Machinefabriek - Zink (2007)

Those who picked up on (or at least read about) Machinefabriek a couple of weeks ago already know that there are many different sides to this project. Rutger Zuydervelt has (quite successfully) explored anything from quite relentless noise to highly diverse but also very musical albums filled with sketches of songs (such as Manchester, but also Huis, for instance) and largely drone-based works. Zink falls, more or less, into that last category.

Zink was one of the first releases (one of the first batch of three, along with Cahier and Oubliette) on the relatively new Dutch Cut Hands label, which has so far released excellent recordings by such established artists such as Suishou no Fune, Sachiko M, Astro and Sword Heaven. They got off on the right foot, too, though; Zink is easily one of the highlights in Zuydervelt's discography, both sound- and lookswise. It came in a small 3" CD case with a small zinc plate glued to the front and a smaller plate with the word zink engraved in it glued on top. A small transparent insert on the inside provides us with all the further information we need.

Zink was edited down from a live session at Club Babel in Utrecht recorded on December 30, 2006; the only gear Zuydervelt used were a guitar, a mixing deck and effect pedals. The track starts out fairly subtly, softly and transparently, with some slight, soft tapping sounds; some minutes later, humming, guitar-based drones gradually start building up, layering and layering to create the most beautiful drones; lush, spacious, slightly unsettling, bitter sweet. They roll on deliberately but softly, just below the grain of distortion, only dipping into it occasionally. Ultimately, the drones fade out to make way for those remnants of soft sounds, the lingering memory of the drones; a finger softly touching a guitar string, a tap, a click. A minimal reprise of drones near the very end wraps up the track beautifully.

Zink was released in an edition of 75 and has long been sold out, unfortunately, for those who would like to get their hands on an actual copy. My best advice is to keep track of Discogs, though I'm not sure when and if a copy'll pop up. Besides, older Machinefabriek releases sometimes go for the most outrageous prices. Meanwhile, just enjoy this rip.

Lo! (34 megs)

Machinefabriek - Manchester (2005)

Although Machinefabriek has been putting some of the most interesting sounds for years already, he only really started getting wider attention from 2008 onwards. Previously primarily self-releasing his recordings, Rutger Zuydervelt has started branching out since then, and has released on labels such as Digitalis, 12k and Korm, in addition to having contributed to the prestigious Mort Aux Vaches series. However, Zuydervelt was already brilliant in those earlier days, in my opinion at least; his earliest output was noisy, primarily (a collaboration with Fever Spoor; discs like Piepshow (Beepshow), Hieperdepiep (Beep Beep Hooray) and Hiss Panic), but newer work would sound increasingly more idiosyncratic and intriguing.

Manchester is a 2005 disc which was self-released on a 3" CDr with very pretty (the only suitable word) artwork to suit the sounds on the discs; the aesthetics of Machinefabriek had since the earliest discs evolved into something often referred to as "gruizig and prettig" (grainy/fuzzy and pleasant, more or less). Grainy electronics embedded in a world of wonder; an appreciation for the littlest thing and a love for the curious among the common. Manchester is largely inspired by a trip to Manchester Zuydervelt undertook just prior to recording; titles refer to people, places (Ryan, Mosey, Bye Bye Bradford), while the songs themselves likewise draw from impressions, encounters (we hear some field recordings; a street musician). The sounds are varied, with the tracks ranging from abstract reverby sound experiments (Curb) to small songs (Ryan). As varied as the disc is, however, all songs share a common aesthetic (grainy and pleasant), while the flow and cohesion Zuydervelt manages to achieve, well, it's quite remarkable. A beautiful little disc which seems to express so many things all at once - a sense of wonder, a touch of melancholy, a grain of hope. Highly recommended.

Very much OOP, unfortunately, though Boomkat offers MP3s of the thing for sale (well, really now...). You'd probably have to shell out for a physical copy (there's one for sale over at Discogs for 25 British pounds at the moment), so just enjoy this digital version instead.

Lo!