HR079 - Kapotte Muziek - Bahnhof - C46 — 1988
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Side A: Stazione Gare Estacion Side B: Stanice |
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
Kapotte Muziek is the name used by veteran Dutch hometaper and sound maestro Frans de Waard. Frans also headed up the Korm Plastics label. Bahnhof is German for train station and each of the four tracks translates to the same from different languages.
Side A opens with ‘Stazione’, which places the listener on the train, experiencing the tedium of clattering along tracks as we head to our destination. The minimal travel theme is augmented by the almost song-like feel provided by a repetitive toot-toot whistle. ‘Gare’ modifies the theme slightly, with the train traveling at a slow pace, the whistle sounding more like a pleading whine, and a lazy, constant knocking pattern added for rhythmic color. ‘Estacion’ continues with barely perceptible changes, injecting a mild squeal to the train’s wheels. The entirety of Side B is taken up by ‘Stanice’, which changes direction by running the field recordings through effects such that we could just as easily be experiencing a raging storm as riding on a train. The overall feel is of a pleasantly cruising ambient-noise excursion.
I have fond memories of trains and the imagery abounded in my mind throughout the set. I grew up near train tracks and spent long hours playing with my friends around tracks, trestles, and train yards. And this tape conjured up memories of my 1980s European travels, settled in for hours on trains and gazing out the windows as many a village, city, countryside, mountains and more rolled by.
Kapotte Muziek is the name used by veteran Dutch hometaper and sound maestro Frans de Waard. Frans also headed up the Korm Plastics label. Bahnhof is German for train station and each of the four tracks translates to the same from different languages.
Side A opens with ‘Stazione’, which places the listener on the train, experiencing the tedium of clattering along tracks as we head to our destination. The minimal travel theme is augmented by the almost song-like feel provided by a repetitive toot-toot whistle. ‘Gare’ modifies the theme slightly, with the train traveling at a slow pace, the whistle sounding more like a pleading whine, and a lazy, constant knocking pattern added for rhythmic color. ‘Estacion’ continues with barely perceptible changes, injecting a mild squeal to the train’s wheels. The entirety of Side B is taken up by ‘Stanice’, which changes direction by running the field recordings through effects such that we could just as easily be experiencing a raging storm as riding on a train. The overall feel is of a pleasantly cruising ambient-noise excursion.
I have fond memories of trains and the imagery abounded in my mind throughout the set. I grew up near train tracks and spent long hours playing with my friends around tracks, trestles, and train yards. And this tape conjured up memories of my 1980s European travels, settled in for hours on trains and gazing out the windows as many a village, city, countryside, mountains and more rolled by.