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EXART RETROSPECTIVE (1982-1995): Episode 2

12/30/2018

5 Comments

 
Things started to move fast after the first two releases. There was a lot of publicity in local newspapers and national music magazines. During that period Hessel, both with his wife Nicole, made loads of recordings of their own music in IJmuiden, but also started to do recording-sessions with many other musicians.

​Constantly the studio was recording sounds of Kees Beukelaar, Herman te Loo, Jos van Ommen, Kees van Ede and Willem de Ridder. A lot of these improvisations and compositions were compiled on several Y CREATE issues. (Why create? or Ymuidense creations. The Y is the central canal/lake of Amsterdam.)
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Y Create logo
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early Exart flyer
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another early Exart flyer
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Hessel and Nicole, 1982
Y Create / Bodies Hanging In The Breeze.
​(Hessel Veldman & Herman te Loo)
y_create___bodies_hanging_in_the_breeze.mp3
File Size: 13755 kb
File Type: mp3
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In Biberach
(Hessel Veldman & choir arr. Alvin Curran)
in_biberach.mp3
File Size: 14272 kb
File Type: mp3
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With Kees van Ede and Willem de Ridder live concerts started. Famous are the AORTA-concerts in Amsterdam and the live-broadcasts on the Dutch National Radio (V.P.R.O.). In June 1983 Willem de Ridder, Kees van Ede, Annie Sprinkle, Veronica Vera and Hessel Veldman shocked Amsterdam, during the Holland Festival, with their four-day-erotic-soundscape-performance: “PORTABLE VAUDEVILLE”.
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Portable Vaudeville; City Theatre, Amsterdam
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Songs from the Sperm Whale text 1 part of the Y Create Portable Vaudeville mix
Y Create Portable Vaudeville mix (special DJ edit with Portable Vaudeville soundtrack (live-recording) & Songs From The Sperm Whale song: Eddie and his Mum.)
y_create_portable_vaudeville_mix.mp3
File Size: 59925 kb
File Type: mp3
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Meanwhile Kees van Ede and Hessel developed a complete new glass-organ, that could be played with human hands, but was amplified with special made equipment. Kees and Hessel worked on this instrument for almost a year and the result could be heard on the tape “VAN EDE’S GLASWERK”, which was completely recorded at the STEIM-STUDIO in Amsterdam.
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Hessel Veldman & Kees van Ede; Glaswerk @ STEIM
Van Ede’s Glaswerk excerpt Hessel Veldman & Kees van Ede; recorded @ STEIM in Amsterdam
van_edes_glaswerk_excerpt.mp3
File Size: 8093 kb
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1984 was the year in which Gert Jan Prins visited Hessel and Nicole at their apartment on the 11th floor, overlooking a big industrial landscape. Recording-sessions were started at Gert Jan’s “Fish Warehouse”-studio. Gert Jan Prins, Hessel Veldman, Herman te Loo and Jos van Duyne became GORGONZOLA LEGS. Hundreds and hundreds of hours of live-recording sessions took place. At some of these sessions other musicians were present, such as: Jos van Ommen, Ruud Junge, Martijn Swart and Masaki Oishi.

​At the end of 1984 “GORGONZOLA LEGS” was released. On this one hour cassette the first mixed recordings could be heard. The group also wanted to do concerts and so GORGONZOLA LEGS more and more became a live-band.
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Gorgonzola Legs studio session. (Hessel Veldman, Masaki Oishi & Herman te Loo)
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Gorgonzola Legs poster first live performance @ Muziektent Park Velserbeek
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Gorgonzola Legs Live street concert Festival @ Beverwijk
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Gorgonzola Legs Live in Amsterdam
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Gorgonzola Legs Aorta poster festival VERK
Mr. Lawnmower by Gorgonzola Legs during the impro-sessions @ The Fish Warehouse in IJmuiden
mr._lawnmower.mp3
File Size: 9210 kb
File Type: mp3
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In 1986 a second tape was released, entitled “SALMON SQUEEZING IN WEIRD WEIRS’, a new compilation of “Fish Warehouse”-recordings. “BUNKER” was recorded live at the Bunker in Rotterdam, October ’86. The complete concert could be heard on another EXART-issue. In 1987 the powerfull voice of the Japanese singer Masaki Oishi gave a new dimension to the sound of GORGONZOLA LEGS. Again hours and hours of recordings were made. At the end of the year 6 hours of mixed material had to be remixed to L.P.-format. In april 1988 EXART decided to make it Holland’s first independent C.D.-release: “PISCATORIAL DEBRIS’.

​At the same time, with the great help of Henry van Kleeff, the “PISCATORIAL DEBRIS”-video was made. A beautiful 20 minutes sound sculpture video was realized. The video and C.D. got a lot of international attention and was performed on several big music/video festivals. During the late 80’s GORGONZOLA LEGS-material was also released on labels in Portugal, Italy and the U.S.A.
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Piscatorial Debris flyer
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Piscatorial Debris cover 1. (Front Cover photo cd-booklet)
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Piscatorial Debris cover 2. (Back Cover photo cd-booklet)
Gorgonzola Legs special Remix 2011 with a mix of live-impro-sessions used for Gorgonzola Legs tape releases during the eighties
gorgonzola_legs_remix_2011.mp3
File Size: 99578 kb
File Type: mp3
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5 Comments
Rafael González
12/30/2018 19:46:12

Wonderful article! I loved! I am following this adventure with enthusiasm. Good music and good images. I knew Gorgonzola Legs!

Reply
Jim Barker
12/31/2018 06:09:20

Wow. An impressive legacy.

Reply
Chris Phinney
12/31/2018 08:16:28

I always did love & still do Mr. Lawnmower Man, ha it's on the Gorgy Legs HRM release Short Stories.

Reply
Hessel Veldman
1/6/2019 11:06:02

Hi Chris,
Yes. It was on Short Stories? In some way I couldn't remember anymore what I selected for this great tape issue.
After all these years I'm still thankful for having you as one of the few who released a full-tape by Gorgonzola Legs. Because I hope that somewhere in the world people are feeling 'rich' with these crazy improvements-pieces.
Here in The Netherlands Gorgonzola Legs has become cult-music. Organisers and people working in the music industry keep asking for a reunion. Because Gert Jan Prins and Herman te Loo are still very much active in music these days. And we still have regular contact and go to each other concerts. But I'm not a fan of getting together again. Don't think emo-core brings new perspective in creating sounds. And trying to get the same vibe again? I'm way passed my mid-life crisis.

So great to give some openess to the original stuff by entering Electronic Cottage. And for me also an extern inspiration for doing all these new things!

Keep in touch. And check this page, because I found some interesting printed stuff, which will be here to look for in the near future.

Reply
Leslie Singer
12/31/2018 12:39:31

Thanks for this great posting. Really interesting work— intense, dark, beautiful and funny. The Gorgonzola Legs remix really rocks! It is so good to be able to catch up to and hear it now.

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    Picture

    Hessel
    ​'sanYo CreatE' Veldman

    Hessel Veldman (1956), musician, composer and radio-producer, started his search for uncomfortable music during his teens.
    An early fascination for electronic noise and dissonance, from the beginning of the 1970s,
    in combination with a preference for writing and performing extremely idiosyncratic music, has created a wide range of experimental compositions and radio productions.

    For the Dutch broadcasting company VPRO, Hessel produced his first experimental solo work 'I Can Hear Trumpets?' (1980). During the Holland Festival of 1983 in Amsterdam, 'Portable Vaudeville' with Willem de Ridder was created. Four nights in a row this sound-poetry show was presented in the Schouwburg in Amsterdam. Under the name FNTC many experimental radio plays were made during the 80s and 90s and broadcasted worldwide.

    Via his private cassette label Exart (1982-1995), music albums and video productions were released under all kinds of artists-names (including Y Create [electro-psych-pop], Forbidden Photographs [noise], Gorgonzola Legs [impro industrial-jazz;
    a live on stage experience], Austin & Kelly [plunderphonics]).
    And since the last few years, after the release of the CD 'Madadayo' in 2004 on EE Tapes, Hessel regularly performs solo or together with other like-minded artists on special request.

    In 2004 Hessel Veldman started producing for Concertzender public-radio in The Netherlands.
    Also he’s director and coordinator of live-productions and from 2010 chief-editor for the Contemporary Music department: Crosslinks.

    ​email

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Electronic Cottage is a webzine covering independently-produced Experimental & Electronic Music, Space Rock, Audio Art, Video Art, Mail Art and more.