Klaus Schulze was a German composer and musician, a pioneer in electronic music. Briefly a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers he launched a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums.
Continue readingRIP Susan Jacks (1948 – 2022)
Susan Jacks was a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for her vocal performance on such songs as “Shadows on My Wall” (1969).
RIP Henny Vrienten (1948 – 2022)
Henny Vrienten was a Dutch singer-songwriter and composer, known for such songs as “Is dit alles” (1982).
With the band Doe Maar, he produced the dub album Doe De Dub (1982).
RIP Andrew Woolfolk (1950 – 2022)
Andrew Woolfolk was an American saxophonist known for playing on such songs as “September” (1978).
RIP Jacques Perrin (1941 – 2022)
Jacques Perrin was a French actor known for parts in such films as Blanche (1971).
In Blanche he can be seen as a page servant from 10:33 onwards.
He was also a film producer of films such as Microcosmos (1996).
RIP Arno (1949 – 2022)
Arno was a Belgian singer known for compositions such as as “Oh La La La” (1981), “Willie Willie ” (1981) and “Putain putain” (1983).
I remember seeing TC Matic in concert at the Number One discotheque in Sint-Niklaas run by Robert Ivens.
Continue readingRIP Cynthia Plaster Caster (1947 – 2022)
Cynthia Plaster Caster was an American visual artist known for creating plaster casts of celebrities’ erect penises.
If you are looking for a recording in mainstream cinema of a penis being cast, check Nancy Godfrey‘s work in W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (1971).
RIP Hermann Nitsch (1938 – 2022)
Hermann Nitsch was an Austrian artist who is known for his transgressive performance art.
His seven minute short “Maria-Conception-Action: Hermann Nitsch” (1969) illustrates how the past is a foreign country.
The performance is a combination of a sadomasochistic performance, artsploitation and carnography.
A typical scene from Herman Nitsch’s happenings featured cruelty, sexuality, blood and violence.
In the “Maria-Conception-Action: Hermann Nitsch” a young women is crucified and defiled with a disemboweled lamb carcass.
That film is not featured on YouTube but it can be faintly seen on footage of a concert by the band Concrete Flesh.
The closest I ever came to witnessing a spectacle like this is, is seeing Tier Mon (1988) by La Fura dels Baus in Antwerp when I was 23. And then there was Abattoir Fermé, the Belgian theater group whose aesthetics sometimes flirt somewhat with that of Nitsch.
RIP Harrison Birtwistle (1934 – 2022)
Harrison Birtwistle (1934 – 2022) was an English composer of classical music. He is known for operas such as The Minotaur (2008).
RIP Catherine Spaak (1945 – 2022)
Catherine Spaak was a French actress and singer, known for her work in Italian sex comedies such as The Libertine (1968).