This compilation is the first in a new series where other musicians are inspired by and reinterpret the music of Orphax; and more specifically, his Dream Sequence series. Dream Sequences is a continuous series of experimental ambient / drone pieces with a dreamy touch.
After the release of Dream Sequence # 3 I asked some friends to listen and to collaborate on a new release. The first reply came from Haarvöl, whilst Jos Smolders also followed with interest. Hence – the idea of a compilation with music by friends inspired by the Dream Sequence series began to make sense. To complete the series, I asked Rutger Zuydervelt to join in the same way with Dream Sequence # 2. He recorded a quiet remix of this work and completed the first compilation.
As musician, I am really excited with this possibility: to hear others use their own ideas on music to make something new inspired by my own work. And it makes me even happier that the result is so amazing. I am proud of the musicians who made such a great effort in creating these new reframed versions and making this happen.
Sietse van Erve (Orphax) December 1st, 2017
Dream Sequences Volume 1: Orphax reframed is released on CD and digital and available in our webshop here: https://movingfurniturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/dream-sequences-vol-1-orphax-reframed
Concept by Orphax
Mastered by Jos Smolders at EARLabs
Artwork by Rutger Zuydervelt
1. Haarvöl – Present Ruins (for M.N.A)
Composed by Haarvöl (Fernando José Pereira, João Faria, Rui Manuel Vieira).
Performed by Haarvöl with Ricardo Santos on modified bag pipe.
2. Jos Smolders – Functional Neuranatomy Of Human Rapid Eye Movement Sleep and Dreaming
Composed and performed by Jos Smolders
3. Orphax – Dream Sequence #2 (Machinefabriek Remix)
Composed by Orphax (Sietse van Erve), reworked by Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt).
Additional information by Haarvöl about their work for this release:
Faced with the challenge of having a dialogue with Orphax’s “Dream sequence # 3”, the essential question was, as always, what to do? We started with two decisive components: the form – sounds, and semantics – the title.
We wanted to make a theme in which the dream idea would somehow accommodate our aesthetics. The basic idea emerged from a field recording recorded in the engine room of a Nanotechnology Laboratory, a kind of zone of exclusion from reality inside the city. An almost surreal dimension that leads to imagination and dream, such is the distance between reality and the noergic zone that the Laboratory represents.
To this field recording the sound of an analogue instrument was added: the bagpipe (modified for this purpose). It is an instrument that is associated with Celtic culture and is highly popular in the northern region of Portugal, especially in a particular area: Miranda do Douro. It is in Miranda do Douro that there is another zone of exclusion from reality. A zone in the Tarkovskian sense of the uniqueness of what goes on there. A modernist city with a huge Le Corbusier influence, in the middle of nowhere. Built in 1958 and now in ruins. A utopian dream now turned into dystopia. Our dream is embodied in a naturally surreal but also mechanical sequence; in dystopia seeking return to its original utopian condition at any moment: to the dream.
In Tarkovski’s film “Stalker” it is said that in the zone our desires – dreams – are fulfilled, hence their interdiction, hence the notion of zone. In our theme, the zone is embodied in sounds that are offered as a kind of a trip, an invitation to the interior of the zone, that is, to the dream. At the same time, it is a small tribute to one of the late architects of the modern city ruined in the meantime: M.N.A., who is flying there embodied in Haarvölian sonorities. In our dream, of course.
Jos Smolders and Machinefabriek didn’t have any extra notes they wanted to share but the music itself.
About the musicians:
Haarvöl
Haarvöl is an electronic/experimental project based in Portugal and working since the end of 2012. In its core there are Fernando José Pereira and João Faria, but since the beginning it is open for collaborations with others. As already happened with Paulo Rodrigues and Xóan-Xil López (a Spanish expert on field recordings) and, lately, with the joining of Rui Manuel Vieira (a visual artist) who is now the responsible for the all the visuals of the band.
Haarvöl’s music is conceptually developed as the exploration of the properties of sound in order to achieve cinematic and imaging environments. The sounds are not restricted to their medial origins: both digital and analogue sources are used and mixed in intricate compositions with special attention to detail.
The emphasis on non-illustrative interaction of sound with images is evident in the videos purposely prepared for certain compositions.
https://www.movingfurniturerecords.com/artists/haarvol/
Jos Smolders
Jos Smolders is one of the leading figures in the Dutch electro-acoustic music scene. His tracks lead back to begin of the 80’s where he made music with improvisation group Thu20 and later started to work on a solo career also. He has released several works on renowned labels such as Staalplaat, And/OAR, Non Visual Objects and many more.
From his home studio EARLabs he keeps working on new music. Not only solo but also in collaborations with young and promising musicians in the field of electro-acoustic music.
Machinefabriek
Machinefabriek is the alias of Rutger Zuydervelt. Rutger’s music combines elements of ambient, noise, minimalism, drone, field recordings and electro-acoustic experiments. His pieces can be heard as an attempt to create sonic environments for the listener to dwell in. Finding tension in texture, tone and timing, the result can be very minimalistic at first glance, but reveals itself upon closer listening. The devil is in the details.
Rutger was born in 1978 in Apeldoorn (The Netherlands) and now resides in Rotterdam. He started recording as Machinefabriek in 2004. After a series of self released cd-rs, his official debut Marijn was issued in 2006, with great critical acclaim. Since than, a solid stream of music was released on labels such as Type, Important, Home Normal, 12K, Entr’acte, Dekorder, Miasmah, Consouling Sounds, Experimedia and Staalplaat. He performed all over the globe, from Canada to Israel and from Russia to Japan.
Orphax
Amsterdam based musician and trained drummer Sietse van Erve (Orphax) was introduced to electronic music in the early nineties. After playing around with tracker software for a couple of years, he eventually recorded his first more serious attempts of music with beats and melodies in 1998, though soon lost interest in both these. He started researching new sounds and new ways of working – always with an organic touch, often incorporating sounds that would be regarded by others as errors or mistakes. Considering life isn’t without errors either. During this search he found his way into drone and microtonal music. As a result in his most recent work time and spatiality become more important factors. Live this is combined is loads of room for improvisation. This way of working results often in an organic form of drone and minimal music.
He has released over 40 releases, as download, CD-R, Tapes and CD’s, on various labels, as well as self-released, since he started working on music, and contributed to many remix projects including work for Kenneth Kirschner, Martijn Comes, TVO and Chris Dooks among others.
In the past he has shared the stage with various musicians including Martijn Comes, Jos Smolders, Frans de Waard (Modelbau), Zeno van den Broek, TVO, BJ Nilsen and Edgars Rubenis.
Some musical influences are Eliane Radigue, Phill Niblock, Catherine Christer Hennix and Kassel Jaeger as well as folk and classical music from India and Tibet, mainly throat and overtone singing.
Besides making music, Sietse van Erve runs Moving Furniture Records and has curated concerts at home, at Amsterdam institute STEIM, De Ruimte, OCCII and more.
http://www.orphax.com
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