Continuous by Radboud Mens

This is a double CD release called: Continuous Movement. 16 tracks in total divided over two separate CD’s. The title Continuous Movement refers to an important aspect in my music; constantly changing multiple parameters to make my repetitive music as organic as possible. At low volume it behaves as an ambient album but at high volume more layers will come through, including sub.

I have been playing with the idea of making this album for 20 years. When I started releasing my music in the mid-nineties, the record labels were still decisive. Some only wanted to put out certain music; just minimal techno or just glitch or ambient noise... Most labels were not interested in releasing albums where these genres coexisted or were combined. By many artists this promoted the idea of having multiple projects under different names. After playing at Mutek in 2002, I decided it would be interesting to combine all these different ideas into one “total-music”. And since then I have tried, in different configurations, to combine the digital clicks, the ambient drones, the minimal techno and minimal dub techno rhythms in my music. With varying degrees of success….

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Radboud Mens is niet weg te denken uit het landschap van de experimentele muziek in Nederland. Actief sinds begin jaren 1980 werkte hij als muzikant, componist en sounddesigner aan talloze installaties, instrumenten, samenwerkingen, apparaten en platen. Wie zijn discografie induikt, komt drones, loops, glitches en minimal techno tegen, en een hoop wat zich niet laat classificeren. Midden jaren 1990 ondervond Mens dat de labels waar hij aanklopte alleen maar drones wilden uitbrengen, of alleen maar glitch of techno, en niet geïnteresseerd waren in werk dat die elementen combineerde. Terwijl Mens een ‘totaal-muziek’ voor zich zag waarin die dingen juist wel samenkwamen. ‘Continuous’ en ‘Movement’ zijn het resultaat van die visie. Mens combineert zacht ruisende en golvende drones met glitchy percussie en trage dubby beats en bassen tot een ingetogen geheel. Technologisch, spaarzaam, messcherp en toch ook warm. Ik weet niet of Mens destijds ook bij Mille Plateaux heeft aangeklopt, maar het geluid deed me denken aan de eerste paar ‘Clicks & Cuts’-verzamelaars (hoewel daar bij terugluisteren nauwelijks drones in blijken te zitten), met artiesten als Pole, SND en Pan Sonic. Doordat de elementen een eigen plaats in de ruimte hebben - drones hoog op de achtergrond, click vooraan, lage bassen - ontstaat er een mooi ruimtelijk effect, alsof je met de muziek in een gesloten kamer zit. Nummer hebben vaak een subtiel element dat het net iets extra’s geeft, zoals een net hoorbare elektronische krekel in ‘Modular’. Ontwikkelingen gaan langzaam, of zijn er nauwelijks, wat het gevoel in een bubbel te zitten na een tijdje alleen maar sterker maakt. Waar ‘ Continuous’ door de abstractere drones een beetje vervreemdend is, laat Mens op ‘Movement’ een vriendelijkere kant van hetzelfde geluid horen. Zeker die nummers vind ik erg goed; op een snikhete avond een paar weken geleden leken de drones weg te drijven op de warmte en smolt Mens’ totaalmuziek verder samen met de stadsgeluiden. Ik heb hem de rest van de avond op repeat laten staan. Gonzo Circus (msch)

Radboud Mens is an integral part of the experimental music landscape in the Netherlands. Active since the early 1980s, he has worked as a musician, composer and sound designer on countless installations, instruments, collaborations, devices and records. When you dive into his discography, you come across drones, loops, glitches and minimal techno, and a lot that can't be classified. In the mid-1990s, Mens found that the labels he contacted wanted to release only drones, or just glitch or techno, and were not interested in work that combined those elements. While Mens envisioned a 'total music' in which those things did come together. 'Continuous' and 'Movement' are the result of that vision. Mens combines softly rustling and undulating drones with glitchy percussion and slow dubby beats and basses into a modest whole. Technological, modest, razor-sharp and yet also warm. I don't know if Mens knocked on Mille Plateaux's door at the time, but the sound reminded me of the first few 'Clicks & Cuts' collectors (although listening back i can hardly find any drones in them), with artists like Pole, SND and Pan Sonic. Because the elements have their own place in the room - drones high in the background, click in front, low basses - a nice spatial effect is created, as if you are sitting in a closed room with the music. Songs often have a subtle element that gives it that little bit extra, like a just audible electronic cricket in 'Modular'. Developments are slow, or hardly there, which only makes the feeling of being in a bubble stronger after a while. Where 'Continuous' is a bit alienating due to the more abstract drones, Mens shows a friendlier side of the same sound on 'Movement'. I especially like those songs; on a sweltering evening a few weeks ago, the drones seemed to float away on the heat and Mens' total music continued to melt together with the city sounds. I left it on repeat for the rest of the night. Gonzo Circus (msch)

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Dutch sound artist, composer, and sound designer Radboud Mens boasts no less than 40 years of experience in working with sound. All kinds of experimental sounds: ranging from ‘attaching contact microphones to dog’s brushes that he used to destroy vinyl records by scratch-laying them, boosting the signal through broken cassette decks and recording the results’, to drones, clicks & cuts (to be taken quite literally: Cl;ck (2000) used digital clicks and errors he collected while cleaning up digital recordings). All things electronic & experimental, and always ‘out of the box’. As such, he also experienced the constraints of such thinking: in the 90s most labels were not interested in releasing albums where different genres (minimal techno, glitch, ambient) coexisted or were combined. It was always either…or…. But the idea of doing this never left him for over 20 years.
So finally he started working to create this vision, combining digital clicks, ambient drones, minimal techno and dub. And the 110 minutes on Continuous / Movement proves him right. The two albums present a unique combination of sound that can be enjoyed in different ways: it is definitely ‘ambient’ when played on a lower volume – the pace is unhurried and the tracks take their time to develop (or to deliberately nót develop). But at the same time, the beat is relentless and unavoidable, even at a slower speed, and the lower bass is earth-shaking when played at a louder volume. This music definitely works at all levels. I don’t know if the times have changed compared to the 90s regarding the label’s attitudes toward genre-defying music. I hope so. Radboud Mens decided not to find out and simply released these two titles on his own ERS label.
Continuous and Movement are two separate albums exploring this concept. They can be obtained separately but should be regarded as a double album. The – ridiculously – low price for the CD-versions ($5, which in fact is lower than the $7 for the digital version!!) means that you don’t have to doubt about buying both or not. (Peter van Cooten) www.ambientblog.net

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Continuous is de eerste helft van het tweedelige album Continuous Movement van componist en elektronicatovenaar Radboud Mens, waarvan ik Movement hier al eerder omhooggestoken heb. Ik had ze per abuis in de verkeerde volgorde geluisterd, vandaar. Maar dat maakt feitelijk niet bijster veel uit, want het principe van beide, tegelijkertijd maar separaat uitgebrachte albums, is ongeveer gelijk. Het komt er op neer dat Mens twintig jaar gewacht heeft met de uitvoering van dit idee, vooral omdat blijkbaar geen platenlabel er op zat te wachten. Terwijl het toch een breed publiek zou kunnen aanspreken, vermoed ik zo – muziek die, als je de volumeknop zacht zet, als aangename ambient muziek fungeert, maar die, als je de volumeknop wat hoger zet, voor de iets meer eisende luisteraar ook heel veel te bieden heeft, omdat er enorm veel nuances, details en finesse tevoorschijn komen en er dus voor een goede luisteraar veel te ontdekken valt. Abstract, ambient, drone, electronic, minimal, techno, clicks’n’cuts, dub worden zo bijna naadloos samengevoegd tot de unieke “total music” van Radboud Mens. Beluister de fragmenten maar eens, en beluister ze vooral een paar keer, dan hoor je wat ik bedoel. www.moorsmagazine.com

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Radboud Mens - Conversion [Radboud Mens Bandcamp]
Radboud Mens - Modular [Radboud Mens Bandcamp]
I first heard about Dutch instrument maker and producer Radboud Mens via numerous collaborations with Michel Banabila. His latest release is a double CD called Continuous Movement that encapsulates Mens' various styles - drones, glitchy digital clicks and minimal (dub) techno, all together. The two albums exist separately but make the most sense together, with a cohesive feel whether it's head-nodding beats, beatless pulses, deeply encompassing or more sparse. A great introduction to an interesting & sometimes challenging artist. FBi Radio, Sydney 94.5, Utility Fog, 18.09.2022

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Radboud Mens is a sound artist and creator of acoustic instruments. He is exploring the intersection of sound, art, and technology and crafts unique sonic environments that challenge conventional listening experiences. Since 1995, he has continually pushed the boundaries of sound, combining handcrafted instruments with experimental music to create deeply atmospheric and transformative works.

radboudmens.com