gart & seekatze

 

new...

preparing some new releases, stay tuned

not#4

interview...

by bart de paepe featured on foxy digitalis also here

old live...

also check the incidentalrecordings blog

at le bunker, brussels, jan 4th 2006, with metalux and krokodillenland, organized by kraak

(pictures by hel)

 

recordings...

the secret life (of alvin tsunoda)

(release on audiobot)

tardigrada

(release soon on audiobot)

ply

(soon !)

the haunted cage at imvated motel

(inciDeNtAlReCoRdings)(soon !)

h/mm/ng s/ngs

(inciDeNtAlReCoRdings)(new release on audiobot)

ballade des planktons der blauen lagune

(track on cd supplement to rotkop6-seacreatures)

 

noises...

mp3 (1.80Mb) of "3notes&1drone (1st)" from "h/mm/ng s/ngs"

 

what people say about me while i'm not listening...

mangenerated on gart & seekatze; live at le bunker

januari 9th, 2006

A few days ago, on the 4th of january, I’ve been to De Bunker in Brussels to see Metalux live (organised by Kraak - see their website, they also have a calendar with coming events online and their annual festival at kc België in Hasselt is a classic)- Krodillenland and Gart & Seekatze played first - I had already seen Krokodillenland in De Living (edition 18), but I wasn’t particularly impressed by their show that night (though not bad) - Their show at The Bunker had considerably more body, and was of suitable length - These guys are really young, somewhere between 15 and 18 years, this could well become the new Wolfeyes - the stage-attitude they already have. Gart & Seekatze: I can’t really tell anything on his set, only that the first two minutes didn’t motivate me enough to leave the bar for the rest of his show, and neither did the description that Kraak put online, Boedha and I don’t go well together - His set was quite minimal, as described, and very silent, something you have to be in the mood for - Apparantly he had recorded some sounds in the neighbourhood of De Bunker prior to the concert, which he used during his set. Metalux on the other hand was a big hit, far better than I had expected (I always keep my expectations low) - though they rarely left the tables they were standing behind their set was full of energy switching from harsh drones to straight forward electro beats and back, I have a couple of their stuff on vinyl, but in De Bunker - live - they were at their best, fun watching as they used their custommade instruments. They have a few soundbits online as well, but I’ve heard better things from them than those selections. Good vibes in De Bunker btw, plenty of people standing real close to the performers - I love places without stages, De Bunker is one of those - Metalux also came back for an encore on popular demand - For this tour Metalux had their own “PA-engineer” with them, which probably explains that the sound never got cluttered or fucked up - after the encore they left their stuff running and the girl behind the PA pulled switches and pressed knobs for another 3 or 5 minutes, nicely rounding up the Metalux-set. Pictures will hopefully be online in a couple of weeks when I found the time to do some work in the dark room.

massimo ricci of touchingextremes on

gart & seekatze- The secret life (of Alvin Tsunoda) - (Audiobot)

If this music had been released by Hafler Trio or Rapoon, we'd be praising it as just another example of their masterful work on hypnosis and transcendence; instead, this is a thoroughly spartan edition - no cover notes at all - containing two long segments of immobile beauty, something like an infinite lo-fi loop of a hybryd entity comprising the two above mentioned artists, the muffled noise of a boiler, the menacing clouds of a bad winter afternoon and the quiet depression of someone already knowing their death's exact date. Everything resonates around a more or less fixed spurious frequency made with guitars, eBow and layered tapes, slightly crippled by small disturbances sounding like the wind as heard from within your house with windows shut; very rarely, a tiny gong toll apparently defines the length of these ceremonials. This flux is interrupted by a final crackle, which abruptly stops the ongoing hallucination.

bart de paepe (gonzo circus - storing)

Voor h/mm/ng s/ngs moet je even tijd nemen om deze minimale gitaarscapes traag op je gemoed te laten inwerken. Ondanks het druk psychedelisch aandoende hoesje klinkt de muziek totaal niet chaotisch. Eerder het tegenovergestelde. Vaak niet meer dan een kale minimale drone met daarbovenop enkele spaarzaam aangeslagen gitaartonen, heel soms aangevuld met flarden van een fieldrecording maar die meestal onderhuids aanwezig blijft. Dat laatste keert vooral terug in drone nummer vier, waarin opnames van Death Petrol 2004 verwerkt werden. Mistige herinneringen samengebracht in een intense muzikale bewerking. Gart & Seekatze heeft een grote fascinatie voor de Japanse cultuur en de Japanse muziekscene in het bijzonder, en zijn eigen muziek ligt in het verlengde van die van Taka Sugimoto. Een minimaal album, met natrillende echo's van Oosterse mystiek.

ruis on gart & seekatze "h/mm/ng s/ngs" on audiobot

(dec 2005)

foxy digitalis on gart&seekatze "h/mm/ng s/ngs" on audiobot

Gart & Seekatze is a new name to me, but I'd heard alot about this solo performer before ever hearing his music. So there was a bit of hype surrounding this beautifully packaged CD-R when it arrived. Generally, that tends to do more harm than good. Gart & Seekatze, however, lull you into such a state of transient bliss that any thoughts or cares from the outside world will soon be forgotten in a smoky haze.

"Humming Songs" is five tracks long, clocking in at just under 38 minutes. It's the perfect length for this release. When you look at the track titles, you'll have a pretty good idea what's in store. Opening with "2notes1drone (2nd)," G&S pull out the sonic meditations early. This track is exactly what it says it is: two notes on top of one, solemn drone. As the guitar notes plod along slowly, you are whisked away on a silver cloud. These eight minutes of ethereal bliss will have you completely enthralled.

The thing about "Humming Songs" is that there isn't a great deal of variation. This is not a complaint by any means; G&S use this to great effect, constructing a singular vision out of massive scraps. The only track that isn't called "2notes1drone" (there's four of those) is the final piece on this beautiful album, "Der Kasten, Die See, Der Klang." This is my favorite piece on the album. It's modus operandi is similar to the rest of the album in that it's constructed from a simple, hypnotic drone and sparse notes, this time hammered out on a piano. The contrast of the piano and the electronic howl is mystical. Such a dichotomy put into this context, and especially as the closing track to an album that has already put you in a trance, is powerful. As G&S hammers out the discordant piano notes, you feel the tension in the strings. It's as if the entire world could implode at any minute. It's a massive weight to bear, but good god is it fantastic.

I am happy to report that Gart & Seekatze easily lived up to the expectations I'd placed on the project. "Humming Songs" is definitely one of the best drone records I've heard this year. I can't think of a better way to spend a rainy afternoon, daydreaming the hours away...- Brad Rose

audiobot on the release of gart & seekatze "the secret life (of alvin tsunoda)"

a fragile yet gloomy sound document, as if all tone chemicals and sound compounds deteriorate on their own. submersive layers of sparse adjustments in sound transform both pieces into a blanket of shimmery delicacy, inspired by zen consciousness. recorded at the haunted house of kittens in october 2005, using only gong, e-bow, guitar and tapelayerings. packaged in minimal full color fold-out covers, in an edition of only 66 copies. Polished black shoes round out the drift and you're shaking hands with corrosive agents. classify under : minimal drone enlightenment.

volcanic tongue on gart&seekatze "h/mm/ng s/ngs" on audiobot

"huge vistas of drone, low-level tonefloat and evocatively-lit field recordings that vibrate somewhere between the early, more mazzacane-oriented work of taku sugimoto and the revenant, glissing forms of mirror."

audiobot on the release of gart & seekatze "h/mm/ng s/ngs"

"carefully crafted stream of intense guitar minimalism, recalling the 'free' spirit of the originators and culling inspiration from the minimal japanese improv scene. campfire mimic, slow drones and intense clusters of dust dancing beneath e-bowed strings. Single tones drift past in an endless space. an ethereal execution of utter discipline and tonal purity. environmental field recordings bounce in with increasing conficence, creating a haunted claw of dreamy resonance. all tracks recorded at the infamous house of kittens, except for the 4th piece which was put live to tape at a death petrol show last year. packaged in dizzying red/blue covers by carlos/pitchphase, in an edition of only 70 copies. classify under: guitar drone minimalism."

people who saw...

"Le 2004-08-10 13:01, François_H a écrit:
Moi mon coup de coeur c'est ce mec, le casque sur les oreilles relié à son lecteur minidisc, assis en tailleur sous le soleil en plein après-midi et recroquevillé sur sa guitare dont il grattait une corde toutes les trente secondes.

Personne n'a rien entendu parce que l'ampli n'était pas branché.

Personne n'a jamais su si c'était voulu ou pas.

Personne n'a osé lui demander.

-------veg18 wrote :

awel moi je croi qu c'etait fait expres, mais hmm, c'etait quoi son nom ? euh

Personne le sait...


-------jelle wrote :

yeah, GART & SEEKATZE is something that ill keep remembering for a long time. most intimate performance that day!!!
he was just so shy that he told me he didnt bother that buffle suddenly had to play before him although they were just plugging in their first instruments while he was ready to start and sat there for a while, his guitar was already in the state of melting and if he would have sit(?) there in that burning sun another 30min, i think we had to call an ambulance.

and then his amplifier.. we even couldnt disturbe him, cause he was playing so intensely and also the light burned and all the knobs were turned almost max.

plus, i liked it that way and i think that counts for the other 10 listeners as well. better than hearing some tiny sounds getting totaly destroyed by those cars driving by."

...these people are nice

last one out ring the bell.

 

(above text print on cd)

flyer by jelle crama

from ruis january 05