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Mokum In Hi-Fi

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Reinier Baas

Label: DoYouMind? Records
Released: 2019
Views: 292

Tracks

1. Deo Volente, Palace, Aquatics, Charles, Moderato, Silver / Grey, Pieternella, Aquatics (Revisited)

Personnel

Album Description

Mokum is a slang term for the city of Amsterdam, used in endearment. It means city, place or safe haven, and stems from Bargoens: a language used by criminals, tramps and travelling salesmen. ‘Mokum In Hi-Fi’ is a tribute to the city that is home to both artists. A tribute, in particular, to the rough-around-the-edges, beer swilling, herring eating, jenever drinking, barrel-organ-wielding crowd centred around the Jordaan neighbourhood, that has come to define the city in the past centuries. The opening track ‘Deo Volente’ forms a diptych with the second to last track, ‘Pieternella’ - these are the names of the two Amsterdam house boats where Baas’ parents lived when they met. Although van Gelder had composed ‘Palace’ before this record was conceptualised, one could just about get away with attributing it to the Royal Palace on Dam square, with its many rooms and its stated but playful architecture. ‘Aquatics’ is inspired by the substance that the city of Amsterdam was built upon: water. The orchestral soundscapes in ‘Aquatics’ and ‘Aquatics Revisited’ are the product of an elaborate experiment involving an antiquated boogie woogie piano and an enormous amplifier. Apart from these two tracks, the music was realised without any loop stations or post production and with minimal electronic adornment.

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