 Hessel and Nicole also were involved in the FANATIC-project. This project started after the Holland Festival shows in 1985. Willem de Ridder and Hessel already started making radio programmes in the late seventies and early eighties: normal stories and fairy-tales for children. But also did sound and storytelling performances with musicians like Alvin Curran, Han Reiziger, Francis Marie Uitti and Jon Rose. During all these recording sessions and travels abroad, Nicole and Cora became more and more part of the ’the sound-mindset’ of Willem and Hessel. A mindset of inspiring each other in making music, storytelling and singing. Listen to and download 320 kbps MP3, "Eronatic" by Fanatic (unreleased). A real-time impro chanting session @ the EXART studios. 
Cora Emens asked Hessel and Nicole Veldman and Willem to join when she was asked to make a sound-art-play. Willem started doing “singing” and making music. Nicole took her ‘playing with objects’ part. Hessel came out of his comfort zone, being a musician, and started chanting as well. The first release was called “Ei blot till list”, an sound-art piece by Cora Emens, released by Confrontation tapes. This worked out so well that Willem, Cora, Hessel and Nicole decided to make more music together and perform at churches and other venues. Willem named us the Fanatic which later became FNTC.  The Ei Blot Til Lyst box; released by Confrontation tapes.  Ei Blot Til Lyst extra info sheet, from the All Chemix Radio series booklet. Listen to "1st Radio Active Rain After Tsjernobil" [Chernobyl]. Made during the winter of 1986/87 by Fanatic, after a journey by Willem and Cora (1986), making fieldrecordings in Germany, outside and later sitting in their mobile-home when the first rain, after the Tsjernobil melt-down disaster, came down. It has this wonderful second part: if life is still there, we survived the disaster, by listening to the baby sounds of Aida, the just born daughter of Willem and Cora.
 During a visit of Annie Sprinkle to Amsterdam many pictures were made. Some have been used for promo illustrations. Many are in our archives.  So we needed a name: FANATIC was born. And FANATIC appeared more and more “on stage”, doing strange perverse performances while audiences were blindfolded and/or confronted with extreme sound-sculptures. In 1986 the name was changed into F.N.T.C. and several music- and videotapes were released during the late 80’s. “NEUROPA”(feat. William Levy) and “OPERA”(feat. Jon Rose) soon became top issues and were broadcasted in many different countries.  a moment during the Fanatic video-plays made in 1985, featuring Annie Sprinkle and Fakir Musafar @ the EXART studios.    Three videos, each 20 minutes were shot in real-time, same as the sound real-time sessions we did as a home farewell party. Just before we moved the studio to another area in IJmuiden. Pictured above are all three covers of the video-boxes.   The cassette Neuropa by Fanatic was released with the magazine Fanatic; the Special Low Mindedness Issue. The magazine was a historic issue, made by Willem de Ridder and William Levy during their publisher years, in London, UK. On the tape there were two radio-plays. Side one: "Europe In Flames" featuring William Levy reading his poem Europe in Flames on the soundscape real-time created by Fanatic. Side two was based on a fieldrecording Willem & Cora made in Belgium, and was called "AZY". Listen to Europe In Flames (excerpt) by Fanatic. A successful and price winning (New York sound-radio-art-festival) radio-art work (total time: 30 minutes) in collaboration with William Levy.
Europe In Flames was reissued on LP by Slowscan in 2016 (limited edition). Information here. Listen to side one of the ‘Opera’ recordings (featuring Jon Rose). Released by Staalplaat.
3 Comments
Leslie Singer
1/26/2019 11:32:40
Hessel, thanks so much for posting these words, sounds and images. It really took me back and then forward. Time and space have no meaning. Only now.
Hessel Veldman
1/29/2019 13:25:38
Leslie, thanks for your kind Words. The Fanatic story is one of extreme contrasts in reactions. IT the timespan we were active during pressmeetings we were accused for anti feminism and fascists. Not very comfortable! Also with the extreme sounds they thought we were extreme right wing. For us being very free thinking and being humanists iT was difficult to follow the critics.
Rafael González
1/27/2019 05:54:47
Wonderful, as always! Leave a Reply. |
Hessel
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