Instant (album)
Encyclopedia
Instant is a double compact disc
by the Dutch
experimental
post-punk
band The Ex in conjunction with many guest musicians, notably members of Holland's Instant Composers Pool for whom the album is partially named (the Dutch term for "free improvisation
" literally translates to "instant composition"). Though the entire album could have fit onto one 70-minute CD, the band formatted it for a briefer listening experience with each of Instants 35-minute discs containing 16 short tracks. The album's 32 tracks feature shifting duo
s and trio
s of musicians performing on a wide array of conventional (electric guitar
s, reeds, brass, etc) and non-conventional (e.g., toffee
-tin bass) instruments. The Ex had featured numerous guests on previous albums, but Instant was the band's first album of entirely instrumental music and improvised music.
Various band members also play organ
, accordion
, samples
+ tape, djembé
-springs, mbira
, reed shakers, musical saw
, acoustic guitar
, double-bass, chair
s.
Recorded at the Koeienverhuurbedrijf, Amsterdam
, Netherland
s. Produced by Dolf Planteijdt.
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band The Ex in conjunction with many guest musicians, notably members of Holland's Instant Composers Pool for whom the album is partially named (the Dutch term for "free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
" literally translates to "instant composition"). Though the entire album could have fit onto one 70-minute CD, the band formatted it for a briefer listening experience with each of Instants 35-minute discs containing 16 short tracks. The album's 32 tracks feature shifting duo
Duo
-Arts:*Duet , a musical piece performed by two people*Duo, a musical ensemble composed of two musicians*Comedy duo, also known as a double act*Duo , 2008*Duo , 1991...
s and trio
Trio
- Musical ensembles and forms :*Trio , three people performing music in some way*Piano trio *String trio *Trio *Clarinet-violin-piano trio...
s of musicians performing on a wide array of conventional (electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s, reeds, brass, etc) and non-conventional (e.g., toffee
Toffee
Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of 300 to 310 °F...
-tin bass) instruments. The Ex had featured numerous guests on previous albums, but Instant was the band's first album of entirely instrumental music and improvised music.
Disc 1
- "If the Hat Fits the Suit"
- "Duo Rumpus"
- "Kloptimog Twist"
- "Baars vs. Karekiet"
- "Keng Lil Surf"
- "Duo Triptych Too"
- "Lip Up, Stump"
- "So Low, Solex?"
- "Skoplje Bop"
- "Buildance"
- "Bratunac"
- "Horsemeal"
- "Expoobident"
- "Slow Sleeper
- "Duo Loom"
- "Te-Au-O-Tonga"
Disc 2
- "Travel On, Poor Bob"
- "What Inflexibility?"
- "Bon-Go Tell You Git-La La"
- "Duo Variola"
- "Meanwhile Back in Ozone Street"
- "Smuiger"
- "Rusticles"
- "Atoll"
- "Exile O'phonics"
- "Danse Maudit""
- "Knit Knack + Zoom"
- "Oh Muted Foghorn"
- "Duo Tonebone + Hitgit"
- "The Turtle the Hare"
- "Karremans' Last Measure"
- "There Were Sonic Bangs in the Songs I Sang, There Was Nothing Tickling No One"
The Ex
- Terrie (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Luc (bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- AndyAndy Moor (The Ex)Andy Moor is an experimental musician, best known as the guitarist of the UK band Dog Faced Hermans and the Dutch punk collective The Ex. He was also a founding member of Kletka Red and along with Isabelle Vigier and Yannis Kyriakides created the experimental music label Unsounds.Moor was born in...
(guitar, violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
) - Katrin (drums)
- Han Buhrs (harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, guitar, toffee-tin bassWashtub bassThe washtub bass, or "gutbucket", is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses have a single string whose pitch is adjusted by...
) - G.W. Sok (various)
Various band members also play organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
+ tape, djembé
Djembe
A djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
-springs, mbira
Mbira
In African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...
, reed shakers, musical saw
Musical saw
A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is the application of a hand saw as a musical instrument. The sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin...
, acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, double-bass, chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
s.
Guest musicians
- Ab Baars (saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
) - Wolter WierbosWolter WierbosWolter Wierbos is a Dutch jazz trombonist.Wierbos has played throughout Europe, Canada, USA and Asia...
(tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
) - Han BenninkHan BenninkHan Bennink is a Dutch jazz drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured his playing on clarinet, violin, banjo and piano....
(drums) - Michael Vatcher (drums, percussion)
- Tristan Honsinger (celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
), - Dolf Planteijdt (acoustic guitar)
Recorded at the Koeienverhuurbedrijf, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherland
Netherland
Netherland is a critically acclaimed novel by Joseph O'Neill. It concerns the life of a Dutchman living in New York in the wake of the September 11 attacks who takes up cricket and starts playing at the Staten Island Cricket Club.-Plot summary:...
s. Produced by Dolf Planteijdt.