Modelbau - Muster

Modelbau is the principal project of legendary Dutch composer, sound artist and label manager Frans de Waard. Across two extended compositions, de Waard creates a deeply nostalgic form of elemental, lo-fi ambience — rich in microscopic noise, fragile detail and the warmth of ageing analogue technology.

This is analogue drone in its most tactile form: thick, warm and enveloping, constructed using outdated recording machines, reel-to-reel recorders, cassettes, Dictaphones, shortwave radio and small electronics. Sounds emerge slowly, carrying with them traces of obsolete technologies, distant communications and memories of the past.

The origins of the work lie in a Modelbau performance in Münster, Germany, on 25 November 2023. Although pleased with the concert, de Waard felt its 30-minute duration had forced the material into too confined a space. Shortly afterwards, he returned to the piece in the studio, allowing it to develop into a longer and more expansive form.

Shortwave radio transmissions became an important element of the work, alongside sounds drawn from the wider world of communication. The companion piece, Disabuse Transmissions, was recorded during the same period. Its title references a short-lived cassette by Christian Nijs, the first member of Kapotte Muziek, who died in 2002.

As de Waard reflects: “Now that I am older, I tend to think more about people and events from the past and how I use equipment from those days... Finally, I am able to work easily with this old apparatus until the day they break down. Whatever comes after that is probably silence.”

A deeply personal exploration of memory, obsolete technology and sound from one of the Netherlands’ most enduring experimental artists.

2 tracks. Over 62 minutes playing time. CD comes in a 6-panel digisleeve.