released July 24, 2020

Participants:
Simon Steiner, Martijn Hohmann, Remmelt Hemmes, Panayofis Theodorou, Frans de Waard, Andries Eker, Yaron Govers, Roelof Blok, Louise Nanuru, Chelsey van Dellen, Rene Paes, Tineke Mons, Rob Prenger, Richard van Dellen, Klaas Mons.



Each Part plays as one singe track but titles are as follows:
Part 1
1 Herinneringen Aan De Toekomst
2 Opzettelijk Ouderwets
3 Psalteria
4 Liedje
5 Plebs
6 Hardanger
7 Ze Verzuipen
8 Minimal
9 Kapitaal Vernietiging
10 Sultani
11 Auf Abwegen
12 A.Kostis
13 Zwaar
14 Chelseyscelsi
15 Aguiriana
16 Gerauswelten
17 Grondstof
18 Archaic
19 Ontmanteling
20 Calmex
21 Huis Der Ewigheid
22 Enklava
23 Nymwegen
24 Oppa

Part 2
1 Galvanipper
2 Arbeiderszelfbestuur
3 Flash In De Pan
4 Nikos Beloyannis
5 Tubulara Bells
6 Silent Punk
7 Doof Paard
8 Viceconsul
9 Rillington Place
10 Kantelen
11 Joy Division
12 Carboon
13 Passaggio
14 Prengeriaanse Dynastie
15 Muya
16 Conglomeraat
17 Pax
18 Vierkwartswals
19 Waterwegen
20 Octet
21 Spectraal Compendium
22 Arbeidsethos
23 Gruwelsmartlap
24 Dronebaan
25 Ungleichland
26 Dominee
27 Huismuziek
28 Indu
29 Midagebelpan

Reviews:
DE FABRIEK - APXHAIX (2CD by De Fabriek)

For more than thirty years, the amorphous Dutch group De Fabriek (“The Factory”) have been
committed to two things: collaboration with artists from around the world, and resistance to
consistency. I tend to think of De Fabriek as being similar to Doc Wör Mirran, in that they make
whatever music they’re moved to make with whomever they want to make it with… one album
may or may not sound like the others you’ve heard. The last De Fabriek album I listened to was
an electronic industrial album of heavy synthetic beats and synthesizer noise. This one is the
exact opposite. The 52 tracks are presented without an index so that each disc runs together into
one track apiece. The material is notable for how sparse it is, and how deliberate the pacing; one
track could contain just two or three elements, perhaps a baroque cello and a voice. Or a distant
drone and some rainfall. Or a gently understated acoustic guitar pattern and an environmental
recording, or a jaw harp and some light electronic processing, a folk song and piano. A track
appears for a couple of minutes, then segues into the next. Voices are prominent on
“APXHAIX” (which is Greek for “Archaic”), in multiple languages; I think I heard Dutch, Italian,
English, maybe German, probably more than those… if I understood multiple languages, I might
have gotten more out of these sections, but literal meaning might be secondary to sonic character.
I chose to hear the words as musical elements instead of text. A very even pace persists across all
two+ hours of the album; the effect is like listening to a late-night radio station with a DJ moving
steadily between classical strings and stranger tape music but being careful not to shatter the
overall hushed atmosphere. Frans actually described the album to me as being “like a DJ set”,
and I think that’s accurate. It doesn’t seem necessary to take in everything on these two discs in a
single sitting. The episodic nature of “APXHAIX” seems well-suited to being played in the
background, the listener allowing it to shape the room’s ambience, dipping in and out when a
particular passage grabs their attention. (HS)