A short biography of
FREEK KINKELAAR

born May 30, 1966 Utrecht, The Netherlands

My interest in music started in the late seventies. Prior to that I had taken some lessons for guitar and ukulele, but never got beyond a rather hopeless campfire-level. In February 1981, after seeing a 30-second sample clip of Adam and the Ants’ Antmusic single on television, I became a major Ant-fan. Through their punk-roots I got involved in the punk/new wave/new romantics scene, which was an exiting time. I have been active in the experimental music scene since 1984, when I first started recording my battered homemade electric guitar, which was plugged in my 1940s tube radio system. The resulting tapes featured a lot of abstract and loud noise, which I loved and the neighbours hated. I made a couple of private tapes in 1984/1985 using that guitar and tube radio amplifier. In the mid-1980s I formed The Honeymooners, who played primitive popmusic. The name was a Monochrome Set reference. After we broke up I formed Dar Pomorza with a friend. We played experimental popmusic. The name came from an ancient Polish ship and means 'Gift of Pomorza', Pomorza being a Polish town. I played rudimentary guitar, bass guitar, piano and drums. Not at the same time though. Dar Pomorza made its live debut at Willemeen in Arnhem on 23 January 1987 and, being sandwitched between two heavy metal bands, caused a near-riot. Unfortunately not in a positive way.

From 1984 to 1987 I contributed several noise-experiments to compilation cassettes. Most of these were solo recordings released under the pseudonym Honeymoon Production. As Honeymoon Production I also produced Manipulation Muzak as a part of RRRs series of anti records. This release featured an LP cover, a piece of vinyl and instructions how to bake your own record. The product was compared to John Cage's 4:33, which made me very proud at the time.

In 1986 I began the short-lived Honeymoon Production label, which released the Voices In A Dark Room compilation double cassette. I was very fortunate with the number of artists that were willing to contribute a track. The tape came out great and was re-released several years later on Bake records on compact disc. In the early 1990s I founded the Seven On A Broom In The Sky label issuing various solo recordings. The name came from a Dutch children's song. Happy Shark records was founded in 2000 for a sole single in an edition of 11 copies. Frans de Waard and I founded Plinkity Plonk records in 2000, which initially released Beequeen related material only, but later also music by other artists. For an extensive Plinkity Plonk discography, please visit the official Beequeen website.

In the winter of 1988 long time friend Edward Kaspel of The Legendary Pink Dots asked me to fill in as support act for a live Pink Dots performance in January 1989. Because I had no idea what to do, I contacted Frans de Waard and together we formed Beequeen. This collaboration was initially based upon our mutual admiration of the ideas of German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys. Beequeen recorded quite a number of compact discs, vinyl records and cassettes, which were released around the world. Close relations with the Legendary Pink Dots were kept, resulting in various support act performances and, in 1990, a split 12 inch single with the Dots called Der Aussiedler featuring music composed for a fashion show. In 1995 Beequeen released Sugarbush, which was a unique compact disc featuring cover versions of songs by the likes of Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond. However, only the titles are covered. The music is in fact entirely different to the original versions. In 1997 Beequeen played live for Dutch national radio VPRO's programme De Avonden. The recordings were subsequently released on compact disc as Stetson. To this date Beequeen continues to develop itself, record and release music. Our latest recordings are more musically based than ever, which is very fulfilling to the both of us. The last two Beequeen CD's Ownliness and The Body Shop are the ones I'm most proud of. Beequeen has become a part of my normal life, just like Beuys intended all art to be a part of day-to-day life.

In the early 1990s I worked with Dutch conceptual artist Paul Panhuysen at Het Apollohuis in Eindhoven. We mastered and selected recordings for four compact discs as released by Panhuysen (including music for birds and one for matrix printers). I also wrote the liner notes for a compilation compact disc released by Panhuysen. The work was great and I learned a lot from Panhuysen. The amount of trust and responsibility he gave me was very rewarding. It was therefore a privilege for me to release a compact disc by Panhuysen years later on our Plinkity Plonk label.

In 1989 a brand new solo project called Brunnen was started. The idea was to combine songs with abstract soundscapes. So far Brunnen released 3 LPs, 2 singles (one on 8 inch plastic) and a cassette. On 13 May 1995 Brunnen opened the first Festival Musique Ultimes in Nevers, France with Ryan Moore (of The Legendary Pink Dots) on bass guitar. Even though Brunnen is not very active, a surprise second Brunnen show was staged on 12 May 2003 in Nijmegen. A comprehensive Brunnen compilation CD/LP The Beekeeper’s Dream featuring both old and new recordings was released on BLRR in April 2006. Two hundred copies came with bonus picture disc with two long harmonium pieces.

In 2000 I released the single 10 October 2000 in honour to my father who died that day. 11 copies of the single were handmade, all of which were sealed in wax. For this project it was obvious that I would not use the name Brunnen. A new project was born out of this tragic event: The Beautiful Glassbottom Boat. In 2001 I released a second single on Plinkity Plonk records. Despite the fact that I really love the name, The Beautiful Glassbottom Boat is not very active with recording, even though more recordings are planned.

After the release of the Beequeen album Treatise in 2000, Frans and I thought long and hard about the future of Beequeen. It was clear that we could continue making drone/ambient records without much problem, but it would also be without much pleasure. We both felt that we had created what we wanted to create. From this realization came two things: one, we decided to let the fact that we both liked popmusic a lot play a part in Beequeen. This resulted in Ownliness, which was a huge step forward for us both. The following albums The Body Shop and Sandancing both have a strange pop/ambient feeling to them, which I really like. The second thing was the creation of Wander. Wander is Frans and myself concentrating on music created by mainly using organs and ancient and very untrustworthy synthesizers. The idea was also to make this as anonymous as possible. Therefore, all Wander releases share the same title “Wander”. We also planned to make a release on every format available for music only once (eg one CD, one single, one track on a compilation etc’s). However, we both liked Wander so much, this is probably a rule that’s going to be broken. Our best Wander release so far is Wander (to help a bit, it’s the one that was released on Divine Frequency in 2009), an album we’re both very proud of. Wander continues to thrive.

I have been fortunate enough to have worked with conceptual artist Gerald Jupiter-Larssen (The Haters) on two occasions: a radio play called Final, for Radio Rataplan (November 28, 1989) and a live performance of Drilling Holes at Doornroosje in Nijmegen (October 11, 1991). I also mixed a Radio Rataplan performance by The Haters (October, 1991) and one by Kapotte Muziek/Merzbow (also 1991). The last performance was released on vinyl. I have been very lucky to have met, spoken or corresponded with a lot of people who I admire for who they are and what they do.

In 1994 I founded the Satanic Vagina Fanclub dedicated to the works of surrealist artist Jordi Valls (alias Vagina Dentata Organ). The fanclub is still going strong and I'm still the only member.

Apart from all these musical adventures, I was co-founder (with Rob Woesthoff) and editor of the Dadaist magazine Nivo Stilo in the early 1980s. We were a group of friends in high school convinced art was dead and we would save it. We published the magazine for 3 years, published one volume of poetry and planned a second volume, which was never completed. We also did a poster action in Arnhem, where we pasted our manifesto on the walls of shops during a freezing winter night. The next day we distributed hundreds of brochures to oblivious shoppers in the city center. It was all very dada and naive. A great time.

I also co-presented the avant garde music programme Art And Noise for 4 years on Radio Rataplan; the oldest independent radio station in The Netherlands. I made the theme music for Art And Noise and got the chance to play some of the music I like on the radio.

I went to school in Arnhem for most of the 1980s, studied for my bachelor degree in the arts in Nijmegen and later at the Academy of Arts in Arnhem. While studying in Nijmegen, I played in two theatre plays; Mea Culpa on 24 and 25 February 1987 and Merg (written by Judith Herzberg) in 1988. For my studies in Nijmegen I made paintings based on the ground plans of churches. For my examinations in Arnhem I made an installation called Arizona In My Backyard, based on childhood memories. The installation featured a 4 minute endless tape recording. All of the designs for Brunnen records and some of the Beequeen designs were done by me.

I enjoy dancing a lot. In January 1996 I joined Ain't We Sweet, a dance group focusing on dances from 1850 to 1950 (e.g. Mambo, Tango, Bossa Nova and American Swing). We frequently performed with this group. From 1998 to 2002 I was a member of the Board of Ain't We Sweet. Unfortunately the group folded in 2002 due to a lack of members. Currently I'm taking courses in ballroom and latin dancing.

In November 2005 I joined the Vermeulen Dance Orchestra playing guitar and bassguitar. Great fun was had by all.

I love collecting records and I have an extensive collection of many varied artists and genres. In 2000 I started working on a complete discography by Korla Pandit. For more information on this fascinating artist, please visit the official website at www.korlapandit.com.

Since June 2004 I have been writing reviews and short articles on experimental music for leading UK specialists magazine Record Collector.

All hail to merry march hares Frans and Terry for their help with these pages.

On 9 November 2001 I married Miranda Appel and we lived happily ever after.

Thank you for your attention!

Freek Kinkelaar

May 2006