Massive Trance performed at Minimal Music Festival 2019, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ

Jeroen Vermandere presented his last initiative in collaboration with Driftmachine.

‘Massive Trance: interpreted by Driftmachine’ presented at the Minimal Music Festival 2019. The concert took place on Saturday April 6th from 19.00 to 20.00 on the foyer deck of Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. Prior to the concert there will be a conversation between Jeroen Vermandere & Femke Dekker which started at 18.15.

Massive Trance is the title of a cassette from 1983. Marien van Oers (1955–2013) produced the cassette with the following protocol in mind: “The basic idea of the performance is experiencing a constant repetition of sound (=rhythm), which can result in the spectator taking action through movement or getting into a form of trance.” Marien van Oers was mainly known for his one–person group, Het Zweet, active from 1983 to about 1988.

His percussion–based pieces were all but industrial; the self–built instruments and repetitive chanting aim to achieve a physicality that is close to tribal music. With this performance, the aim is not to blindly restage the original recording of Van Oers, but instead to actively reinterpret the piece by tweaking its protocol. Instead of dogmatically following the instructions, Vermandere & Driftmachine take the ultimate aim of the piece (attaining trance) as the starting point, so as to then work back to crafting a space for different rhythms, tempos and sounds.

This project is made possible by the support of Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ & De Appel