Make the speakers bleed!

In the 1980s, the good-looking blond teenager Daniel Menche was a star of children’s programmes on American television, performing acrobatic tricks with rings and balls. In the early 1990s, the still Portland-based wag launched a music career. And it was and is radical, as evidenced by his notorious statement “Music is like one’s own blood – so amplify it as loud as possible – make the speakers bleed!” Daniel Menche is indeed a member of the gang of so-called electronic noise musicians. In contrast to his colleagues – like the ubiquitous Merzbow from Japan, AKA the “Elvis of noise” – this quadragenarian seldom opts for formless soundscapes that skirt the threshold of pain. On the contrary: Menche aims for structure and that makes him a unique musician in this genre. His most influential works, such as the early Static Burn from 1994 or the later, magnificent Invoker (2003) are taut and defined. The compositions focus on the core and develop in latticed patterns. In short, there is something graphic or architectural about them. Consequently, on a first hearing, Menche’s music sounds dangerous and sexy, but it then becomes enlightening and soothing. His rare appearance in Brussels at Magasin 4 has a great line-up. Menche will be introduced by the experimental electro of TG Gondard and by Kleps, the improvisation collective led by Brussels-based film maker and musician Floris Vanhoof.

Daniel Menche + TG Gondard + Kleps 27/3, 19.00, €7/8,
MAGASIN 4, Havenlaan 51B avenue du Port, Brussel/Bruxelles,
02-223.34.74, info@magasin4.be, www.magasin4.be