Hellvete: De Gek / The fool

I really didn't know what to expect from this record, I have heard Glen Steenkiste (a member of Sylvester Anfang II and one of the founders of the Funeral Folk movement) play live several times, each time an excellent set was played but this record is another experience. With 'De Gek' Hellvete has issued his very first vinyl release through Kraak. The record sounds like a multi-layered mediaval psychedelic trip, hovering through a universe filled with odd sounds and it really stands out. The medieval sounds are present throughout the whole record but these aren’t always made by organic instruments, like a banjo, guitar, bass guitar, no Steenkiste also uses modern instruments, the keyboard which is joined by a host of samples. There is only one track which has vocals on it: "De Gek" or in English "The Fool". Which is a chilling song destined to nest itself in your brain.
When comparing Hellvete live and Hellvete on record, I can say both are different but still they are Hellvete, like the face of the God Janus, like two sides of a coin. The record hellvete is more composed, time was at hand to piece everything together, while the live version is mostly improvised. I also enjoyed the beautifully designed record cover and the fact that there was the possibility to download the record as a zipped file with the download coupon.

Ik, Steven H / I Steven H

When I was just a wee little boy, young, innocent, beautiful, (nah just kidding)one of the things I listened to was rap records/ CD’s, my favorite performer at one time was Eminem, as well as D12, Snoop Dog and a host of other dudes. We bought this little gem a while ago when attending the releases party at a small café in the city of Ghent in Belgium. Let’s have a look at it, shall we? On the record sleeve and the little extra’s I can only say a job well done, great design and a decent quality vinyl. The little extra is a mask of Steven H which will allow you to become the grandmaster himself. Concerning the contents of the record I can only say interesting. The rapping rapper Steven H, who works as an employee for the Belgian government sings in his own dialect, Kasters, takes a while to get the hang off, but it is understandable. Tracks contain everyday mensonges like hating your job, can’t find a girlfriend and much more enjoyable themes all in a dutch dialect. Sometimes an additional musical layer would be interesting, but on the whole a nice little gem, worth to bought and / or collected. A limited edition off, I believe 520 copies, issued by Smeraldina Rima and Studio Muscles. If you like South African rap, this oddity could be interesting.

Serpent Times: an archive or a new start?

A long, long time ago, when I was but a wee lad, I decided out of the blue to create a small press magazine devoted to primarily experimental music. I created a try-out issue and later I made an 80 page magazine. Response was good, so we decided to make a new issue. However this was aborted. Why? because many people had told me they loved the magazine and they wanted to help out , however when I started working on the new issue, they all pulled back and I decided to stop doing it. This blog is meant to be an archive however we have decided to start reviewing new material as well as gigs and maybe we will start doing interviews as well. The emphasis will still be on experimental music but we will also feature lo-fi bands and singer song writers. We will see what this gives.