HET CONCREET

About

Het Concreet connects yesterday’s technology with today’s makers.

Het Concreet is a long-term project conceived by Mathijn den Duijf and Mathijs Leeuwis.

In recent years, their artistic signatures have amalgamated organically through a series of collaborative projects, and their creative work as makers has become inextricably linked. They express a common artistic vision in which the analog tape forms the basis of an experimental quest to explore and present new worlds of sound. At their studio in the Dutch city of Tilburg they collaborate with a wide range of makers and musicians to create a new domain for experimental music. Listeners from diverse musical backgrounds are welcome in their studio. Expertise meets experiment inside the walls of Het Concreet.

Het Concreet has a close affinity with the legacy left by the pioneers of analog music of the 20th century and seeks new spaces, applications and audiences for the music deriving from their quest. The analog sound tape is central to this: it is used not just as a sound carrier, but rather as an instrument that produces a sound of its own when we process, slow down or stretch the tape. The central question Het Concreet asks is: how can we use a minimum amount of notes to create the biggest possible sound spectrum? The music issuing from this study is instrumental in giving a broad group of listeners the chance to immerse in the innovative world of sound created by Het Concreet.

Studio

Experimental lab space for analog ambitions

The studio space used by Het Concreet is located on Ringbaan Oost in Tilburg at the makers’ work place on Dock Zuid. This workshop is where the equipment, technology and expertise of Mathijn den Duijf and Mathijs Leeuwis come together. Mathijn den Duijf’s studio was previously housed at Kytopia on Oudegracht in Utrecht. The workshop is the place where they develop their own creations, but also where makers can get to know analog sound techniques and where they can collaborate to create and record new work.

Gearlist

Otari - opiate sound - 24 tracks at high, I mean, HIGH speed
Revox - revive sound - workhorses: could stand a nuclear blast
Studer - sturdy sound - mastering at master quality
Korg - kidnap sound - those echoes, that decay
Tascam - theatrical sound - plug ’n play and loop away on that 1/2’’
Grundig - grind sound - lower than lo-fi gets us high
Manley - more magic sound - compress until you press no more
LEM - lengthen sound - dark horse of echoes with a feedback you would want to sleep in
Soundcraft - support sound - Alice in wonderland in- and outputs
Urei - unclutch sound - get your mix right & tight
Universal Audio - uni-warmth sound - it’s getting hot in here
Nakamichi - necessitate sound - let’s go outside!

Fontys AMPA

Het Concreet offers places to students of Fontys Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA) within the scope of workshops, optional modules and minors. Students from different fields of study can get to know the analog sound techniques Het Concreet has available; they can experiment from their own backgrounds and develop ideas for new compositions guided by Het Concreet. Students’ creations realized with Het Concreet are captured in high-quality recordings.

Residencies

Het Concreet regularly invites musicians from different backgrounds to take part in residencies for one or more days. This is a proven method of properly getting to know the makers and their artistic signature, and of enabling artists to become acquainted with the analog sound techniques that Het Concreet has available. The point of departure for every working session is to give every maker the latitude to make his or her own unique contribution. Every residency is led by the common urge to explore and discover rather than by assignments formulated in advance or previously elaborated compositions.

Residents 2021

Leo Abrahams (UK)
Aafke Romeijn
Daniel Cross
Eduardo Gaspard Polo Baader
Poulson Sq.
Kobi Arditi
VONK Ensemble

Apply

You can apply for a residency at Het Concreet. Het Concreet is open for innovative project proposals that formulate a clear research question based on the analog techniques available in the studio space. Residency proposals can be addressed to anneroos@hetconcreet.com. Keep your proposal brief (max 500 words) and please add three recent works for reference. It is possible to discuss your proposal on forehand to check for compatibility and feasibility.

AGENDA

UPCOMING AT HET CONCREET

— 2021

— September onwards
Residency | Fontys AMPA project weeks at Het Concreet
Studio Het Concreet, Tilburg
AMPA students enroll through Fontys

— October 31
Livestream | Daniël Cross
Het Concreet X IGTV
Follow Het Concreet on Instagram here

— November 6 & 7
Residency | Het Concreet direct-to-disc-session
Artone Studio
check out about Artone here

— November 21
Livestream | PANENKOV
Het Concreet X IGTV
Follow Het Concreet on Instagram here

— November 26 & 27
Project | Tilburg Concrète
24 hour musical marathon
check out our Instagram for updates

— December 19
Livestream | REYER
Het Concreet X IGTV
Follow Het Concreet on Instagram here

— 2022

— Spring
Residency | Leo Abrahams (UK) at Het Concreet
Studio Het Concreet, Tilburg
check out Leo Abrahams here

— April 12 & 13
Residency | Chuck Johnson (US) at Het Concreet
Studio Het Concreet, Tilburg
check out Chuck Johnson here

STUDIO ARCHIVE

— 2021

— May 30
Livestream | Eduardo Gaspar Polo Baader
Het Concreet X IGTV

— April 25
Livestream | Mathijn den Duijf
Het Concreet X IGTV

— March 28
Livestream | Poulson Sq.
Het Concreet X IGTV

— February 28
Livestream | Het Concreet
Het Concreet X IGTV

— Juni 28-30
Residency | Daniël Cross at Het Concreet
Studio Het Concreet, Tilburg
check out Daniël Cross here

— September 22-25
Residency | Roberto Pistolesi (IT) at Het Concreet
Studio Het Concreet, Tilburg
check out Roberto Pistolesi here

— September 25
Live | Roberto Pistolesi and Het Concreet at Paradox
Paradox Tilburg
buy your tickets here

— October 4-8
Residency | Aafke Romeijn at Het Concreet
Studio Het Concreet, Tilburg
check out Aafke Romeijn here

— October 8
Symposium | Het Concreet X Dock Zuid on the studio as a compositional tool
Participants: Aafke Romeijn, Anthony Fiumara, Mathijn den Duijf
Dock Zuid
check out our symposium here