Audiopleasures: Let's Dance,Rumpistol,Windy and Carl,Taylor Deupree,Gregor Samsa,Extrawelt,Stars of the Lid,Frank Jensen,Cotton Club,Cello Biennale,Museum Night

Rumpistol
" Dynamo " - Rump-Recordings - 2008
Electronic / IDM / Glitch

Rumpistol is a name that's hard to take seriously. As label head of the equally humorously-named Rump Recordings, Jens Berents Christiansen knows left-field, off-kilter, "poppy" electronica better than acts that have been active since the early '90's. His synthetic melody based style is refreshing in comparison to the hordes of musicians today who are craving dark, evil atmospheres. Rumpistol's glitchy chopped and skewered sound is less intense than Beneva vs. Clark Nova, but just as exhilarating. Eccentric guitar flushes could be reminiscent of Errors latest. Such a synth-heavy record is bound to be compared to Matmos' similar offering this year, and the lovely Dynamo (in my opinion of course) trounces the thoroughly unrefreshing Supreme Balloon. But enough said about this year's competition. Let's move onto what makes Dyanmo so great in the first place... Jack Britton - The Silent Ballet

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Windy and Carl
" Songs for the Broken Hearted " - Kranky - 2008
Drone / Shoegase

Alongside Stars of the Lid, Windy & Carl are in many ways the definitive Kranky band, having been with the label for well over a decade and been instrumental in configuring that signature sound that's somewhere between drone, shoegaze and modern classical. "Songs For The Broken Hearted" is their fourth album for the label and, despite sticking with a formula the band have long since established, it's truly a work of heart-stopping beauty. Album opener 'btwn you + me' drifts in with a harrowing, almost ghostly presence, marrying the stretched hum of extended chords and layered, cushioned distortion with a submerged vocal delivery that acts as some kind of aural prologue for the captivating 70 minutes that follow. Boomkat

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Taylor Deupree
" Northern " - 12K - 2008
Electronic / Drone / Ambient / Experimenal

The inspiration behind Northern (including its music, title and photography) comes from Deupree’s recent relocation from the heart of urban activity in Brooklyn to the tranquility of the forest in upstate New York. Inspired by nature and the winter during which it was created, Northern, like much of his recent work, explores Deupree’s interest in stillness and a slowed sense of time. Through quiet textures, subtle movements, faint loops and echoes, it was his goal to create the type of music that comes naturally to him while also highlighting the input from his dramatic new surroundings.

In contrast to the brazen repetition found on Stil., Northern more ephemeral approach to Deupree’s theme comes from looking at the stillness found outside of his studio windows: large, looming boulders, the softness of snow, and the hushed whisper of wind and fallen leaves; it is a world of countless tiny movements so active that an implied stillness results from the din it creates.

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Gregor Samsa
" Rest " - Own Records - 2008
Ambient / Indie

On their third full length, Rest, Brooklyn based Gregor Samsa expands on their affinity for minimal, classical instrumentation mixed with manipulated sound and male/female vocals. This album demonstrates a more focused and refined sound, with an emphasis on piano and the integration of new instrumentation such as the clarinet, vibraphone and celeste. Own Records

Watch | Gregor Samsa - Jeroen van Aken

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Extrawelt
" Schöne Neue Extrawelt " - Cocoon - 2008
Techno / Minimal

You have to be step-on-glass cautious in throwing the word "progressive" around in dance circles, but Extrawelt have a tendency to craft within the brainier elements of the term while slimming its bloat. With a background in trance as Midi Miliz and also Spirallianz, Extrawelt's Arne Schauffhausen and Wayan Raabe are certainly not strangers to thick, blitzkrieg techno music. While Extrawelt's past singles for labels like Border Community and Traum have seen the duo use the Extrawelt name for more refined tech-house creations, the duo's never completely shed the dark-corridor depths of their past. A welcome balance of those strains, Extrawelt's debut album, Schöne Neue Extrawelt, ain't Sunday Breakfast fare, flirting with the psychedelic ends of the spectrum without ever resorting to the lobotomizing or cheap libido typically associated with "trance" techno. Resident Adviser

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teaser for upcoming Stars of the Lid feature film
Thanks to robin liebenguth

Watch | Stars of the Lid . teaser 1

This afternoon while strawling in the Jordan Quarter in Amsterdam , spot this really nice exhibition from Danish Painter Frank Jensen

Frank Jensen was born in Denmark in 1956 and has been passionate about art from a very young age. Finding his first teacher in his father, a painter and violinist, he went on to study art at the School of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, where he held major one-man exhibitions in 1988 and 1989

He works in a wide variety of formats, using many different techniques and unorthodox materials (for example, marble dust) to create the extraordinary sense of texture and depth which are a feature of his harmonious and tranquil abstract works.

This afternoon went back to my favorite jazz crib in Amsterdam , Cotton Club , first time after the smoke ban , now the smoke as been replaced by the smell of a thousand perfumes , it doesn't seem right , there were less people than normal , but the Jazz , brilliant as usual.
Its a must stop for Jazz lovers , every saturday from 16.30 - 20.00 , rain or shine in the heart of Amsterdam , Nieuwmarkt 10 min walk from Central Station.

To finish this super nice sunny afternoon in Amsterdam , went to the final day of the Cello Biennale in the Musiek Gebow
Thought im not a expert in classical music , the appeal is tremendous .
Pieter Wispelwey , cello and Paolo Giacometti , piano performed a short programe with works by Karl Davidov, one of the founders of the Russian cello school.

A rough guide to the Amsterdam Museum Night
On Saturday the 1st of November 2008 Amsterdam will celebrate Museum Night. For the ninth year in a row 41 museums and institutions will open their doors and organise special events. Although the event focuses on a mainly Dutch audience, there is plenty to see and do for non-Dutch speakers. The programme includes DJ’s, bands, dance performances, film, food & drinks amongst the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions of the museums themselves.

Tickets will be on sale for €17,- (including service charge) at all Ticket Service pre-sale points. We recommend buying your tickets in advance, since last year’s Museum Night was completely sold out.

On the evening of the Museum Night itself, there will be tickets on sale (if still available) for €20,- (including service charge) until 10 pm.

You can buy them at three Amsterdam GWK offices (a.o. Central Station) and AUB Ticketshop (Leidseplein).

Pay attention: there are no tickets for sale at the participating museums

Sunday, 26 October 2008

Let's Dance,Rumpistol,Windy and Carl,Taylor Deupree,Gregor Samsa,Extrawelt,Stars of the Lid,Frank Jensen,Cotton Club,Cello Biennale,Museum Night