano classes, I was five so I was to small.

But I don't remember what was first… if Bach, or the folk tunes.

My brother was playing piano and I wanted to copy him.

I learnt Bach preludes in C minor…I could only play some parts, my brother showed me where to put the hands.

How was the school?

Conservatory!

Too many exams… twice per year…

The Conservatory is still a music school but also an academic insitution, therefore there are difficult exams.

For me they weren't difficult…but if you failed once you had to start the all year again...

It was all about discipline, which was good for me… if u feel good with what you play and confident you don't have problems, but loads of people stress a lot.

For me it worked well…

One year they tried to get me out… my teacher wasn't there and they gave me bad marks…

Everybody was surprised.

They tried twice to kick me out, for a kind of competition in between teachers!

And what about your Repertoire?

Quite contemporary the last couple of years…

Why? What do you see in contemporary music?

Contemporary music is more difficult…

With the audience is more difficult as well, you need to listen and to get the surprise!

This is the most challenging thing.

People think they need to understand..or at least to know something before they listen to it…this sometimes is not good for the audience. If you expect something, you are probably gonna be disappointed!

The good music needs time…

It's like in movies, if you go to Blockbuster there's no surprise, you know exactly what you're gonna get, but if you go to watch Haneke's movies, you find loads of "uncomfortable things" you don't expect…

Haneke is unexpected!

I don't know how people listen to music.

If I go to a concert I know how I'm gonna experience it…

I have people coming to me… saying they never listened to that.. loads of emotions… quite often they're surprised, and that is the right attitude: being open minded!

Anyway contemporary music is always for a smaller crowd, it will always be like that!

When Brahms was playing at his time, he played contemporary stuff, he was also criticized for being too contemporary, not classic, therefore the audience was more difficult. But he was brave.

At Casino Luxembourg, a contemporary music and art centre there's a piece of art with a neon tube that highlight this sentence: "All art has been contemporary".

or something like that!

And I find it interesting.

www.casino-luxembourg.lu

Favourite composer?

I don't have a favourite composer…

It just depends what I'm busy with…

From classical music I played a lot of Brahms, he's one of the best, cause he is simple and honest.

From contemporary I like Stockhausen and his early works, until the 60's and his first electronic music.

How is to read a contemporary "partitura" ?

You have to get into the language of the compose, everyone has his own way…

In these "Mantras" from Stockhausen I recorded now for Naxos for instance, the way of writing is easy. It depends on the period.

Some people write very difficult, therefore it's more difficult for us… it's a "pain in the ass" for the player…

New complexity for instance, composers like Cox, Mahnkopf ahnkopf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Complexity

they write very difficult and I don't enjoy playing them, you have to be at home counting the beats. I prefer then to play techno!

What do u like about "popular music"?

I don't like to think in styles…

Some people simply don't know about categories… and it's difficult to give categories

I like different styles in music.

I don't listen to classical music at home, it's more about jazz or pop.

I started listening to techno cause I drove a lot for my job and that music keeps me awake. I needed something strong…

Then I went into Radiohead and new stuff.

But I remember I started with Michael Jackson, then Queen and then Classical Music.

I had everything in cassette… I had "Bad" original, Thriller was copied…

I was keen on "Moonwalker"… I really wanted to get that track… "Smooth Criminal"…I didn't know thatwas the title… my mum brought me into town to buy the cassette and when I was listening to it, that songwas the last one in the album… because I didn't know the title I was scared it wasn't in there.. but then I heard it!

And what about djing?

I had this cassette stereo, I used to make little "montages" of the music with all the stuff I recorded from the radio… and mixing them; 5 seconds of this, 5 of another….

Michel Sardou and this band called Gold… :)

That was already djing, early djing!

I still have the Technics headphones my parents bought me as Christmas present... probably they were really tired of me and my brother competing who was the loudest playing music… but I still use them for my djset now!

The first cd I bought was a cheesy synthesizers compilation, a kind of Twin Peaks music, before that cd I only had classical music by radio and my brother playing. I didn't even have Mtv, my father didn't have cables!

Music was all from the radio: never saw videomusic!

Do you still like Ac/Dc? Are they still contemporary?

Now in my ears Ac/Dc sound classical, they sound soft.

This is what happens to things in time…

Stuff that are really modern suddenly turn into old-fashioned.

It's the same kind of thing with art and fashion is the same.

So maybe in some years Stockhausen would be super affordable and he will sound soft.

The guy who wrote the introduction to the Mantras produced by Naxos said that Stockhausen will be like that, in many years, when somebody famous will start playing him again, he will suddenly became revival.

It happened the same to Bach. Without Felix Mendelsshon in Romantic years and Glenn Gould in more modern times, we wouldn't have considered Bach's music as we consider it nowadays. We even sent his music to the space, on a satellite, as a symbol of our presence in the world.

This is gonna happen to Stockhausen, because he was a genius!

Revival…

How did u choose to become a pianist?

I had two choices… I had to choose in between veterinarian or a pianist…

I choosed piano after having seen the town veterinarian was only chopping off animals balls!

At that time I was twelve, or maybe fourteen… and I was building up this thing I was a piano player, therefore I cut off loads of other things. I always listened to Ac/Dc from my brother, but always thought that music was too far from my classical piano.

When you're young you've to find yourself and you set up boundaries: there was shit or wonderful things:classical music was my choice and I simply forgot about the rest!

Now when I listen to music it's different, I'm more open minded.

Sometimes being a musician doesn't mean you're open minded… there are jazz players who only listen to jazzand they think to be good in music you've to be super good in one musical field. And in school is the same, you've a mission… to become the best in your field, but then you're narrow minded.

Musicians are narrow minded in music, like dancers for dance.

It's all like that!

You have to be open minded! That's the secret!

Upcoming projects?

Classical music with my trio, nothing dangerous for the ears.
A festival in memory of Oskar Nedbal in the south of Czech Republik… he was a contemporary of Dvorak….

What do you think about the wine?

(The wine we drink is a no sulfites, tasty and tomato parfumed Sangiovese di Romagna from my wonderful region, Tre Monti producer, 2009)

I will have another sip.

It's good!

It's strong!

I never drink wine, I find easier to drink beer… I never really know!

This is more fizzy…like the feeling of San Pellegrino!

www.pascalmeyer.com

Why did men go to space? They wanted to see it, looking for mirrors of themselves...

2010-08-11T09:18:00.016+02:00

Tiago Martins

38 years old

Portugal, Vila Nogueira de Azeitao - The Netherlands, Amsterdam

Blogger, Promoter, Dj, Sound & Food Designer.

When did u start with music?

When I was born.

I started listening to everything.

I started with things I love: Corto Maltese, Mandrake and Leonard Cohen. when I was six!

In my oncle's farm in the south of Portugal there were loads of musicians, artists so I was always in a house full of music that involved me.

I was going to school with headphones when I was a very small kid.

What is your idea of sound?

(He quickly creases in between his hands a small plastic bag… noisy)

It's this one…

I wanna sound like this...

I'm not a musician, but I can imagine sounds organically, with stuff like this!

Creation of drones...

I got inspired by William Basinsky's work… what he did…

I'd like to create my own drones...

A music story?

The beautiful Pixies story.

I found the cassette one day on the bus.

Only years later I realized which was the title of that track: Ana.

That was also the name of my first girlfriend.

It's like a kind of gigantic puzzle that gets together…one more thing about that "Pixies day"...it was my Liberation Day, from my family music background.

That time was the break, when I first realized I had to start my music research.

They didn't know anything about that music world, Sonic Youth, Deus… they were stuck with Leonard Cohen, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Still Nash and Young.

I still love them, they give me a childish comfort that brings happiness, but since that day on the bus I got the possibility to discover my own music world!

What was very good about the life in that farm is what I have today… loads of good stuff I have come from there… and at my oncle's place I saw also the possibility to combine many different kind of arts together: sculptures, paintings, music, cinema...

I also like fruits and vegetables from that time, cause they had an organic garden.

All the good things in my life started in that farm.

Which other kind of art does appeal you?

I like paintings… I found this way to pay by installments and you get a piece of art in your own house…

I went to a gallery SBK Amsterdam…

www.sbk.nl

I saw this painting from Shlomo Koren and I pay 10 euros every month for…

It's great I can pay like that… otherwise I could have never got it… I didn't have money!

Paintings give something to my life…I need a mirror of my soul, and my energies...

We're all looking for portraits of ourselves, in different ways...

Why did men go to space?

They wanted to see it, looking for mirrors of themselves...

Let's talk about your musical projects?

The radio.

I have a radio show from my imagination.

Indie soul it's my imagination radio show.

I record it once a month, or every two months, I do it when I have enough music to do it.

Always new music, never repeated a track once.

In a normal radio show u cannot do this, mix so many types…

My indie soul…

It's not going anywhere, than my imagination.

I also invited people to talk in my radio show, and to cook as well!

Mixtape and cooking are the same…

They are always changing… I put a little bit more of this…and change this… you get something different anytime.

If for instance you do a mixtape of techno it's like eating spaghetti with spaghetti!!!

it doesn't make sense….

You have to change the ingredients to get a good mix.

I really like my indie soul, cause everytime I do it I think "this is the best"… but they are all the best… fresh, with new music…

I always associate music and images to life, I can remember when I watched a movie, what I was

Imaginary Web radio… with no broadcasting rules and limits…

And the blog?

I got inspired with this blog:

wwww.musicisart.ws

I suddenly wanted to give my contribution to the world… some people destroy, I wanted to create!

Blog is about people that wants to share and that knows a lot, that wants to say something…

So I decided to start one…

Side projects?

Random Entertainment is my next project

It's run by creative whores, to create in any direction…

With Random Entertainment you can organize either a tour for bands, or a graphic design exhibition… and it's an itinerant platform for art…

We're creative whores… there's no limit to whores...

Then the Blog Anniversary Party @ Pacific Park… in November...

I'm now organizing the tour for a band called We love Machines… and promoting this Amsterdams band ZZZ…

it doesn't matter money or success it's more about sharing brand new music and different forms of music…

How is the wine?

(The wine we are drinking is a Rioja Campo Viejo Gran Reserva 2002, red tasty wine from Spain)

I opened it 10 minutes ago cause spanish wines need to breath… before you drink them...

it kicks!

http://soundcloud.com/audiopleasures/my-indie-soul-34

The Books - All You Need Is A Wall

Indian Jewelry - Excessive Moonlight

Lazer Crystal - Love Rhombus

Bear in Heaven - Ultimate Satisfaction

Kisses - People Can Do the Most Amazing Things

Deerhunter - Revival

Autolux - Census

Best Coast - I Want To

Male Bonding - Paradise Vendors

Wavves - Green Eyes

Liars - The Overachievers

We Are Infante Terribel - Lobster Quadrille

Tying Tiffany - Still In My Head

Birdy Nam Nam - Trans Boulogne Express [ Kap Bambino Remix ]

Kap Bambino - Blond Roses

http://audiopleasures.blogspot.com

http://www.last.fm/user/audiopleasures

http://www.vimeo.com/audiopleasures

www.myspace.com/audiopleasures

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: a musical TV-shaped reality

2010-06-23T11:33:00.004+02:00

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: a musical TV-shaped reality

Recently I got to see a 70's video from a famous italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) playing Chopin and Beethoven. It's a recording of a studio classical music concert. The episode begins with a series of shots taken from concerts and photographs; there are both moving and static images.

Television tries to recreate the aura of live music, evoking feelings and trying to amplify them in a constant flow by means of one-shot, fixed andstatic images that are almost always close-ups or medium shots. The intention seems to be portraying the famous interpreter through the form that television gave to his musical performance during the recordings of live concerts. The potential of a static image that is reproposed constantly has to be considered as the will to create an interpretational and musical dimension, as a TV-shaped reality. The artist is therefore considered from a fixed point of view, almost always in black & white, his statuesque body, his hands moving on the keys, the slight movements of his face: the sides of his mouth in a tough expression, eyes sometimes closed, sometimes looking up as in contemplation, brows frowned. Benedetti Michelangeli places a handkerchief on the piano before starting to play, and takes it back at the end. A still and academic presence hits the viewer: the music comes out only from the interpreter’s hands, whereas his body is extremely static. Moreover, the nuances of the black & white of the ‘60s create a basic background, an ideal setting to focus the attention on the ‘colour’ streaming from the hands. The earnestness (or the rareness) of appearing (or of not appearing) is thus emphasized. Being there and not being there, showing up or hiding, keeping silent. We see the artist as a young man, then as an old man, but despite time, his essential movements do not change. The composure of the image makes the musician’s position about music very clear. And with position, we do not simply refer to the fact of sitting in front of a piano, the close-up, or the particular of the hands; more basically, we mean the philosophical and aesthetic standpoint. The solitary presence of the artist is the symbol of his own life.

Introductive monologue to the episode, is a crucial musical experience in Benedetti Michelangeli’s life, when, at the age of nineteen, he was awarded with the first prize at the Geneva International Competition. During the competition the artist plays hidden behind a "black veil", a colourless curtain behind which an anonymous musician is judged by a jury of experts. During the performance, music comes out from behind the dark veil alone and naked, wrapped in black, just like the images streaming from the TV. The interpreter becomes then the distance between the instrument and the jury, between the performance and the audience; what is left is music. Television probably supports this distance; a flat image transferred on a black screen detaches, creates mystery; TV and distance can also mean respect towards the composers, towards the music of the past, exhumed from the archives and video-supported. In this episode-tribute to Benedetti Michelangeli, this is the musical repertoire: Beethoven and Chopin. But especially Chopin: Mazurka in D-flat major op. 30, Ballade no. 1 in G minor op. 23, Valse brillante in A major op. 34, Scherzo no. 2 in B-flat minor op. 31,Mazurka in A minor op. 68, Fantasie in F minor op. 49. The musical anthology presents an interpreter on the one hand, and a composer with his technical mastery on the other, the skilful execution and the brilliant architecture of the composition. All this could be done thanks to the concerts realized for the TV by Benedetti Michelangeli during the years of “paleotelevision”. These musical compositions differ from each other but share, however, the destiny of being transposed to dance, like the waltz or the mazurka: they are exterior and visible in their compositional guise, but they are also inner, intimate in their content. This ambivalence in the contents of the compositions can guide us through an interpretational reading of thevideo material about Benedetti Michelangeli that may become symbol of his performances and especially of his aesthetic view of music. Chopin is here the symbol of the musician and composer of an inner world, and the ballads represent his art in very aspect, more than any other of his compositions. He makes feelings resound, though concealed by his technical composure. Nocturnes, scherzos, waltzes, mazurkas. Contradictory,bilateral, inner and outer compositions, fixed and dynamic at the same time, like Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: a silent musical presence, present and distant at the same time, of whom we perceive the glance and the face, from which the essence comes out: a veil of music.

written under the effect of:

RODA 2005 Reserva, La Riojca, Spain

Like Benedetti Michelangeli this "vino tinto" from Spain has a statuary presence, almost monumental with tannin mouth filling taste.

It comes from a region called Rioja in the north of spain, a charming spot close with a mediterranean climate that makes you feel red fruits, spices, paprika, wheat, barley, asparagus...

Very good with meat, small tapas and red warm orange vegetables... garlic, onion, parmesan lasagna.

Modern shapes from a dryland farming ground.

If you're an organic wine lover... mind the sulfites that are contained in this wine...they make your cheeks red and you are probably gonna wake up still drunk the day after!