2025: An Eventful year

(Kapotte Muziek at the Deadmind Festival 18-10-2025)

I turned 60 this year, and it was one of the most remarkable years of my life. The main event for you (whoever reads this), but less for me, might be that, after 30 years, I decided to end Vital Weekly. For me, it marked something I had been contemplating for quite some time. Already in 2023, I was tired of writing endless reviews, mostly of similar music by artists producing somewhat comparable releases (and mind you, I am one of them), and of the increasing pile of free improvised music, free jazz, and similar genres, which I have little fondness for — if you read that and find it a surprising confession, go back to the old reviews. Another factor was the constant stream of payment requests to receive promos from outside the EU, which began in mid-2021. I don’t keep promos, but I sell them to support Vital Weekly (which some halfwit once called a ‘half-hidden garage sale’). In some cases, that didn’t cover what I paid in customs, effectively doing review work for free. In short, it wasn’t enjoyable anymore. Since I published This Is Supposed To Be A Record Label in 2019, followed by more books, I knew where I would find more enjoyment: books, books, and more books. It’s as Asmus Tietchens said about the Staalplaat book: we have to write our own histories, nobody else will do it. Hopefully, in 2026, there will be a book about Tietchens!

So, at the very end of September 2025, there was Vital Weekly 1500, of course, the biggest issue ever. The week after that, I did something I hadn’t done since 2017 (I think): a three-day concert tour with Wouter Jaspers, as Ezdanitoff, and one night also playing with Kapotte Muziek. Between 2017 and 2025, all concerts have been pretty much one-off affairs. It was great fun, but at an age when I should be in bed on time and drink less, also an exhausting experience. A week later, there was another Kapotte Muziek concert, and early December, the only Modelbau concert of this year.

Following the announcement that Vital Weekly was ending, I had more work on it as everyone wanted to squeeze in something, leaving me less time for books, and I published only three: Idwal Fisher/Just Glittering, the third Annual, and recently, We Know How To Hate, a small fanzine-like publication about my old cassette label, Opus Dei Society. Grisaille will reissue all 23 tapes soon, and perhaps it’s time to tell the story that goes along with them.

I bought a pinboard and made notes for all my book plans, which I promise are quite a lot. Sadly, one has already fallen through. I wanted to publish the fanzine Onslaught in book form with a CD, and I suggested using a few tracks whose creators we couldn’t find, with a disclaimer that they should come forward and receive proper compensation, which I believe is standard record business practice. The former publisher of Onslaught didn’t wait a minute and cancelled the project, alleging copyright infringement, which is certainly not the case. I tried to reason, but to no avail (yet!?).

Although I don’t keep records of such things, I believe I did more music this year than last year or the one before. I had a rather productive summer, but much of it will be released next year. That means this year only saw a few releases – see the list below.

Events this year that are much more remarkable for me personally include becoming a grandfather to a beautiful girl. Of course, it feels like yesterday that I was dragging my daughter around as a baby, and now she’s a mother. I know people say in such cases, ‘how did that happen’, but not me, I know how it happened. I love being a grandfather.

Also notable was the fact that the city of Nijmegen honoured me with a silver Waalboogspeld, a city-wide accolade for volunteers, or, in my case, for being a member of Scouting for 50 years. I received it from the mayor of this beautiful city, and I am proud of it. I was born in this city, and, much to my regret, I previously lived in Amsterdam and Den Haag before realising my mistake and moving back here. I will never leave again.

The sudden death of Harold Schellinx was something very hard to comprehend. He wrote lovely pieces for The Annual. We talked about doing his Ultra book in English and maybe his Gonzo articles in a book. In many ways, he was a role model for me in how I approach music and everything that comes with it.

I started a Substack for some occasional short pieces on music, leftovers from unpublished texts, ideas, and similar. It is by no means an extension of Vital Weekly, even if there might be a plug for a new release.

I read tons of books, saw tons of movies. I enjoyed One Battle After Another, Bugonia, and Weapons. I can’t remember if this was a book I particularly enjoyed, but it’s great to see Jerry Kranitz’s Cassette Culture back in print (why not on Korm Plastics though?)

2025

[Modelbau]

6 DECEMBER 2025 (download, Bandcamp)

[Modelbau]

SHIFTED (7” lathe cut, edition of 30, Guitar Series Vol. 1)

[Kapotte Muziek]

ROTTERDAM/DEN HAAG (cassette, Dead Mind Records DMR 71). edition of 75 copies, 50 of which were given away with the first 50 tickets of the Dead Mind Festival in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, 18/10/2025

[Beequeen]

‘The Speed Of Now’ on The Living Alphabet (LP compilation by Tusco Embassy). The title of the song is not mentioned on the cover.

[Frans de Waard & Miguel A. Garcia]

INTERIOR SOUNDING II (cassette, Steep Gloss SG 84)

[Modelbau]

‘Neuro-Mechanoid Dream’ on Bio-Mechanik – Aural Tribute To The Art of H.R. Giger (CD compilation by Eighth Tower Records)

[Modelbau]

C60 (download, Bandcamp)

[Modelbau]

MOOK (CDR, Re-interrupt RE 07)

[Modelbau]

‘Mr F is Mr F’ on Music For Assassinations (cassette, Lust Tapes 12)

[Modelbau]

‘Paal’ on Mute Sound #59: Trash (3”CDR, Mute Sound)

[Modelbau]

TIME LAPSE (cassette, Momentarily Records MR 0017, edition of 30 copies)

[Modelbau]

PPPP (3 cassettes, no label, 15 copies)