We had quite a crazy weekend to start with. Michiel hosted the Future Of Classical Music marathon in The Hague on Friday and Saturday. Here he invited numerous interesting musicians, journalists and artistic directors, to discuss the future of their profession; premiered our first documentary, on Rem Koolhaas, Casa da Musica and the relationship between architecture and music; and interviewed Ellen van Loon, partner of Rem Koolhaas at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

My weekend was’t a quiet one either. First, on Friday, the Glasgow edition of Viral Radio. Some of my favourite musicians came to Amsterdam for this musical city exhibition. In the ever-changing world of electronic music, cities have always had strong identities. From the Vienna school of Schönberg, Webern and Berg, to the Detroit movement of Underground Resistance, Carl Craig and Derric May. The idea to organise events around cities was inspired by our hero Willem Sandberg, who created exhibitions at the Stedelijk in this way. Simple and clear. Glasgow is one of those cities that is currently carving out its own space in sound, with such stellar talents as Hudson Mohawke,Rustie and American Men. For this evening, Warp-prodigy Rustie was joined by Irishman Mike Slott (he lived in Glasgow with the LuckyMe family and helped define this scene) and the now fairly but soon to be no longer unkown producer Loops Haunt. It was a lovely night full of scifi wooshes and brain-tingling bleeps, although one would wish more people could have enjoyed it – the competition with the 5 Days Off Festival proved to be too stiff for a sold out event.

On Saturday I teamed up with Michiel in The Hague for the second part of the marathon at the Haagse Muziek Driedaagse. I particularly enjoyed the contribution of our young friend Shane Burmania, who as a student of music programming, employee of the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ and kaleidoscopic music listener, aired a buoyancy and optimism about the next steps of the concert halls. His idea of Concert Night, where venues would collaborate with each other and programmes would change places, was welcomed by the director of the Dr. Anton Philipszaal Saskia Kriekhaus. Museumnacht director Radna Rumping added that the sector should try to open up its language and references more, if it wants to engage with a broader audience that might not be in the know of the linear history of classical music. I agree with her emphatically: we can introduce so many new listeners to the concert halls via smart and personal connections. The Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead) and London Sinfonietta collaboration is still a great example of this approach (it got me hooked on Ligeti for one), and the underlying principle of a social network as Last FM another. (Thanks Florian for helping out with the festival!)

After the Hague, I rushed to Zwolle for another Viral Radio event with Rustie, Loops Haunt and my musical partner Yuri. I really love playing outside of Amsterdam. Don’t get me wrong, Amsterdam is lovely. But the thing about doing these kind of shows outside of the Randstad is the contagious energy of an audience that hears a certain music for the first time. This has happened in Nijmegen with Nosaj Thing and the Gaslamp Killer, with just Yuri and myself in Eindhoven, and now again with this group of musicians in Zwolle. A great night, organised by a sweet group of people connected to the Fakkelbrigade scene.

My tea has gone now, but I still have to tell you about North Sea Jazz, The Great Dictators, Leve de Leegstand, Museum Manager 2011, and some thoughts on e-culture, social networking, ecosystems and value chains of arts, urbanode, Visible Cities, and our new t-shirts. This new rhythm is getting out of control, sorry about that. If you managed to read to here you are in need of some rest, and a stiff gin and tonic. So I will continue when you are either rested, or drunk.

Have a good weekend.

Juha

Mark Pritchard, aka Harmonic 313

According to Time Out Amsterdam, Viral Radio is ‘the most cutting-edge event in Amsterdam, hands down.’ The electronic music vehicle of Non-fiction’s Juha van ‘t Zelfde, in close harmony with DJ/producer/Beat Dimensions architect Cinnaman (Yuri Boselie), has been gathering momentum in 2009. The nights have featured lords of the underground Kode9 & the Spaceape, Flying Lotus and Joker, and many more in their slipstream.

The coming month, the carrier of freight train bass weight will present another stellar compendium of contemporary studio explorations:

02 October >> Harmonic 313 and Juha & Cinnaman
21 October >> Knalpot, Gaslamp Killer, Clark, Bibio, Martyn, Aardvarck, Pete Concrete and Juha & Cinnaman
06 November >> Hudson Mohawke, Lorn, Ras G and Juha & Cinnaman

We would like to thank the artists for their participation, TrouwAmsterdam for the inspiring collaboration, and you – the visitor and listener – for your support. We hope to see you tonight.

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Update: a new episode of Viral Radio on VPRO 3voor12 will be recorded today, with special guest Harmonic 313.

Dorian Concept live at the Bimhuis (photo: Eline Soumeru)

In a period of just over a month, we have the privilege to present a staggering amount of our favourite musicians from every frequency imaginable. From the high-end sonic textures of Chris Clark to the tactile tectonics of Hyperdub messiah Kode9, and from the  Michel Gondryesque orchestre mécanique of Pierre Bastien to the this-is-what-the-internet-must-sound-like aesthetic of Oval.

Here is the full list:

03 April > Viral Radio invites Clark. With residents Cinnaman and Juha
Venue: Trouw Amsterdam / time: 22.00 – 03.00 / €12,-

04 April > Pan Sonic and Oval
Venue: Bimhuis / time: 20.30 – 01.00 / €12,-

24 April > Beat Dimensions with Kode9 & the Spaceape ‘Bass Fiction live’ and Dimlite. With residents Cinnaman and Juha
Venue: Bimhuis / time: 23.00 – 03.00 / €10,-

01 May > Viral Radio invites Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer and Samiyam. With residents Cinnaman and Juha
Venue: Trouw Amsterdam / time: 22.00 – 05.00 / €12,-

06 May > Daedelus and Pierre Bastien
Venue: De Verdieping / time: 20.30 – 23.30 / €?,-

We hope to see you at one (or more) of these nights, and we thank you kindly for your support.