Electronic Activity

Marvin from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Music addict since...I remember...a long way back. I started playing music when I was a kid, I joined the RMS (Rotterdam Music School) and played there several instruments. My first real instrument (after recorder-flute) was an organ, which I played at my parental home. It was a Cosmovox with two claviers and a lot of sounds, besides the organic tones and accords stuff, I really start experimenting with the percussion/drum sounds of the organ and tried to get out the strangest combinations as possible. From then on of course got more interested in synthesizers. Starting to collect an listen to Reggae, lots of Jamaican stuff on the labels like Greensleeves, Studio-One, I really liked the underground sound of the Jamaican toasters like Yellowman (in his early days), Toyan, Nickodemus, Beenie Man, Eek-A-Mouse and other groups and artists like Rob Shakespeare + Sly Dunbar, Black Uhuru, Jah Woosh, Pablo Gad, Massive Dread but also more experimental dub like, The Scientist, Mad Professor, and the English Punky-Reggae like Linton Kwesi Johnson, On-U-Sound, Mark Stewart & The Maffia, Gary Clail etc. I also listened to Punk, and later ska, The Specials, The Selecter, The Bad Manners, was involved by the ska-movement in Rotterdam round 1982 and was one of the few black skinheads in The Netherlands, supported the Rotterdam ska band Zwit (nowadays they are JMR a well-known event-organisation) and hang around the squat movement in Rotterdam. Besides ska I also got hooked by electro en breakdancing: The Jonzun Crew, Soul Sonic Force, Mantronix, Scorpio etc. I danced electric boogie and we had a break-dance group. I did some dancegigs in Parkzicht +/- 1984 and other clubs in Rotterdam,like Club Vibes at the Hofplein we were kind of part of the entertainment. Out of the electro stuff hip-hop developed but I found hip-hop soon narrowminded and boring, but I followed of course Public Enemy more as a movement than as hip-hop band, I find them too broad for that and they were not understood by a lot of the black community, they misused there name for black racism purpose, which once I witnessed when Public Enemy played in Amsterdam I guess 1989, along with English band Pop Will Eat Itself, when a lot of narrowminded black youths start beating the white fans, so wrong that even the security of Public Enemy were fighting against the black youths and P.E. made excuses to their white fans and explained that they had nothing to do with those assholes. Of course I also listened to De La Soul (strange samples...brilliant), EPMD, Eric B. and Rakim (the voice of Rakim...so funky), Ice-T, Roxanne Shante. The other stuff in electro where I was interested in were those synthesizer tunes and the funk, which led me too more English Experimental and Avant-Garde Funky Electro Wave like Cabaret Voltaire, Basement 5(those marvellous black electronic punks), Clock DVA, Meat Beat Manifesto, Test Dept., Art of Noise, Shriekback, but also the Belgium Front 242, besides listening to American funk like Cymande, The Meters, Eddi Harries. -1988-: House stroke/captured The Netherlands, I was immediately token by Acid until nowadays (lots of Chicago, DJ Pierre, Fast-Eddie, Mr. Lee, Phuture etc.) All the music-styles which I had listened to till then became together in this House music. Went to a lot of parties since then, but my residence was club Nighttown Rotterdam. I saw a lot of nice gigs there e.g. Westbam, Mr. Lee, early Orbital, Black Dog. Besides Rotterdam I visit a lot of parties in Utrecht (Vrije Vloer, Ekko, Vismarkt, ) en Den Haag (Blauwe Aanslag, Iets Vrijers, Acid Planet etc.) AND OF COURSE the illegal freeparties. Jochem Paap (Speedy J) brought some nice Techno with his tracks on the +8 label, in fact he kind of introduced Techno into The Netherlands. I went to a lot of gigs of him (I still really have the gig in my mind together with Maurits Paardekooper in Parkzicht +/- 1992...smashing) We talked always a lot about music and still nowadays when he has time. He inspired me to start making music again, on an Ambient night at The Melkweg in Amsterdam 1994, where Aphex Twin played, while talking to each other Jochem just asked me why I didn’t make music myself, that has motivated me, so after those words I bought a Yamaha synhtesizer (and still now and then played the organ who was still at my parents place, now they have a synth too) Beside House the Manchester scene (’Madchester’) was rising too with bands like Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, The Charlatans, Flowered Up, My Jealous God, Inspiral Carpets (saw them live in Nighttown, lots of basses I am still turning), got lots of inspiration from those groups. At about 1993 House became too commercial for me, when Madonna’s Vogue frequently was played in Nighttown, I decided not to accept this kind of "trash" anymore as being called House, and besides that looks and clothes became more important than the music. The consequence was that Tekno (Techno with a "K") was developing, so for me that meant back to the squats (just like in my punk-period) and outdoor freeparties with their DIY mentality. Teknivals (festivals of Tekno-music) were given all over Europe. Clubs like The Vlerk in Rotterdam took over the alternative role in stead of Nighttown and they played more and more electronic stuff, besides the gothic, punk, wave and EBM music, and good for them because they were pushed out the squat which later became Nighttown. I also played in The Vlerk (1996-1997), together with Speedy J on the Electric Sunset nights, we did DJ sets, that was nice. Later the Tekno organisation Matika throw there parties there too.What really pisses me off is that people at parties start talking about hip-hop to me just because I am black, well I hope they read my story and leave me alone or if they don’t understand it : I am black but I don’t like hip hop. And certainly not the attitude of black hiphoppers in Rotterdam.Another thing that pisses me off is: sometimes when I am enjoying music at a party, people also ask me if I sell pills or if I know who sells pills, to those prejudiced guys or girls I say: I am black but I don’t do drugs so f*k offThis prejudice stuff happens also to my brother and nephews and it happens at different parties also freeparties, just the parties where we don’t expect such nonsense.Electronic Activity: because to put some activism in the music.Peace,Marvin