ROADBURN 2014: HIGHLIGHTS Pt.1

ROADBURN 2014 - PART 1

This was my most emotional Roadburn of all, simply because I nearly missed out due to family commitments: being there ultimately meant a lot, as it was fun, it was exciting, it was invigorating and healing. So here is my personal account of this year’s RB experience, delivered in my customary emotional, inquisitive, selective and transparent point of view. I have in fact kept stage-hopping to a minimum in order to enjoy the exhibition of each and every favorite band in its entirety!

THURSDAY 10^TH APRIL

My elaborate travel arrangements prevented me from seeing LOCHRIAN opening the fest from one of my favorite venues, Het Patronaat. I arrived just in time to catch a glimpse of gloomy doomsters 40 WATT SUN, with Patrick Walker caught up - eyes closed and mouth in a grimace - in an crushing crescendo. I did not let them break my heart though as I shifted to the Green room for one of the highlighted names on my personal list: REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER, whose excellent eponymous debut album I had discovered months earlier thanks to Roadburn. The careful cherry-picking from festival promoter and artistic director Walter Hoeijmakers is what makes this experience so enriching and exciting, opening for us music fans many doors that would otherwise remain closed simply due to the sheer quantity of offerings across the genres. 

Up-and-coming French combo Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, who take their name from the 1994 film directed by Jacques Audiard, epitomizes the pioneering spirit of Roadburn. Sweeping, blustery, often melodic post-black, festered by slow and snister sludgy moments, was delivered with great involvement and resulted at times breathtaking. Here we have a band that definitely grew up on Nutella, skateboards and hardcore before being exposed to the unsettling  abrasiveness of sludge and the iconic dissonance of French black metal (Agalloch’s towering beacon of raw emotionality is also often perceivable), and the music reflects this perfectly coherent amalgam of influences: the sound is hence familiar and therefore never quite surprises, yet the band’s passionate and intense approach gives it strong credibility, as the many clenched fists in the air testified on the night. From such a gripping debut, one expects even more personality and experimentation in the future.

Somewhat unexpectedly, old mastodon NAPALM DEATH delivered a great highlight of the fest with their slower, more experimental material. I fed on Napalm’s music before and during my happy Birmingham years; in fact I saw Barney being hired from Benediction at the tender age of 19, when his hair was still mid-length and badly bleached (like all Brummies, a punk at heart, truly the source of his socio-political commitment and friendliness: a genuinely nice guy). Those were the good old times, but my journey through extreme music soon diverged from death and grind towards the darker shades of black (and dark electronica), so I had not felt the need to watch Napalm on stage for a long time. Somehow I felt that this was an opportunity not to be missed, and I was right. While punters and colleagues’ opinions on their unusual set split right in the middle, I found their slow material intensely clever and poignant, conveying more forcefully the message of the lyrics. Costin Chioreanu’s stark, eerie black & white visuals (incidentally, I am quite annoyed with myself for missing his expo at the Gust Van Dijk gallery) played a huge part in creating an uneasy and doomed atmosphere, reminding me at times of Voivod’s alien graphics. Considering how beautiful Mitch Harris’ recent solo debut album is (the project is called Menace, well worth checking out if you dig uplifting progressive metal), I can only take my hat off to these old warriors who have grown as people with and through music, and to this day demonstrate how talented and genuine they are. Know-all youngsters: watch and learn.

 

BEASTMILK were the trendy band everybody wanted to watch this year: the large 013 arena was packed and people seemed engrossed by Kworst’s socially aware brand of New Wave, but to me, although I greatly appreciate the message, it sounded pretty but frankly uninteresting. Given the fact that I fed 24/7 on The Cure, Siouxie & The Banshees, Bauhaus and Joy Division in my very early teens, I was glad to let the nostalgic and the younger fans enjoy this valiant effort of recuperating the spirit of one of the best periods in British music. So I walked outside towards Patronaat and my eye finally fell onto the huge series of posters hanging along the steel walls of the 013 featuring stunning black & white shots of Paul Verhagen, Roadburn house photographer for many years now, and enjoying a personal exhibition, which also comprised further examples of his iconic images, framed in flaming red, inside the main venue. I popped inside the ex-church for a taste of NOTHING, who felt a touch too juvenile to my ears, while CONAN unfortunately was a no-go area due to the Patronaat being totally rammed.

Rerarde Les Hommes Tomber were actually in the middle of a small European tour with fellow Frenchmen THE GREAT OLD ONES, a band that has been under my radar since its first album “Al-Azif”, in support of their just released awesome and ultra-recommended “Takeli-Li”. Their Lovecraft-inspired atmospheric black metal seems to have stepped up another gear with new material that drenches you in chokingly intense, soul-shattering, gratifying emotion. Massive, expansive melodies that flirt with stormy epicness are anchored by stealthy and eerie darkness that sticks to the very marrow of your bones, sweeping you off your feet. 

The Great Old Ones are now surely amongst the great masters of atmospheric grimness and beauty, truly pushing their personal boundaries in the effort of matching the hypnotic, jaw-dropping majesty of bands such as, broadly speaking, Esoteric or Wodensthrone. An hour seems far too short for this kind of magnificence pouring over us like an invisible cascade of dark matter propelling one’s entire being towards unimaginable worlds of madness and sublime torment. Most definitely one of the best, most rewarding sets of my RB14!

FRIDAY 11^TH APRIL

Apparently clever dudes dig MAGMA: I guess I am not intelligent enough to “get them”. I did give it a try, just in case an unexpected flash of sudden genius illuminated me from above, but I happened to approach their RB performance just during the very song that annoyed the hell out of me while youtubing them: a monotonous, excruciatingly lengthy piece with two female vocalists reminding me why one should never use a cheese-grater on one’s naked skin. In comparison, bleak duo THE BODY over at Patronaat seemed like a visit to the local farm to play with ducklings and little lambs. That’s in spite of the fact that The Body being a merciless avant-garde act firmly planted on concepts such as suicide, death and depression. They performed in a naturally lit Patronaat (sunshine was coming through the beautiful stained glass windows along both side walls challenging the excruciatingly loud gloom of the music), so initially the atmosphere was a little odd. And yet, The Body’s harsh and unsettling electronic sequences and agonizing, shrill screams manage to click powerfully inside the subconscious of the crowd, displacing us, making us guess what slow and tormented death might be like. This grueling experience, it goes without saying, went down a storm with the crowd.

After such aural and psychological torture, a sprinkle of folksy ANGALARD seemed to be the cure, tehn I moved across into the big arena for a juicy treat: GOBLIN! Dario Argento became a household name in my native Italy when I was a child, and I deem him responsible for traumatizing me (a sensitive child with a fervid imagination) through listening to Claudio Simonetti’s “Profondo Rosso” on the radio on a daily basis. This stunning piece of 70s horror pop/rock topped our charts for weeks on end, and I had to try really hard not to be scared of the blood-red 45” cover my parents had bought (as it goes, I have had a strange attraction-repulsion for the color red since). Goblin are an institution because of the many legendary soundtracks to horror classics that captured in full an intriguing era, the 70s, when so many social taboos were tumbling down: a unique time that was mind-expanding and wild, yet still deeply naïve. 

Goblin became famous when Italian 70s prog was musically at the top of the pile for being truly experimental, unique and positively underground, but of course they came from a different circuit, being Caludio’s father Enrico a well know orchestra director who was very often at the center of light entertainment Saturday night TV programs. Hence Goblin did never sound as progressive as the various Premiata Forneria Marconi, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme, Area, Rovescio della Medaglia, Quella Vecchia Locanda, Osanna, Un Biglietto per l’Inferno and so on (just in case someone wants to check them out), but that cool 70s feeling is all there, especially when the inevitable cheesiness bursts in, absolutely shameless (Tarantino learnt his lesson well). The band is supremely accomplished, Claudio being a master on his multiple layers of keyboards and synths, and the rest of the band are fully-fledged pros. The music matched the clips from the respective films, which was… nice. Pleasant enough not to leave, perhaps regretfully, for a taste of the mighty PROCESSION.

After sharing a pizza at the nearby Italian restaurant (just to stay on topic) with a member of Swedish dichotomies Deranged and Stilla only to hear that the latter will probably never play live, I took my spot in front of the Patronaat stage well in advance for my most awaited for acts of all, curiously also from Sweden. I am caught in the end-tail of a pleasantly colorful psych-out courtesy of young Germans SULA BASSANA, and then out they came, unmasked, for the sound-check: the a-mazing TERRA TENEBROSA! 

 

Tall, impossibly thin, short haired and sporting assorted blond facial hair, they lurched across the stage like alien creatures, only to disappear for an excruciatingly long time in order to get dressed in their bewitching costumes - and I dare not thinking what else. 30 minutes later than scheduled, the twisted, spectral kitty-face of The Cuckoo appeared from the tenebrae and the electricity in the air rose sky high. I was positioned right in front of the guitarist, who was wrapped in see-through black cloth to allow glimpses of a disturbing white silicone mask with the features of an ancient creature; the cloth hung over his angled shoulders and fell short enough to see his lean limbs tucked into shining high Doc Marten’s boots (ah, the hardcore legacy!), looking seriously sexy. The Cuckoo’s priestly long dress was also highly theatrical in its sobriety, tightly fitted to the waist and widening towards the bottom: he looked unsettling, majestic, sadistic and endearing in his controlled poses. 

Terra Tenebrosa stem from phenomenally good avant-garde/hardcore band Breach, active (recording-wise) between 1995 and 2001, whose albums I heartily recommend. TT formed in 2009 and have so far released two incredible albums I love, and recently a new EP called “V.I.T.R.I.O.L. - Purging the Tunnels”: as expected, they went on to play a dream-set featuring a delicious selection from the three. Visually and aurally stunning, they are currently unmatched – as a live performing band at least - in their intoxicating blend of darkly cryptic avant-garde drenched in sinister melodic doom. Their music is eminently easy to the ear and yet intrinsically perverse and subliminally polluting, also thanks to The Cuckoo’s infinite inhuman vocal variations, bending over the layered eerie atmospheres. What is astonishing is that this TT incarnation follows on from Breach’s most twisted experimentation (in the earlier days steeped in doomy-crust – Amebix’ legacy taken to one of its pinnacles; whilst the final late 2011 album “Kollapse” features much of the full-on dissonant avant-garde we love today, only with HC vocals), reinterpreted with the breathtaking elegance and devastating malignity of BAN and the subtle sarcasm of Virus. 

It is quite intriguing how a change in vocal style and a tweak in the sound not only did bring the new band to the forefront of the contemporary avant-garde metal genre, but, from a creative and aesthetic point of view, it propelled it into a mind-bogglingly dazzling plane. They deserve a lot of credit and respect for having been there for a long time already, and above all for gifting us the experience of the live dimension: who hasn’t feverishly dreamt of seeing Blut Aus Nord on a darkened stage? Well, this is the nearest thing, and beyond… On the night Terra Tenebrosa gave a skilled, awe-inspiring, neck-breaking, head-spinning, mind-bending, intoxicatingly addictive performance which left me craving for more: I can only hope to see those prickly ears/horns masterfully conducting this glorious controlled chaos again soon. 

Promoters, this is an absolute MUST!!!

All photos by Alex Mysteerie.

REVIEW: ALVENRAD - Habitat

It starts with a cheeky, sparkling riff of pure vintage hard-rock that remains hopelessly stuck in the brain, the debut album of these jolly Dutch purveyors of a brand of folk-metal that would rejuvenate a Methuselah! But behind the apparent frolicking mood of these forest trolls there flourishes a piece of work that is genuinely, heart-warmingly intimate: in thoughtful awe of the cycles of nature, they draw from it comfort and hope. Next to roaring notes ranging from folk-rock classics such as Jethro Tull (the famous flute still working its magic) to more contemporary rhythmically fast and furious metal, germinates the fertile soil of the lyrics, which offer numerous references to Dutch history and noble stimuli. The late-romantic spirit of Mahler is mentioned as a source of inspiration for the entire work, while Thomas Mann and Dante also add suggestive facets to the narrative. The tracks are utterly surprising, addictive in their passionate blend of joy, good humor and latent melancholy, the latter having its raison d’être not merely because it is part of everyone’s daily life, but for being a moment of personal redemption on behalf of those who suffer from some form of physical frailty. Among infectious elves’ choruses, captivatingly cool keyboard solos alternate with freshness to the energetic guitars: this is so far removed from the irritating run-of-the-mill folk metal we are sadly too often plagued with; this is life-celebrating, genuine stuff TO BE ENJOYED NON-STOP! Delicious the artwork and booklet on the digipack version, I can only imagine what the vinyl looks like... Alvenrad and the infamous Trollmusic label are calling for an immediate “wodenization” of the modern world: join or die – literally!

https://www.facebook.com/Alvenrad

http://www.trollmusic.net/

THE NOORD-BRABANT SPECIAL Part 2

AN INTERVIEW WITH JÉRÔME SIEGELAER

Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies - "Eschaton" - Video by Jérôme Siegelaer

My several attempts at seeing Selim Lemouchi & his Enemies playing live were doomed: last year I missed his show in support of Ghost in Utrecht due to a sudden French air-strike that massively delayed my flight; I missed him at the Max Rovers and Jérôme Siegelaer’s exhibition in Eindhoven in December; then the apparition at the Megasin festival in Brussels in February was cancelled... Well, I thought: I am destined to see him at Roadburn. Instead, I shall witness a poignant celebration of his wonderful art and spirit by The Enemies alone… So my physical memories of Selim shall remain linked to his The Devil’s Blood concerts and to our hour-long telephone call back in July 2013. The Afterburner concert shall be a powerful communion… but in the meantime I am presenting this interview with one of his friends and collaborators, Brabant artist Jérôme Siegelaer, whose vodeos, installations and photography strike a deep chord for capturing with refreshing honesty the elemental forces of nature.

Installation is a form of art that, like music, challenges my mind and spirit to a stimulating heightening of senses, perceptions and intuitions: it is a way to give shape to new dreams, to suggest worlds within and beyond; also, for me at least, to achieve temporary inner contentment. Nothing equates to standing in front of a human artifact (or, in case of music, a live band) that takes you elsewhere, through terrifying liquid darkness, blazing fire or celestial stillness. In conceiving my own installations, I am primarily led by feeling, and seizing that collision moment between material and immaterial is where the magic lies to me; and one can later hope that those foreign eyes that will gaze upon the end-product, that “manifested feeling”, will also be propelled into a unique journey of their own.

Art is a magnificent way to exercise one of nature’s wonders, creativity (from my personal a-theist/non-creationist point of view, it feels particularly powerful), and each of us approaches it through a combination of skill and imagination, improvisation and intuition, overpowering feeling and urgency to release, communicate… But what matters is to try and preserve jealously and forcefully Art’s essence as it is one of the purest ways to be in touch with oneself and life’s mysteries. 
Those who are and crazy enough to interpret Art as Life & Death itself know no boundaries. Selim Lemouchi was one of such visionaries: in our interview ( http://wyrdsflight.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/selim-lemouchi.html ) he defended passionately his right to keep his Art pure, and I felt the strength of his convictions as unilateral and deeply genuine. It cannot be otherwise, I agreed wholly... And I understood the enthusiasm in sharing the creative processes with other artists in collaborations where different mind-sets would collide and merge to create a vibrant melting-pot resembling the infinitely textured, indecipherable layers of the universe. Selim understood (and regretted, as his heart was bursting with so much love) with a heightened degree of awareness that no-one perceives, feels and thinks the same: like there are no true soul-mates in relationships, there are no true soul-mates in the realm of the arts... That is sadly very true, but it is also true that there can exist a higher level of brotherhood and sisterhood where personal views and ideas, fluctuating, ever-evolving and ever-expanding as they can be, constitute a mutually challenging, never-ending discourse aimed at making us grow as people, hopefully as society too.

Evolution is a rollercoaster, shooting upwards and plunging downwards at every slight change of environment, bio-chemical imbalance... This is mirrored by the unsettled, unpredictable life of the sensitive artist, always so tremendously vulnerable: inner or outer events can have the devastating effect of an earthquake, a sudden flash floods. Life can end so abruptly... Taking refuge in science, love and respect of nature is my own secret treasure of emeraldine sanity, but it has been a long battle, and Selim’s death, so unexpected and yet totally expected, sent me to places I had not been for at least 3 long years… Still, as ever, the best memories remain: searching deep eyes who “knew” when met mine; a smile full of tenderness and despair; a laughter full if joy and virility; a musician’s touch that spoke through the cosmos…

 Selim Lemouchi's photograph on Mens Animus Corpus - by J. Siegelaer

J.Siegelaer and his stopmotion video "Vlam" for current Sustainability in Cu exhibition

(Photo by Roel Verlinden)

I found out about your art because of your collaborations with Selim Lemouchi, but you have been an artist since 1999. You are from Eindhoven, and it is impossible not to think of the internationally acclaimed Eindhoven Design Academy: what is your background, what was your city like when you started, and how “easy” was it to establish yourself as a professional artist in an area where art and design are substantially backed by government support?

Born in Oss, another industrial town in Brabant, I came to Eindhoven twenty years ago yet went to the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam. During my studies I already started as VJ at dance parties and occasionally for bands. Walter Roadburn asked me to work at his festival, second edition or so, and that bond is still strong. In 1999, when I finished Film Academy, I became an independent artist. Eindhoven remained my base. While this city supports design strongly, there is a positive climate for art and artists as well. Not so much by funding but due to its industrial heritage, there are so many places to perform, film, build your installation, organize an exhibition.

Europe was hit very hard by the 2009 financial crisis, and I know that The Netherlands has also suffered, with cases of suicide due to home repossessions, job losses and so on. Yet, the Arts always thrive during periods of crisis, as people need to escape the bleakness of reality. I have visited Eindhoven and Tilburg quite frequently during the past 3 years and one cannot help noticing the huge efforts that are made to enhance initiatives involving art (music especially) and design. How has Eindhoven changed since the crisis?

In Eindhoven there is a huge monumental industrial area, called Strijp-S, which is being developed for housing and business, but in the meanwhile cheap ateliers and urban leisure like skateboarding and BMX got their space. Since the crisis the developments are partly halted, so the acclaimed Area51 can stay for a few years longer.  It’s just an example, but illustrates my will to look at positive developments.

Talking of music, you have been present with your work at the prestigious Roadburn festival: I am aware that, for instance, you were responsible for the amazing B/W imagery that accompanied and greatly enhanced the WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM concert in 2009, your work contributed to creating a truly magic, unforgettable experience! How did this collaboration come about?

It was Walter who introduced WITTR to me. Being blown away by their Two Hunters, I felt a strong connection with their emotional music; a slow pulse, ever changing, under a surface of violent torrents. At that time I had an exhibition going on at Breda’s Museum and amongst my main works there was „BOS” (Forest), a room with 15 semi transparent screens one could wander in between, and four projectors. I decided to take that as a starting point for the WITTR performance. The two brothers hadn’t really seen it but Will told me after the show that he had been watching in awe. Nice! My performance consisted of 6 video compositions, which are huge effect- and feedback systems. The material I fed into the compositions was partly sampled imagery from antique books about flora and fauna, and mostly self shot videos from forests, trees, rock formations and more forests. After Roadburn I was invited by Crosslinx Festival to submit a 20 minute film, on which several musicians would improvise, and I took these compositions to the next level, turning it into a spiritual journey through a metaphoric forest.

 

From J. Siegelaer's 2010 Wandelingen / Wanderings exhibition

You have been involved in the renowned Dutch Design Week in 2012 and 2013: is it intimidating, and is there a lot of bureaucracy to go through? Are the organizers essentially business-people or do they have a strong involvement with the arts? Which project did you present?

DDW is, in the end, a very commercial enterprise where hundreds of designers participate and try to raise interest for the products they make. The cool thing about DDW though is its rough edges. At DDW2012 I joined for the first time with a selection of photographic works which were for sale, a video installation, and a non-stop playing videoclip I just finished: Thoughts Like Hammers (Enslaved). There wasn’t much bureaucracy since I contacted the location where I wanted to rent a room directly, and they were happy to have some artistic works because, as said before, the borders of where design becomes art or the other way around, are vague. It was received very well and thus I decided to join DDW2013 again. Now at another spot, in joint venture with my friend and designer Sylvia Baladrón. We created a mountain and, on my request, Selim Lemouchi made a soundscape lasting a full hour for it. Later a slightly smaller variation of that Mountain was shown at SL&HE’s album presentation. I’m determined to create a much, much larger Mountain for the next occasion.

Your video for Enslaved’s “Thoughts like Hammers” truly catches the images and emotions that the song evoked within me during my immersive reviewing experience of RIITIIR, dominated by awe-inspiring visions of rugged mountains and wild waters! You seem to have a strong fascination with all the elements, water in particular; in fact you carried on your exploration of such element with and for Selim Lemouchi. Although the Brabant region is not as exposed as the northern areas of The Netherlands, all Dutch people must have a very close relationship with water, as they learnt to master it, closely live with and off it through the centuries, yet always mindful of its life-threatening power: what does this element represent for you as a Dutchman and as an artist?

Well, it’s not water per se that I’m focused on, but nature in general. I tend to watch out for iconic images that are very understandable at first sight, yet inspire to slow down, trigger ideas and create a peaceful environment to be in, an awareness of being just here and now on one’s own.

My latest work is a sculpture and it represents a flame. It goes along a stop motion video I made, using that sculpture and altering its copper wires in between every two photos I shot. When I made the videoshow for The Devil’s Blood, there was also a lot of fire. And blood…

Enslaved - "Thoughts Like Hammers" - Video by J. Siegelaer 

When it came out, I found the video for “ESCHATON” (the first track from Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies’ debut EP “Mens Animus Corpus”) to be tremendously powerful, all the more because Selim himself was the protagonist. To me the fact that he performed in it rather than having someone else acting for him (as many musicians elect to do), was a clear sign of his visceral involvement in everything he did. From the stunning images it transpires that the actual shooting represented a deeply poignant, mystical experience for Selim, who always meant every word in his lyrics… He was always adamant that nobody feels and interprets reality and the metaphysical matters in the same manner, but this video is a great example of how the personal can become universal, which is the essence of true, long-lasting art: can you give us an insight on the philosophical approach to this successful creative effort?

Simply put, it is a story of struggle, resistance, admittance, surrender and becoming one in the end. When I showed a picture that I made at that waterfall to Selim, he became wildly enthusiast and without hesitation told me that it was going to be the front sleeve for his forthcoming EP. We went to the location where I took the picture and even though it was winter, really cold, Selim jumped in the water where he stayed less than twenty seconds. Enough to make the picture that became the back side of the EP sleeve. Yes I knew what I wanted to see, and I also knew that with the photos the story wasn’t told yet, so when the weather allowed us to, we went back and shot the video in two sessions on one day.

What kind of atmosphere was there while you were shooting? Was Selim aware of his charisma? I think he was one of the most physical, carnal people I have ever seen, and this, combined with a particularly intense degree of spirituality, made him without a doubt… “different”, if you know what I mean…

You have to know that Selim could be in very jolly moods, joking and making fun. This was most certainly one of these days. We felt good because we were aware of the beauty we were working on. I was shouting some directing commands to him but those were hardly audible due to the noise of the water. Robby Geerings was there as well, he took some making-of pictures. It shows we liked it over there. A lot.

From a fan’s temporal perspective the journey between the cleansing/rebirth ritual that appears on the back cover of “Mens Animus Corpus”, and his suggestive and premonitory sinking into dark waters at the end of the “Eschaton” video felt extremely powerful and intense, but incredibly short, although in reality it spanned several months. Was there, amongst Selim’s closest friends, a presentiment that his life could end so soon? Many explore the mystery of Life & Death with various degrees of boldness and disparate viewpoints: with Selim one felt that death was truly regarded as a very personal and necessary moment to his spiritual enlightenment.

This is too personal and too soon to answer, so I don’t have any comment on this now nor anytime soon. The only thing I can say is that Selim’s death made me embrace life even tighter.

Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies  - "Thistle" - Video by J Siegelaer

Selim told me in a beautiful interview we did that he hated to be seen as some sort of a prophet or cult leader, hence his great relief in ending The Devil’s Blood. In my eyes Selim just wanted to be able to express his thoughts and feelings in a genuine and honest way: Art IS Freedom, and this is why he was not afraid of the notion of “imperfection”. Can you give me your personal take on Art in general, and describe how you are living this exhilarating, complex relationship with Freedom?

You are putting Art in relation to freedom. To me Art is a necessary means of expression, in order to share ideas, emotions, atmospheres and even parallel, vibrant worlds. The bounds of freedom are not determined by art. (Note: I agree, although in countries where personal freedom is not a given, art can indeed widen the boundaries of one’s psychological freedom… As Jérôme hints in the following answer, we should have indeed held this conversation face-to-face: hopefully I shall get another chance!)

From these notions of freedom and imperfection seen as as a more complex and layered idea of perfection, I come to experience Truth as “truthfulness towards myself” - that is the uncompromising honesty and transparency with which I carry out my humble yet determined fumblings through life. These naked explorations flow in my projects, interviews included, as I see them as part of an ongoing installation which is morphing me each day, and will one day will itself morph and culminate into a unified project. As an artist, what is your personal theory of Truth?

This is a question I’d rather discuss in person, searching together for answers, than figure out in written words. 

 "Mountain", installation by J.Siegelaer & Sylvia Baladrón @ Dutch Design Week 2012

Your video and photographic work with Selim interacting with cascading water brought to mind Bill Viola. Which artists inspired you to dedicate yourself to the visual arts (rather than say, music), and who influenced your explorations along the years?

Bill Viola is among my heroes. For those attending Roadburn I cannot recommend enough De Pont museum in Tilburg, not in the least because of two beautiful works by Bill Viola in their collection. In the past I have even remixed some of Viola’s works, live at performances during techno parties. I like the way he emphasizes the significance of minuscule change, aside of his stunning esthetics.First and foremost though I have to mention some eastern European masters: Sokurov, German, Tarkovski and Bela Tarr. Pure poetry in motion. Other artists I admire are Christian Boltanski and Richard Long. Completely different genres but within my mind they connect. Maybe due the poetic order of things. Small variations of great themes. Like Viola. I feel connected to that tradition of slow movement.

What are you working on at the moment, and where will we be able to see it?

Roadburn is imminent and I’m preparing both performances I’ll be doing there.

Saturday evening I’ll will project my meditations on water, while YOB plays The Great Cessation’.  I’m very grateful to Walter who had the idea to connect Mike Scheidt and I, his music mesmerizes me to a degree that my thoughts flow in sync with it.  I’m really looking forward to that show. Fast flowing water shows its strength and force; fluid, reflective, chaotic yet repetitious,  isolated in tight frames, concentrating on every detail that suddenly becomes significant, layered in ultra slow motion, thus allowing to sense that we are here and now, absorbing each and every experience simultaneously.

Sunday, at the Afterburner, Selim Lemouchi’s Enemies. What can I say?

It will be sad and it will be filled with joy.

It will be beautiful.

https://www.facebook.com/siegelaer

www.siegelaer.com

Stay tuned for my ROADBURN 2014 commentary, which will feature Selim's celabrations and more work by Jérôme Siegelaer. 

Soon after, Part 3 of this Brabant Special will conclude my small contribute in celebrating Selim's art and life: Manuel Tinnemans will draw the curtains and Darkness will come forth...