Dronescape 6.4 is the thirteenth in a series of albums, containing new Digital Symphonies by Oscar van Dillen. The work and text of this album were collaboratively created, composed, and recorded June 2021-June 2022.

Music created by Oscar van Dillen and Leo Vervelde; cover art of this album created by Oscar van Dillen.

Similar to the earlier Dronescape releases, this work can be considered to be an Electronic or Digital Symphony. This one-part collaborative work is called Oneirology 5.

Dronescape 6.4 is the fifth in a subseries, a kind of dreaming space in which Vervelde’s ideas are developed; the following releases will contain further collaborative versions with additional musicians, adding new original layers of music and meaning to this work.

Musicians

Oscar van Dillen          Composition, electronics, sound design, mixing, and production

Leo Vervelde               Bandoneon, composition

Tracks

1. Section 1           3:50
2. Section 2           4:16
3. Section 3           4:23
4. Section 4           5:10
5. Section 5           4:35
6. Section 6           3:51
7. Section 7           4:39
8. Section 8           4:08
9. Section 9           7:00
10. Section 10          3:05
11. Section 11          5:22
12. Section 12          3:21

Total duration:             53:46

Download the CD booklet HERE

Dronescape

The title Dronescape suggests the contraction of the terms Drone and Soundscape, inferring a music which might at first sight be mistaken for ambient only. But not at a hearing: there is mostly a friendly and pleasant surface character to most compositions, but careful listening will reveal less obvious details and sounds, sometimes surprising, at other times perhaps disturbing.

In music, a drone (or bourdon) is understood to be a continuous sound, interval or chord, usually an accompaniment to a modal structure (melodic music based on a particular scale). Special instruments exist, dedicated to playing the drone only, such as the tanpura and the swar peti from India. Instruments are found all over the world that include drones within the melodic instruments themselves, such as the taraf strings on many Asian string instruments, but also the drone pipes next to the chanter in bagpipes, or the hurdy gurdy, and its predecessor the organistrum with their drone strings. Aboriginal didgeridoo music can be considered to consist purely of a rhythmized drone. Traditionally, drones with their sustained pitches are used as a harmonic support to the melodic music performed. In the Dronescapes by van Dillen the music itself has become rhythmized drone and soundscape at the same time, foregoing the traditional compositional hierarchies of theme and accompaniment, by using the following musical elements, in order of prominence: 1. sound 2. harmony 3. rhythm 4. melody. This non-prominence of melody stresses the absence of a traditional theme and accompaniment-oriented music, instead the work moves towards a more inclusive approach. This does not mean there are no developing linear structures, but rather that in a way the album can perhaps be regarded as being semipermeable to outside additions, whether coincidental and random (such as happening when listening outdoor or with windows opened), or improvised, or composed, or even as a large minus one recording, open to be supplemented by the listener, whether in imagined or performed future additional music.

Oneirology series

In our current times of SARS-Covid pandemic, art in general, more specifically exhibitions, concerts and music performances and other events where an audience can meet creative artists, have in general been cancelled and made practically impossible in most places, mostly by government regulations that have so far proven to be as ineffective against the virus as they have been effective at disconnecting people. Divide et rege in action?

In our days, the world seems to be coming apart, coming apart again, we may be tempted to think, as humanity seems to have dealt with this before in the past. Indeed, there have been many past ages in which prophets of a kind have proclaimed the end of the world, with solutions offered within the context of their beliefs, mostly irrational solutions to irrational problems. Apocalyptic visions have thus helped establish many a tyrant in history. People that do not distinguish between belief and knowledge are tempted to believe that the current crises modern Science describes are no different from similar historical situations. There are vital differences however, among which the rational nature of the problem descriptions. Most importantly, this time we can objectively observe the crises in progress: today we are facing real and planetary existential threats, not just to ourselves, but to most life.

To name three of these existential threats:

1. Human Waste (do we recall the plastics we see everywhere outdoors, are we aware that part of it is making us sterile in the next decades to come, which means possibly no more babies can be conceived and no more will be born?),
2. Planetary Climate Change (have we noticed the weather patterns change everywhere, and lack or overabundance of rainfalls in places, as well as some rivers ceasing to flow and others starting to regularly overflow, beginning to make large areas uninhabitable in the foreseeable future, are we aware that safe access to clean sweet water is fundamentally needed for all life, have we noticed the unusual heat and cold waves accompanying the changing patterns of precipitation?),
3. Artificial Intelligence (merely the next technology it seems, but what is it used for -and it certainly is used globally already- how does it affect every aspect of daily life, not just human, and most importantly: who will decide on how to regulate its use, whom will we elect to defend us from the existential threats, which politicians, often said to be notoriously analphabetic where websites, online multinationals, automated systems, digital technologies and computers in general are concerned, who will have the courage to act upon what is fact, science, knowledge?).

Such huge existential threats, getting worse every day, seem to generally not get the attention they need and deserve, sometimes to the point of facing censorship or litigation. Small beginnings need to be made and long-term nurtured, starting with reconnecting real people, not just online aliases, in a rational and realistic context.

The composer decided with this work to create such a small beginning, a common space to listen and dream together. To create, within the scope of his expertise, a dedicated work of music: a dark dreaming space, inviting other professionals to dream together, to dream music together, closely collaborating in a Covid-proof manner, remotely connecting in a joint effort, creating fresh beginnings for what can become a musical alphabet for Babel*, connecting and working together with specialists from various musical traditions.

In thus connecting, people enlarge their world yet make it come closer and seem smaller, more comprehensible, at a stroke. This is the major benefit of modern technology, without which the creation of this album would have been near impossible. You too are invited to connect, and listen or dream along, to face and escape reality and its daily nightmares, to imagine freely what to do, what to add, what to create: to imagine in the spirit of John Lennon.

* See also the Babel Alphabet paintings by Oscar van Dillen (1993)

Making of Oneirology 5

At the outset Leo Vervelde wanted to use the full special character of the bandoneon, explicitly asking to bring out the characteristic noises of the instrument and use them in the larger musical context. This is how the layers were recorded: with 6 microphones, 4 of them up close with 2 overheads (in the final mix not always all 6 tracks were used). This brings the listener closer than ever to this unique instrument, almost as if one is playing oneself.

Recording all the prepared materials by Vervelde took 2 days, and the work was done in a real flow and in good cheer.

Of the 3 layers of bandoneon recorded only 2 were used. Additional material, which van Dillen later mixed in during the composing /mixing phase, adds a high-pitched granular reverb, to create a further connection of the instrumental music with the electronics. This was realized in such a way that it could be performed live in this precise manner, for a possible future live version. The overall form is wie aus einem Guss and is from the very first day of recording.

After recording, all microphone tracks were carefully placed in order to avoid audio phase conflicts, but a random mouse-slip displaced one stereo track some seconds, which only became apparent during listening.

It led to an unforeseen canonic section which sounded so beautiful that it was kept in the final composition (section 11). This polyphony adds emotional and formal scope.

When the unforeseen happens, the open-minded artist can choose to evaluate the effect of the unforeseen to possibly include it if chance led to a better result than the precise compositional procedure originally planned.

As a frame for the whole work, van Dillen chose small sections which were recorded in between official takes which had soft rhythmical accents borrowed from, and referring to, Argentinian Tango, the world-famous style which Vervelde spent his life studying, performing and teaching; in Rotterdam where he co-founded the World Music Academy of Codarts, but not just in Rotterdam, he has been instrumental in educating both audiences and performers of Tango all over the world. These rhythmical fragments can be heard at the beginning and at the very end, and work as a frame to the image of the larger work.

Oneirology 5

This collaborative Oneirology touches on deep emotions; the lyrical long lines of the bandoneon lead the listener through landscapes of sometimes ambiguous feelings. After hearing the final mix, Vervelde observed that in fact, although the work as a whole does leave a strong and clear impression, the precise meaning left behind seems to change at the next listening. Did hearing change the listener, or the music itself, or both perhaps?

There is a fluid quality to this music, now with long lyrical melodies, sometimes in a canonic counterpoint, filled with a longing feeling, then again with rhythmical accents, as if impatient, and then again with long chromatic harmonic progressions in more pensive and ambiguous moods.

The overall form follows the 5 parts already present in the underlying original work Oneirology (Dronescape 6.0), yet these parts are now in 2 or 3 sections, which each their own character, each contributing seamlessly to the long breath of the larger form.

An overview of the form and sections is given in the table:

This 5-part form is also visible in a spectrally coloured wave form view in which colours represent use of similar register:

This album presents a unique work for bandoneon and electronics, one of the rare few since David Tudor’s work “Bandoneon ! (a combine)” from 1966 started the genre. Vervelde compared Oneirology 5 to a cubist sculpture, like Ossip Zadkine’s “The Destroyed City” from 1953, which stands in the center of Rotterdam: from every angle it looks completely different. In the same way this music is also widely different depending on the listening, despite the fixed master version presented on this recording. All special sounds and bandoneon effects, percussive, bellows and air, rattling and cracking noises have been included. Vervelde was especially happy with how this album captured the unique tone of his bandoneon, quite different from his usual repertoire, where it figures in ensembles, not solo. In a way then, the unique character of this very special instrument was captured, but also transcended by the interactions with electronic sounds and the subtle live granular synthesis added to some bandoneon layers. Those who know the bandoneon very well will recognize all details of its unique tone and noises.

Dronescape series

So far, the following Dronescapes have been released:

1. Genesis
2. Genomes – Emanations
3. Infinity
4. Requiem for a Planet
5. Myrmecology
6. Oneirology (series of collaborations)
   1. solo version Oscar van Dillen
   2. version with Kudsi Erguner
   3. version with Henri Tournier
   4. version with Pier Sante Falconi
   5. version with Leo Vervelde
7. Jñāna – Rigpa
8. The four Pillars of Reason
9. Matters of Life or Death
10. Anthropocene

A word of warning: after careful listening, the world around you may not sound the same any longer.

Leo Vervelde

• 1968 start accordion lessons with Gerrit Hommerson sr.
• 1972 – 1974 accordion lessons with Philip van Loon
• 1974 – 1976 accordion lessons with Marc Belder
• 1976 – 1979 Rotterdams Conservatorium accordion lessons with Philip van Loon
• 1979 – 1984 played accordion in several ensembles: Duo Dominique Jacques-Leo Vervelde (France chanson) Squeek (Anglo-Saxon folk) ; Rotterdams Binnenstads Trio (Dutch and Eastern European folklore and France musette) ; Buitenband (idem) ; ZuperZinq (pop/new wave)

• 1984 – 1985 Circus Horlepiep with Dutch authors/poets Hans Dorrestijn and Levi Weemoedt

• (several recordings and radio and tv performances)

• 1986 Start to play as an autodidact Bandoneón
• 1987 founding tango and folklore trio Otros Tiempos
• 1989 – 1990 bandoneón lessons with Juan José Mosalini at Conservatoire Edgar Varèse in Paris / France
• 1988 – 1999 Founding together with bandoneón colleague Carel Kraayenhof first traditional tango sextet in Europe Sexteto Canyengue. Making many tours from Buenos Aires to Malaysia and from Finland to the USA. Many radio and tv performances in and outside of the Netherlands and many theatre and club tours.

• 1988 – … Founding Tango club Cuartito Azul (in Rotterdam).

• 1990 Visit to Buenos Aires, playing for and with Osvaldo Pugliese y su Orquesta Típica

• 1990 – … Organizing Tango concerts and events in The Netherlands mainly Rotterdam in theatres like Thelonious, Tejatro Popular, Nighttown, De Doelen etc. Inviting since this year many orchestra’s from Buenos Aires to Europe f.e. Osvaldo Pugliese y su Orquesta Típica, Sexteto Tango, Raúl Barbasa, Tango, Beba Pugliese y su Septeto, Sexteto Mayor, Color Tango, El Arranque, Sexteto Meridional and many more

• 1995 Participating with Sexteto Canyengue and Roberto Alvarez (bandoneón) and dancers from Het Nationale Ballet in Het Holland Festival with El Arte del Tango
• 1995 Participating Cumbre Mundial del Tango, Granada/Spain
• 1992 – 1997 5 CD’s with Sexteto Canyengue: Por el Tango… , Tiburonero, Piazzolla bien canyengue, Tangueros de Holanda, 5 Tangos.
• 1993 – … Founding first professional education for tango music at Rotterdams Conservatorium (now Codarts Rotterdam, University of the Arts) together with Carel Kraayenhof.
• 1993 – … Being Head of studies Argentine Tango and
  • bandoneón teacher
  • history of tango
  • ensemble teacher
• 1993 – 1995 Maestro Don Osvaldo Pugliese was Artistic Leader of the Tango education in Rotterdam
• 1994 – … Founding of the Gran Orquesta Típica OTRA and leading since. Making many tours mainly within Europe and to Buenos Aires, many radio and tv performances in and outside of the Netherlands and many theatre and club tours.

• 1996 – …` Gustavo Beytelmann appointed as Artistic Leader of the Tango education in Rotterdam
• 1995 – 2013 1 st bandoneonist of the Ebony Band (with members of the Concertgebouworkest) led by Herber Werners concerts in The Netherlands and Germany
• 2000 – … Participating in many congresses about World Music in The Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Morocco, Russia and Argentina
• 2002 – 2015 Staff member Codarts Head of World Music. Leading subject groups for Indian Music, Flamenco Guitar, Latin and Brazilian Music, Argentine Tango
• 2004 – 2016 Appointed Victor Villena as main subject bandoneón teacher at Codarts
• 2005 – … Founding a Turkish/Anatolean and Ottoman Department at Codarts World Music with Kudsi Ergüner (ney)
• 2006 Gran Orquesta Típica OTRA and Guitarras Porteñas at Buenos Aires Tango Festival, live broadcasted on tv in Argentina

• 2007 – … Start light music in Indian Department
• 2007 Chairman of World Music concours Creolo Music Dortmund/Germany participating over 500 ensembles
• 2014 – … Member of the Exam Board of Codarts
• 2018 – … Chair of the Exam Board of Codarts
• 2015 – … Staff member Codarts’ Special Advisor for World Music
• 2016 -2017 Assisting Xinhai Conservatory at Guangzhou/China to start a World Music Department
• 2018 First CD recording OTRA with Bs As singer Omar Mollo, Title ‘Tango Cosmopolita’ a Sony Argentina production with producer Alejandro Pont Lezica. Awarded a Latin Grammy nomination and Premio Carlos Gardel

OIJ Records 022 – Donemus DCV 448