Opening of The Vault at Museum Collectie De Groen, Arnhem

I was so much looking forward to making today’s announcement about a new project called THE VAULT, and somehow don’t quite know what to say now. There is always war and I think dedicating ourselves to providing music and artistic experiences is never a waste. And this war is not worse than any other just because Europeans are affected. But it feels different when so close, doesn’t it? But maybe it also means that we can help more effectively. Miles and his dad are on their way to the Ukrainian Embassy right now to drop off things. Again, I will collect period pads and diapers at tomorrow’s concert at the The Grey Space. As for today though, all I can do is announce this project that has been lovingly curated and was moved twice because of the pandemic. So here it comes: Quinten Dierick contacted me last spring to talk about a new series that he wanted to curate at Collectie de Groen in Arnhem. It is a beautiful museum in the city center. So we started planning and meeting, finding a concept and suitable artists, and found that we have a lot in common too. Quinten really did the bulk of the work but I love being involved and today at 17:00 we have our official opening. The first artist featured is Max Kuiper. His work will be audible in the Vault until March 27.

Sound installation by Les Horribles Travailleurs:

The sound installation consists of 12 parts. Each part represents a specific approach to sound\music, or a specific way of working with sound material.

The 12 segments are the result of both literal and figurative interactions with the vault.

Approaches and working methods: soundtrack; noise; drone; collage; cut up; composition; melody; percussion; field recordings in the vicinity; looping; extracting sounds from the vault with various objects; electronic and acoustic instruments; atmospheric; abstract; concrete; romantic; the formats of the space translated into the duration of sounds; re-recordings of sounds via sound carriers placed in the vault; digital editing; analog devices; layered and rich next to subtle and minimal – the visionary eye and the carpenter’s view.

In order to more accurately ‘determine’ the location, it has also been viewed from its history - in particular the Second World War - and its position in the area. Elements from the environment and the past penetrate the space and the present.

With these 12 approaches or languages, the space is defined in 12 different ways.

The vault speaks in 12 different ways, depending on the language used.

The whole forms an idea of metamorphosis, abolition of boundaries, fluidity and multidimensionality of both the space and the phenomenon of sound.

The vault is not the place in which a sound work is presented – the installation is the means by which the vault presents itself – in a state of permanent transformation.

(text: Les Horribles Travailleurs)

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With contributions by:

2022