2013 Shareholders Report

(me at Beequeen concert, picture by Miranda Kinkelaar)

I don’t know about 2013. It has been an odd year. I feel like I didn’t do much. Look at where I played this year:

06-02-2013 Ezdanitoff at Occi, Amsterdam
09-04-2013 Freiband at Cafe Sonore, Hilversum
31-05-2013 Wieman at Trenkel, Rotterdam
14-06-2013 Beequeen at Paradox, Tilburg
01-09-2013 THU20 at Extrapool, Nijmegen

It was great doing all of these, especially seeing Wouter Jaspers again after quite some time, doing a live Goem remix as Wieman and THU20 revived with more action planned for next year. But 5 concerts?

or take a look at the releases from this year:

[Freiband & Ilo]
‘(Slow) Fade Out’ and ‘Shut Down’ on EU13 (CD, Motok mtk 027). ‘Shut Down’ taken from Bits & Pieces CD

[Frans de Waard]
DIALOGUES (online, Korm Digitaal 161)

[Wieman]
‘God Is A Pleaser’ on Disc Jockey (online, Esc Rec 42)

[Freiband]
LUCHTBAL (online, Korm Digitaal 157)

[Freiband & Ilo]
BITS & PIECES (CD, Korm Plastics kp 3058/Motok 026-2)

[Frans de Waard]
1. State Conspiracy 2. Traitor 3. Police Terror 4. No Cops No Masters 5. Servants 6. Tax The Fuck 7. Kick/Kill/Kick 8. Er (Etc) Er 9. ? 10. Track Seven 11. Disco Chant/Beat 12. The Richness of Poverty 13. Plastic Bag Take Away 14. Traitor (Again) 15. Smoking on Les Illusions Magnetiques (double cassette, Quasipop CS066)

[Pick-up]
DEPARTURE (cassette, Ultramarine Records UM 020)

[Frans de Waard]
PERCUSSION MUSIC (online, Korm Digitaal 143)

[The Tobacconists]
‘Greek Beards’ on Soup Of Freak (cassette by Hello Rainbow Bridge RB 63)

[Frans de Waard]
‘Untitled (Fashion Show)’ on Intermitted (online, Attenuation Circuit)

[Frans de Waard]
‘Root’ on Interfered (online, Attenuation Circuit)

[Freiband]
MUTATIS MOBILIS (CDR, Attenuation Circuit ACR 1028). Also available on cassette (edition of 15 copies, ACT 1020

[Frans de Waard]
PINK PEARL (CD, Bocian Records bc pp) Collaboration with Howard Stelzer

[Wieman]
‘Grand Theft Music’ on Music For Imaginary Videogames (CDR, Oggy Records 006)

[Frans de Waard]
DIE ANTIZIPATION DES GENERALIZED OTHER (CDR, SHMF-019-81) Edition of 8 copies

[Freiband]
untitled piece on ‘Play Under Den Linden’ (3″CDR by Bastets Kitten BE005)

[Misc]
Vice (CD by Infrastition end 013)
liner notes by Frans de Waard

[Frans de Waard]
ONE DAY I GOT A FOUR TRACK TAPE AND DECIDED TO DO MY OWN MIX (CDR, Bluesanct) Edition of 23 copies

[THU20]
VROEG WERK (2CD by Monochrome Vision MV 45. Five pieces with musical input by Frans de Waard

[Kapotte Muziek]
‘The Sound Can Change’ on Complication Compilation (CDR by Suitcase Recordings sut-10, 12, NO, 15)

That also isn’t a lot; lots of compilations really. But enough probably. I am especially proud of that ‘Pink Pearl’ CD I did with Howie. It’s the best work we did so far.

The best stuff from 2013 should however be released next year. The Tobacconists ‘A Secret Place’ should be released on A Giant Fern sooner than later. There is another, really great, really different release by The Tobacconists waiting for any daring label. A LP or even a 10″! The Wieman plays Goem is still in the pipeline for Bocian, I think. Ini.itu asked Wieman to do a LP with a remix/tribute to the obscure Dutch synth act Cybe from the 80s and of course the classic album by Wieman is also still in the pipeline. We need to do a coda for it.
Despite working hard we haven’t found a label yet for the new Beequeen CD, which was lovingely produced by Peter van Vliet (Mekanik Kommando, The Use Of Ashes).
In October I recorded a LP worth of material with Fabio Orsi and Sindre Bjerga.
Howard Stelzer and me will surely do more work. We’d love to do a LP. We don’t think we can find a label anymore.

The current climate for being a label sucks. I think I released some fine CDs on Korm Plastics, but the sales dropped even more.

“Go Vinyl”, you say? “You do know people don’t buy CDs but they do buy vinyl?” I usually counter that with: “Why don’t you hand me the money, I’ll do the vinyl, and we both split the profit? Everybody wins; Vinyl sells” Now as you can imagine nobody does that. Where were you when I released LPs by Edward Ka-spel, Mirko Uhlig, Pick-up and THU20, or those great limited 7inchs by DMDN, or Idea Fire Company? All released when it was still cheap to ship a single slab of vinyl, unlike these days of course. Vinyl. Unless you do another Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album from an unwashed, early first master that was already released ten times on a heavy 180 gram direct metal plate mastering from analogue sources, its not a place to go. Vinyl. Don’t get me started.

Having said that, I might be releasing a LP/CD by Andre de Saint-Obin, which may be the last release on Plinkity Plonk. I will do the Brombron CD by Orsi/Bjerga. I may not do the other missing Brombron CDs. I asked the missing in action artists a couple of times, and decided to give up on them. I am not asking again. In 2014 there will be a final Brombron project, a major one, with at least one rock star. That I will surely release, and might very well be the last ever physical release on Korm Plastics. You never know.

Korm Digitaal, my division for digital music, will continue to push all work I was ever involved in, and lots of old releases on Korm Plastics as well. Maybe even new works. Personally I might not be convinced that digital/online releases are ‘it’, but I rather not miss out on it on whatever dimes fall off the table.

I went on holidays this year, to the UK; Oxford to be precise. I haven’t been on holidays for 8 or so years. I actually enjoyed it. Maybe I was in fine company.

Here’s a list of stuff I liked this year:

ASMUS TIETCHENS – FAST OHNE TITLE, KORROSION (CD by Black Rose Recordings)
:ZOVIET*FRANCE: – THE TABLES ARE TURNING (CD by Soleilmoon Recordings)
L.R. PADGETT – CHAMBERS (cassette by Throne Heap Devotional Music)
EYELESS IN GAZA – ORANGE ICE & WAX CRAYONS (CD by Catsun/Monotype Records)
STEPHAN MATHIEU – UN COEUR SIMPLE (CD by Baskaru)
HUMAN FLESH – THE 35TH HUMAN ATTEMPT (CD by EE Tapes)
IDEA FIRE COMPANY – POSTCARDS (LP by Swill Radio)
ELIANE RADIGUE – PSI 847 (2CD by Oral)
VICE (CD by Infrastition)
STEPHAN MATHIEU – THE FALLING ROCKET (2LP by Dekorder)
PLUS INSTRUMENTS – TRANCESONICS (CD by Declaw Ditties/Blowpipe)
STAPLERFAHRER – THE FOUR ELEMENTS (3″CDR by Moving Furniture Records)
YEAST CULTURE – SHIT ON A SHINGLE (three cassettes by Petri Supply)
STEAMROOM BANDCAMP (download)
RISING FROM THE RED SAND (5LP compilation by Vinyl On Demand)
David Byrne – How Music Works (book)
Book on Rough Trade
Book on Sparks

I regret wasting time with:

– Les Intouchables (movie)
– Morrissey’s book
– reading comments on non music related topics on social media
I’m sure I wasted more time, but won’t waste anymore trying to remember

I tried hard but couldn’t think of any concerts which really blew me away. I liked most of what I saw, I guess. Same as with movies, I guess.

To do list 2014 – in no particular order, beside the usual ‘more Vital Weekly, more music of my own’:

– Finish Staalplaat book
– Finish Fantasy novel
– Finish ‘the other book’
– try writing a 2 page essay every week on both musical and non musical subjects
– maybe go on holiday again, see if that works
– read less books
– work harder
– put more on my website

Onwards and upwards. 2014!