What is Staalplaat Soundsystem?
The staalplaat soundsystem is founded by Geert-Jan Hobijn, after 20 years of work for the staalplaat foundation the creative possibilities of working with a sound organisation reached its limits, it was time to brake free and creating our own work instead of just presenting the work of others.

Since its inception in 2000, Staalplaat Soundsystem has created a multitude of mechanical orchestras using all manner of consumer electronics. Previous highlights of Staalplaat Soundsystem machine performances include ‘Sweet Sissy and the Ballroom Hiss’ starring 12 floor polishers, and ‘Avantilator’’ a composition for one hundred electric office fans in Helsinki.  At the heart of all our work is a low-tech philosophy, the aim is to make installations appear simple, revealing rather than concealing how they are made, so people exclaim –‘I could do that’.  In contrast to much media art, it is not the technique that is central to the work, but the ideas behind it.

Our work took a new step with ‘Floating Islands’, a large sound/light installation created for the opening of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Berlin. In this piece we explored the fusion of our work with others, collaborating with Erwin Stache to create a floating orchestra composed of fifty vacuum cleaners, plastic bottles and lights.  The interactive element of our work is another developing theme.  The installation ‘Sale Away’ made for the EMAF was a democratic piece that explored the influence of the public on the work; by simply using their mobile phones people were able to play a complex mechanical orchestra.  Perhaps the most interesting confrontation between the public and our work is ‘The Ultrasound of Therapy’, an installation intended to give individual, personal sonic experiences. This work not only allows us to work on a very individual level with the public but also offers the possibility to collaborate with other sound artists To download pdf documentation on the machine orchestra's click HERE

Yokomono is the Staalplaat Mono Erosive Surround Sound Installation.
The present setup consists of 10 vinyl killers, each customised with its own fm transmitter. The sound will come through a set of radios that receives the signal transmitted by the vinyl killers You might think Yokomono is just a DJ set with 10 turntables, and in a way that is correct but in many more ways Yokomono is completely different. First of all; each killer runs on batteries, meaning the speed is unstable and it will slow down during the concert, the fact that the batteries run out will not only effect the speed but it will effect the fm frequency that the killer is transmitting too. Making Yokomono unstable on different levels. The fact that we transmit with 10 fm transmitters at the same time means that each transmitter is effecting the other. These interference and the unstable media that is transmitting makes the whole set unpredictable and hard to control, making Yokomono unique and adventures. For the installation we bring over two hundred radios. As each killer will play its own record (locked groove records made by us for the installation ) it opens up a separate audio stream. We thereby generate and control a 10-channel sound system. To download pdf documentation on Tokomono click HERE

The works by Staalplaat Soundsystem (Geert-Jan Hobijn, Carlo Crovato and Carsten Stabenow) are usually brilliant in their simplicity, the first impression leaving no room for technological mystification. This is exemplified by such installations-cum-live performances as Composition for 8 Refrigerators (and we are not talking of compact little ice-boxes here, but full-size chest freezers), Composition for 104 Washing Machines as well as Avantilator, which even a child understands immediately – sometimes, in fact, even better than adults. "All these installations were made with the same low tech working philosophy, making an installation look so simple that you think 'I can do that'. What we do is to forget the very specific tasks they are made for, and see what they can do; dance, sing, kick, very oft I have the feeling it is telling me what its wants to do", Geert-Jan Hobijn has written. (Avanto festival 2005)

“Staalplaat Soundsystem is an eclectic mix of techno culture and sound art installation. The initiator of Staalplaat Sound-system Geert-Jan Hobijn is the founder of the Staalplaat music label and he has been the organizer of many sound art and performance events in the past. What is probably not so well known is that Geert-Jan Hobijn not only is a producer, but has also always been influential in how many Staalplaat productions looked and sounded. With Staalplaat Soundsystem Geert-Jan Hobijn finally shows his own creative talents openly. No doubt the move of the Staalplaat headquarters from Amsterdam to Berlin has been important in making this happen. Whereas in Amsterdam media culture is mostly an indoors experience, Berlin has a very strong public media art scene with a deep interest in sound art and experimental techno-music.Geert-Jan Hobijn knows the experimental music scene inside out. With the Staalplaat Soundsystem he combines this knowledge with his experience in shaping performance art events. Working from a punk aesthetic (Staalplaat was founded in the beginning of the 80's) and his knowledge of 20th century avantgarde music traditions the Staalplaat Soundsystem has developed into a trashy extravaganza with the down to earth simplicity of the Cagean music universe. Every event is tailored to fit its environment. Give the Staalplaat Soundsystem an interesting or challenging space to work with and the space gets transformed into an immersive environment with many of the characteristics of the world of experimental music and performance in which Staalplaat has always been one of the vectors”. Josephine Bosma is a critic and journalist in the field of art and new media. She has written and lectured about streaming media, net art and new media cultures. In 2001 she initiated the newsletter on net art criticism Cream http://www.laudanum.net/cream.

"Within the current mood of worshipping the latest technology in media art, Staalplaat Soundsystem provides a breath of fresh air, reminding us of the 100-year tradition of noise-making machines and junk art, in which "mad" inventors and various kinds of artists operating in the margins of the art world meet". Anton Nikkilä /Avanto festival 2003

"A product of the inventive Dutch avantist collective's junk art assemblage, which they call Happy Metal, this track uses self-built and hotwired everyday gadgets including harmonica-playing vacuum cleaners, percussive electric saws, 200 radio's, 24 prepared kitchen mixers, etc, plus a four-armed turntable"
Wire #250

"Erottic konzept Fagjazz" Clubtransmediale 2005

We have started a staalplaat soundsystem news letter were we will announce our new shows and installations and other information. So if you want to stay informed on our activities then you can join our mailing list by filing in your name and address below.

Future confirmed shows and installations
-"Nose Dive on Linschoten " a new mechanical sound orchestra ,containing 7 motor driven sirens, 20 big sound boxes and 24 metal grinders, at A Glamorous Night in Linschoten presented in the garden of the of the Linschoten castle (10 till 20 august) more at http://www.huistelinschoten.nl/home.html
-Holophonic a new work for the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Kiel (with BMB con) http://www.shmf.de/ This is the largest classical music festival in Germany. In 2006 the festival program will be dedicated to The Netherlands, we will be part of the program "Der Blick des Komponisten" a series of the Siemens Arts Program in collaboration with der Kunsthalle zu Kiel and NDR das neue werk (German TV) We will create a holophonic image of the Kunsthalle in Kiel and presented it on 21 and 28 August (soled out)
,Honorary Mention for yokomono of the Prix Ars Electronica Linz
-Ars electronica, Yokomono sound installationat the O.K Center for Contemporary Art 2006 September
-steim yokomono consert Amsterdam 27 september with Bas van Koolwijk (video)
-re:visie yokomono with bas van koolwijk & Ambiunix Utrecht 29-30 september. We will add a wireless video component to the yokomono setup! Three very small wireless video cameras mounted on the cars will generate video signals which are routed to a video mixer. The signal will then be digitally remodeled by Bas van Koolwijk, using the interaction of the live audio with the video signal. http://www.umatic.nl/info_bas.html
And our set up will have a multi channel spatial soundsystem! For this we work together with the excellent abiunix system made by komponent lab from denmark. Instead of working with sound and it's anchor points of 'right' and 'left', concepts such as 'direction', 'elevation', 'rotation', 'point' and 'width'. The systems uses many more loudspeakers than a traditional PS-system so that the audience is surrounded by loudspeakers from all angles. With a cunning electronic coupling together of the sound sources present are they fused into a single source whose accumulated characteristics can manipulated by us. The interaction with the system would be directly related to the 10 separate soundsources (vinylkillers). http://ambiunix.komponent.dk/
Sensoralia/Romaeuropa festiva -yokomono in Rome 10 november with Bas van Koolwijk (video)

info on our previous Selected Staalplaat Soundsystem shows

confirmed workshop
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info on our previous workshops

Staalplaat Soundsystem discography

1.Third Yokomono loop LP compiled on the ocassion of the Avanto Festival 2005 in Helsinki.
Mika Vainio, was commissioned to produce a seven-minute composition.
Petri Kuljuntausta from Helsinki was, in turn, asked to provide a composition of an equal length responding to Vainio's piece. The
sound material to be used for the compositions, field recordings from the turn of the 1960s and 1970s made at the Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, was discovered in the special effects archive of YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company.
Side two of the record presents Alexei Borisov, Andrey Kiritchenko, Blixa Bargeld, Ditterich von Euler-Donnersperg, G.X. Jupitter-Larsen, Jason Forrest, Main, Merzbow, Staalplaat Soundsystem, Un Caddie Renversé Dans l'Herbe and Zbigniew Karkowski with five loops from each featured artist and their own sound environment. Avanto is the co-producer of this unique release.
2. Second Yokomono 12" lock groove record, as tool for the Yokomono installation of crystal clear vinyl.
One side of this record the Staalplaat Soundsystem has made 55 loops of digital silence, the deterioration and damaging will generate the sound. so we will play the sound that were making, vinyl live so to say. For the other side we have invited 11 other artist to make 5 loops: Anton Nikkilä, Charlemagne Palestine, Fennesz, fm3, Ignaz, Ilpo, Justin Bennett, Michael von Hausswolff, Phill Niblock, Radian and Tim Hecker.
3 . Avantoscore 2005 (festival compilation cd)
4 .The Wire Tapper 12 -No Time For Space (wire compilation double cd)
5. stateXNewForms festival CD (festival compilation cd) track refused out of copyright fear
6 . First Yokomono  12" lock groove record,
specially made as tool for the Yokomono installation at the Earational festival.
Each side consist of 11 groups of 5 different loops. For one side of this record Staalplaat Soundsystem has select loops and for the other side we have invited: Freiband, Heimir Bjorgulfsson, Jim O'Rourke, John Hegre, Kozo Inada, Danmarks AEldste Sangskat onsker, Massimo, Nerve Net Noise, Pimmon, Radboud Mens, Rechenzentrum.
7 . Avantoscore 2003 (festival compilation cd)
8. Puch by the Staalplaat Soundsystem (" tu M'p3 " !)
9. O Superman remix by the Staalplaat Soundsystem. (compilation cd)
10. Merzbow's Recycled by the Staalplaat Soundsystem. (compilation cd)
11. Staalplaat Sound System Sweet Sissy And The Ballroom Hiss (mcd)
12 . Zwischen bild und ton garage #5 (festival compilation cd)
13. Und ab die post 2000 (festival compilation cd)

you can order most of our releases at www.staalplaat.com

MP3 Tracks of live shows
Video's of live shows
selected press clippings


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