Instant | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by The Ex + Guests | ||||
Released | October 1995 | |||
Studio | Koeienverhuurbedrijf, Purmerland, Holland | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 69:10 | |||
Label | CrossTalk (US) Ex Records/RecRec Music (Netherlands) | |||
Producer | Dolf Planteijdt | |||
The Ex + Guests chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Tom Hull | A− [2] |
Instant is a double compact disc by the Dutch experimental post-punk band The Ex. The band recorded the album in conjunction with many guest musicians, notably members of Holland's Instant Composers Pool (ICP) for whom the album is partially named, the other part being that the Dutch term for "free improvisation" literally translates to "instant composition." [3]
The Ex had long collaborated with ICP members and featured those recordings on the double album Joggers and Smoggers and on the box set 6 . Instant marked the band's first album of entirely instrumental and improvised music. Instant's 32 tracks feature shifting duos and trios of musicians performing on a wide array of conventional (electric guitars, reeds, brass, etc.) and non-conventional (e.g., toffee-tin bass) instruments. [4] Though the entire album could have fit onto one 70-minute CD, the band formatted it for a briefer listening experience with each of Instant's 35-minute discs containing 16 short tracks.
Dean McFarlane's review for Allmusic is quite positive (in contrast to the middling score), calling it a culmination of the "stridently avant-garde direction" the band had taken "beginning with the Joggers and Smoggers album and explored extensively with cellist Tom Cora -- from the punchy chaotic punk rock of the band's '80s releases to total free improvisation." He writes that the "collection covers a lot of ground, from noisy vignettes in the vein of Fred Frith and Chris Cutler's workouts to subdued passages that recall even atonal avant-garde classical works; AMM and Derek Bailey also spring to mind. Instant is not all free-form, however -- in fact, the forms are held together by vague folk themes and the band's classic angular Captain Beefheart-like arrangements." He concludes by writing that the "two-CD set is certainly substantial in covering the band's multifaceted work, and with a group this unique and with so many compelling approaches that mix folk, punk, free jazz, and ethnic forms in such a singular fashion, there are few other recordings of this nature around." [1] Trouser Press was similarly positive, calling it "[n]icely annotated, bravely executed and totally cool." [3]
Disc 1
Disc 2
Various band members also play organ, accordion, samples + tape, djembé-springs, mbira, reed shakers, musical saw, acoustic guitar, double-bass, chairs.
The Ex is an underground band from the Netherlands, started in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion as a Dutch punk band. The Ex originated from the squatting movement in Amsterdam and Wormer, and was inspired by bands like The Fall and The Mekons.
In the Fishtank 9 is an album of songs by alternative rock bands Sonic Youth, the Instant Composers Pool Orchestra, and the Ex. It was released in 2001 on the Konkurrent label.
Joggers and Smoggers is a double album by punk artists The Ex, released in 1989 as a double vinyl record album, and issued as a double CD in 1992. It is the first of the Ex's albums to feature extensive use of improvisation and instruments outside of the standard guitar/bass/drums arrangement of punk rock, as well as great numbers of international guest musicians, most notably New York's Sonic Youth, Glasgow's Dog Faced Hermans, Amsterdam's Instant Composers Pool, as well as numerous folk musicians from a variety of European and Middle Eastern traditions. The album marked a turning point in The Ex's artistry, foreshadowing many collaborations and delvings into avant-garde, experimental, improvisational, folk and world music that the band would mix with their abrasive trademark post-punk sound in the 20 years to come.
Disturbing Domestic Peace was the debut album from Dutch anarchist band The Ex.
And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders is the second of two albums by Dutch punk band The Ex in collaboration with avant-garde cellist Tom Cora. Cora was acknowledged in the credits of earlier album Joggers and Smoggers but didn't actually appear on an Ex album until a recording session in 1990 which led to Scrabbling at the Lock as well as And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders.
Tumult is the third album by Dutch anarchist punk rock band The Ex, originally released in 1983. It was produced by Jon Langford of The Mekons and Dolf Planteijdt.
History is What's Happening is the second album Dutch punk rock band The Ex, originally released in 1982.
Pokkeherrie is a 1985 album by The Ex, originally released on vinyl only on the Pokabilly label. The original release included an eleven-page booklet containing lyrics & artwork and a double sided poster. It was reissued on compact disc in 1995 on Ex Records. The album comprises a collection of songs the group had performed on an anti-military tour. The title of the album is a Dutch word that means something like "so much noise" or "awful noise". It is the first of the Ex's albums to feature Katrin on drums, cementing the band's core lineup that would last for nearly two decades.
Scrabbling at the Lock is the first of two albums by Dutch punk band The Ex in collaboration with avant-garde cellist Tom Cora. It is also the first of The Ex's studio albums to feature the work of then Dog Faced Hermans guitarist Andy Moor, who has remained in the band ever since.
Mudbird Shivers is an album by Dutch punk/experimental band The Ex. The album prominently features vocals by guest musician Han Buhrs, who also plays a number of different instruments on the recording. It was released the same year as The Ex's entirely instrumental improv album Instant.
Aural Guerrilla is the 1988 studio album by Dutch anarchist post-punk band The Ex, co-released by American indie label Homestead Records.
Too Many Cowboys is the second double-album Dutch anarchist punk band The Ex. Released in 1987, it mixes live and studio recordings and marks the band's beginning of a collaboration with British anarchist group Chumbawamba.
Hands Up! You're Free is an album by Dutch anarcho-punk band The Ex compiling the group's three different Peel sessions recorded for BBC Radio 1 during the 1980s. The Ex released the collection on their own label, Ex Records, first on vinyl in June 1988, then on CD in 2003.
Blueprints for a Blackout is the fourth album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex, originally released in 1984. It was the first of The Ex's albums to feature Luc playing bass guitar and he would remain as the band's bass player for 20 years. The album also featured many guest musicians, a notable trend in The Ex's discography that would provide musical elements unique to each of their albums.
Een Rondje Holland is a live album by Ex Orkest, an orchestra made up of the Dutch post-punk band The Ex accompanied by 20 other musicians. The album features orchestral arrangements of previously released Ex songs mixed with pieces of improvised music. The tracks were recorded over a series of four performances in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, and compiled for release on the band's own label in 2001.
6 is a collection of six singles by Dutch musical group The Ex. The singles were available in record shops and also through a subscription with a new one being issued every two months throughout 1991. Each of the singles explored different facets of The Ex's musical relationships and interests, featuring collaborations with an array of musicians and other artists. The 6 singles were not released on The Ex's CD collection, Singles. Period. The Vinyl Years 1980–1990 as they comprised an album to be collected and stored in a single box. The band announced plans to reissue the collection on CD in 2010, but have yet to do so.
G.W. Sok is a Dutch singer, best known for his 30-year career as the frontman of the Ex. G.W. Sok left the Ex in 2008 to focus on a solo career and collaboration projects with other musicians, participation in theatre performances and spoken word performances. Apart from his musical career he is also active as a writer and a graphic designer.
1936, The Spanish Revolution is an album of songs and archival photographs related to the Spanish Civil War, recorded and assembled by Dutch anarchist punk band The Ex. The band released it in 1986, the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Revolution, on their own label as a square 7" (17.5 cm) soft-cover book with two 45 rpm records. A 5" (12.5 cm) hardcover edition was republished by AK press in 1997, replacing the records with a pair of 3" CDs.
Enormous Door is an album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex and Brass Unbound, a quartet of horn players hailing from four different countries. The album was released in 2013 on The Ex's own label, comprising reworked versions of previously released songs and alongside entirely new material.
Instant Composers Pool (ICP) is an independent Dutch jazz and improvised music label and orchestra. Founded in 1967, the label takes its name from the concept that improvisation is "instant composition". The ICP label has published more than 50 releases to date, with most of its releases featuring the ICP Orchestra and its members.