Kleefstra/Bakker/Kleefstra – Wink

If you’re a collector that likes to have your music on a physical CD, times are rapidly getting harder. Especially in the ambient and experimental genre, where more and more releases are handmade do-it-yourself releases in extremely limited editions.

Take Wixel’s 2009 project, for instance: one CD every month, every edition physically released in the number of days of that particular month (but at least these are later rereleased in simpler packaging and available as digital downloads too). Even a relatively ‘big name’ like Thomas Köner releases his latest CD ‘La Barca‘ in a limited edition of 600 copies only.
By the time the news of a new release reaches you, chances are the album is sold out and unavailable physically.

Such is the case with Wink, the new album by Kleefstra / Bakker / Kleefstra.
Although I thought I acted quickly, my handpainted CD (!) and handpainted cover bears the number 90 – of only 100! So I guess it’s sold out the moment you read this…

So what’s the use of this blogpost then?

Well, it may be re-released later, maybe you’ll stumble upon a copy sometimes, maybe it will later be made available as digital download, or you may even be able to attend a Wink live performance.

Wink can be described as ‘Piiptsjilling‘ part 2. Though Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt) is no part of this project, the overall atmosphere is quite the same on both releases.

Wink is a single 27 minute track over which  a 6 part poem is spoken dreamily. Most people will probably not understand a word of the Frysian language spoken, but for those who want to know the poem is translated in dutch as well as english.

Romke Kleefstra (guitar + loops) and Anne Chris Bakker (guitars, effects) create a perfectly fitting background sculpture of guitar drones and softly evolving mininal loops for Jan Kleefstra‘s quietly spoken but haunting words.

Like ‘Piiptsjilling‘, Wink deserves to be heard outside Friesland also, outside Holland even: this language is universal.

Wink is (or was) released on Apollolaan Records. I guess you should haunt them for a re-release.
Tour dates can be found on the Kleefstra Myspace page. As well as a live recording of a Wink performance that can be downloaded until the end of october!