AVIAN HUMANOIDS
Avian Humanoids (work in progress) is a sound walk in which five trees in a park are occupied by extraordinary creatures. You are standing underneath a tree, and suddenly you’ll hear the rustling of leaves, and the flapping of wings. An avian humanoid starts to sing about its colourful life and its perspective on human existence below. Premiere: 6/7 July 2024 in the Oosterpark, Amsterdam.
concept, music, lyrics, field recordings, sound design evelien van den broek | vocals evelien van den broek, stefanie janssen, kevin walton, nienke nasserian nillesen, timotheus maas | audio recordings marcel de rooij from studio de slapende hond, and evelien van den broek | editing, mixing, mastering evelien van den broek | marketing, pr marieke Josselet from let’s go public
Avian Humanoïds is supported by: the AFK (Amsterdam Fund for the Arts), Dyane Donck Company, and the Amarte Fonds.
FANFARE
Fanfare is an interactive sound walk with a sticky sad marching band.
You are walking along a beach. Suddenly you hear a gloomy marching band play, right behind you. When you stop, they stop. As soon as you continue to walk, there they are again. Eagerly following you. Clingy. They will keep you company and play four new music compositions, one for each season.
Fanfare premiered at the Into The Great Wide Open festival, Vlieland (NL), in September 2022. Visit this website for the sound walk.
The music is also available as an album on Bandcamp.
concept, music evelien van den broek | audio recordings marcel de rooij and evelien van den broek | mix, mastering evelien van den broek | musicians members of Neo-Fanfare 9×13: arthur kerklaan (trumpet), wim van den haak (alto horn), anton van houten (trombone), arne visser (helicon), jeroen geevers (drums) | conductor hardy li | web app programmer roald van dillewijn | illustration jeroen murré | website, production and PR evelien van den broek
Thanks to: Studio De Slapende Hond (Marcel de Rooij), Edo Paulus, Dyane Donck, and all the Fanfare web app guinea pigs.
Fanfare is supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL.
Stemmengeschuifel, met Heijermans door de Pijp
Gazing through Heijerman’s eyes, take a stroll on an eighty-minute Dutch audio tour through last century’s Amsterdamse Pijp (The Pipe). Stemmengeschuifel, met Heijermans door de Pijp (Scuffling voices, through the Pipe with Heijermans} is Dutch-language only. Download or open in App.
Heijerman’s masterpiece Op hoop van zegen has been performed in the Netherlands over a thousand times, and it has been translated into all languages. When Heijermans first arrived in Amsterdam in 1892, he was 27 years old and all but flat broke with a mere 62 cents upon his person. Just one year later, his first production premiered and he held the post of editor of Arts and Literature with the newly founded newspaper Telegraaf. In his short sketches called Falklandjes, which appeared in the papers for thirty years, he lays daily life bare under the pen name Samuel Falkland jr. He ambled through town day and night, watching and listening as he depicted the harshness of reality with a loving hand. These Falklandjes form the basis for the audio tour through the streets of the Pipe.
Fancy yourself a passer-by in the olden days of the streets where the ‘white plague’ roams. Experience the harrowing social destitution and rediscover the true meaning of the term ‘welfare state’.
direction renate zentschnig | composition, sound design, editing evelien van den broek | compilation lex bohlmeijer based on texts by herman heijermans | research margijn bosch | voices margijn bosch, kitty courbois, charlie-chan dagelet, fred goessens, alwin pulinckx, halina reijn, gijs scholten van aschat, bart slegers | with thanks to ellen walraven, amsterdam 2013, cafe restaurant de ysbreeker | production soundtrackcity, toneelgroep amsterdam (now ITA) | financial support gemeente amsterdam
Het Parool ***** (in Dutch): ‘Met een zorgvuldig getimede geluidswandeling wordt Heijermans stijlvol, op humoristische en troostrijke wijze geëerd. Voor Soundtrackcity is dit de twaalfde Amsterdamse geluidswandeling. Een kroon op het werk.’ Edith Andriesse
Theaterkrant **** (in Dutch): ‘Geluidswandeling is een bescheiden woord; het is eigenlijk puur theater wat we beleven, maar dan niet visueel, zoals in de theaterzaal, maar auditief. (…) Componist Evelien van den Broek maakt er een prachtig en indringend geluidsdecor bij (…). De straten komen tot leven.’ Kester Freriks
De Groene Amsterdammer (Dutch): ‘Wonderschone ervaring.’ – Loek Zonneveld
De Telegraaf **** (In Dutch): ’… dit uiterst zorgvuldig getimede geluidsspel dat theater, geschiedenis, hoorspel en stadswandeling in één is.’ Esther Kleuver
NRC (In Dutch): ‘De gesproken stadswandelingen van Soundtrackcity zijn gemaakt door kunstenaars. Altijd goed, maar deze over Heijermans en de Pijp spant de kroon.’ Joyce Roodnat
Deep Down – The original masters of glitch, a soundwalk for Into The Great Wide Open
Premiered at the Into The Great Wide Open festival, Vlieland (NL), 1 – 4 september 2016 (In Dutch).
What begins as an audio walk across the island, gradually takes an unexpected turn. With her singing voice composer Evelien van den Broek seduces you into the water, and takes you through an immeasurable space that resonates with mysterious sounds. Vibrate along with deep drones, glitches and pulsating beats. Sing with rarely heard sounds of seals, whales and other underwater creatures that use their entire body to make sublime sound. Here in the depth, dance and electronic music were invented long before anyone knew about it. Just when you consider staying under water forever, you will be roughly lifted above water. You are back on dry land and look out over the sea from the highest dune (In Dutch). Listen online.
Davides.nl: ‘Everything fits. The beautiful route, the realistic ambient sounds, the sounds that support this magical story and the accompanying music. As I climb the highest dune of Vlieland and look out over the sea, I hear the waves and the underwater sounds of seals and whales as the story reaches its tragic climax.‘
production soundtrackcity commissioned by into the great wide open | composition, vocals, sound design, editing evelien van den broek | concept evelien van den broek and renate zentschnig | dramaturgy renate zentschnig | text evelien van den broek and renate zentschnig | voice over lucky fonz III | story tellers ruud westerkamp and tosca ten cate, bojan bajic | soundtrackcity app roeland p. landegent
Thanks: Tom Bijnen, Project SAM, Floortje Doornik for textual advice. All try out walkers, especially Michiel, Elsje and Jan. Made with support of the VSB Fonds and Rederij Doeksen.
Listing of all sound walks:
- Fanfare (2022), an interactive sound walk with a sticky sad marching band
- Hoor de Jordaan (2021), field recordings, editing and mixing. With trio Basilova/Fridman/Napolov and Margo van de Linde. A Noorderkerkconcerten/Soundtrackcity production.
- Deep Down (2016), concept, music, sounddesign, editing, mixing. With the Into The Great Wide Open festival on the island Vlieland, a Soundtrackcity production
- ( ( ( DopplerOrgel ) )) (2014), interactive composition for a bicycle soundtour for Klankatlas, commissioned by Intro in Situ, Maastricht
- Stemmengeschuifel, met Heijermans door de Pijp (2013), in the Amsterdam neighbourhood de Pijp. Made with Renate Zentschnig for Soundtrackcity i.c.w. Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA)
- Volkstuingeluk (2011), music, sounddesign, editing, mixing for a soundwalk by Stephanie Hermes, Koorenhuis
- De Meiden van de Meeuw (2009/10), music, sounddesign, editing, mixing for a soundwalk by Soundtrackcity, script: Nienke Rooijakkers
- Van Zeehelden, Veem en Toekomstmuziek (2007), music, sounddesign, editing, mixing. Concept/dramaturgy: Renate Zentschnig. Extended version made in 2013