BEEQUEEN REVIEWS
This page features a long list of reviews over the last 20+
years taken from various sources. The reviews are in order of
the date of release. If you have additions, please do not hesitate
to contact us.
Mappa mundi
Beequeen continues Frans de Waard's - the brain behind Korm Plastics
- association with the Legendary Pink Dots. Probably the biggest
Dots fan around (sorry Carl), Frans has been a faithful documentor
of the Dots output. It comes as no surprise that the sleeve credits
Phil and Ed Ka-Spel with collaboration on this release as well
as use of their studio facilities. Anyway, enough of that. What
of Beequeen? Mappa Mundi consists of singular throbbing pulses
of improvised electronic dabbling, evolving slowly and almost
imperceptivity, with deep subliminal undercurrents. This has
the effect of a deprogramming exercise with no melody to distract
you. This is not to say it is monotone. The evolution of each
side draws you slowly into it, leading you into different areas
with ease. It has a similar effect to holophonics (remember that?)
with the sound seeming to come at you from within the mom rather
than out of the, speakers. The uniformly impeccable sound quality
makes this sound almost like a CD, crisp and perfect. An ideal
example of its type, it adds up to a lot more than the sum of
its parts. Korm Plastics consistently impresses with its high
standards and distinctive style. Recommended.
Naked - from Re-Verb August 1991
Stetson
Mort Aux Vaches is a series of recordings specially commissioned
for and first broadcast on Dutch radio. Most of the participants
treat it as a one-off live' performance doing little to exploit
radio's peculiar opportunities. and this disc is no exception.
Beequeen have a very dry and experimental approach to sound manipulation,
combining Ambient textures, found sound and the like in a very
restrained fashion. There's a tentative, humble character to
their music which lends the proceedings a curious grace that
some post-Industrial contemporaries lack. Unfortunately, they
spoil one track by adding tedious taped drivel from the late
artist Joseph Beuys.
From Rumore 1997
Sugarbush
Both Beequeen members Frans do Waard and Freek Kinkelaar have
been inspired by Joseph Beuys (1921 -1986) this time. This and
the three words in the booklet: nature-matter-form indicate that
the concept of their third CD is quite conceptual. They decided
to cover the song titles of their most cherished songs (e.g.
by Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley), though the
original versions can't be recognized in these beautiful organic
ambient structures. Beequeen makes music as life seen through
a microscope. At first sight nothing happens, but this Dutch
duo make you see/hear things a thousand times -better. Mark Poysden
(S.T.M.E.), who did the producing, helped them with this as well
of course. The album crystallizes to a tapestry of moods, carrying
Beequeen's handwriting of processed and degrated sound. Wonderful!
Unknown review
Sugarbush
The latest release of industrial veterans Frans de Waard and
Freek Kinkelaar is inspired by and dedicated to Joseph Beuys,
the German visual artist whose unconventional and transitory
works of art were an attempt to break through society's rationality.
This third, Beequeen album is conceptually very much in line
with Beuys' philosophy. Coveting the titles of some of their
favourite Frank Sinatra, Nell Diamond and Presley songs they
start from a commonly known theme, but the great thing about
it is they allow a whole new world of musical forms and matters
to flourish from it in a composition that radiates positive ambiences
from beginning to end. 'Sugarbush' is one huge organic flow of
constantly shifting moods, with music that ranges from softer
ambiental textures with a quiet rhythmic undercurrent, over more
extreme metallic noise acoustics and semi-melodic collages of
recuperated and manipulated sounds. Beautiful soundscapes for
your cold winter evenings, and - in my opinion - the best Beequeen
album to date. An experience that is not to be missed...
GR - from Tanz Der Rozen No. 4
Sugarbush
The post-industrial Ambient zone inhabited by the Dutch duo Beequeen
is normally so clouded with paranoia that their transparency
arouses suspicion. They wear their hearts on a gorgeous honey-yellow
sleeve emblazoned with Joseph Beuys dedication and a rack of
familiar song titles, like Presley's 'Return To Sender' and Neil
Diamond's 'A Beautiful Noise'. Are they being perverse or are
they just drips? As it happens, the titles bear little relation
to the slight, yet pleasurably muggy freefalls and cartwheels
their music turns through. But the compositions are so lacking
in ambition, the one question they arouse is how their makers
found the wherewithal to release them.
From The Wire March 1996
Sugarbush
I've just been itching to hear Beequeen after many friends' recommendations.
This is the newest release of this project by Frans De Waard
of that great European label Staalplaat with Freek Kinkelaar.
Beequeen Is much like sand, abrasive and yet elusive and soothing
as It slips between your fingers. The sound is very well executed
and flanges its way between scraping, cricket-like silence, murdernoise,
and psychophoria. Challenging and haunting in parts, this changes
pace like leaves turn colors, slow and unnoticeably then swells
and crests like electrified waves in a dream storm while still
maintaining its natural atmosphere. For some reason I imagine
laying by the fireplace In the winter and feeding large insects
and chemicals into the flames before falling fast asleep to dream
lucid dreams.
Ares Solis - Eskatos #2
Sugarbush
Beequeen, a product of the Bremen-based Raum-312 label, employ
an encompassing, contemporary and conventional approach; main
protagonists Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar's track record
in the industrial arena is evident in the odd analogue sweep
and funereal organ sounds that periodically permeate Sugarbush.
Nevertheless it is experimentalism that lies at the heart of
this recording which claims to contain "covers of the song
titles of their most cherished songs".. (??), the influence
of more avant-garde principles evident in the screeching violin
of 'Time Waits For No One', combining with more specific musique
concrete elements, such as rain and footstep samples, in a mass
that is also indebted to the 'isolationism' movement (and, according
to messers de Waard and Kinkelaar, the German conceptual artist,
Joseph Beuys), but which manages to remain distinct from all
three traditions. As their name suggests, both industrious and
distinguished.
DJ 4 Minutes 33 - from Magic Feet January 1996
Summer rain
This is no new stuff of Holland's best known experimental Ambiencies,
but the second edition of a 7" that was originally released
in 1993 "Summer Rain' Is rough and sensitive at the same
time and contains three shorter tracks, of which 'Thunder Rain'
is the more atmospheric one; a kind of droning mind-shifting
glacier of darker sounds. 'Thunder Storm' and 'Singularity' are
more rhythmical. The first one is based on short-looped mechanoid
sounds, the latter being a minimalistic improvisational track
using a single piece of metal cross-faded with a thick layer
of white noise. 'Summer Rain' is definitely not as polished as
Beequeen's current work, perhaps not as accessible either, but
if you're into somewhat noisier and less tranquilizing atmospheres
this will be to your liking.
QT - from Tanz Der Rozen No. 4
Time waits for no one
Taking their name from a work by Joseph Beuys, the Dutch duo
Beequeen have taken it to heart to create a sonic experience
that Is like a living organism, a melange of oozing textures,
rhythmical structures, cyclical pumping surges of sound, arranged
as if In an ambient visionary landscape, a painting for the ears.
The experience naturally recalls earlier works by Zoviet France
and The Haf ler Trio, with much use., of processed and degraded
sounds. As strange and enigmatic as Its minimal four-fold diglpak
cover.
Alan Freeman - from Audion Summer/Autumn 1994
Time waits for no one
Only seldom have I heard music that was so unobtrusive as this
Beequeen-CD. The music remains calm, focusing on a mood, much
more than musicality. It's not just ambient and quite different
from the works of Brian Eno. The comparison that does come up
is with Zoviet France, because of its repetitive character. The
instrumentarium is for the most part electronic, occasionally
added with (remote) voices, (remote) drums, or (remote) snares.
At times there seems to be more aggression in the sound, e.g.
when drums are used. But when this happens it sounds quite remote,
like a distant thunder. I like the atmosphere, which remains
relaxed without ever getting even close to 'new age'.
IS - from Vital #36
Time waits for no one
After a first listening-trial I concluded that this wasn't exactly
my cup of tea... Some weeks later, however, I had to change my
opinion. I had given this CD another chance, and while I was
doing something else, this CD was nicely rumbling in the background.
By mistake I'd put my CD-player in "random-repeat"
mode, and by the time I discovered my horrible act, the music
had penetrated my mind several times already ... I found myself
being carried away on noisy waves, now and then penetrated by
beautiful analog bleebs, blobs and distorted frequencies... My
heart was beating on the rhythm of short looped sounds and percussion,
and at the end of my hallucination I entered the world of Thee
Mighty Drone and His o Royal Ambientcy. When I regained back
consciousness, Marylin Monroe was sitting next to me and asked
me if I liked cream and sugar in my coffee... OK, cut the crap;
this is a rather good buy! The gauzy image of Marilyn Monroe
on the cover of this record is a bit ambiguous, unless it is
reflective of the sometimes austere pace and feel conveyed by
the electronics therein. Actually, Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar,
with their banks of electronics and other unspecified instruments,
convey many alternatively bleak, if imagistic, soundscapes, either
through the wheezing of asthmatic machines, drones of catatonia
immersed in cryogenic guitar feedback or the steamy smelt of
arcane industry. Atonal occasionally, even unearthly, yet strangely
accessible, these works are part of an aesthetic wherein the
forging of an unfamiliar sound canvas becomes the springboard
from which the listener can extract pictures, panoramas, shapes.
Any other points of harmonic reference become irrelevant; so
ultimately, as the music crystallizes, one is left with Its residual
suggestions. Engrossing music that subtly leaves the impression
to come back and experience it further.
Darren Bergstein - from The Wire March 1995
Long stones and circles
Yet more produce from Beequeen, a Dutch team comprising Frans
de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar. (And that's the last time I'm going
to mention their names in a review.) ( Well, maybe.) Their work
is mostly centred around the artistic ideas of Joseph Beuys,
but this composition is based on some of the work by Richard
Long. Richard, or Dick as his friends call him when they can
find him amongst the shrubberies, got his fifteen minutes by
thinking up the marvellous idea of 'Land Art', in which he shoves
a bunch of comestibles into a knapsack and then trudges off into
the wilderness on walkabout for a week or two. During this time,
he might tentatively rearrange some sticks, a bit of bark and
some pebbles, photograph it and/or write a 'pome' commemorating
the event and then piss off home for a cup of Royco soup. This
CD takes it's name from a piece (read,) written by Long (but
not read by he) and adapted by Mr Kinkelaar, which appears on
the back of the CD cover... it's a list of impressions of a walk,
or several of them, by Dick, and the imagery is oft so strong
that you can feel almost the air ruffle your hair. The music
is a succesion of the Bee's queen drones mixed, slowly shaken
then stirred in a cocktail with additional sound material by
John Hudak, a Plan 9 From Outer Space-type vocal and two pieces
of spoken word. The first is a recitation of the names of various
Tors (geographical protruberance thingies) throughout England,
which presented in this way sound like a cartographer's mantra.
The next is the pome on the packageback. Shortly after this last
recitation (?), there's this uncertain drone which slides in
and oscillates above a patient creature slowly grinding it's
way across the sand in your ear. Other sound sources include
a metronome, radio stones and a snaredrum. I quite enjoyed this
release although my enthusiasm was somewhat abated by the inclusion
of the spoken voice, but it usually is, so that's my problem,
okay ? (MP)
V2 archive
Time waits for no one
Wonderful positive yet dark ambience, if that's possible from
former MFTEQ contributor Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar.
Acoustic guitars and strings resonate as petit electronics pitter
patter. Mysterious tones invoke splendid colours as subtle rhythms
gradually move into the mix. Beequeen remind me of the mighty
Deutsch Nepal. I can't get enough of this.
MFR - from Reverb March 1995
Vault
Most experimental music on 7-inch singles fails because the format
is too limiting in length and sound quality. But this three-"song"
document from the Netherlands' Beequeen is alluring with its
pulsing dynamics and floating crescendos. And when you play it
at a different speed, it's like getting a free record!
Jason Pettigrew - from Alternative Press August 1998
Treatise
Treatise is the latest album from the Dutch veterans Beequeen,
this time released by the German magazine and label Auf Abwegen.
It contains 6 tracks recorded live during two concerts in 1996
in Holland. Beequeen's music is very calm and relaxing. A mixture
of soft drones, synthetic loops and accoustic percussions, of
clicks, bleeps and shorts tunes, it evokes softness, fragility
and emotion. Completely instrumental, "Treatise" combines
very well drones made of very well crafted and edited noises,
some clicks, as well as percussions that seemed to have been
played live. This albums flows like a soundtrack, with its light
and heavy moments. Requiring some active listening, this is also
a very rich CD that, however calm it can seem, is very deep and
contains a lot of subtilities. In that sense, it will please
fans of soft drones and experimentations à la Utra Milkmaids.
"Treatise" is a very pleasant album for people into
complex but soft music. Sometimes noisy, sometimes more melodic,
it's a well done CD that doesn't loose the listener, in contrary
to lots of releases of this kind.
Nicolas, December 13, 2000, Recycle your ears, online review
Ownliness
Höchst unterhaltsame Platte mit vielen Geräuschen und
viel Tragik, mit vielen Situationen und aus einfachen Dingen
entwickelten dramatisch verträumten Gesten, ab und an daddelig
hinzugeblödelten Gitarren und Schlittenfahrtbeats, die immer
wieder in loopigen Stakkatos aufgefangen werden, so als wollten
sie die Zeit anhalten und mal genauer unter die Lupe nehmen,
dann trudeln sie in einen dezent smoothen Downtempotrack zu Wasserplätschern
und schwer harmonischer Floatline, manchmal knistern sie einfach
nur so an den
Effekt-DSPs. Oder sie lassen ihre Harmonika tief Luft holen und
überholen wie von selbst Portishead in ihren besten Prärockzeiten,
oder sie eiern sich eben so durch. Sehr vielseitig, vermutlich
gradezu konzeptuell vielseitig, und ein wenig dunkel belgisch
angehaucht wie manches zur Zeit, aber mit dem gewissen Powerbook
Charme eben doch und nie Retro.
bleed ***** from Debug magazine, 2002
Ownliness
In it's attractive cover, Ownliness offers trip-hop rhythms,
guitar-ambient, beautiful roadmovie-music, strange samples and
loops deliver with a twist only the Beequeens can master. From
the opener 'Clockwise' to the long melancholic piece 'Beam Ends'
(featuring a ticking clock, atmospherically guitarwork, environmental
recordings and cellos) this new CD offers the most musical product
Beequeen has released so far. It will certainly appeal to Beequeen
fans old and new, offering an album full of beautiful tracks.
Ownliness proves Beequeen more alive than ever, willing to take
on new challenges in their music.
Forced exposure, catalogue online, 2002
Ownliness
For a short while, the future looked bleak for Beequeen fans.
Was their single "Dovidzdane Vanja (The Death of Beequeen)"
an omen for an imminent end of Beequeen? Not so it turned out.
Beequeen was more eager than ever to develop a new future for
the band. Their single "White Tusk" was merely a taste
of things to come. More melodic, with a driven beat and soaring
guitars, "White Tusk" proved that Beequeen could master
more than the ambient drone. Their latest studio work "Ownliness",
which was recorded in 2000, is now finally available on Infraction
Records. In it's attractive cover, "Ownliness" offers
trip-hop rhythms, guitar-ambient, beautiful roadmovie-music,
strange samples and loops deliver with a twist only the Beequeens
can master. From the opener "Clockwise" to the long
melancholic piece "Beam Ends" (featuring a ticking
clock, atmospherically guitarwork, environmental recordings and
cellos) this new CD offers the most musical product Beequeen
has released so far. It will cert ainly appeal to Beequeen fans
old and new, offering an album full of beautiful tracks. "Ownliness"
proves Beequeen more alive than ever, willing to take on new
challenges in their music. Expect more from the ever-prolific
duo in the near future.
Chaindlk magazine, online magazine, 2002
Ownliness
Beequeen is perhaps the longest running project by the ever prolific
Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar. The two met out of their
mutual adoration for the undersung cultgroup Legendary Pink Dots
a little more than a decade ago, and residues of the Pink Dots'
miasmic, Goth-influenced psychedelica have continually lingered
amidst the Beequeen albums, even if the duo have never risked
emulating Edward Ka-spel's lispy perculiarities. That said, Ownliness
mutes those Pink Dots references into a magical ambience that
undergirds spartan arrangements for hushed acoustic guitar chords
and sustained organs. Beequeen's affiliation with post-industrial
agendas are underplayed in favour of liberally borrowing moves
from current bastions of indie rock: slide guitar motivs from
Godspeed You Black Emperor!, tattered cello flourishes from Dirty
Tree, the wintry earnestness of Low or Sonna, and maybe even
the breathy instrumentals of Vincent Gallo. Quite pleasant.
Jim Haynes, Wire magazine, August 2002
Ownliness
'Ownliness' sounds like an experiment of sorts. Most all of the
tracks are built upon looping rhythms and repeating phrases of
simple melody. The album begins with a sampled loop that could
be ethnic percussion as easily as it could be the sound of someone
scraping a stick down a flight of stairs. More rhythms and a
melody slip into the mix and then disappear into the looped field
recording ambience of "With Anna You Get Eggroll,"
which later becomes a kind of psuedo-trip hop number. Sometimes
the repetition manifests itself as full-on beats and songs, and
other times, it simply serves as a cadence that roots the wandering
tones and abstract noises like a ballast. In its more obscure
moments, 'Ownliness' finds a balance between wandering and reflecting
that allows the simple repetition and the experimental pallete
to elevate the compositions into something complex enough to
warrant repeated listens. In its more direct moments, the album
sounds a bit like experimental guitarists trying to adopt a style
or groove to their own way of working, and it is in these moments
that the album doesn't always measure up. There's nothing embarassing
about the songs that are more obviously structured, but they
play into a stereotype of slow, manipulated drum loops and painfully
simple melodies that never allow the repetition to transcend
into something more. The layered melodies are sometimes bogged
down by a breakbeat that seems out of place in a sea of otherwise
strange and unidentifiable sounds. Still, it's highly listenable
and would probably make a great primer for someone who is interested
in experimental instrumental music but is afraid to stray too
far from the beat-oriented songs with which they are more comfortable.
By the time the soft guitar and harmonics of the last two tracks
are over, I'm waiting for another track, which is always the
sign of a record worth keeping.
Matthew Jeanes, Brainwashed online reviews, November 2002
A touch of brimstone
Beequeen (Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkleer) have released A
Touch of Brimstone, the newest stealth recording from a powerfully
growing discography. Comprised of ten tracks this collection
includes never before released recordings from their vaults dated
from 1989 through 1996. The din is enterprising, the pacing is
primordial. The immediate impact of the overall work is stunningly
thought-provoking. The tracks slow the body while listening,
paving a sense of raw comatose. The voice on Rainhas des Abelhas
, one of their very first constructed pieces for 4-track, is
Dennis Cooper, sounding like a lecturer from a 1940s instructional
radio broadcast. Several of the Meta Phase tracks here were noise
experiments created for a photo installation piece by Erik van
Wesserloo back in 1991. Look for Beequeen's inclusion on the
Tribryd Installation Soundtracks due in the Spring on Beta-lactam
Ring Records. The title track is somewhat of a cross between
sine waves and feedback, with a plotting background and seething
high-pitched center. On Suite 31-28 the sounds are based on concepts
of warmth and temperature. Its defiance of literalness makes
it a more watchful listen. The experiment is in our mind, the
perfectly blended sonic weave of protection is a figment of our
imagination. A Touch of Brimstone presents a language all its
own, on par with SOS or artificial intelligence. The art of noise
is clear.
Instrumental weekly
A touch of brimstone
With its ten tracks of rarities and exclusive material, listening
to A Touch of Brimstone is a lot like travelling through time,
only non-linear, scattered, a time defined by sound, and not
necessarily moving forwards (ok, so maybe it's not like travelling
through time at all, but alas, the comparison has already been
made, so we'll just have to keep quiet and see where it goes),
especially for those who, like me, have been listening to Beequeen
through the years, ever attentive, fascinated, impressed. And
now we have this new CD, compiled for the curious, to fill in
the holes of lost time, to confirm to us the creativities and
innovations that have marked the inspiring history of this partnership,
packaged with pictures from the past, from the present, and words,
words of elucidation, observations, impressions, readings of
their work. And these ten tracks take me through drones, austere
spaces, frequencies high and low, a brief narration, echoes and
lost sounds funnelling through the woodwork and into my imagination.
Beequeen's music has always been driven by the desire to find
new techniques and structures, to keep the fire of inspiration
alive and changing, adapting, overturning stones and uncovering
new ones... Beequeen is Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar. For
those unfamiliar with their work, this disc is a perfect place
to start.
Richard di Santo, Incursion online review
Beequeen - A Touch of Brimstone (CD by Korm Plastics)
Beequeen's tenth anniversary CD release (one of the two planned
ones) comes with a 3 year delay because of the stinky situation
of the underground record label industry (if you are a musician
you know the story: not enough labels, not enough money, not
enough interest or whatever the reason is...). But fortunately
for all the fans of this band Staalplaat (and precisely their
sub-label Korm Plastics) has pitched in to succeed where others
have failed, and that's how Bequeen's "A Touch of Brimstone"
sees the light... A collection of both previously unreleased
and released (but in some cases now unavailable or out of print
or hard to find) songs spanning in time from 1989 to 1995 that
represents a good summary of their activity for those who want
to get into the band or for those who have followed them for
years, like their longest dedicated fan Elenka Freikkar, whose
writings even got selected to be part of the thick booklet, along
with those of their site's webmaster (who is also the webmaster
of the Muslimgauze website and of other band's websites adhering
to the Pretentious.network), journalists and other friends and
personalities... The booklet also contains lots of pictures and
an updated discography (23 releases and counting! ...not including
compilation appearances), so like I said before, a must for both
supporters and those new to the Beequeen sound. For those who
don't now Beequeen at all yet, think of it as experimental drone
music. Beequeen is Freek Kinkelaar and Frans De Waard, who is
also one of the founders of Staalplaat (and if now you are wondering
why Staalplaat didn't releases their birthday disc in time, you
are not the only left wondering!!). At the top of this review
I had mentioned that there is another 10th anniversary CD, and
that one came out in time in 1999) and is called "Do Be
Do; A Live Anthology" (still available from their own label
Plinkity Plonk records).
Marc Urselli-Schärer from chaindlk.com
A touch of brimstone
Beequeen aka Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar needs no more
introduction in the experimental area! Beequeen is a phenonemon
that started more than 10 years ago, releasing an impressive
number of tapes, singles, vinyls and albums. This album was originally
intended to be released 3 years ago, to celebrate the 10th anniversary
of this project. Due to circumstances, it didn't happen in time,
but only at the end of 2002! This is a collection of recordings
that have been hard to get and previously unreleased material!
Food for the fans! The universe of Beequeen is a strange and
mysterious place, where only a few people will feel confortable.
The wealth of sound sources and the multiple manipulated sonic
experiments are simply astonishing. It leads the listener in
an unreal world where sounds and noises are dominating. You really
have to be into this kind of stuff while it's pretty hard to
endure for others! Definitely experimental!
DP, Side line 42
A touch of brimstone
Nicht jedermanns Sache diese Retrospektive von Tracks, die zwischen
89 und 95 enstanden sind, denn mittlerweile klingt das doch alles
ein wenig nostalgisch in seiner dezent akademisierten Art Ambient
zu verbreiten. Eher unter den industriellen Platten einzusortieren
und auch dort nicht herausdragend. Nach den ganz guten letzten
Releases von ihnen eigenlich Schade.
Bleed, De:Bug 67
A touch of brimstone
Beequeen baeckem das Feld des organischen Drones schon lang.
Das hört man auch, denn die Hypnotische Kraft ihrer Stuecke
lässt die Erfahrung und handwerkliches Geschick kräftig
durchschimmern. Changierte Klänge werden aus den exotischten
Instrumenten, verfremdete Samples und elektronischem Gerät
herausgekitzelt, bis die Lautsprecher sanftmütig im dröhnenden
Omm der dynamischen Klangwellen schwingen. Dieses Album versammelt
nun als kleine Retrospektive von mittlerweile 13 Jahren Bandgeschichte
Rares und Unveröffentlichtes aus allen Phasen vond der ersten
nur einseitig abspielbare Platte bis zu verschütteten Perlen
aus dem DAT Archiv. Industrial Ambient Experimente, Spoken Word,
leichter TripHop Rhythmus und immer wieder das Beruhigende des
Drones und minmaler Dynamiken. Im Booklet durften sich Friende
der Band zu iher Eindrücken äussern und einer trifft
Beequeen's Musik genau auf der Punkt: "Sie besitzt solche
Präzenz und Tiefe, dass ich mich in ihr verliere. Sie kann
im Hintergrund laufen und plötzlich bemerkst du, wie sich
dich tiefer und tiefer in ihren Besitz genommen hat'. Die brummende
Stille, die dich nie ganz los lässt und selbst in dieser
eigentlich nicht thematisch fokussierten Zusammenstellung eine
beeindruckende Eiheitlichkeit der Vision bezeugt. Die Hypnotik
tiefer akustischer Schwingungen und zarter, übersehener
Klänge wird Beequeen wohl nie loslassen. Zum Glück.
Black, 30
A touch of brimstone
Die eigentlich bereits zum 10. Beequeen-Geburtstag 1999 geplante
Kompilation A Touch of Brimstone (KP 3011) speichert Bienenhonig
der Jahre 1989 bis 1995; den ersten Track vom Debutalbum Scala
Destillans der Beuysfans, den Soundtrack zur Fotoinstallation
Metamorphazen, Material aus dem Umfeld der The Surrough Gate
und der Music for the Head Ballet-Sessions, weihnachtliche Uberbleibsel
der Mappa Mundi-Phase (In Die Dagen) und das Titelstück,
für das Frans de Waard und Freek Kinkelaar bisher noch keinen
rechten Platz gefunden hatten. Ein 32p-Booklet versammelt dazu
harte Fakten in Gestalt einer vollständigen Diskographie
und weiche Beequeen-impressionen von u.a. Baraka(H) und Till
Kniola sowie die wahre Beequeen-Story according to Elenka Freikkar.
Keine beschreibung versäumt es, den auffälligen Dualismus
des Beequeen-Sounds zu betonen: -Ambient or nice atmospheric
on one hand, but acting in an experimental and more concrete
way on the other hand...concious and unconcious parts...emotion
and ratio- (Baraka (H)), 'the concept of the drone- einerseits
und andererseits -a stronger mark of interaction and manipulation-
(Kniola). Es ist die spezielle Synthese der Freek- und Frans-seite,
die erst den Raum schafft für -imaginary time travel, for
wanderings of the mind, for pure relaxation-.
Bad Alchemy, 41
A touch of brimstone
With its ten tracks of rarities and exclusive material, listening
to A Touch of Brimstone is a lot like travelling through time,
only non-linear, scattered, a time defined by sound, and not
necessarily moving forwards (ok, so maybe it's not like travelling
through time at all, but alas, the comparison has already been
made, so we'll just have to keep quiet and see where it goes),
especially for those who, like me, have been listening to Beequeen
through the years, ever attentive, fascinated, impressed. And
now we have this new CD, compiled for the curious, to fill in
the holes of lost time, to confirm to us the creativities and
innovations that have marked the inspiring history of this partnership,
packaged with pictures from the past, from the present, and words,
words of elucidation, observations, impressions, readings of
their work. And these ten tracks take me through drones, austere
spaces, frequencies high and low, a brief narration, echos and
lost sounds funnelling through the woodwork and into my imagination.
Beequeen's music has always been driven by the desire to find
new techniques and structures, to keep the fire of inspiration
alive and changing, adapting, overturning stones and uncovering
new ones Beequeen is Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar. For
those unfamiliar with their work, this disc is a perfect place
to start.
Richard di Santo, Incursion 63
Gund
The Dutch duo Beequeen has been digging into their archives lately,
discouraging the collector-scum by making their rare releases
and concert recordings available to the public in greater quanity.
I've been a fan of both members' work for many years. Freek Kinkelaar's
Legendary Pink Dots-ish solo recordings as Brunnen yeilded three
fine albums in the 1990s, and Frans de Waard's many recordings
as Kapotte Muziek, Quest, Shifts, and Captain Black are things
I have been enthusiastically seeking out since I was in high
school (a long time ago, folks). The Beequeen sound is generally
a lush, subtly melodic drone with subdued electronic crackle,
a nice inbetween point between de Waard's abstractions and Kinkelaar's
low-key pop sense. This latest disc compiles music intended for
release in 1998, four tracks that were to be released as an LP
and two that were to be an unlikely collaborative 10" with
Japanese noise "band" MSBR. The first four tracks are
delicate, with a gentle nudge toward dub that never overwhelms
the static drift. The sound dives almost to silence, but percolates
upwards with a bassline here or a slight rise there, all tasteful,
understated, and appealing. It reminds me of Eno's ambient music,
which colors the tone of a room but does not assert itself so
much. The collaborative tracks with MSBR, in which the artists
worked by reshaping each other's sonic material, are not as ephemeral
as the tracks that come before them, but are complementary nonetheless.
Beequeen's reworking of MSBR's noise begins with some teeth-grinding
tension, which is quickly forced down to a low, barely perceptible
rumble. MSBR's mix of Beequeen sounds like a digital cut-up that
twists with a distinct feeling as if it is about to explode out
of control, yet never does.
Howard Steltzer, Brainwashed online reviews, March 2003
Gund
Beequeen is the kind of project that inspires a passion for lists,
together with an anxious sense of being forever incomplete. Brought
together over a decade ago through a shared fascination for The
Legendary Pink Dots, Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar have
been steadily generating an impressive back catalogue of their
own while creating works of sustained conceptual subtlety and
deep sonic layering. A companion piece to their Do Be Do live
anthology, A Touch Of Brimstone compiles previously unreleased
studio pieces, starting with an impressive four track recording
from 1989, with a spoken word contribution from Dennis Cooper
and including "In Die Dagen", a 1994 track originally
thought to be lost but remastered here direct from the original
demo tape
Ken Hollings, The Wire, February 2003
Gund
The eleventh release on Beequeen's own Plinkity Plonk label represents
another dig into their archive of unreleased material (see the
recent release of Brimstone for another look into the vaults).
In the case of Gund, all of these pieces were recorded in 1998
for specific vinyl releases that, for one reason or another,
never materialized. So "now the waiting is finally over",
they announce, even if you never knew you were waiting for these
pieces in particular, if you never knew they existed. But rest
assured, it's a fine day that sees the arrival of this CD in
your home hi-fi. This is Beequeen's "old style" in
its finest form-"old style" of course referring to
their emphasis on drones and lower frequency resonance, abandoned
in their recent shift in direction heard in their latest material.
The first four tracks are quiet and calm, occasionally intense
and foreboding, with fine concentrations of vibrations and droning
ambience, a melodic phrase, a faint crackle, a cold wave and
a warm wash of sound, and moving at a slow, steady pace. The
fifth track takes on a distinct character, more intense, threatening
and dark, using sound material supplied by MSBR, the ongoing
project of noise artist Koji Tano. The sixth and final piece
is the inversion of this scenario; a new mix by MSBR using sound
material supplied by Beequeen. Recorded in 2001, this piece is
one of rising potential-the potential for implosion or explosion,
the potential for a release that never happens-instead remaining
an exploration and amplification of tension in sound. For some
years now-and perhaps I was a little late in my introduction
to Beequeen, beginning with their 1994 release of Time Waits
for No One, and from there travelling both forwards and backwards
in their chronology, as they themselves seem to enjoy doing with
their archival releases-I have marvelled at their ability to
create such delicate sounds, as if treading on thin wires, being
able to reveal the slightest vibrations, the most subtle of silences,
and arrange them in these compelling ways. And in recent weeks,
as I have been listening to this new release and returning yet
again to their other records, it seems to me that these pieces
on Gund are some of their finest, most accomplished works.
Richard di Santo, Incursion online magazine, April 2003
Gund
This CD contains some rather old tracks, dating back to 1998,
but apparently they weren't released in due time, so Beequeen
have taken matters into their own hands. As one would expect
from Beequeen (at least in that period), all of the music is
drone based. Tapestries of sound slowly evolve and unravel their
inner beauty. And there is certainly beauty in these tracks:
atmosphericly speaking, things seem to be a bit on the down side,
but that only adds to the peacefulness that this record radiates.
Without getting dull, this music makes one wander off mentally,
only to come to when it stops. And that is a truely captivating
experience. Special mention should be made of the last two tracks:
the first is a Beequeen edit of material by MSBR, the last one
vice versa. Oddly enough, no noise, but very slowly stretched
sounds with a bite. Also MSBR keeps things pretty quiet, which
makes an excellent ending to this very good record.
MR, Vital online magazine, April 2003
Gund
On March 1st one of the most important and influent staff members
of Staalplaat and publisher of Vital Weekly, Frans De Waard,
left Staalplaat to focus on other things. He told us that he
will continue to make music but on an entirely different basis,
and apparently he inaugurated this new chapter of his life cycle
with the release of some older (1998) Beequeen recordings. This
is one in two releases (the other one being "Aughton",
to be released later this year by Beta Lactam Ring Records as
a vinyl) that dig in the vaults of previously unreleased studio
recordings and rare material. Frans and his pal Freek Kinkelaar
get down to business with droning ambient music, shill sonic
artifacts, prolonged atmospheres made of deep rumbling noises
and mid to higher waveforms. The CD has been released on the
band's private outlet Plinkity Plonk (it's the 11th Plink and
there will be many more to come, they tell us, both by Beequeen
and by other bands close to the De Waard/Kinkelaar duo). For
those who have been following Beequeen for a while, you should
know this is "old style" material, before the band
re-defined their musical direction. But even if you prefer the
newer stuff by the band, you might be interested to add this
to your collection, considering that it contains material that
was initially intended for vinyl releases that never saw the
light. The first four tracks should have been on a 12" that
was supposed to play at different speeds (16, 33, 45 and 78 rpm)
but allegedly it was too complicated to press such a vinyl. The
sixth and closing track is the outcome of a collaborative experiment
between Beequeen and Japanese noise artist MSBR. The label that
was supposed to release the 10" album documenting this exchange
of sounds stopped their activities while the two bands were independently
working on different pieces so now you have the occasion to hear
what MSBR did with Beequeen-supplied sources in 2001. As you
may expect if you are familiar with MSBR's legacy, this track
is much noisier than Beequeen's slow evolutions of droning ambient,
but it is way less harsh than what MSBR might do on his own releases.
It's somewhere in between, much like experimental glitch electronics,
with lots of noises and underlaying layers of tense sound waves.
"Gund" is available in 500 copies with a hand-printed
sleeve designed by Meeuw.
Marc Urselli-Schärer from chaindlk.com, April 2003
The body shop
Was the black-eyed dog in Nick Drake's song black-eyed as in
evil or black-eyed as in swollen and bruised? Is it just a vague
incarnation of the Grim Reaper? Or is it something less obvious?
One thing's for sure - it's a striking image. This sparse, chilling
tune was fittingly covered by gloom-and-doom champions, The Swans,
on their World of Skin album. Now it's been done (with
even sparser instrumentation) on experimental duo Beequeen's
latest release. And the song is still as starkly perturbing as
it was when I first heard the original. Sure one could suggest
the dog is simply death, the eternal rest from aging and weariness
that Drake is longing for. But the dog called for more,
and it's hard to say exactly what it wants more of. As a lover
of ambiguity, this puzzlement is not frustrating to me. And it's
far from being the most unusual song the sad folkie penned (if
anyone had any idea as to what "Harvest Breed" is about,
I'd be curious to know). Here and now it has provided a highlight
for Beequeen's spooky, seemingly shapeless pick-your-miniature-void
excursion. Despite sporting an erotic, red-tinted photo on the
cover and bearing a song titled "Admiration of the Rod,"
this album is as naggingly blank as it is sensual. I can't say
it's a great love-making soundtrack, unless your sex is very
slow and morose.
It needs to be said that most of the tunes on this record are
simply flat and uninspiringly derivative. The opener sounds like
an instrumental outtake of Pavement's "Spit on a Stranger."
It's so basic and pointless, it makes me feel like the main menu
of my Slow Century DVD has been left cycling. On the Road to
Everywhere sounds like a Do Make Say Think song that never gets
to build into anything substantial. Then there's Buzzbag Drive,
a poorly drummed Lynch snippet in the realm of Lost Highway or
Mulholland Dr. Perhaps the song's supposed to be a shambolic
tribute, as the title could possibly imply, but that doesn't
change the fact that it feels tossed off and bland. The atmosphere
of the album is very assured, yet there is little to anchor the
listener, to keep them coming back beyond a preliminary run-through.
It works somewhat like the frustratingly drab songs of Set Fire
to the Flames - only more accessible. There are melodies, just
not very consequential ones. They pass without notice. The Bodyshop
- along with a good deal of Beequeen's past material - feels
really tossed off. If that's not the case, then the group lacks
imaginative prowess and is content to revel in the vapid pretentiousness
of their sound. For now experimental music lovers can pass on
these guys. But if you're looking to create your own kick-ass
Nick Drake covers comp, their stoic cover of "Black Eyed
Dog" is a must.
Tiny mix tapes online review
The Bodyshop
Lofty acoustic strum, some dreamy slide guitar. Sad folk songs
cycle fate, memories, and old slide shows. Gauzy reminiscences;
the way the light changes in a room from morning till evening,
streets that play back a thousand whispering invisible movies.
Rain spatters as traffic murmurs in the background, soon we are
lost in a dream, microscopic details glimmer. A translucent rendition
of Nick Drake's Black Eyed Dog. Whispers, electronic shivers
and tin foil textures mixing with cello, subtle guitar and icicle
drone. A bit of time and space that feels like Pink Floyd at
the low boil just before Eugene wealds his axe. Some nocturnal
David Lynch noir shadows. Frans de Waard, and Freek Kinkelaar
utilize sounds, electronics, and even some instruments to make
Beequeen's sound. There are a few guests present as well; when
the female vocalists sing, the effect is a bit like Piano Magic.
Overtly pop by Beequeen standards; and utterly beguiling and
strange by any others.
Dreamgeo online review
The bodyshop
I would never have expected a group like Beequeen to record an
album like The Bodyshop. The duo of Frans de Waard and Freek
Kinkelaar first became associates because of their mutual love
for The Legendary Pink Dots, and since 1990 they've been recording
and releasing (quite prolifically) as Beequeen. Important
All of their work up to this album has been strictly instrumental:
amorphous compositions, largely ambient, combining electronic
textures and drone with murky samples, buried melodies and other
unidentifiable audio goop. The Bodyshop is a departure point
for the group; not only is melody front and center on almost
all of the tracks, several actually feature vocals. Just to place
this album is stark relief to previous efforts, Beequeen also
include a cover of Nick Drake's "Black Eyed Dog," with
lovely vocals by Marie-Louise Munck of Danish band Armstrong.
This is still identifiable as the work of Beequeen, but it feels
like a quantum leap for the band in terms of structure, composition
and production. There are still plenty of pretty moments of quiet
psychedelic nebulousness, but there are also upbeat numbers like
"On the Road to Everywhere," which sets a lively post-jazz
melody against layers of encroaching drone and chirping arpeggiators.
It achieves a beautiful complexity, with certain elements standing
out in bold relief and others blurry and shapeless, just beyond
the realm of cohesion, like thick globs of color on a particularly
formless work of impressionist art. On the whole, the album feels
very sedate and beatific, but there are tense undercurrents of
radiant darkness that permeate tracks like "Blackburn"
and "Buzzbag Drive." The latter is a standout track,
a dark Lynchian western featuring noisy swathes of electric guitar
from guest Erik Drost, member of Girlfriends and newly of the
Pink Dots. At 37 minutes, the album feels a bit truncated, but
not a moment is wasted. It's unclear whether this is indicative
of Beequeen's future artistic direction, or whether this was
a one-off tangent into partial coherence. Either way, it's a
very welcome departure for the group, and speaks to their ongoing
evolution and unwillingness to submit to the forces of creative
inertia.
Brainwashed online review
Seltenturm
Trip peacefully along with this 130-minute collection from the
cult duo Beequeen - Freek Kinkelaar (also playing solo under
the name Brunnen) and Frans DeWaard (Goem, Kapotte Muziek, Shifts,
Quest, Freiband ...). Seltenturn is a double cd collection of
remastered oldies unavailable for a long a time : Mappa Mundi
(cassette, with bonus tracks), Fond (one sided LP), Split (split
LP), The Surrough Gate (10"), Vault (7"), White Tusk
(7") and Dovidzdane Vanja (7"). The Surrough Gate was
released on Ant-Zen (!!!) in 1997 and shows them dealing both
with concrete sounds and then in a terrific ambient tracks with
conversation pieces on the background. The Mappa Mundi cassette
was recorded on 1989 and has the lovely psychotic calmness of
Cranioclast's first works, alternating typical droney compositions
to more abstract ones - Land above us is possibily the best track
here, slowly exposing the core of the drone with throbbing analogue
bubbles. Dovidzdane Vanja, which means The Death Of Beequeen,
was a 7" out in 2000 that is the farewell to their melanchonic
soundscapes. (The duo recorded many other droneworks under the
name Wander - http://www.beequeen.nl/wander.htm ). This awesome
collection is both the best starting point for the new listeners
that want to know about the more experimental side of Beequeen
and absolutely necessary for completists. Ltd Edition of 300.
Review by Andrea Vercesi for Chain DLK
Seltenturm
Nijmegen's duo Beequeen (Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar)
release a compilation of 23 various works recorded since 1989.
Certainly one of the more notable experimental outfits of the
last two decades, this collection numbingly sets a certain tone
(or atones) both to the past and future. There's a delicate balance
of low chords breaking into dark ambient space (Does He Do As
If He Is) from their 1994 recording Split. You're in the dark,
someone is casting a vague echo while slowly bowing a cello,
you see a faint light. There is this sense of passing figures,
black on black shadowy movements hinted at in your peripheral
view. At points queasy, others like your spinning in a Spanish
villa for just a dazzling moment (Fond II). They firmly use the
guise of industrialisms to build the droning layers of works
like Land Above Us which has both a sense of open continuum and
repeat cycle that can, for many, become unnerving. Though, they
do so with a certain grace that kind of rounds the corners of
chaos. The final stage of production, so to speak. And the point
is clear, these two men have built a passionate body of work
that is at once striking for its qualities emulating the codec
of film, secondly they have used that motif to concoct music
which is out of the personal body, told from the vantage point
of the other. And third, it takes you some place you may have
not dared, distinctively told with a fusion of pace, timing,
fore/background. Then there are these themes of meditation, observation,
then realization. When you sample tracks like Brasillian Fond
(1989), you are just barely eavesdropping by way of the slight
incorporated field recordings. Part mysterious travelogue, part
staging for how you might compose music to send to navigate the
hole in the ozone and then into the deep universe to cultivate
answers to its questions. The work of Beequeen simply trips the
mind.
TJ Norris, Vital weekly 593
Seltenturm
Wenn wir uns in dieser Ecke schon einmal umschauen, dann können
wir ja mal einen kleinen Abstecher zu BEEQUEEN machen, die ja
auch schon seit '89 unterwegs und dabei überaus produktiv
sind. Da die meisten Veröffentlichungen nur auf Kleinstlabel
und in limitierten Stückzahlen erschienen, haben sich die
Niederländer nun dazu entschlossen diese Stücke zu
re-mastern und als Doppel-CD wiederzuveröffentlichen. Seltenturm-The
Beesides 1989-2000 (Plinkity Plonk Rec./A-Musik) ist wie eine
verstaubte Bibiliothek, einige Bücher gefallen einen, andere
interessieren einen überhaupt nicht und manchmal entdeckt
man beim stöbern eine längst vergessene Perle. Irgendwo
zwischen Musique Concrète, ambienten Experimenten und
Fieldrecordings dürfte aber für jeden etwas dabei sein.
Außerdem ist es eine gute Möglichkeit einen ersten
Einblick in die Klanglandschaften von Frans de Waard und Freek
Kinkelaar zu bekommen, die ja auch noch in diversen anderen Projekten
weltweit involviert sind. Basiswissen.
Carsten Vollmer in Paragraph 39
Time waits for no one
The duo of Frans De Waard and Freek Kinkelaar, Beequeen belong
to the bulky file of musical entities that I've been familiar
with for many, many years - but only nominally. Believe it or
not, your over-enthusiastic reviewer had never listened to their
records before, although meeting the name on every mail order
list of the last decade and a half. This reissue of a 1994 Staalplaat
release fits perfectly in the ice-breaking experience, as inaugurating
my acquaintance with the project by listening to an earlier-period
outing is perhaps a good thing. Credited with "instruments,
electronics, treatments, voices", De Waard and Kinkelaar
seem to know what they're doing since the very beginning. What
they actually do is eliciting outlandish kinds of resonance,
generally from the vibration of one or more strings or single
notes (i.e. the opening of Six notes on blank tape), while adding
lots of oscillating high frequencies (Rupert writes a rainbow
fuses the best of two worlds in that sense) and trance/ritual
waste materials. You might often be tempted to call this record
drone-based, yet it's not exclusively that: the vu-meters indicating
the level of abstractness point to the red area quite frequently,
and there's nothing that can be acceptably defined as monothematic
or minimal, unless we want to consider enthralling looped segments
as such (The shore of leaves being dazzling stuff indeed, somehow
reminding yours truly of Zoviet France; the same goes for the
percussive V-time). In essence, this album still sounds modern
enough for us not to neglect it, leaving the door of the room
of past experience ajar to get a glance at our memories. Even
those about previously unheard music.
Massimo Ricci, Touching extreme
Time waits for no one
Time waits for no one. How true that is; took me quite some of
it, to get to actual writing on this latest offering from Beuys
aficionados Beequeen. This re-release of the 1995 album, has
been spinning in my player for quite some months now, and I try
to make myself believe that 2 or 3 months more, do not affect
the discourse. After all, this album has been out there for quite
a bit already and as opposed to the title, this album doesn't
sound outdated at all. Unfortunately I cannot do the test of
comparing it with the original, but I have to say that the re-mastering
(care of Jos Smolders) is crystal clear and carries a warm vibe.
Okay, so the overall feel brings back thoughts of droney tribalism
a la Zoviet France and/or soundscape experimentation a la Hafler
Trio, but still today Stockhausen and Henry sound fresh to me.
Modern day droneys like Uton or Datashock do not acknowledge
their roots either. Time Waits for no one is a great album that
spreads about a certain calmness and that grows on you after
repeated listens. Sometimes the edges get a bit sharper but the
overall atmosphere is moody, dark and eerie. Not depressive though,
more the contemplative kind or the ideal setback to repent one's
sins. Apart from that is it also interesting for the new listeners
that got more acquainted with recent albums like Sandancing or
The Body Shop. Essential listening so to speak; a piece of history
brought back to life by the gentle folks at Herbal International.
Vital weekly, 643, Steffan de Turck
Time waits for no one
Time Waits For No One's material isn't new, having been recorded
in Nijmegen in 1992-93 and originally released in 1994 on Staalplaat,
but the genre of experimental drone-based exploration is one
of those most capable of transcending time. Beequeen members
Freek Kinkelaar (Brunnen) and Frans de Waard (Kapotte Muziek,
Goem) use electronics, voices, and unidentified instruments to
scatter two long tracks (ten and twenty minutes) amongst seven
more modest settings. Whether long or short, the pieces are largely
hazy meditations whose industrial churn is speckled with string
plucks, percussive patterns, and electronic effects. Not surprisingly,
the long tracks make the strongest impression: in the episodic
Six Notes on Blank Tape, bowed scrapes of string instruments
groan over a throbbing bass drone and the simulated roar of a
train clatters along its tracks, and in the album's most fully-realized
piece, the a doomscape Rupert Writes a Rainbow, a '50s sci-fi
synthesizer floats atop a droning unfurl of whooshes and gaseous
emissions. The album's material unfurls organically in subtle
strokes, sometimes so quietly it verges on microsound, and the
generally relaxed feel suggests the collaborators had ample studio
time with which to pursue their playful explorations.
Textura org online review
Time waits for no one
First released in 1994, reissued by Herbal International in 2008.
I hadn't heard this upon its release, but now I know why someone
felt it had to be reissued. To start with, it's an excellent
Beequeen album, but more important, this record was surprisingly
ahead of its time back in 1992-1993 (when it was composed). Frans
de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar brewed up an experimental electronica
album before the term was coined, and you can still hear the
Industrial lineage of this music. Time Waits for No One deserves
a "classic" status, just as the first few Pan Sonic
albums or Fennesz's Endless Summer.
Online review
Sandancing
Beequeen have a bit in common with The Legendary Pink Dots, beyond
just living in the Netherlands. Both play with the nether-space
between goth, psychedelia, and experimental music. But even more
so, both bands exude aloof aestheticism here are musicians
who are so deep into strange and particular visions that when
the world is allowed inside, it is always on the artists' terms.
Sandancing is described as being more "song-based"
than Beequeen's past releases, and sure enough, there are songs
here (several of them, anyway), and even the dark musical spaces
that color the rest of the record are trimmed to fit. To the
band's credit, putting something as blithely poppy as "The
Honeythief" next to a deranged chop-and-assemble number
like "The Edie Three Step" creates an instant and pleasing
tension. Much of Sandancing carries that thread of contrast,
but the conflicts are subdued: the spooky ones fade into the
dark well before their dreamy counterparts come into view.
Spooky, tense, and withdrawn describe about the furthest extent
of Sandancing's dark recess. Despite the presence of Barry Gray,
former Legendary Pink Dots guitarist, there are none of the full-on
nightmare episodes of the kind that pepper the Dots' records.
In pace and overall mood, Sandancing is much closer to the work
Julee Cruise did with Angelo Badalamenti in the late '80s. Some
might find the second half, which is dominated by instrumentals,
a bit slight by comparison to the first. On the whole, however,
it's an enjoyable album that ought to please fans of the Pink
Dots' later, more accessible work and of dream-pop in general.
Tiny mix tapes
Sandancing
With us the same week as his Freiband alter ego's collaboration
with Machinefabriek, Oahu, Frans De Waard's Beequeen project,
a collaboration with Freek Kinkelaar and vocalist Olga Wallis.
The Beequeen sound combines microsonic details and wonderfully
out-of-place acousmatic sounds, mingling with finely crafted
electronic pop music. this could almost be a Lali Puna record
at times, but somehow these pieces are a lot more like regular
songs, and yet the electronics are a good deal more experimental
than that would suggest. Away from the conventions of the album's
recurring, untreated drum machine backdrops the presence of artificial
instrumentation and processed recordings tend to lift these quirky
compositions into an altogether more experimental arena, as on
the aggressive, bleating oscillator modulations of Tomorrow or
the field recordings on Breathe and The Maypole Song. The peculiar
folk-influenced songwriting might seem at odds with the band's
ferociously avant-garde pedigree but as tends to be the case
with Beequeen albums, that's only ever a problem on paper rather
than in practice.
Boomkat
Sandancing
Beequeen is the collaboration of Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar.
Originally focusing on ambient dronescapes, recent albums have
shifted to a more traditional song based style. This outing features
vocals by Olga Wallis and is produced by the Legendary Pink Dots
Erik Drost, as well as original Pink Dots guitarist Barry Gray
making an appearance on the melancholy Melt. Sandancing is a
warm and dreamlike pop album with warbling tape loops, pulsing
drum machines, and more than enough electronics and experimentalism
to remind you of Beequeens ambient roots. Album opener A While
Away is the perfect introduction before easing into Wallis voice
on Melt. Further in, is the sound collage, The Edie Three Step
followed by the rhythm machine propelled The Honeythief. Closing
is the darker and orchestral The Illogical Song. Over the years
Beequeen has released an impressive amount of recordings. Thanks
to this album I'll definitely be hunting some down for my collection
at home. 8/10 Michael Flora 11 March, 2008 Foxy digitalis
Sandancing
Beequeen is a Dutch music project that's been active since the
late 80's/early 90's. The main people behind this project are
Freek Kinkelaar and Frans De Waard. Both men have a long and
extensive history in music, which I will only adress shortly
here. Frans De Waard's main and best known achievements are the
musique-concrete Kapotte Muziek ("Broken Music") group,
and the Dutch experimental label Korm Plastics, which had a decade
of close relationship with another Dutch label; Staalplaat. Freek
Kinkelaar has produced music under many different names, Brunnen
and Wander being the most productive, after Beequeen. Besides
these two men, Beequeen is on this album aided by Olga Wallis
on vocals, and contributions from Barry Gray (ex-The Legendary
Pink Dots) on the track Melt and Kees Rietveld on the track Breathe.
Sandancing is a 35 minute album consisting of ten tracks that
have a varied range of sounds. The initial track is a typical
intro track, and is just some weird yet rhythmic electronic sounds
being played for 40 seconds. After that comes the track Breathe.
This track is a lush and laidback song with soothing female vocals
and gentle guitarplay by contributor Kees Rietveld. It's a very
soothing track, that makes one long for more. Luckily, more is
coming up. The track Melt again features the wonderful and enchanting
vocals by Olga Wallis, but this track has the lead guitar (Barry
Gray) more on the foreground at times, which results in nice
variety. Tracks three and four are my favorite ones on this album.
The Edie Three Step is a truly messed up track. The vocals are
not continous, but sound more like random inserted words or comination
of words. The opening says it's supposed to be about love, but
after listening to the lyrics (which are actually not quite random),
the coherence between the track and the content of the track
is apparent. The protagonist seems to have had a seriously broken
heart, has gone into therapy and doing drugs (that 'didn't work
out in the long run'). The lyrics seem to come from tapes from
the therapy sessions. Wonderful collage and coherence! After
that, my absolute favorite on this album; The Honeythief. It's
actually a pretty straighforward song with a high pop-feeling,
but it sounds just so incredibly cute due to the vocals and happy
due to clapping, I can't help but absolutely loving this track.
Following up is the track Tomorrow, which is the first instrumental
track since the intro. While there's nothing especially wrong
with it, and it sounds pretty good actually, it's a bit repetitive,
and not that interesting compared to the previous tracks with
vocals. Luckily The Maypole Song starts immediately again with
vocals, this time not only Olga's, but Freek Kinkelaar also adds
his vocal contributions here. This track features a lot of background
sounds of children playing, making it feel like you're in a park
listening to Olga and Freek singing and making music. It's another
very soothing track. Then comes the song from which the albumname
is borrowed, Sandancing. It's around 70-80 seconds of weirdness.
The music sounds quite experimental, and the vocals are just
repeating "aaaah, aaah". It's... strange, but it also
somehow fits with the rest of the album, in a weird way. There,
It Has Been Said is continues the atmosphere of the album with
yet another laidback track with soothing female vocals. To close
down this album is The Illogical Song, which is again instrumental,
but this time far more interesting because it's less repetitive
thanks to various instruments and soundeffects coming and going
throughout the track. Sandancing is a wonderful album, but sadly
lasting only 35 minutes. The music is a bit hard to categorize,
somewhere between darkfolk/indiefolk/pop/experimental/electronica.
It's a blend between well used electronic sounds and the more
traditional instruments. Add to that the enchanting vocals of
Olga, and you have some wonderful music. There's some experimentation
going on on this album, not too much to scare away casual music
listeners, but enough to make this album a special one, and very
interesting to listen to. Very much recommended.
Heathen harvest online review
Sandancing
Beequeen have always seemed to inhabit a perverse fairytale-like
place where menace forever threatens to engulf a stuttering ambient
calm. While the Dutch pairing of Frans De Waard and Freek Kinkelaar
have never been afraid to shine a little light into their tension-fuelled
soundscapes, with the introduction of vocalist Olga Wallis into
their universe the group have found an earthly representative
worthy of conveying their visions. She is at her finest on Beequeen's
most elegiac tracks, which proudly display their finely-crafted
pop mien. While the Stereolab-esque The Honeythief is a delicate
miniature marvel that coasts along on the crest of a continental
wave, the real showstopper is the malevolent lullaby of The Maypole
Song, where Wallis' voice combines with Kinkelaar's for an otherworldly
pagan nursery rhyme that brings a smile to the face and sends
shivers down the spine. While it may hold true that the remainder
of Sandancing fails to be as captivatingly joyous, simply ebbing
away as if all the magic dust had previously been used up, there
is still plenty here to convince of Beequeen's uniquely subtle
alchemy.
Record collector magazine
Sandancing
A new Beequeen! Though I have to admit, from the beginning, that
I'm not that well at home in the Beequeen discography. I remember
compilation appearances from the early to mid nineties (the days
of microwave) that were wandering around into minimal techno
territories, but my first real introduction to Beequeen was purchasing
the The Bodyshop album, dating from 2004. At that time, vocals
and Frans de Waard, were a combination I didn't expect, but tasted
quite nice nonetheless. Now, four years later, another Beequeen
album falls at my doorstep and proves to be a welcome follow-up
to The Bodyshop. Beequeen is not only Frans de Waard ofcourse,
since the late eighties it has been a project with De Waard and
Freek Kinkelaar as its core members. Displaying their appreciation
for Joseph Beuys throughout the years and thus breaking with
rationality; covering songtitles from appreciated artists' songs/albums
and treating our ears with organic ambient structures. Guest
artists appeared here and there on various releases and it seems
the first compositions with the incorporation of voice started
around the mid to late nineties, when the two presented a work
featuring recitals of texts by Richard Long ("Long Stones
and Circles" from 1997). Sandancing is presented in a cardboard
gatefold sleeve that Important Records is known for and, at the
same time, always brings back warm memories to (and acquaintance
with) vinyl releases. As a sidenote I can mention you that Sandancing
has a sort of a co-release entitled Sandancing Demos pressed
on 10" vinyl, containing the original ideas that birthed
Sandancing (original versions, rough mixes & home-demos plus
an unreleased track), also released via Important Records. What
about the music? The album starts off with a short and sweet
little melody that reminds me of a lullaby and in a way stands
as the test-tone for the album. From here on the soothing can
begin. The second track Breathe introduces some crackling and
the first appearance of Olga Wallis' voice (she's the main vocalist
on this album, a change from Marie-Louise Munck and Malou Houtman,
who appeared on The Bodyshop). Yo La Tengo comes to mind when
hearing the third track Melt, probably due to the presence of
that nice guitar. Nice flowing song and already my first favorite
on the album. The Edie Three Steps comes across as the first
"intermezzo"; slow and funky or is that triphop? It
features spoken word recordings from one Edie Sedgwick and reminded
me of DC Talk's "Jesus Freak" album (yeah, that's Christian
rock the only album in it's sort that I have, but I love it),
which is infused with intermezzos like this one. Mind you, it
might not be meant as an intermezzo. I'm starting to fall in
love with Olga's voice when we come to the song The Honeythief.
Short (maybe too short?) and leaving me wanting for more. Tomorrow
is another instrumental, a recurring melody sprinkled with bells.
Olga returns in The Maypole Song and Freek joins her with the
singing. Sounds like a kiddie song, a feeling that is strengthened
by the implementation of fieldrecordings made at a schoolyard
during playtime. The saxophone, at the end, is odd but nice.
The title track brings another intermezzo, followed up by There,
it has been said in which Freek is "trying to make a point".
Last song is The Illogical Song and features a tasty and bouncy
piano track. It's actually not a song, so it seems that Beuys
is still present. Beequeen made another fine experimental folky
album. They themselves appear to consider it as the best thing
they ever made, and although you shouldn't rely on this kind
of personal judgments, they're actually not that far off.
Earlab online review
PLINKITY PLONK REVIEWS
Flora (Girlfriend) / Wild gees fly with the moon on their
wings (Brunnen) / See play (Freiband)
Three new summer releases by Beequeen's Plinkity Plonk label
and they're all seven inches. Girlfriends is a band from Nijmegen
playing two guitars, a bass and drums. Sounds like rock and in
a sense it is. Side A is a cut up of several recordings, but
defenitely sounds like one track. Sparse sounds from all intruments,
the suggestion of melodies, of rhythms and quite a lot of silences.
Not your everyday rock, more like an extension of the format
into unknown realms. Open and suggestive and therefore much more
interesting than everyday rock. Side B is a track-at-once and
does sound a little more like a standard rock song (without vocals,
that is), but escapes from that defenition because of the changes
in tempo, mood and space. For all post rock fans!
The Beautiful Glassbottom Boat is Freek Kinkelaar's new moniker
after Brunnen. The essence is pretty much the same though: slow
melodic tracks on organ, one accompanied by bells and the other
by field recordings and a ringing sound. Atmospheric and warm,
something to dream away on. Again suggestive and even contemplative,
this is a good method of escaping everyday hassles.
Freiband's latest is remix stuff of course, the only guessing
is to what the original material might have been. The blurb states
that the A side is a remix of a well known dinosaur rock group,
but actually sounds like Tangerine Dream has made it to this
day and age. with a dark melodic sequence and FX on top of that,
togeher with some rhythmic loops, this could well be the dawning
of a new electronic kraut rock age. Well done! Side B is a remix
of Beequeen/Girlfriends rehearsal recordings, but everyone could
have fooled me. There is no evidence whatsoever of any guitar
or drum sounds. What is more: this should have been released
on Chain Reaction! Slow drony rhythmic pulses with several FX
seem to be on the wrong label here. I wonder if Freiband will
ever make it to the dance floor? I wouldn't be surprised...
Vital Online Magazine, August 2002
Wild geese fly with the moon on their wings (Brunnen)
Freek Kinkelaar (ein Teil von Beequeen selber, und Labelmanager
wohl auch von Plonk) macht für sich hier 2 sehr schöne
ruhige Tracks mit Akkordeon, klingelndem Glasglockensound und
leichtem Backgroundbrummen, die jedem Freund von atmend direkter
leicht naturalistischer Musik das Herz höher schlagen lassen.
Ab damit auf den batteriebetriebenen Plattenspieler und morgens
um 5 am Pier hören, noch bevor die Sonne ganz aufgegangen
ist, und schon ist man der Freund der heimischen Flora und Fauna.
Putzig.
Bleed ****-***** Debug magazine, 2002
Flora (Girlfriend) / Wild gees fly with the moon on their
wings (Brunnen) / See play (Freiband)
Released earlier this summer, here are three new 7 inch releases
from the Plinkity Plonk label, founded by Beequeen members Freek
Kinkelaar and Frans de Waard.
The Beautiful Glassbottom Boat is the new solo project by Freek
Kinkelaar. The two pieces here are shimmering with light, pretty
pieces for organ, chiming bells and environmental sounds. Not
much more to say here, but it should be stated that these are
two excellent tracks of well constructed, charming, intriguing
and polite ambient music for friendly gatherings or solitary
escapism. Freiband is the latest name used by Frans de Waard,
and this is the second release under this banner, after the excellent
Microbes CD released on Ritornell last year. The project is centred
on the act of "digitally scratching with sound" in
the same manner as Asmus Tietchens had scratched with sound using
reel to reel tapes on Daseinsverfehlung. Here we have two remix
tracks, the first gives the Freiband treatment to the music of
"some dinosaur rock group" (which remains unnamed,
of course!). Of course, there are no elements of rock to be found
in the pieces, but there is something of the "dinosaur"
that remains. The track carries an old-school ambient feel to
it (am I hearing an analogue synth here? couldn't be!), peppered
with Freiband's characteristic crackling electronics. The second
track is a mix of a Beequeen/Girfriends rehearsal concert, but
essentially sounds unlike either band, presenting a rhythmic,
minimal, and digitally pristine music that carries a rich, wonderful
balance of high and low tones, of rhythm and ambience. Girlfriends,
a group coined (accurately or not) as 'post rock' from Nijmegen,
has been going through some personnel changes of late, but at
the time these two tracks were recorded it was a four piece band
of 2 guitars, a bass and drums. The a-side features a cut up
of elements from different recordings, creating an abstract yet
consistent piece of dissonant elements and evocative chords.
The b-side is a continuous recording, but for all its consistency
it is still comprised of opposing yet compelling elements, becoming
more intense and immediate throughout this seemingly open arrangement.
Nicely done, essential post rock in its more experimental form.
Incursion online magazine, September 2002, Richard di Santo
WANDER REVIEWS
Wander (En/of album)
Wander in combination with Carsten Höller, who has a picture
cut in two and a CDR of exactely the same music as on the LP
- twice the same thing, or maybe not. Wander are Freek Kinkelaar
and Frans de Waard, both also known as Beequeen. Wander is their
side project of drones. Their music was recorded at their debut
concert where they played music to Derek Jarman's 'In The Shadow
Of The Sun'. While by no means new, having probably been with
us since we discovered the art (and meditative or trance-inducing
effects) of the continuous twang, there can be no limit to the
variety of ways they can sound. Continuous drone pieces, composed
in the now, might be considered sound photographs, for each is
unique. In the case of this recording, four hands did the work
and produced a thick swathe of highly harmonicked, (possibly)
organ grind. I liked the anomalous burps and grunts at the edge
of the field. Strange moments on an otherwise comforting (and,
by virtue of its very nature as a drone piece) familiar surface.
And I liked the low feedback bass at the end even more - it's
always a good sign when full cups of tea are vibrated off the
speakers.
Vital online magazine, October 2002
Wander (Divine Frequency CD)
When Beequeen decided to stop making drones, Wander was born_
and since the year 2000, this duo of Frans de Waard and Freek
Kinkelaar has been producing output on an annual basis. Originally
with the intent to release their music on every format only once,
but apparently the choice in formats is limited with regard to
their vast growing range of works (as this is a second time on
CD, after 2005's release on Small Voices). But alas, words are
just a temporary explanation of reality and we are not picky!
As ever the release itself is simply titled Wander and organ
drones lay again at the foundation of this album. The CD is divided
into two tracks and that does not live up to what it might suggest.
It starts off with airy hiss and rumble, while a steady organ
drone slowly rises up along the way; getting stronger in force
and eventually slowly fading away into a more silent passage.
After that a new movement in the piece shows it face: a fieldrecording
of crickets guided by low end pulses that secretly take us into
that second track and it's not before a louder organ sequence
starts to play when you actually realize that you've reached
yet another movement. And that will happen again... and again.
So it's more like one long track instead of the earlier supposed
two. With lots of dynamics to keep it exciting and a very pleasant
listen at the same time. Oh yes, yet another fine example in
that ever growing line of Wander releases.
SDT, Vital online magazine, August 2009
Wander (R.O.N.F. 3 inch CDR)
Wander is the drone project of Beequeen (and you all know who
that is!) and this single piece of nineteen minutes resulted
from an accident involving itunes, as was the accompanying image
of a semi naked girl sliced with digital drop outs a result of
an accident in downloading. More ambient than drone with whiteish
noises the piece resembles electronic abstract field recordings,
in two sections- the first slowly rhythmical mixes of noise and
oscillations reminiscent of old FM synthesis the second section
builds in intensity of white noise. How much the product of accident
and deliberate alteration is difficult to detect, the whole thing
however resembles the found objects along the tide mark, surreal,
strange and at times somehow poignant, such finds brought home
and kept on a shelf or in a draw as tokens of something now gone,
lost.
Jliat, Vital online magazine, August 2009
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