Roel Meelkop & Mecha/Orga - Rotterdam 54:21 [CD]

This first collaboration between Roel Meelkop and Yiorgis Sakellariou consists of three pieces, two solos and one duet. Unusual and groundbreaking combination of modified field recordings and twisted sound of old analogue synths shows the distinct and personal approach to the electronic composition, shaped throughout the years of studio practice.

Meelkop's musical activities date back to the early eighties when he started THU20, together with Jac van Bussel, Peter Duimelinks, Jos Smolders and Guido Doesborg. THU20 have released several tapes and CD's and performed regularly in Europe. Since then he has worked steadily on a body of work, most of which was received enthusiastically in the small but dedicated world of sound art. His other activities include working with Kapotte Muziek and GOEM, together with Frans de Waard and Peter Duimelinks, and more recently with Frans de Waard as Zèbra and now Wieman. Aside from releases, Meelkop also creates site-specific sound installations and performance pieces in collaboration with other artists.

Yiorgis Sakellariou is the musician working in the fields of computer music and field recordings. Having a background in classical and folk (Mediterranean) music, he came to develop his personal language during the '00s. Since then, he is active internationally by being responsible for solo albums, having composed music for short films and theatrical performances, leading workshops and ceaselessly performing his music around the globe. His practice is founded on the digital manipulation of environmental recordings. His palette of sounds is all-encompassing; from vibrating rail-tracks to refrigerators' static, and from noisy waterfalls to the humming of insects, all may find their place in his arsenal. He is a member of the Athenian Contemporary Music Research Centre (founded by I. Xenakis) and the Hellenic Electroacoustic Music Composers' Association. Since 2004 he runs the label Echomusic.

Early 2012 Yiorgis Sakellariou (aka Mecha/Orga), hailing from Greece, invited Rotterdam based sound artist Roel Meelkop to explore his hometown for a period of acoustic research. The two artists worked for a week in a residency at the WORM studio. They explored the textures and variety of Rotterdam’s soundscape through field recording and also worked on the analogue synthesizers of the WORM studio. Rotterdam 54:21 is concerned with juxtaposing, mixing and filtering field recordings with analogue synthesizer sounds and aims at an open-ended attempt to construct a soundscape that will give the listeners a chance to immerse themselves in this sonic experience. The duet performed live in Rotterdam at WORM on April 28, 2012, at Villa K in Den Haag on April 29 and finally at Extrapool in Nijmegen at the Brombron 25 event, on May 3.