Newsletter 5
Spring '99
- Fishtank/Tortoise
- 20versary party
- Hugh Tracey
- Roof - "Trace"A birthday special. It's
20 years since we've started and it seemed a good excuse for a blistering
party. We're still putting together the last details, but it looks
good. Designing the poster, organizing the invitations and food situation,
the press, sleeping places and everything. Also organise the upcoming
tours and gigs. Germany, Scandinavia, France, Italy. We've just finished a
two week U.S. tour. New York, Houston and then the Westcoast with the
amazing Fugazi. It was really a treat to be on tour with them. A great
inspiration and fantastic to see them get better every night until a real
classic gig in Seattle (Andy: "in my top-ten of all times").
We're also eager to proceed working on our folk project and work on new
material. And this month (actually: May) the release of the Tortoise/Ex
co-operation in the Fishtank series and the Roof live-CD.
It was in early '79
at a punk gig in Paradiso that we, in a wave of optimism, signed a paper
to play a punk festival in Castricum. It basically meant we had to decide
who was going to play what, buy instruments and start the hell practising!
Before that The Ex was more a rebellious idea. Everyone started bands, so
why not us? Spraying your name on the walls, sticking up posters. After
this very first gig in Castricum, it never stopped. Soon after we made a
single. Pressed 500, and sold them all!
Since then ... many CDs, many gigs, many co-operations and possibilities.
Always forward, always changing, but always The Ex.
Bowl movements (the
Fishtank connection)
Last June we made a recording project with Tortoise from Chicago. The
result is a CD that will be out on May the 17th! It's a collection of six
songs that we gradually built up in the studio over a couple of days. The
CD is part of a series called "In The Fishtank" which is an idea
from Konkurrent Distribution who invite bands (often in mid tour) with
whom they have a strong connection to record over two days whatever they
like, but with a more adventurous and experimental approach than usual.
Tortoise invited us to join them in Koeienverhuurbedrijf Studio and the CD
will be released in the US on Touch And Go as well. Other CDs in this
series are No Means No, Guvner, Tassili Players and Snuff.
The 20th anniversary
party
Saturday 29th May. Doors open 8 PM, show begins at 9 PM till 3 AM.
Everyone plays a short half hour set. Entry is 25 guilders (plus
membership 5 guilders), and advance tickets go on sale from 10 April, at
all the usual outlets. (It's possible to pay with a credit-card.) For more
information: call the Paradiso +31-20-626-4521, or the ticketline
+31-900-3001250, or the AUB-ticketshop +31-900-0191.
Jaap Blonk ... a world renowned sound poet ... an absolute
phenomenon. Performed all over the globe. Last year in South America to
4,000 fans in Colombia. Became famous after his performance of the DaDaist
Kurt Schwitters' "Ursonate" which he had to rehearse for more
than a year to master. Tried it out a few times at Dutch train stations.
He'll be coming over especially from Chicago where he's working with local
improvisors ... Speaking of Chicago ...
Shellac, Steve Albini's band, will also play, if he can drag
himself away from his 24 hour a day work as a sound engineer in his
Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago ... home to The Ex last year while
recording the last CD Starters Alternators. Loud, tight and intense but
with depth and subtlety ... A trio with bass, drums and Steve's
unmistakable guitar sound that we all know and love from his first band
Big Black.
Tsehaytu Beraki ... a wonderful 65 (round about) year old Eritrean
woman. Plays krar, a kind of 6-string harp (an instrument already used by
the Mesopotamians) and sings stories and tales from her land. She was and
still is considered to be the "voice of Eritrea". She caused
quite a stir in the 70s in the capital Asmara where she performed every
night in her own very popular beerhouse. In 1977 because of the horrible
war and communist dictatorship she had to flee and spent 11 years in the
"bush" between Sudan and Eritrea till finally in 1988 she found
herself in Rotterdam. Damaged and disillusioned she began a new life in
Holland and once again picked up her krar. She will begin her
"come-back" in the Paradiso with a new set of numbers played in
that typical Eritrean "camel beat".
Kamagurka & Herr Seele, Belgian comedians annex comic-writers,
Bob and George, Kamiel Kafka, Bert, Cowboy Henk. "It smells like
nonsense here." They played with The Ex for the first time in 1987 in
the Van Hall in Amsterdam. Beautiful songs like "The Sea" and
"There's a knock..." With a smoke machine and an unconvinced
punk who heckled and shouted: "Waaah, they're really bad", to
which Kama replied: "What? Your kidneys?" The last time we
played together in Gent, Kama played a number on Terrie's guitar, and
afterwards had to go to hospital to recover from dehydration!
De Kift. The music/theatre group from the Zaan area. Badgering away
for more than 10 years ... Great CDs: Yverzucht, Krankenhaus, Gaaphonger.
The last one telling the story of North Pole explorer William Barentz.
Touring regularily in the youth clubs, but also in the theatre circuit and
school theatres. One can feel the cold and despair in their music. Naked
drums, tormented voices. But also melancholy and a touch of hope in the
brass winds' melodies. In Paradiso De Kift will play a try-out of their
totally new set "Vlaskoorts".
Plus of course The Ex
themselves, and several surprise acts.
See you then!
Address of the venue (which is in the center of town, near the
Leidseplein): Paradiso, Weteringschans 6-8, 1017 SG Amsterdam.
(+31-20-626-4521)
Hugh Tracey's recordings
in Africa
An incredible series of 4 CDs have just been released by Michael
Baird, on his own SWP Records label ... The music is part of a massive
collection of ethnic field recordings made by the late Hugh Tracey ... a
legendary pioneer in the world of ethnic music.
Hugh spent 40 years of his life recording in Central, Eastern and Southern
Africa from the 30s to the late 60s and founded the International Library
of African Music in Grahamestown South Africa where all his recordings
have been stored. There are some 210 LPs and hundreds of hours of tape
most of which have been accessible only to Ethnomusicological libraries
around the world and a few hard core fans.
The sound quality of the
recordings are incredible considering when they were made and the music is
beautiful. The first four CDs are:
- On The Edge Of The Ituri Forest (Congo)
- At the Court of The Mwami (Rwanda)
- Royal Court Music from Uganda
- Kalimba and Kalumbu Songs (Zambia)
The CDs are not available
in the shops yet, but you can get them through Michael's website at:
http://www.swp-records.com
or email him: baird@xs4all.nl
Tracing Roof
Roof: Tom Cora, Luc Ex, Phil Minton and Michael Vatcher. In April the
band's new live CD "Trace" has been released by Red Note. Nine
pieces of music, taken from live recordings of the VPRO Radio and German
Radio Bremen. You can hear the band's development from their studio
release ("The Untraceable Cigar" '96). It contains three live
versions of songs from that CD, both tighter and freer, three amazing new
songs and three beautiful improvisations.
It's sad to realize that this growing process and playing pleasure was
brought to an end so abruptly by Tom Cora's death. The CD is an impressive
memory.
Shortcuts
+++ Kletka Red have just finished recording their next CD in Berlin
... +++ Ex play Nickelsdorf again after 6 years ? +++ 4 Walls played a
great show in Dodorama +++ Check out Fanfare Ciorcali ... fastest tightest
Romanian Gypsy Brass band in the East +++ Live Roof CD "Trace"
is out, now! +++ Luc, Andy and Terrie did a gig on the Night of the
Improvisation, with de dance troupe Magpie and other dancers and musicians
Ab Baars, Mary Oliver and Michael Vatcher +++ Kat played an improvised gig
at the Theater Aan De Werf in Utrecht, with Ab Baars and Ann La Berge +++
Still no sign of our singles compilation ... +++ We're thinking about
another U.S. tour around December +++ The jazz concerts on Tuesday nights
in Zaal 100 Amsterdam are getting better and better +++ Andy plays with
the Magpie dance-troupe at the Muiderpoort Theater in Amsterdam on Sunday
25th of April +++ After 11 years we'll finally be playing Italy again, in
the fall +++
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