Subbacultcha Magazine March

By Sofia Ciechowska Illustration bi Basje Boer

Unruly Music Magazine March 2012

What’s Cooking

Food The Dream Issue

WU LYF, Still Corners, Chad VanGaalenPage 1

The Dream Issue

This image was googled by Molly Nilsson upon our request to ‘google the universe’. A request she gladly complied to, since as you can read in the little interview printed on page 29 - the universe is her muse. What a dream of an answer for the Dream Issue. Not really a surprise though, since - given the large amounts of dark, hazy, airy and chilly sounds that reach us through the blogosphere every day - Molly’s fascination for ‘Dark Skies’ is one that is globally shared in the music scene these days.

Sweet dreams!

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Content

The Dream Issue

WU LYF

Chad VanGaalen

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Page 32

Molly Nilsson

Agenda

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Page 57

Top 5 New Music We Saw You WU LYF bitchin bajas molly nilsson chad vangaalen still corners Featured Artist reviews

10 12 16 18 25 28 32 38 40 44

Film Fashion Food Books horoscope Agenda subbacultcha shows other shows Free Stuff after midnight

49 50 51 52 54 57 59 67 76 77

Most of us are simply too consumed by our everyday life to spend much time thinking about dreams. Sleep is just a black hole we dive into at night and emerge from in the morning. A shame, really, considering we’re asleep for about one third of our lives. So to come to terms with that black hole, we’ve made the Dream Issue. It was also to get our heads around all those psychedelic dream scapers out there that have been pushing modern music into a deeper and darker direction. So sit back, close your eyes and read without reading. Enjoy.

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IJpromenade 1 Gratis pont vanaf Amsterdam CS

boek nu via eyefilm.nl

Colophon

Who we are and what we do

Subbacultcha! Magazine is made at our office in Amsterdam Da Costakade 150, 1053 XC Amsterdam, the Netherlands www.subbacultcha.nl. magazine@subbacultcha.nl We are Editors: Leon Caren and Bas Morsch Editorial Assistant: Sarah Gehrke Design: Bas Morsch and Marina Henao Intern: Freek van Heerikhuize Good Girl: Loes Verputten Good Guys: Christopher Schreck and Bauke Karel Printing: Drukkerij Slinger, Alkmaar Contributors: Carly Blair, Basje Boer, Brenda Bosma, Leon Caren, Zofia Ciechowska, Sarah Gehrke, Viktor Hachmang, Marc van der Holst, Kathrin Klingner, Bryan Lear, Steven McCarron, Bas Morsch, Molly Nilsson, Laurence von Thomas, Chad VanGaalen, Johanna Valdés, Gert Verbeek, Karin Wolters and Isolde Woudstra.

Distribution: Amsterdam: Tessel Dekker, Alice Driesen, Bauke Karel, Sandrine Mary, Ana Milheiro, Fedor Oduber, Ansuya Spreksel, Stefan Stasko, Patrick van der Klugt, Dineke Tuinhof, Agata Bar, George Sinca Utrecht: Freyja van den Boom, Janna Smeets Groningen: Wout Merbis, Hedwig Plomp Den Haag: Leroy Verbeet Rotterdam: Lukas Dikker, Ilse van der Spoel Leeuwarden: Jan Pier Brands Leiden: Anne Hillebrand Almere: Remco Brinkhuis Haarlem: Yannick Tinbergen, Bert Zaremba Nijmegen Arno de Vreng Tilburg/Eindhoven: Kevin Jansen Deventer: Marjolein de Vliegher Delft: Daniel Enciso Breda: Christopher Freudberg Belgium: Kasper-Jan Raeman Pick up Subbacultcha! Magazine here (among 500 other places): Amsterdam: Kriterion, Canvas, American Apparel, Episode, CREA, De Balie, Melkweg, Paradiso, OT301, De Nieuwe Anita, Restored, Zipper, Concerto Utrecht: Ekko, ’t Hoogt, Tivoli, The Village, Revenge, Plato, dB’s Rotterdam: Worm, Rotown, Lantaren Venster, De Witte Aap, Willem de Kooning Academie If you want your bar, venue, store or business to be on the distribution list, please send us an email.

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Cover: Photo by Danny Gonzalez of Jacuzzi Boys Page 8

Top 5

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Last month at our office

Science: Meteorology vs Holy Other

On the night of the Tri Angle showcase at Trouw, Amsterdam was struck by heavy snowfall and temperatures close to -20ºC. So we biked across town, finding the city quiet and practically without cars. The perfect build-up to a great party. Especially the set by Holy Other was outstanding.

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Music: Spilt Milk - Carnet de Voyage

The new 12” by Spilt Milk truly is something else. One of the best things to come out of the Netherlands in a long while. We’ve had in on repeat, jamming out to the killer opening track ‘Our Despised Decay’ at maximum volume.

We’ll be sharing it with you soon, so stay tuned.

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Real Estate: New Rehearsal Space

We have a new rehearsal space, located 50 metres from our office. The perfect excuse to occasionally step away from our computers and indulge in being the noisemakers that we are. Who knows, there might even be a new The Moi Non Plus record sometime soon.

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Song: Molly Nilsson - Skybound

Molly Nilsson’s career has really been skyrocketing at our office recently. She went from ‘isn’t that the girl who wrote that John Maus Song?’ to playlist regular in the blink of an eye. Especially ‘Skybound’ has been on heavy rotation. It’s up-tempo, sad and beautiful. The stuff dreams are made of.

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Food: Chavroux Goat Cheese

A goat cheese spread! What an invention. The perfect addition to our office lunches. Simply add a touch of honey and enjoy.

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Lounging with...

Grimes

This is Claire Boucher aka Grimes having some fun while chilling out in a bed with pristine white sheets at the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam.

The photo was taken by Isolde Woudstra.

New Music

This month’s recommendations

By Zofia Ciechowska

Dracula Lewis

www.soundcloud.com/dracula-lewis

This Romanian musical conjurer extraordinaire has fled his Transsylvanian castle to live in Italy, where it is common to call him a ‘gypsy’ - not that you should call him that. Dracula Lewis sticks samples of YouTube pageant queens in a box and saws them through in a furious rage of blood and gore, to then reveal a psych-horror mutant of noisy electronics. Let this one sink its teeth into your neck and carry you far away from the light of day. Check out Dracula Lewis’ split with Ducktails, his Soundcloud music tricks and his first official release Vernasca, Valhalla on Hundebiss Records. It’s the product of a broken mixer, two open mics and some heavy duty darknet excavations.

Halo Halo

www.halohalomixmix.blogspot.com London-based friends Rachel, Gill and Jack named themselves after a multicolour Filipino pudding that is made from shaved ice, fruit, sweet beans and evaporated milk! Perhaps beans, milk and ice doesn’t sound like the most mouth-watering treat in the world, but if you just get one load of the sweet craziness that rushes through this motley mix of banjo, drum, guitar, keyboard and shanty chants, you will probably crave nothing else but this fucked-up musical dessert. Oh, and they call themselves a ‘dance-sinawi-pop trio’ which basically means they like playing around with this improvisational Korean music called sinawi that some people use for shamanistic rites. Check out their videos, they are very, very, very good.

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New Music

Zammuto

www.zammutosound.com Nick Zammuto has cut through the umbilical cord to The Books and is charging forward with his new band named after himself. Zammuto lives in this hippie fantasy spaceship shack in Vermont with his wife and three kids, and they primarily eat homemade blueberry tart while Nick builds more house extensions and fiddles with music equipment in his cool little music shed. The result will please both die-hard Books fans and new listeners. It springs, beats and jumps with familiar acoustic ease, but a newfound independence lingers throughout. His self-titled full-length is out this April, in the meantime, feast your ears on his extremely nice and good Idiom Wind EP.

Trust

www.ttrustt.com

Austra’s drummer Maya Postepski and Robert Alfons got together a while back in Toronto and formed this eerie two-piece. Their LP, released in February, is called TRST - not hard to remember, eh? Well, their spooky synthy beats will blow through your ears like a gust of icy Canadian wind, make you wanna get an alt-piercing, maybe wear an upside-down cross/triangle necklace and pout at your laptop camera in your dimly lit room. I kid, I kid, these two are pretty fun actually, check out their creepy, cool house beats and maybe do a funny robot dance to them.

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New Music

continued

葛蘭 (Gě Lán) Grace Chang

In food terms, Grace Chang is not your local Chinese takeaway or frozen spring roll, she is a piping-hot honey-glazed duck served with those amazing little pancakes and Hoisin sauce. Born in 1933 and still alive and kicking (as far as I know), this little singer has appeared in a staggering 33 films, in which she has sung some pretty mind-blowing Western-influenced Chinese ’50s and ’60s pop. YouTube will provide you with the glamorous, glittering visuals, if you search for ‘Achoo Cha Cha’ and ‘Calypso’ from Tsai Ming Li’s film The Hole. Trust me, your iPod has never been this vintage.

Amerigo Gazaway

gummysoul.bandcamp.com/album/fela-soul This dude Amerigo from Nashville’s Gummy Soul has released something that, as a concept, sounds as vom-inducing as synthesising Mozart sonatas. And then I put Fela Soul on, an alleged ‘musical tapestry’ (cough, cough) that’s emerged from the combination of samples from De La Soul and the legendary Fela Kuti, and I was proved wrong. This record is super cool, not only because it makes your head bop uncontrollably to this Afrobeat-hip hop soup, but perhaps mainly because Gazaway has dug up some funky musical roots that have made these pretty different dudes into absolute bezzie mates.

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centraal museum Kunst KraaK PunK: 1977-1984

3 maart t/m 10 juni 2012

God save the Queen

centraalmuseum.nl

We Saw You

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Spotted at Subbacultcha

Photo by Isolde Woudstra

What is your worst nightmare? When I was a kid I often dreamt that my mother did not have any teeth (my ultimate nightmare at the time). Now I sometimes dream that I am in a glass coffin, sinking to the darkest, deepest bottom of the ocean. Or that I wake up and have a lot of babies.

Ivy van Dijke, spotted at the Blouse concert in OT301, Amsterdam on 9 February 2012

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Features

The Dream Issue

WU

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LYF

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WU LYF

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Okay, so we know about WU LYF’s sensational launch onto the scene. These ‘four dumb kids’ (as they call themselves) were surrounded by a veil of mystery and got quite a following playing their ‘heavy pop’ exclusively at a local café. It’s the oldest trick in the world to make someone deeply long for you: never let them get too close, or else it might break the mystique.

We called up bass player/vocalist Tom and talked about reality shows, seeing rabbits in your sleep and how to make your dreams come true.

Skype interview by Brenda Bosma.

Images found on www.worldunite.org.

What are the perks of being in a foundation?

It’s just like being in a band really. You get to travel the world. It’s also nice to meet like-minded people thatsupport us. Meeting these ‘fans’ feels pretty much like making new friends. We’re just a couple of kids who got a chance to do this and we’re loving it.

When we first got introduced to WU LYF, you were all covered in cloaks and refused to do any interviews. Now I’ve read you want to break the mystique, because it’s ‘boring and cheesy’.

Can we expect a WU LYF reality show any time soon? [laughs] I don’t know. I don’t think we’d have an interesting one. We’d rather concentrate on the way the Page 21

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WU LYF

‘Anybody can be a glorified nobody if you set your mind to it.’ music presents itself. People shouldn’t get so hung up about our image.

Okay, but who would be the ‘Snooki’, who ‘the Situation’ and so on?

Our drummer finds the best things to say at any time. He would be the ‘Opportunist Speaker’. Evan, the guitarist, is a guy that, you know, could do it, and probably should do it, but maybe tomorrow. Ellery, our singer, is the ‘Eternal Worker’, someone who would dig to the centre of the earth, because he thinks he can.

But we’re all just glorified nobodies really. Who we are is not important.

Were you ever infatuated with someone as a kid, like a pop idol or the silent girl in biology class?

I am very prone to worship in a lot of ways. It ranges from my father to Alex Chilton and a few other songwriters. I become totally preoccupied with them. It’s also trying to relate. For instance I like to listen to Paul Westerberg’s early material and compare it to his later work with The Replacements. It’s reassuring to know Page 22

that’s it’s okay I write some bad songs, I know I’ll improve some day just like he did.

What was the first thing your manager and former Factory Records employee Warren Bramley said to you that made a deep impression?

He often tells stories about his days at The Factory. He has never repeated one yet, so he must have quite a few. I like the way he always tells us we’re the greatest band in the world. I think if you would look up ‘moral’ in the urban dictionary you’ll see a picture of him. He’s the type of person that would spoil a child to death. He surely spoils us. You could totally take that the wrong way and write him off as a nodhead/yaysayer, but it’s reinforcing really. And it’s fun to laugh about it.

What would the urban dictionary say if one was telling fire to the mountain?

It means standing up for what you believe in. Something like: quit shouting and throw your fists in the air.

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WU LYF

Have you ever told fire to the rain?

No, but I think Adele has.

There are a certain dreams that have symbolic meaning, like the one where your teeth fall out. Do you have a recurring dream like that?

I have this dream a lot where I’m talking to rabbits. It starts with me and my brother walking into someone’s garden, because we think we see a rabbit. Then all of sudden there’s three of them. We’re having a nice chat and even help them over the fence. Then the owners of the garden come down and we feel nervous, because we’re not allowed to talk to strangers. Then I wake up. It’s not a bad dream, I don’t wake up in a sweat.

I’d like to know what that’s all about.

the CBS studios, heading for Central Park. There was this afterglow and I just couldn’t believe how much we’d done in a year. It felt surreal.

Did you dream of this life as a kid, while you were shaking your percussion egg in music class?

I always sort of knew I wouldn’t have a regular nine-to-five job. I just felt there was something that I’m much better at. Not that I was destined to do this or anything, I’ve just thought I was destined to be really good at something else ever since I was little. I discovered that if you set your mind to it, you can be the person you admire in your head. You can be a glorified nobody! That also means you have to brag and take shortcuts to be in the same place that others might Google says: to see a rabbit in your have worked harder to get to. That’s dream signifies luck, magical power not bad, it just means you get there and success. You have a positive outlook quicker. [laughs] on life. Alternatively, rabbits symbolise abundance, warmth, fertility and sex- So dreams do come true?

I think so. The stupider or the ual activity. more complex the dreams are, the [laughs] Wow. better. The more little things you have When was the last time you pinched to work out to make your dream hapyourself to check you weren’t dreaming? pen, the more fulfilling it feels.

The day after our performance WU LYF play on 06 March in Melkweg in on David Letterman, I was walking Amsterdam. The show is free for Subbacultdown the road near Broadway past cha! members.

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Bitchin Bajas

The solo project of Cooper Crane, guitarist/ organist of krautrock outfit Cave, relies heavily on meditative keyboard swells crafted from analogue synths and organ tones. You can easily get cuddled up in his ambient drones and snooze your way through the aural bliss. We asked Cooper about his dreams and nightmares. Zappa’s music clearly belongs to the latter.

Multiple choice questions sent by email by Brenda Bosma.

Photos shot in Chicago by Bryan Lear.

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Bitchin Bajas

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‘Hopefully people aren’t trying to sync up Zappa with Bajas while washing dishes, you might need a helper to control all of that.’

1. If you describe what your music is particularly good for (for example, listening to Zappa’s Hot Rats is great for doing the dishes with a smile), what would it be? a) Letting everything get covered in dust and watching the birds on the wallpaper fly away. b) Collective kumbayah-ing around a crackling campfire. c) Other, namely: Hopefully people aren’t trying to sync up Zappa with Bajas while washing dishes, you might need a helper to control all of that. I wonder if Zappa’s Hot Rats would be the ideal record to mash with us Bitches? Finding your zone would be supreme bliss for everyone we’re sure.

2. What’s your worst nightmare? a) Our Cave singer, called Rotten Milk, spilling milk all over my vintage equipment and not recording the sound that’s coming out of it. b) To get lost in a perpetual labyrinth of krautrock rhythm and not finding the fade-out button. Although

that could also be eternal bliss, come to think of it. c) Other, namely: People trying to sync up Zappa and Bitchin Bajas while washing dishes... alone.

3. Do your dreams have, like, a meaning? a) No, when I dream of Michael Stipe in my REM sleep I do not necessarily want to hurt anyone. b) Yes, for instance when I dreamed about that baja that was bitching. c) Other, namely: The ones where I’m a detective in a Law and Order dream episode sure do.

4. If dreams come true, what would be a pure untruth? a) That having a solo project frees you of awful smells in the tour van. b) That having vintage analogue equipment is not all hosanna. c) Other, namely: HEAVEN. Bitchin Bajas play on 30 March in De Nieuwe Anita in Amsterdam. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members.

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Googling t with Mol

‘We’d like you to google the universe,’ we told M a surprise, since her wonderful dark and dreamy and stellar stars and nebulas; her website is calle her recently released album History has been hitti universe, h

Questions sent by Images google

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the Universe lly Nilsson

Molly Nilsson. ‘I love that!’ she answered. Not really music evokes images of black skies, glooming lights ed Dark Skies Association; and if that isn’t enough, ing the blogosphere with a big bang. And hey, in the history is now.

y email by Bas Morsch. ed by Molly Nilsson.

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Subbacultcha!: Why did you choose these images?

Molly Nilsson: They’re each beautiful in their own way. They possess unexpected simplicity.

Had you ever googled the universe before we asked you to?

Yes, many times.

How big is the universe?

Bigger than our minds, and that’s all we need to know.

How big is it to you?

Endless, but not infinite.

What amazes you the most about the universe?

I love the emotional vertigo we all Page 30

feel while looking up at the dark skies.

The stars offer great comfort. And it never fails to show us how small we are within time and space, with all our pains and problems.

How does the universe inspire you?

It seems so far away, but at least it’s always there. I think Laurie Anderson said that the reason she loves the stars is that we cannot destroy them, and I would agree with that.

Do you understand the universe?

No. If I, or anyone else, did, it would only be a wallpaper.

Do you know what a black hole is?

A black hole is a point in space

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at which gravity is so strong that no matter can escape it, not even light.

That’s very similar to our perception of death: it’s where we’re going.

What is your fascination with ‘Dark Skies’?

I was interested when I first heard about the organisation IDA [International Dark-Sky Association; an organisation connected to the dark-sky movement, which is dedicated to reduce light pollution so the stars can be seen better, and to reduce the effects of unnatural lighting on the environment] and decided to steal their name. The only difference is that they

Features

only work with one sky, whereas I work in the plural with many skies.

I like the image those words put together evoke.

How can there be more than one sky?

There are multiple skies, just as there are different days and moments; they’re all part of the same timeline.

What role does the universe play in your music?

The universe is my muse.

Molly Nilsson plays on 23 March in Extrapool in Nijmegen and on 24 March in Roodkapje in Rotterdam. Both shows are free for Subbacultcha! members.

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Chad VanGaalen

Chad VanGaalen is a Jack of all trades. Besides releasing a steady stream of eclectic indie folk/rock that he writes, performs and produces himself, he’s also an accomplished illustrator and animator. The notorious recluse gave us a peek into his home studio in Calgary, dubbed Yoko Eno, where he makes weird and wonderful dreams come true.

Skype interview by Carly Blair.

Photos shot by Jeff Thorburn in Chad’s family home in Calgary.

Everyone says you hardly leave the house. What’s your creative space like?

It’s full of pretty cool stuff. This is my synth zone over here. Through that door you go downstairs and there’s a skateboard ramp. If I’m going crazy I go and skate for a while, then I come back up here.

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Wow, if you put a jacuzzi in, you might never leave!

Jacuzzis are weird, though. It can get pretty weird once you start adding jacuzzis.

Cool place! Are your daughters allowed in there, too?

Chad VanGaalen

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Chad VanGaalen

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‘It’s kind of crazy actually. I feel pretty fucking lucky. And I feel like no one’s really noticed either how lucky I am.’

[Smoking pot] allows me to zone out on it. But it’s easy to criticise yourself and fuck stuff up by over-analysing things. It’s not like you’re censoring yourself in your dreams. Obviously, subconscious ideas are less filtered. So maybe they’re a little bit more honest.

[Dreaming] is just an easy way to find You actually trained as a lithographer. that in my own mind. Usually if I’m That sounds so formal, and a bit old- coming up with stuff when I’m sober and awake, it’s pretty bad. It just fashioned.

Well, my grades weren’t high seems contrived. enough to get into the drawing programme at the college I was going to, You’ve said at one point that your earso they stuck me in the printmaking lier animations were like a screensavprogramme, which was fucking hor- er, and that you wanted to start incorrible. Not that I hate printmaking, porating more of a linear element into but it’s super process-oriented... I just your animations.

There’s an animated short I finwasn’t into it. ished last year that has more of a stoYour work is often described as ‘dream- ry, and I’m working on a full-length like’, but you’re also a pothead. Is this animation right now that actually has stuff really inspired by your dreams, or dialogue, and I’m writing a screenplay for it. The morphological stuff was is it coming from a different place?

I smoke a lot of pot when I’m awesome... but, you know, it was for working on animations, mostly be- me. It felt like I was alienating my aucause it’s monotonous work, so I’ll get dience. Now I’m trying to figure out really distracted while I’m doing it. what I like about storytelling. I want Yeah. My oldest daughter and I are in a band called Crocodile Teeth and the Snugglers, and then I’ve got a band with my two-year-old. It’s a techno band, and we’re called Banana Bread. Banana Bread’s pretty fucking crazy, actually.

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Chad VanGaalen

something that people come away from with a story in their head instead of just this psychedelic stoner art. Which is cool, but I think it’s being overdone, and it definitely doesn’t take much effort. That isn’t bad, it’s just, I want something different now.

You’re ready for a new challenge. Is it something you’ll share with your kids too?

Oh yeah, they have tons of input. After I finish rendering stuff, I’ll show my oldest daughter, ’cause she can give pretty honest feedback. We watch pretty heavy cartoons, so they’ve got a good sense of what’s entertaining.

There’s a long line of psychedelic animations that both children and adults can appreciate, like Yellow Submarine or something.

Yeah, totally, stuff like that, René Laloux, all the Moebius stuff. Everybody can enjoy it. I’m pretty stoked about it. I haven’t been this excited about something in a long time.

So, things are going well. You’re having Page 36

a good time being a father. Your creative pursuits are all going well. You seem like a balanced person. What are your dreams for what happens next?

It’s kind of crazy actually. I feel pretty fucking lucky. And I feel like no one’s really noticed either how lucky I am.

I’m pretty stoked to be a dad right now. So I just hope I get to keep on doing this. I get to work from home so I get to spend a lot of time with my kids, which is pretty lucky.

And my wife works from home as well, so we’ve got it pretty sweet right now. I wanna do a bunch of camping this summer, I don’t think that’s too ambitious... [laughs].

Hey, you know, everything is relative!

I’m gonna camp. I wanna throw some rocks in the river and have some fires. Pretty excited about that.

Chad VanGaalen plays on 08 March in OT301 in Amsterdam. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members. Other live dates: 11/03 FabrIQ Festival, Den Bosch.

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Still Corners

We battled the gloomy winds of London and met up with Tessa Murray and Greg Hughes of poppy shoegazers Still Corners to talk about dreamy dreams and taking trains. Their band’s music makes you think of all that nostalgic stuff. Y’know, misty forests, David Lynch, cashmere, cherry pie and coffee. But then - bang! - the two admit that Woody Allen is actually more their cup of tea.

Exceptional excerpts printed here. Read the full interview online.

The interview was done in London by Zofia Ciechowska.

Photo shot on film in London by Laurence von Thomas.

Have you ever had the classic ‘coming to school naked’ dream?

Tessa: Not really, but I’ve had a scary dream where my teeth fell out.

Has anyone else had that dream?

Greg: The most vivid dream I ever had was when I was eight years old and I dreamt of having a conversation with a giant ant. It was so real Page 38

that when I woke up I went to the place down the street where I dreamt it had happened and looked for the ant.

Tessa: I dreamt I got chased by a motorbike gang that drove me off a cliff. I fell out of my bed and woke up.

Greg and Tessa: Actually, there are a lot of good dream sequences in

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that, I actually love Woody Allen.

Hannah and Her Sisters is the best. I could just ditch the band and go and Yeah, I’ve heard you like your films, write a Woody Allen book. [pauses] I’m kidding, I’m kidding! what’s up with that?

Greg: Well, with the whole dream pop thing, people expect us to be into Still Corners play on 28 March in OCCII in David Lynch and Laura Palmer and Amsterdam. The show is free for Subbacultstuff but actually, as much as we like cha! members.

Rosemary’s Baby and Picnic at Hanging Rock and even Vertigo!

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Art

Featured Artist

Danny Gonzalez

Danny Gonzalez is actually playing bass in Jacuzzi Boys, a gritty three-piece from Miami spitting out sunny garage songs that sound like Beach Boy Brian Wilson got stuck on an island with Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone.

While contemplating an interview with these Florida lads, we discovered that Danny is one hell of a photographer with an amazing eye for the wonderful details of everyday life. His photos show a very subtle and observant view on reality, resulting in wonderful images of seemingly unimportant stuff. We’ve printed a small selection on these pages but check out Danny’s frequently updated blog, kokomolife.tumblr.com, to get a full taste.

Jacuzzi Boys play on 04 April in Rotown in Rotterdam and on 06 April in Aea 51 in Eindhoven. Both shows are free for Subbacultcha! members. Other live dates: 31/03 Merleyn, Nijmegen, 05/04 Paradiso, Amsterdam.

kokomolife.tumblr.com

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Art

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Featured Artist

Danny Gonzalez

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Music Reviews

New releases worth your while

Frankie Rose Interstellar (Slumberland)

By Carly Blair

to gain confidence with each move, I’m anxious to see where this rolling stone heads next.

Dustin Wong Dreams Say, View Create, Shadow Leads Frankie Rose has made a name for herself by lovin’ (or at least drummin’ for) and leavin’ the Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and Dum Dum Girls. She then formed a ’60s revivalist group of her own, Frankie Rose and the Outs. They quickly released their self-titled debut back in 2010, on which they very effectively channeled the lo-fi girl group sound. Clearly not one to stand by her band, as Rose is back with Interstellar, after just one record the Outs are out. With producer Le Chev as her co-pilot, Rose has left behind the reverb-soaked retro of yesteryear, setting her course instead for some downright heavenly dream pop. While Interstellar isn’t quite that stellar, the clean production does help her huge voice and knack for melody reach previously unattained heights. Since she seems Page 44

(Thrill Jockey)

Apparently, every time Baltimore art rock spazzes Ponytail have made an album, they ‘go on hiatus’ immediately, rumours fly that they’re broken up, ‘former’ members do solo projects and eventually they reunite.

Hopefully this will be the case once again. In the meantime, guitarist Dustin Wong is playing his part, serving up a second solo album. Using only guitar and various effects pedals, Wong weaves together altered, looped and layered guitar sounds into an intricate and hypnotic sonic tapestry. He conjures up a surprising amount of good material, given the tools he’s working with, but after the hour of run time it starts to feel limiting.

But fans of the upbeat experimentation of Ponytail, Battles and Delicate Steve should find plenty to enjoy here.

Julia Holter Ekstasis (RVNG Intl)

This LA-based sound artist has released five albums since 2008, but last autumn’s Tragedy was her first widely available full-length. Although she’s studied classical piano and can cite various brainy influences - for example Robert Wyatt or Greek tragedies - Holter asserts, ‘I don’t know what listeners hear when they hear my music but, to me, it sounds like pop in the sense that I’m trying to make something I want to hear.

I’m not academic. I just pull things out of my imagination and do whatever I want with them.’ I can handle a nearly unlimited amount of experimental weirdness in a song, as long as it somehow acknowledges the ex-

Music Reviews istence of a listener by including even just one ‘poppy’ element.

Luckily, on Ekstasis Holter succeeds at least in making something I want to hear; it’s not just experimental and it’s not just poppy, it also has a singular way of sounding simultaneously surprising and utterly organic.

If you’ve worshipped at the altar of Julianna Barwick, but find her music a bit too angelic (or orthodox), give Holter’s otherworldly wonders a try.

Fenster Bones

(Morr Music)

This Berlin-by-way-of-New York trio recorded Bones, their debut, in a frozen Berlin over the course of eight days, before ever having played live together, and during the process a window fell on one of the band member’s heads and shattered.

At some point, someone likened them to an American version of The xx (which I would not have Page 45

Music Reviews

continued

thought of without prompting). Little else about them is known. Maybe they’re private or under-promoted; perhaps all the juicy gossip on them is in German; maybe they’re just extremely normal. In any case, I recommend they undertake a grand adventure, or add a midget to their line-up, or otherwise construct a marketable backstory, and stat, too, if they want to ensure that the world discovers their stripped-down and often quietly stunning take on indie folk.

Tennis Young & Old (Fat Possum)

Though being a husband-andwife duo is adorable almost by default, Tennis’ backstory was particularly charming: they met in college, and after graduation sold their belongings, bought a yacht, and set off on an eightmonth-long sailing voyage. After returning to life on land, Page 46

they started writing songs as a means of reliving their adventure. Though their ’50s-channeling pop seemed sincere, it was sweet to a fault, and the whole affair felt a wee bit too elitist to truly relate to. On their ‘difficult second album’, Tennis have the experience of having toured with a full band and the production chops of Black Keys’ drummer Patrick Carney at their disposal. Their sound is still thoroughly nostalgic, but Carney’s input gives their new material a more muscular feel.

Something like a flattering photograph rather than a painting, Young & Old is a portrayal of a couple in love that’s still romanticised but has a more human feel to it than their debut.

Grimes Visions (4AD)

Montreal’s Claire Boucher, the 23-year-old experimental electronic pop singer/producer also

known as Grimes, came of age within Montreal’s blossoming DIY scene. Working in such a creative hotbed has helped her maintain a prolific output and a rapidly-evolving sound. Although Visions is technically her third full-length album, Boucher has said that she considers it her true debut, in the sense that she’s finally making the music she wants to make, as opposed to the music she can. Her basic approach remains unchanged: working with GarageBand, she typically tops a danceable foundation with girlish vocals and synths influenced by whatever dozen or so things she’s obsessed with at a given moment (eg Mariah Carey, Korean pop music...). However, not only are her vocals higher in the mix on Visions, but the whole affair is more accomplished and compelling than ever. Seemingly infinitely malleable, and a perfect balance between sweet and urgent, addictive and rewarding, we’re lucky if this is indeed a vision of pop’s future.

Music Reviews

Perfume Genius Put Your Back N 2 It (Matador)

After a period spent living away from home and basically fucking up his life, Seattle’s Mike Hadreas took refuge in his mother’s suburban Washington home and started composing songs for piano. This selfimposed exile at home spawned his 2010 debut as Perfume Genius, Learning, which was striking in its fragility and brutal honesty. On his sophomore album, the overall tone is still somber, the arrangements still spare. However, the somewhat lusher instrumentation and reassuring lyrics give you the feeling that with his demons exorcised and a hit under his belt, Hadreas seems to have found a measure of peace. He has said, ‘being emotional might not be innovative, but it’s definitely not wimpy.’ This is empowerment for the fragile in musical form.

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99 Problems and the Bitch... knows the anwser

-

22 25 29

E X C L U S I E V E MAART MAART MAART

EXCEL96290

By Brenda Bosma Illustration by Martyn F Overweel

R E L E A S E S H O W S

P A R A D I S O AMSTERDAM T I V O L I DE H E L L I N G V E R A GRONINGEN

-

UTRECHT

P R O D U C E N T

M E T

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W W W . D E S P E E C H . C O M

S T E U N

V A N

By Gert Verbeek and Basje Boer

New Films and DVDs

Film

A Dangerous Method

Die Blechtrommel

In his latest achievement, period piece A Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg’s usual theme of violence has taken the (by Cronenberg standards) rather innocent shape of S&M. It’s the eve of World War I, and a certain Carl Jung has taken to psychoanalysis to treat young Sabrina, a screwed-up but awfully sexy patient of his. As it turns out, Sabrina’s lust for a good spanking can only be cured by... a good spanking. Meanwhile, Jung discusses business with the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. A Dangerous Method is a stylish, somewhat formal drama that is many things - but not dangerous. Soon-to-be-superstar Michael Fassbender plays Jung, the ever-cool Viggo Mortensen is especially superb as Freud. (BB) In cinemas from 15 March

One of the best German postwar films gets the full HD treatment. The Tin Drum, adapted from the Günter Grass novel of the same title, tells the epic story of little rebel drummer boy Oskar (played by the unforgettable, then twelve-year-old David Bennent), who observes the adult world with disgust. On his third birthday, he decides to stop growing. With fascism on the rise in hometown Danzig (today’s Gdańsk), Oskar beats his own wayward rhythm and emphasises his punches with a glass-shattering shriek. The Blu-ray edition of this re-issue also contains the director’s cut, which is 20 minutes longer. I could’ve lived without the flying nuns and the Ra-Ra-Rasputin fantasy sequence, but the film does look better than when I first saw it in my local repertory cinema in 1980. (GV) Re-released February 2012

David Cronenberg, 2012

Volker Schlöndorff, 1979

Page 49

Fashion

Worn Out

By Karin Wolters

These items of clothing were worn by several people on 3 February at the Tri Angle showcase in Trouw, Amsterdam.

Page 50

By Zofia Ciechowska Photo by Basje Boer

What’s Cooking?

Food

Limp Bizkits

300g plain flour 200g unsalted butter 100g white sugar 1 egg 3 tsps cinnamon

• Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, cinnamon and egg. Add the lemon zest. Now stir, stir, stir until it turns smooth.

• Wrap the dough in some clingfilm and stick in the fridge for about 40 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 175 C. • Sprinkle some flour on your kitchen top and roll the dough into a half centimetre-thick sheet.

• Here’s the fun bit: cut the biscuits into shapes with either cookie cutters or a sharp knife.

Stuck for ideas? Letters, drag-

Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon Greaseproof paper Loads and loads of crazyshaped cookie cutters

ons, genitalia and emoticons will take you far.

Place your biscuits on greaseproof paper and bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

Careful, these babies burn easily!

• Leave the biscuits to cool. Arrange them on a big plate, find the biggest armchair in the house, locate the TV, turn on crap reality show and balance the plate on your belly. Proceed to feed yourself biscuits. Yell at younger sibling to fetch you a tall glass of milk. Spit crumbs.

Do not share under any circumstance.

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Books

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Illustration by Viktor Hachmang

By Marc van der Holst

How to read...

Books

Graphic Novels First of all, don’t call ’em that.

They’re called comics. Just because they don’t have a bittersweet punchline in the last panel, like Peanuts, or aren’t as much fun as Donald Duck or Tintin, and go on for too long, is no reason to start calling them novels.

They’re stories with pictures and balloons, and ‘comics’ will do just fine. Secondly, don’t read them.

They’re bad for you. You will lose your imagination and eyesight, and hair will start growing on your palms.

are pretty sweet, actually. This also goes for Chester Brown, whose Ed the Happy Clown is one hell of a trip. Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware is downright devastating, as is Art Spiegelman’s Maus.

I should probably mention Robert Crumb, Sophie Crumb, Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Lewis Trondheim, Joann Sfar... once you get sucked in it, there’s a lot of good stuff out there, really. Dutch collective Lamelos are Having said that, I was young working on a Kaasheld gr*ph*c once, too, and I remember there n*v*l, and Typex is smurfing up being some great ones out there. Rembrandt’s life, so those are Even some lengthy ones, with- two to look out for in 2012. If out much in the way of punch- you’re young, can read Dutch lines, that were worth losing and have too much time on your your imagination and eyesight cold hands, that is. If not, might for. And hair on your palms isn’t I once more recommend Infinite so bad, really, I’ve found. It’ actu- Jest?1 It doesn’t have any pictures, ally pretty nice in winter. but it’s really good!

I remember Daniel Clowes’ Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron being really good, for example. Very Lynchian. All of Clowes’ books

1)

See Subbacultcha!, August 2011 issue.

Page 53

Horoscope

ARIES

21 March – 20 April

By Brenda Bosma Illustrations by Kathrin Klingner

LEO

23 July – 22 Aug

Sometimes it’s good to feel bad, sometimes it’s not good to steal someone else’s boyfriend.

You’ve got everything back on track again. Could you let us in on how you flipped it?

TAURUS

VIRGO

You feel like a cat who’s just come out from anaesthesia after the veterinarian has deprived him of his pride. Yes, this month you’re licking your phantom testies, while a melancholic, but mostly empty feeling looms over you. We’re very sorry.

This month, your flatmate is doing a Christina Aguilera on your stress levels. Try to establish a more Barbra-Streisand degree.

How? Well, subtlety doesn’t apply to Miss Dirrty’s vocal range (or closet) now does it? Don’t be gentle, trooper.

21 April – 21 May

GEMINI

22 May – 21 June

Opinions are to you what an appetite is to a bag of mini KitKats. You don’t really have any, but you spill them anyway. What did you utter?

CANCER

22 June – 22 July

You’re still not a big fan of death. You drown everything and everyone out with your overactive behaviour. Did you know this is exactly what may cause a slow and painful passing? You wanna end up as that creep from the Edvard Munch painting?

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23 Aug – 22 Sept

LIBRA

23 Sept – 22 Oct

You’ll find yourself in quite a predicament at the end of this month. Let’s not hope it has anything to do with the LCD television you bought through a ‘Buy Now/Pay Later’-deal.

SCORPIO

23 Oct – 21 Nov

We don’t know when you will have your big break. Is it when Mars is in the eighth house of Venus? Or when it’s raining Kit Kats? All we know is to stop asking these difficult questions. They only raise more silly questions. Hmm, they are quite amusing though. Go ahead, ask away!

Sagittarius

22 Nov – 21 Dec

What’s up, Sag? Little frolics become banal, short- and long-term goals feel ridiculous? Are you finally growing up? Learn from this.

Horoscope

PISCES

20 February-20 March

CAPRICORN

22 Dec – 20 Jan

Let us remind you that you are not a serf imprisoned by the feudal system. Shake yourself free of your (inner) landlord and live a little.

We’ve said it once before.

Aquarius

21 January-19 February

Just like last month, you won’t win the lottery and you won’t meet Mister/Miss Perfect, so why the smiley face? It puzzles us. You are the most upbeat sign. What is wrong with your brain?

We know you have mixed feelings about shopping for new clothes. You hate that distorted image you see of yourself in the fitting room. Yes, those mirrors are fucked up. Sometimes it’s like you’re parading in a funhouse.

Guess what though, this month you buy yourself a new pair of skinny jeans, even though, and we say this respectfully, you’re actually too big boned for it. Then, at a party at a friend’s house, as you stumble your way into the bathroom, you catch your reflection in the mirror and you think: ‘Man, I really look good in these jeans!’ You firmly pat yourself on that bonbon of yours. ‘Pats!’

Damn, girl! This month is all about embracing your BMI and you know it. Vogue on.

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Listen to This: Bang on a Can All Stars + free side programme Saturday 17 March, 18:30, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ This night is part of a special Listen to This weekend. The Listen to This series is a selection of cutting-edge modern classical concerts that are complemented with a free side programme hosted by Amsterdam’s finest music organisations. On Friday 16 March, Lunapark plays Squarepusher, and for Saturday 17 March, Bang on a Can All Stars have compiled an amazing set list: Music for Airports (Brian Eno), 2x5 (Steve Reich) and various compositions by Dirty Projectors’ David Longstreth.

On Friday, 22Tracks will host the pre- and after-parties, and on Saturday, Subbacultcha! and Future Vintage will present a line-up of some of the most challenging acts of this moment: Woud, Ssaliva, Cosmo V and Treehouse. The night is completed with Red Light Radio DJs.

Nicole Martens voor Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ — 17.08.2011

Call Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ or buy tickets at the register 020-788 20 00 | www.muziekgebouw.nl

NM

Agenda On the following pages:

Subbacultcha! concerts and films totally free for members Page 59

Other shows Page 67 Free tickets Page 76

This is Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells. Sleigh Bells play on Thursday 8 March at Melkweg as part of the 5 Days Off Festival (7-11 March, various locations, Amsterdam)

VR 2 MRT AUDIONITE / BASKERVILLE RARA AVES @ KLINCH

ZO 4 MRT KATHLEEN EDWARDS MA 5 MRT LITTLE DRAGON DI 6 MRT WU LYF WO 7 T/M 5 DAYS OFF: O.A. SBTRKT, ZO 11 MRT SLEIGH BELLS, JEFF MILLS, MONOLAKE, NOISIA, DIGITAL MYSTIKZ VR 9 MRT LE PEUPLE DE L'HERBE ZO 11 MRT TINDERSTICKS ZA 17 MRT EXAMPLE MA 19 MRT DE AVONDUREN WO 21 MRT WE HAVE BAND DO 22 MRT MARBERT ROCEL VR 23 MRT KILL ALL HIPSTERS DO 29 MRT MORNING PARADE ZO 1 APR OTHER LIVES ZA 7 APR MINNY POPS / THE TAPES ULTRA2012-EINDE

MELKWEG AMSTERDAM - LIJNBAANSGRACHT 234A LET OP: DIT IS EEN SELECTIE VAN HET PROGRAMMA. HET VOLLEDIGE PROGRAMMA VIND JE OP WWW.MELKWEG.NL

See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.nl.

Future Islands

01 March - Ekko, Utrecht 20.00 | €10 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

On their new album On the Water, Baltimore synth pop trio Future Islands once again combine throbbing rhythms, addictive melodies and stirring vocals into a collection of songs that’s bound to bring the house down live.

WU LYF

06 March - Melkweg, Amsterdam 19.30 | €12 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Manchester’s WU LYF (World Unite/Lucifer Youth Foundation) gained an early burst of hype and curiosity from bloggers on the basis of their antiestablishment branding and aesthetics and their reputation for mysteriousness. Luckily, they play heavy pop that’s substantial enough to withstand the scrutiny. Their 2011 debut Go Tell Fire to the Mountain is thunderous, haunting, wistful, roughly hewn and beautiful. Ellery Roberts’ howled vocals and their mantra-like sing-alongs feel like a call to arms: come answer their battle cry in the pit that’s sure to result.

Dirty Beaches

07 March - WORM, Rotterdam 20.30 | €8 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Dirty Beaches is the lo-fi rockabilly project by Alex Zhang Hungtai. He’s cited David Lynch films as major influences on his aesthetic. Correspondingly, themes of being on the road and on the run and of the ’50s suburban Page 59

See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.nl.

idyll being a mere sugar coating for a deeply ugly underlying reality are reflected in how Hungtai buries his Elvis-like yelps and croons and occasionally very romantic melodies under layers of no-wavey distortion and reverb.

Before the show, enjoy the screening of Rock My Religion (1982), a short, inspiring film by visual artist Dan Graham, in which he analyses the emergence of rock music as a religion among teenage consumers in the isolated milieu of 1950s suburbia.

Chad VanGaalen

08 March - OT301, Amsterdam 20.30 | €9 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

This historically reclusive Canadian songwriter/producer/illustrator produced Women’s final album Public Strain. The experience was so enjoyable, it lured him out of the hermetic comforts of his basement studio into a larger recording space for the first time to record last year’s idiosyncratic pop gem Diaper Island. Though he’s still written, performed and produced everything on the record himself, his new material is less insular and more rollicking and confident-sounding than ever.

Mediamatic: New Order02 - Blue Whale 10-18 March - Van Gendthallen, Amsterdam

The Blue Whale exhibition is part of Mediamatic’s New Order series, which focuses on the concept of energy in a ‘post-carbon’ era. Expect a whalesized, energy-conscious installation that’s based on an article by British physicist Geoffrey West, in which he compares the daily energy use of an Page 60

As a member you will also receive this magazine every month plus a stylish tote bag

average middle-class American to the daily energy use of a blue whale.

Head down for the installation, and also to check out Mediamatic’s amazing new space in the Van Gendthallen.

Bang on a Can side programme

ft Ssaliva, Woud, Tree House and Cosmo V 17 March - Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Amsterdam 21.30 | Free entrance

Whether or not you can afford a ticket to tonight’s amazing Bang on a Can programme, be sure to head down to the Muziekgebouw anyway for an exciting free line-up in the café, brought to you by yours truly in collaboration with Future Vintage. Expect live shows by Belgian bedroom producer Ssaliva, hazy electronic popsters Cosmo V and dark ambient duo Woud, as well as a DJ set by the folks from Redlight Radio.

Molly Nilsson + Maria Minerva + Eekhoorn X + Lafidki 23 March - Extrapool, Nijmegen 20.30 | €5 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Maria Minerva is back in Holland with more of her hypnagogic bedroom funk, and tonight she’ll be joined by hazy Swedish synth pop singer Molly NiIsson, who released her wonderful new album History at the end of 2011. Add Lafidki’s experimental noise drones and Belgian performance duo Eekhoorn X to the mix and you get what’s bound to be a perfect night of noise, beats, synths and samples.

Page 61

See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.nl.

Molly Nilsson + Afka

24 March - Roodkapje, Rotterdam 22.00 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Sweden’s Molly Nilsson famously created the excellent song ‘Hey Moon!’ that John Maus awkwardly (charmingly?) sung over the top of last year.

While we doubt she minded the tribute (or the boost in exposure), Nilsson’s deceptively simple pop is bittersweet and hypnotic enough to fascinate on its own. That she’s stylish and sexy and wan should also contribute to a compelling live performance. Rumour has it that Rotterdam’s Afka offers up a visual spectacle of Glasser-like proportions, but singer Aafke Kloppenburg’s CocoRosie-esque vocals should command your attention with or without any fancy packaging.

Blanck Mass + White Hills

25 March - Ekko, Utrecht 20.00 | €10 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Fuck Button’s Benjamin John Power released a stunning debut album with his solo project Blanck Mass in 2011. Listening to it is like putting your ear up to a snowy television set as a kid and listening intently to the static electricity nibbling on your cheek. Devoid of rhythm, the music surges and pulsates with beautiful ease as Power layers organ and synth patterns to create an intergalactic map of sound. New York’s White HiIls blend massive guitar riffs with fuzzy psychedelia and have earned a devoted following with their explosive live reputation.

Page 62

Shows in September

Agenda

As a member you will also receive this magazine every month plus a stylish tote bag

The Wonderfully Strange and Surreal Animation of Suzan Pitt 26 March - Melkweg Cinema 19.00 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Suzan Pitt is an American visual artist who’s made a name for herself with her bizarre, dark and adventurous short animation films. According to Animation Nation, her work is a luscious ice cream cone dripping with despair, surreality, hope and redemption. Well, that’s certainly triggered our curiosity! Tonight, Melkweg shows four of her finest films, and Suzan Pitt will be there in person to answer all your questions.

Still Corners + The Secret Love Parade 28 March - OCCII, Amsterdam 20.30 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Like many other bands of late, Still Corners mix ’60s and shoegaze inspirations. The fact that co-founder Greg Hughes is a big film buff explains not only the lovely projections that wash over their live performances, but also their particularly cinematic take on this fashionable set of influences: their songs methodically build to a climax, and the denouement satisfies while leaving enough to the imagination to keep you coming back for more. Support by sweet and synthy The Secret Love Parade.

Bitchin Bajas

30 March - De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam 20.00 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Chicago-based Bitchin’ Bajas is the solo project of Cave’s Cooper Crane.

With this project he relies on his trusty organ, an array of vintage synthesizers and various other pieces of old-timey equipment to create a meditatively psychedelic sound that evokes cosmic pioneers of the past as well as modern neo-psych experimenters such as Moon Duo (with who he’s released a split 7”). Bitchin indeed.

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MEANWHILE AT MALASCH

THE INVENTION OF L.A. ART BRIAN KENNY / SLAVA MOGUTIN Meneer Malasch - Celebrated gallery owner Rob Malasch recently moved to Amsterdam-West and opened not just another gallery, but a multimedia project called ‘Meneer Malasch’. Meneer Malasch is a platform, a meeting point between cultures, always searching for exciting creative connections. An international network of artists and company’s makes linking those cultural products to the international art circuit possible. Act local, think global. This art-laboratorium wants to break down the conventional approach to art dealing. It’s no longer only about selling art, but several artistic disciplines can be shown in the four project-spaces.

With a dynamic and flexible side program of concerts, lectures, installations, releases, party’s and performances Meneer Malasch wants to give the visitor a full experience of contemporary art.

M M/

MENEER MALASCH

work BRIAN KENNY design GUIDO LAGERWEIJ

MENEER MALASCH Postjesweg 2 1057 EA Amsterdam

+31 (0)20 4275770 info@meneermalasch.nl www.meneermalasch.nl

De Hallen Haarlem 16 maart t/m 3 juni 2012

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Shows in March

In dezelfde periode zijn ook te zien: — Hamid El Kanbouhi ‘La Vache Qui Rit’ — Recente Aanwinsten

Voor evenementen zie: www.dehallenhaarlem.nl

Vedett, Oggu

Charles Atlas, ‘Views on Camera’ (2005), Courtesy Vilma Gold, Londen

Agenda

Agenda

Shows in March

Blanck Mass (Benjamin John Power of Fuck Buttons) plays on 25 March in EKKO, Utrecht

Future Islands

Sharon van Etten

29 February - OT301, Amsterdam 01 March - EKKO, Utrecht This Baltimore trio make synth pop that’s rife with romance, throbbing rhythms, addictive melodies and stirring vocals, and their live shows haven’t let us down yet either.

Read more on page 59.

04 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam While her earliest material was timid and damaged-sounding, Sharon van Etten’s foray into music ultimately proved cathartic and inspiring. Her new album Tramp features collaborations with various hot shots such as Julianna Barwick and Beirut’s Zach Condon. While she describes songwriting as ‘self-therapy’, she actually finally sounds ready to put up a fight.

Pterodactyl 01 March - Paradox, Tilburg 03 March - Winston, Amsterdam Brooklyn experimental noise-punk quartet Pterodactyl have recently transformed their previously abrasive and melodic sound into melancholic, yet uplifting pop.

Club 4 Reel ft Hieroglyphic Being + Stellar Om Source 02 March - OT301, Amsterdam Club 4 Reel is a new electronic club night combining good DJs and live dance music.

This first edition includes performances by legendary Chicago producer Hieroglyphic Being and Stellar Om Source.

Casiokids 05 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam There must be something in the water in Norway, as Casiokids’ danceable tunes are kindred spirits of those of fellow Norwegians The Whitest Boy Alive and Röyksopp.

WU LYF 06 March - Melkweg, Amsterdam Wu Lyf play heavy pop that’s thunderous, haunting, wistful, roughly hewn and beautiful. Bound to be a glorious show. Read more on page 59.

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Agenda

Shows in March

Neptune 07 March - OCCII, Amsterdam 08 March - dB’s, Utrecht This Boston-based noise band have earned a reputation for their brutal-looking custommade instruments, which are crafted from scrap metal and found objects. Neptune’s origins are in a sculpture project undertaken by artist/musician and founding member Jason Sanford way back in ’94. Seven lineups, twenty-three releases and hundreds of instruments later, the band continues to confound audiences with a calculated madness that has earned them tour slots with fellow experimentalists Liars, The Ex and Mission of Burma.

Dirty Beaches 07 March - WORM, Rotterdam Dirty Beaches’ Alex Zhang Hungtai buries his Elvis-like yelps under layers of nowavey distortion and reverb. Read more on page 59.

5 Days Off ft Sleigh Bells, The Field and SBTRKT 07-11 March - Various locations, Amsterdam This year marks the 12th edition of the Amsterdam electronic music and art festival, which features five nights of dancing to the tunes of renowned artists from around the world, as well as a non-musical programme called 5 Days On. Additional highlights include a special show by Detroit’s Jeff Mills on occasion of the 20th anniversary of his music label (Axis) and a night devoted entirely to Berlin underground music.

Chad VanGaalen 08 March - OT301, Amsterdam 11 March - FabrIQ Festival, Den Bosch This notoriously reclusive and relentless-

ly creative Canadian‘s new material is more guitar-oriented and rollicking than ever.

Read more on page 60.

ULTRA 2012 08-11 March - Various locations, the Netherlands With standard-bearer The Minny Pops, the Dutch ULTRA movement (1979-1983) created a strange and heady mix of DIY-infused punk, jazz and contemporary classical music that was considered as being among some of the greatest post-punk experimental pop in Europe at that time. The ULTRA2012 events are bringing together the original movers and shakers with contemporary artists and bands who are busy creating some sort of an ULTRA of their own it’s not a movement, it’s a mindset.

Alt-J 09 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam For those savages who don’t already know (or don’t own a Mac - double savagery!), pressing Alt+J on a Mac keyboard (apparently) yields the triangle symbol. This Leeds band opted to go with the keyboard shortcut rather than the symbol or the name Triangle, to pay obscure homage to today’s trendiest shape. Fortunately, their music sounds neither like witch house nor like it was made by a bunch of pretentious whiners, but rather like a stripped-down acoustic stylistic blend best called ‘jump-folk’.

Art Rocks 10 March - Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam Tonight, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen presents a fresh new project titled Art Rocks, which invites musicians to compose songs inspired by iconic art works. The project runs till June and encompasses a competition, workshops, concerts and events.

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Agenda

Shows in March

MAART/APRIL 2012 MAART / DO

SUBBACULTCHA PRESENTS

01 FUTURE ISLANDS KIM JANSSEN + LUIK 09 RUE ROYALE 15 SUMMER CAMP 23 BRIGHT 23 NOISE: 25 SUNDAY WHITE HILLS + BLANCK MASS LAURA GIBSON 03 DARK DARK DARK 06 MAART / VR

MAART / DO

MAART / VR

MAART / VR

ADDISON GROOVE + MILEZ & EL MARIA

MAART / ZO

SUBBACULTCHA PRESENTS

APRIL / DI

LOCATIE: KARGADOOR

APRIL / VR

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Agenda

Shows in March

FabrIQ Festival ft. Xiu Xiu, Chad VanGaalen and others 10-11 March - Various locations, Den Bosch This ‘festival of intrusive quality’ focuses on the kind of intense, special and lesserknown music you won’t usually find in the larger pop venues. The third edition promises to deliver the kinds of pleasant surprises the festival is becoming known for.

Cass McCombs 11 March - FabrIQ Festival, Den Bosch 12 March - Vera, Groningen Northern Californian songwriter Cass McCombs has developed a reputation for being extremely forthcoming in his lyrics and extremely private in person. The odd mix of reclusiveness and confessionalism has helped this enigmatic vagabond quietly build a cult following. 2011 saw McCombs release two acclaimed albums, Wit’s End and Humor Risk, the latter of which he’s described as ‘an attempt at laughter instead of confusion’. Hopefully the joke won’t be on the audience! Ba-dum chhh.

Slow Magic + Selebrities 14 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam Slow Magic describe their music as being like ‘the sound made by an unknown imaginary friend.’ Apparently that friend likes mellow and dreamy chillwave. Brooklyn-based trio Selebrities shamelessly fetishise ’80s Manchester in pop music form.

Food Film Festival 16-18 March - Studio K, Amsterdam As we become ever more connected to the rest of the world, our appreciation and knowledge of food is only growing. However, so is the human population, and sustaining it with industrial food production is

putting a huge burden on the planet. This festival showcases more than 20 food films and documentaries, together with cooking workshops, art, debates and music. An initiative of the Youth Food Movement, it aims not only to celebrate a shared love of good food, but also to support the development of a more sustainable food system.

Bang on a Can All Stars 17 March - Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam The seventh instalment of the eight-night Listen to This series promises to be jampacked with cutting-edge experimentation and ambiance. Bang on a Can is a legendary classical music organisation that’s worked with some of the most important experimental musicians of the modern era, and their All Stars make chamber music for rock instruments. Tonight’s programme includes Brian Eno’s ‘Music for Airports’, the Dutch premiere of Steve Reich’s ‘2x5’, various works by David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors) and much more. Not to miss!

Ontrouw 17 March - Trouw, Amsterdam During the annual Ontrouw celebration, Trouw undergoes a complete transformation and guests are not-so-gently encouraged to do so as well. This year’s theme is ‘A New Tribe’, and costume suggestions include Deformed, Gas Masks and Ancient Accessories. With a secret line-up and a ban on cameras, this party promises to be unforgettable (and/or emotionally scarring).

SoKo 18 March - Merleyn, Nijmegen 19 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam 20 March - Rotown, Rotterdam After releasing a hit single (‘I’ll Kill Her’) back in 2007, touring with M.I.A., and collabPage 71

04 MRT

LITTLE DRAGON

14 MRT

CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX

15 MRT

ÓLAFUR ARNALDS

23 MRT

PLAID + FUNCKARMA E.A.

06 APR

JACUZZI BOYS

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Agenda

Shows in March

orating with The Go! Team, SoKo dropped off the face of the earth for a few years.

She’s recently resurfaced, currently resides in LA, dates the lead singer of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and has just released her long-awaited debut album I Thought I Was an Alien.

Disappears 21 March - Vera, Groningen 01 April - Paradiso, Amsterdam Last year this krauty, repetition-loving Chicago group lost their drummer, producer, and co-founding member Graeme Gibson to his other project, The Fruit Bats. Fortunately, they struck gold in terms of replacement: Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley joined their ranks and is now fully integrated into the band. Their third full-length album PreLanguage has just dropped on Kranky and features their most focused work yet.

Grouper 22 March - Rumor 69, Domkerk, Utrecht Portland’s Liz Harris records as Grouper, a name derived not from the giant fish but rather from the notion of a musician as a ‘grouper’ of sounds. Her electro-acoustic ambient noise has been alternately described as arty, druggy, meditative, nightmarish and devastatingly beautiful. No wonder she’s won the admiration of Animal Collective, who chose her to open on the Merriweather Post Pavilion tour and to play at last year’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival.

De Speech ft LPG 22 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam 25 March - Tivoli de Helling, Utrecht 29 March - Vera, Groningen De Speech, self-labelled ‘magazine for the senses’, is a multidisciplinary project designed to expand the enjoyment of music to all of the senses. During its third edition,

Groningen band LPG will celebrate the release of their long-awaited new album The Village, playing it in full live and offering a tour of the place it represents.

New Build 22 March - Bitterzoet, Amsterdam Those heartbroken by LCD Soundsystem’s recent break-up may find a beacon of hope in New Build. The band features former members of the ’system as well as of Hot Chip and trades in the kind of discoinformed dance tunes you’d expect given their main projects.

Nate Wooley 22 March - Rumor 69, Domkerk, Utrecht 23 March - WORM, Rotterdam Colin Stetson may very well have opened the floodgates to avant-jazz entering the indie sphere. Case in point: Nate Wooley, an improvisational trumpet player from Oregon, whose playing relies on a combination of vocalisation, extreme extended technique, noise and drone aesthetics, amplification and feedback. Nate Wooley is considered another leader in the American movement to redefine the physical boundaries of the horn.

Molly Nilsson 23 March - Extrapool, Nijmegen (+ Maria Minerva) 24 March - Roodkapje, Rotterdam Sweden’s Molly Nilsson crafts deceptively simple pop that’s bittersweet and hypnotic.

Read more on page 61.

Summer Camp 23 March - EKKO, Utrecht 24 March - Rotown, Rotterdam These Londoners are a duo both on- and offstage. They’ve been courting blog buzz Page 73

Agenda

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Shows in March

Agenda

Shows in March

since 2009, when they released a few songs, made a couple of stylish videos, and briefly pretended to be a group of summer camp friends from Sweden. Given their fondness for storytelling, it’s no wonder they both aspire to be writers. For now, listeners can settle for the music on their long-awaited debut Welcome to Condale, which came out last autumn.

temporary classical concert with cocktails afterwards to further lubricate one’s classical music initiation. This season’s last edition features the Calefax Rietkwintet, who are know for their groovy, modern take on classical music. Tonight they’ll be playing works by Tchaikovsky and Bach as well as some upbeat jazz.

Blanck Mass

30 March - De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam Bitchin’ Bajas create a meditatively psychedelic sound that evokes kosmische pioneers of the past as well as modern neo-psych experimenters. Read more on page 63.

25 March - EKKO, Utrecht (Sunday Noise Presents) Fuck Button’s Benjamin John Power released a stunning debut album with his solo project Blanck Mass in 2011. Read more on page 62.

Thus:Owls 24 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam 25 March - Rotown, Rotterdam Assembled by mastermind Erika Angell and her husband Simon a few years ago, Thus:Owls are a quintet with Swedish and Canadian pedigrees who call Stockholm their home. The experimental folk they’ve developed over two albums, including last autumn’s Harbours, is dominated by Angell’s persona and a definite penchant for (melo)dramatic tension.

Still Corners 28 March - OCCII, Amsterdam This London quartet use ’60s and shoegaze inspirations to develop a particularly cinematic take on dream pop. Read more on page 63.

Tracks - Calefax Rietkwintet 29 March - Concertgebouw, Amsterdam Tracks is the Concertgebouw’s hip new initiative to bring classical music to a broader (and younger) audience. A one-hour con-

Bitchin Bajas

Memoryhouse 30 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam Though this Canadian dream pop duo/couple take its name from an album by contemporary composer Max Richter, memory actually does play a key role in their creative process, in that they normally use photographs as starting material for their songwriting. After some healthy incubation time, they’ve just released their first album, The Slideshow Effect. Singer Denise Nouvion’s vocals are more prominent on their new material, which they jokingly compare to ‘Taylor Swift with Built to Spill as her backing band.’

Jacuzzi Boys 31 March - Merleyn, Nijmegen When asked if they’d ever consider relocating from their hometown to a place with a more vibrant music scene, Jacuzzi Boys answer with an emphatic ‘No!’ Why’s that, you ask? Probably because they’re from Miami, and their practice space is located in a trailer in a state park on a tropical island.

Guess that explains their surfy garage pop and sunshiney disposition too. Word on the street is they kick ass live.

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Free Stuff

Free tickets and goodies

To win, sign up to our mailing list on www.subbacultcha.nl.

2x2 Tickets club 4 real

3x2 tickets exhibition: PUNK

5x2 tickets ULTRA2012

02 March - OT301, Amsterdam

03 March - 10 June Centraal Museum, Utrecht

Various dates and locations.

Check the mailing list

3x2 Tickets bang on a can all stars

3X2 Tickets de Speech

2x2 TICKETS Tracks

17 March - Muziekgebouw, Eindhoven

22 March - Paradiso, Amsterdam 25 March - Tivoli de Helling, Utrecht 29 March - Vera, Groningen

29 March Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

We’re also giving away free tickets to Museum De Hallen in Haarlem, the Go Short Film Festival, Summer Camp and three pairs of Converse Gorillaz All Stars.

Page 76

Submitted photos

AFTER MIDNIGHT

Send photos that were taken after midnight to aftermidnight@subbacultcha.nl If your photo gets published, you win a good goodie This month’s photo was submitted by Jolijn Ceelen Page 77

Overview of all Subbacultcha shows in February

01 March

23 March

Future Islands + Cosmo V

Molly Nilsson + Maria Minerva + Lafidki + Eekhoorn X

Ekko, Utrecht 20:00 | €10 | Free for members

Extrapool, Nijmegen 20:30 | €5 | Free for members

06 March

WU LYF

24 March

Melkweg, Amsterdam 19:30 | €12 | Free for members

Molly Nilsson + Afka Roodkapje, Rotterdam 22:00 | €7 | Free for members

07 March

Dirty Beaches

25 March

Worm, Rotterdam 20:30 | €8 | Free for members

Sunday Noise presents:

Blanck Mass + White Hills

08 March

Ekko, Utrecht 20:00 | €10 | Free for members

Chad VanGaalen

OT301, Amsterdam 20:30 | €9 | Free for members

26 March

10-18 March

Exhibition: New Order02 - Blue Whale

Animation: Suzan Pitt

Van Gendt Hallen, Amsterdam Weekends only | Free for members

Melkweg Cinema, Amsterdam 19:00 | €7 | Free for members

28 March

Still Corners

17 March

OCCII, Amsterdam 20:30 | €7 | Free for members

Ssaliva + Woud + Cosmo V + Treehouse

Bitchin Bajas

Future Vintage & Subbacultcha! present:

Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam 21:30 | Free for all

30 March

De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam 20:00 | €7 | Free for members

Coming up:

Jacuzzi Boys, Those Darlins, Odonis Odonis, Teen Daze + Brothertiger, Xiu Xiu, Dustin Wong, Hunx and his Punx, Bass Drum of Death, 100% Silk Label Night, Moon Duo

See all these shows for free. Join at www.subbacultcha.nl Page 78

Kunst en muziek in Boijmans De Art Rocks!

Boijmans Muziekcompetitie zoekt muzikaal talent!

Kom luisteren, kijken en doe mee: Art Rocks! Workshops & Events

Laat je inspireren door een kunstwerk, maak daarbij een eigen track en win de hoofdprijs. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen en De Grote Prijs van Nederland roepen muzikanten uit alle muziekgenres op om mee te doen, van singer-songwriters en bands tot rappers, electro-producers en jazz-artiesten.

Ga naar artrocks.nl, upload voor 6 mei jouw nummer en maak kans op een videoclip, een live optreden in het museum en de hoofdprijs van 1000 euro!

Een professionele jury kiest samen met het publiek de winnaar tijdens de spectaculaire finale op zaterdag 23 juni 2012.

Vanaf 10 maart organiseert het museum drie maanden lang muziekworkshops, masterclasses, jamsessies en concerten door bekende muzikanten en muziekexperts.

Check www.artrocks.nl voor meer informatie & inspiratie!

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Museumpark 18-20 NL-3015 CX Rotterdam www.boijmans.nl Mogelijk gemaakt door:

Stem op jouw favoriete track Geen muzikant maar wel muziekfan? Stem dan op jouw favoriete nummer. Dit kan op artrocks.nl, maar ook in het museum.

In samenwerking met: