Saturday, March 04, 2006

Help from above (two) - Visitors from Home

When the radio bla bla turns Dutch, I open my ears. The three hour programme is called 'De Avonden' - The Evenings, after a novel by one of The Netherlands greatest writers Jerry Revvis. Its content is highly cultural: interviews - discussions - reports - visits - poems. Sometimes it results in radio at its best, when a reporter sends in his travelogue, or a phone call offers visions from another side of the world. Transmission is five days a week, following traditional ethics: on Saturday and Sunday all the churches, mosques, synagogues and temples of Holland take over.

Fifteen minutes every week are dedicated to the 'Ars Acustica' by Armeno Alberts. He digs up one sonic treasure after another. Last time it were radiophonic productions from Finnish radio. I couldn't help hearing a faint undertone of despair in his voice. There he is, seated at his desk, papers and Cd'-s before him, wondering how to cram all this material into a fifteen minutes broadcast. No wonder that he inserted a well excused lament into his introduction: " There is less and less time available for this kind of music."

Still those programmes shine like the lights of ships that pass in the night.

do be do be do

On one of its last days my pocket radio was caught by a radiophonic symphony that was about to dissolve itself into a cosmic storm. On top of this Kunstradio from Vienna forced itself through; they were connected to five or six other radio stations. Some mix was at hand. I think. I resisted fifteen minutes. Then I thought I had heard the violin of Zsolt Sores, transmitted from Budapest. I felt happy with this audio postcard from Zsolt who i have met on a short trip to Hungary spring 2005.

A sub culture exists thanks to its intercommunication with main stream culture. When this communication is blocked by main stream culture, or put to restrictions, an anti culture will come into existence.

No panic! There is loads of people who organise soiree's, even in your home town.

Keep on listening, and help the performing artist and the one man labels by buying a Cd or cassette every now and then. It won't cost you more then a beer and a falafel.



De Avonden (book) : http://gemeentearchief.amsterdam.nl/schatkamer/300_schatten/amsterdammers/de_avonden/

De Avonden (radio): http://www.vpro.nl/programma/deavonden/

Armeno's Music: http://www.vpro.nl/zoeken/?pl=20&searchkey=armeno%27s+muziek&scope=vpro

Kunstradio from Vienna: http://www.kunstradio.at/

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