New à;GRUMH… song

S3 eVETS and J3 sEUQCAJ met for another nEGAPADRES.3.3. studio session.They started to work with rhythmic sequences that they had made a month earlier. Once put together and arranged, it became obvious that this song was not a nEGAPADRES.3.3. song, but indeed the first à;GRUMH… song made since 1990. Vocals from S3 were added and a first mix was made, under the title “Jennifer Says”, v.0.1. No official release plans for à;GRUMH… material are decided so far.

More tracks and a nEGAPADRES.3.3. album soon finished

With all the new songs and the ones in progress, it became obvious that a new album from nEGAPADRES.3.3. was going to be ready soon. Release date is planned for the middle of 2003. At the same time, we will try to offer re-releases of TTKK tapes in CD format, as well as re-releases from the Circle Records catalogue. Negociations with PIAS are under way.

April to December

S3 and J3 sEUQCAJ met several times either to go to restaurants (S3’s favourite choice of activity) or to work in the studio to make new songs (J3’s favourite choice of activity). They recorded and produced several tracks, for example “Obstinacle”, “Absinthe à la Guinguette de l’Espadon” and “Litz Day Kursk”, and many other mixes.

S3 started to work on a home page for à;GRUMH…, nEGAPADRES.3.3. and the Circle Records and TTKK products. Archives were digged, and the first draft of the home page was put online at the end of the year. Many reactions from fans and old and new friends started to flood by email. J3 got online right at that time, saving S3 lots of work in replying that mail. 🙂

nEGAPADRES.3.3. to appear on Ironflame compilation

S3 was contacted by Stefan Schwanke, co-owner of the Berlin-based label Ironflame, who asked if nEGAPADRES.3.3. could collaborate to a forthcoming compilation of industrial music called Statement 1961. Flattered, and also because Stefan Schwanke was a very old and dear friend, we accepted. We sent to Stefan a cd with the three parts of “qontain air” but he didn’t like it very much. Then we remixed one part and released “qontain air nr2 DOAM”, but at the same time, we mixed a new song entitled “Transe Ov Exstrophy”, which turned out to be the best work we had done so far since the reunion, and we sent Stefan a cd with the new remix “qontain air nr2 DOAM” and this new song “Transe Ov Exstrophy”. This time, Stefan liked it.

Before it was due to be released, the compilation was sent to the industrial magazine Spectrum, in which it got an excellent review and where the track from nEGAPADRES.3.3. was highly praised. In his review, Richard Stenson, editor of Spectrum magazine, said “With the final track for Side B, nEGAPADRES.3.3. showcases an amazing ritual industrial piece ‘Transe of Exstropy’.  Using looped, shifting/ sweeping tones that ebb and flow throughout, it creates a knife’s edge intensity that acts as a backdrop for a sampled male voice discussing male genital modification.”

Music again

S3 and J3 sEUQCAJ met at THE HOUSE studios and started playing with sounds. After recording samples and creating new sounds, a first track was recorded, entitled “quontain air nr1”. A few days later, they met again and recorded another piece with some of the same sounds and more tracks added, and they mixed “qontain air nr2 (MICs)” and “qontain air nr3 (WTC)” – which didn’t have anything to do with the World Trade Center; only people who listen to it closely and who are familiar with alternative americano/Belgian music from the end of the 70’s involcing alcoholic and addicted asian singers “ayant des heures de vol” can find out what “WTC” means.

à;GRUMH… reunited

S3 eVETS wrote a letter to J3 sEUQCAJ for the third time in 10 years. For the first time, J3 answered. S3 called J3 on the phone and they talked for three hours “like it was yesterday”. A week later, a great dinner at J3’s house reunited longtime friends and former à;GRUMH… members P4 lACSAP and P3 lACSAP along with J3, S3 and C6 nAITSIRHC, S3’s husband. We got to know Alwine sEUQCAJ, Shane sEUQCAJ and Gwenn sEUQCAJ, J3’s kids. Soupin sEUQCAJ, wife of J3, made a very good chili 🙂