Reviews

Kracq

Circumvision

Sounds (August 26, 1978)

by John Gill

THERE ARE many and various types of Dutchperson. They are, on the whole, a pleasant race (unless you happen to be a Moluccan). These gentle people spend most of their time skating, growing tulips, making drinks from eggs and inserting digits in dykes. Their country is rather flat and sleepy, this being reflected in most Dutch rock music (see Focus).
Kracq are a startling exception. Their sleeve-notes read like a John Cage score, so I can't give you much background information. They belong to something called the Pop Promotion Foundation and appear to have listened to a lot of Henry Cow, Hatfields, Matching Mole and Robert Wyatt. But that's by no means definitive. Their debut album, 'Circumvision', is a dark and moody collection of Euro jazz-rock songs like nothing else that has come out of the Netherlands.
'Summer of my life' opens the album with a jazzy blizzard of sleighbell percussion that blazes into a cranking bassy rhythm punctuated by Egg-time melodic breaks. Taking in a brief passage of lyrical synthesizer and acoustic guitar, it flips into a bowling, machine-noise riffer, with electronic crackles and booms and strangulated guitar jabs.

Echoing ghost-piano and birdsong introduce 'Day In Day Out', a tinkling piano melody that lulls and billows around a phased poppy tune which keeps changing speed.
'Somewhere In The Evening' and 'Y' are jazzy pieces in the tradition of Matching Mole, fuzzy electronic piano-lines twining over a ticking jazz rhythm. The latter moves through various phases, sparking off loping piano shapes from a strange rhythm (both beats and silences) and swirling into a haunting acoustic piano passage.
Side two features more of the same. Two long pieces cut into sections; the three parter 'Opening of the gate of noise' end the eight parter (!) 'Intercaps'. Sections range in duration from ten seconds to eight minutes, making it neigh-on impossible to discern the shorter parts. Here, they intersperse the radio-active rhythms with airy snippers of improvisation, alluring classically-oriented pieces and bizarre electronics and treated sound.
Some of it doesn't work, and as with their above-mentioned stablemates they can't always keep the power going. But for a debut album and considering some of the flaccid material the Dutch put out, 'Circumvision' is a strong and original work. If you're wondering where the spirit of bands like Matching Mole et al went to and what it's doing now, buy this album.

Spiral Motion Project

Narcissus/An Sich

Draad

by Jan de Groen

In May 1985 preparations started for the multi-media 'Spiral Motion Project'.
"This project wants to tell the tale of man, looking for the inner self and the outer social comfort. These processes interchange, consolidate and strangle each other, thus creating a spiritual spiral motion,"

as told by the sleeve text on the cassette handed over to me, inviting me to listen to it and write a review in Draad.

I love symphonic music, and I write this because it is almost a condition to be able to enjoy the music of the Spiral Motion Project. If you like neat popsongs, you are likely to get it under your skin.
This music demands attention for the lyrics, the sometimes complicated and not easy to listen to harmonies and changes of tempo.
You'll have to go and sit down to listen to this music, and let it come to you.

The opening songs Prelude/Pre-Vacuum are too much free-jazz like to me, however, the cool bassguitar is appreciated. The finale of this song is wonderful, with a more or less pompous closing, giving me the creeps.
I like Remove the candle most of all, a beautiful melody, wonderful synthesizer playing much like the Belgian group Machiavel.

The next part starts with One way screen, with a tenuous intro and moves through a more tight rhythm into Internal Capsule, a song I regard as one of the best.
It contains a lot of synthesizer and the vocals remind me, and I mean that as a compliment, of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator.
Dead pride has a neat tight rhythm thanks to the well played electronic drums.
What I really liked as well is the influence of jazz in Near Transparency, fading into Tangerine Dream-ish sounds , music to set your mind off things and let your fantasy take you away.
The last section of Internal Capsule I like less. Too little beautiful harmonious melodies, it takes just too long because of that, and doesn't hold the attraction.
But Skeleton Implosion makes up for that. A gripping voice wanders through your brains, a voice reminding me of The Mobiles. Especially the tight drums sound really good.
It all ends with The Warning, a melodious song that touches my symphonic heart really deep.

My impression as a whole is of being anxious to know about any sequences concerning this project
There's a lot of good songs here, with gripping, very personal lyrics. Some songs could have been more tight. I think the music in itself is extremely fit for multi media, as the makers planned. I'm looking forward to hearing more of this music.