Juan Atkins, one of the founding fathers of Detroit techno, has passed away. He created his 1983 debut album, ›Enter‹, in collaboration with fellow techno pioneer Richard ‘3070’ Davis; together, they formed the duo ›Cybotron‹. I quoted a segment from the track ›El Salvador‹ on that album—a passage that serves as the basis for a large portion of my first and only orchestral work, ›Raving‹ (2014). I was, and remain, deeply impressed by the exhilarating freshness of the new music Atkins pioneered. Much like the first wave of pop music in the early 1970s, one can sense the new musical horizons being opened up here. That gives so much hope and expectation… It makes me very happy.
I consider myself fortunate that my roots lie in modernism, which allows me to work effectively with these new musical impulses. By transforming them, I essentially extend them into the present day (and beyond…): techno in ›Raving‹, 1970s pop music in ›Nous le chant III‹ (2015), and riffs from early pop music in ›Distant Voices‹ (2016). Currently, I am occupied with other projects—starting ›from scratch‹.
Incidentally, ›Raving‹ was commissioned by the ZaterdagMatinee concert series and premiered on February 1, 2014, by the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Reinbert de Leeuw—who, as it happens, had other things on his mind during that concert than the notes of ›Raving‹.

Tags: Raving, Juan Atkins, Zaterdagmatinee

Photo and Light Art by Lichtbende

I'm thrilled that violinist Janneke van Prooijen is playing a set of pieces from Genieting VIII for solo violin in the Nacht van de Viool (Night of the Violin). It's a bit of an experiment for us, as we need to see whether such a selection from the extensive work (45 minutes!) will actually work. It should be possible, as it's common practice in the performance of the Nubat, a large-scale Andalusian music genre and one of my references in Genieting VIII, along with Turkish classical music, Balkan music, and flamenco. January 30, 19:30-20:00 in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht!

Tags: Genieting VIII, Janneke van Prooijen, Nacht van de viool

This fall, I began work on the third and final part of the From Scratch Cycle. From Scratch is based on drawings by visual artist Alexandra Roozen. As the title suggests, I'm building the music from the ground up, closely following Roozen's working method rather than the feelings her work evokes in me.
The first part of the cycle, From Scratch I, ›Plain Dust‹ & ›Trills‹, was performed in 2019 by the Ives Ensemble at the November Music Festival and the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam.
From Scratch II, ›Seen by Hand‹, was completed in 2020 but not performed due to the coronavirus epidemic.
In 2013, Alexandra exhibited the series of drawings ›Traces‹ in Seoul, which is based on the instructions for the musicians in the score of From Scratch I.
For From Scratch III, I'm basing my work on her most recent series of drawings: ›Surround‹ & ›Black Ice‹, a glimpse of which can be seen in the photo (Gallery Roger Katwijk).

Tags: Alexandra Roozen, from scratch, Ives Ensemble