Mood Engineering Society
Apart from a great title for this piece, it was also an artistic collective active in Amsterdam from roughly 1962 to 1964, associated with the Fluxus movement. The Mood Engineering Society was founded by artist and promoter Willem de Ridder to create performances and events that integrated music, theatre, and visual art. [05:11]
From the Willem de Ridder Archives Transmission08 Rapsodia Satanica (Italy, 1915) OST
0:00 0:00This is the eighth in a series of longform electronic improvisations. It was recorded as an alternative soundtrack for the silent Italian movie Rapsodia Satanica (1915). [47:36]
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Still from "Rapsodia Satanica" (1917) Textural bliss
0:00 0:00Recorded during one of those cozy livingroom moments. Forty-eight minutes of textural bliss, periodically punctuated by faux tubular bells [48:33].
From "Behold!!! The Protong" Stanislav Szukalski 2026.1.16llrec19.26.16_01.wav
First try with PPOOLL software. Coming late to this party. It already exists since 1998, and kept in tip-top shape by a group of enthousiasts. Mysterious UI & aesthetics and a steep learning curve. Yet another rabbithole…[03:38]
Playing with gg-rainer, Beauty1 and ForbiddenP1. (PPOOLL) Sifting through the ashes
0:00 0:00Sitting down with Westerkamp during shabbes, to sift through the ashes of the past week and have a pleasant modular conversation. Excerpt. [05:00]. The whole experience can be consumed here.
Coverart by Westerkamp (b/w version) Transmission07
0:00 0:00This is the seventh in a series of longform electronic improvisations. [54:50]
Nederland is bijna klaar – Deskundologies Laboratorium – Photography: Cor Jaring (Artist-collective "De Keerkring") 1975. (From "De Bestorming van het Onmogelijke", Marjolijn van riemsdijk, Cor Jaring) Transmission06 L’Inferno (Italy, 1911) OST
0:00 0:00This is the sixth in a series of longform electronic improvisations. It was recorded as an alternative soundtrack for the silent Italian movie L’Inferno (1911) [64:40]
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Still from 'L'Inferno'. 1911 Pan
“These last few days I have been thinking of the Nordland summer, with its endless day. Sitting here thinking of that, and of a hut I lived in, and of the woods behind the hut.” [Pan, Knut Hamsun][02:33]
Transmission05
0:00 0:00This is the fifth in a series of longform electronic improvisations. Using the sampler for experimentation is at best an unholy venture. The scientifically oriented musician doubtless has higher intentions (or so he thinks) than the mere rock guitarist, but both follow, in part, the same course, and whichever one finds himself last in the race for the prize probably regards his competitor’s work as unwarrantable desecration. [34:27]
Busstation ceiling. Utrecht 2025 Transmission04
0:00 0:00This is the fourth in a series of longform electronic improvisations. (That is: not really electronic, in the “German” sound synthesis spirit. It’s more the old French way of using recorded sounds). Soundbits and loops. Loops and soundbits. [44:58]
Hotel floor. WInter 2022. The Tortured Artist Syndrome
In a study, 38 students were shown an image of van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Half of those students were informed that the artist is suspected of heavily mutilating his own body, while the other half were not given this information. They were then asked to give an evaluation of the painting. “As predicted,” the researchers wrote in the paper, “the art was evaluated more positively when van Gogh’s eccentric behavior was mentioned.” [03:59}
Pen and ink 2023 The little people in the dishwasher
0:00 0:00After some processing the sound of the dishwasher, it seems to come alive. The plates are jealous and gossiping about the higher placed cups and glasses, and the cutlery is having strong opinions as well. Or is it the little people inside complaining about doing our dirty work? [03:32]
Are there little people inside? Tatort [HD cleanup]
0:00 0:00Loose tracks and fragments that ended up somewhere between Ambientolia and Glitchistan, by way of Electricity and Texturehausen. Eating a hearty lunch in Cafe Freedom atm.[37:28]
Rosace room of the central telephone office and exchange of the avenue de l'Opéra, Paris. Ca 1883 Disintegrating
Years ago, Catastrophe theory in mathematics, which proposes that seemingly random and uncontrollable events arise according to a calculable pattern, was a thing. As we near the end of yet another geopolitically chaotic year, nobody will worry about a little extra chaos. [05:32}
Fun with fonts 2025 Transmission03
0:00 0:00This is the third in a series of longform electronic improvisations. They are more or less exercises to train the impossible – but much needed – skill of not touching any knobs and levers, or as little as possible; the art of leaning back and enjoying.[38:33]
Stolbergse Altstadt, 2025 Dim past
Upon reading the fantastic “On the Threshold of Beauty: Philips and the Origins of Electronic Music in the Netherlands 1925-1965” by Kees Tazelaar, I have been listening to Dick Raaijmakers a lot lately. Demanding at times, but mandatory… The book also recalibrated my view on this adventurous and influential Dutch brand, that is/was far from dull and generic.[04:16]
From "On the Threshold of Beauty: Philips and the Origins of Electronic Music in the Netherlands, 1925–1965" pg. 207
