Tapu Sampler 2016

Second pressing of 100 copies in digifile. (2017) Science fiction writer and visionary Philip K. Dick once stated that the ultimate in paranoia would be that things are turning in on you. Not my boss, but my boss’s phone is plotting against me. Dick died in 1982, the same year that Blade Runner came out, the movie based on his novel 'Do Androids Dreams of Electric Sheep?' that would eventually turn him into a cult hero. But that’s beside the point. What matters is that Philip K. Dick made his statement long before every new phone update sends us to a state of frenzy. Michel Banabila, not born yesterday, must have intuitively understood Dick’s notion a long long time ago. In a sense he’s a classical electronic composer, if there is such a thing, who has a knack for the most sweeping melodies and can branch out in any style that might fit his ideas. A versatile musician, no doubt, but at the core of his art lies a slight distrust of things as they are, a certain doubt that gives his music no uncertain edge. It’s that edge that makes Banabila’s music not just good, but extraordinary. Tapu Records is Banabila’s very own label, taking its name from his cat, and also indicating a Polynesian traditional concept denoting something holy or sacred. The Tapu Sampler 2016 you hold in your hands collects mostly his recent tracks, some conceived with others, some solo. The sheer range of music alone is impressive. The introvert and intense mixture of viola (played by Oene van Geel) and sinus tones that make up ‘Sinus en Snaar’ sits uneasily next to the occasionally frantic ‘Jump Cuts’, recorded with drummer Joost Kroon, and the breezy ‘Narita’, performed with Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt). However, all of them have something essential in common: they conjure up strong images. This is music you can almost see. A recurring element in the music of Michel Banabila is still the voice, no surprise for long time admirers who remember the infamous VoizNoiz series. It’s in the YouTube-samples that give ‘Take Me There’ its eerie feeling, in ‘In Other Words’ where he uses fragments of text to create a new language, in ‘E.T.’, in which Banabila treated his own voice into some otherworldly sound, a piece that featured recently in a mix by renowned French DJ Rone, next to tracks by Autechre and Caribou. In his urge to always seek new ways Michel Banabila’s music seems constantly out of place when it is just as much of the times, whereof this collection is living proof. (David Kleijwegt, November 2015) Tracks taken from: Jump Cuts (Michel Banabila) Amal (Asid & Banabila) Music for viola and electronics (Banabila & Van Geel) Travelog (Banabila & Machinefabriek) Big Data Poetry (Michel Banabila) Viewpoint (Banabila, Erker, Samson) Route Planner (Banabila & Erker) In Other Words (Michel Banabila) Music for viola and electronics II (Banabila & Van Geel) Banabila & Machinefabriek (Banabila & Machinefabriek) Traces (Michel Banabila) Hilarious Expedition (Michel Banabila) The Latest Research From The Dept. Of Electrical Engineering (Michel Banabila) Gorlice 2014 live (Michel Banabila) Musicians: Salar Asid: violin Mete Erker: clarinet Oene van Geel: viola Anton Goudsmit: guitar Joost Kroon: drums Rutger Zuydervelt: electronics Ernst Reijseger: cello Joshua Samson: percussion Hannes Vennik: electronics Eric Vloeimans: trumpet A special thanks to Richard Johnson. frontcover photo by Michel Banabila. 2016 ℗ Tapu records / cat. nr. 0001TR16.