Dec 27, 2017

RhoDeo 1752 Aetix

Hello, that's Xmas 2017, time to prepare for 2018

Today's artists' are an underground band from the Netherlands that formed in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion. Playing a hybrid of punk to advance their liberal socialist agenda (serving as the rough equivalent of a Dutch Crass), the Ex put out reams of records and propaganda during the '80s -- each released on a different Dutch label -- but in the '90s began to embrace industrial forms of percussion and improvisation more in line with Einstürzende Neubauten and Test Dept. Formed in the late '70s, the group debuted at the turn of the decade with Disturbing Domestic Peace.  Initially known as an anarcho-punk band, they have since released over 20 full-length albums of musical experiments and numerous collaborations blending punk and free jazz with styles of folk music from all over the world.. ...N'Joy

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The Ex's music has undergone significant evolution over the years from their beginnings as a punk band. Founded by singer Jos Kley (better known as G.W. Sok), guitarist Terrie Hessels, drummer Geurt and bassist René, the band debuted with a song titled "Stupid Americans" on the Utreg-Punx vinyl 7" compilation released by Rock Against records in Rotterdam. The release of their first 7" All Corpses Smell the Same followed shortly after that, in 1980. Through the decades their music has gradually developed into its current form of highly intricate, experimental punk/post-punk/no wave-inspired work.

Expanding beyond punk rock, The Ex have incorporated a wide array of influences, often from non-Western and non-rock sources. Some include Hungarian and Turkish folk songs, and more recently music from Ethiopia, Congo and Eritrea (the independence song of Eritrea is covered by The Ex to kick off their 2004 album Turn). Other examples of branching out stylistically include the improvised double album Instant and a release under the moniker Ex Orkest, a 20 piece big band assembled for performances at Holland Festival.

Throughout the early 1980s The Ex went through many line-up changes before settling on the core quartet of G.W. Sok on vocals, Terrie on guitar, Luc on bass and Kat on drums. In the early 1990s, Andy became the band's permanent 2nd guitarist. In 2003 Luc left the band after 19 years, to be replaced by double bassist Rozemarie Heggen. In 2005 Heggen in turn left the band and Colin (formerly of the Dog Faced Hermans) served as the band's bass player for recordings and tours with Ethiopian saxophone legend Getatchew Mekuria before becoming The Ex's sound board operator. Guitarists Andy Moor and Terrie Hessels have since filled in bass parts by switching off on baritone guitar.

The band has collaborated with many disparate artists, including UK anarchist band Chumbawamba (sometimes using the name Antidote), the Dog Faced Hermans (one former member, Andy Moor, has played guitar in The Ex since 1990), and with the late avant-garde cellist Tom Cora in the early 1990s, resulting in the album Scrabbling at the Lock (1991) and the follow-up And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders (1993). The album In the Fishtank 5 (1999) was made with Chicago's Tortoise, and on In the Fishtank 9 (2001) they collaborated with members of Sonic Youth and the Dutch improvisers Instant Composers Pool Orchestra (ICP).

In 2009, after 30 years with the group, singer and co-founder G.W. Sok announced his departure from the band. Sok did so, believing he lacked sufficient enthusiasm to continue with the group, having decided to focus on writing and graphic design as well as singing in new musical projects with several other bands. His replacement is Arnold de Boer from the Dutch group Zea, with whom The Ex have toured and collaborated. In addition to singing, De Boer plays guitar and utilizes samples with The Ex.

The Ex is the subject of a documentary, Beautiful Frenzy (2004) by Christina Hallström and Mandra U. Wabäck, and the concert film Building a Broken Mousetrap (2006), directed by Jem Cohen. In 2008 the band was also featured in the film Roll Up Your Sleeves, directed by Dylan Haskins. In 2011 The Ex were chosen by Caribou to perform at and co-curate the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in Minehead, England.


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Long, very long, feels not quite as urgent as "Blueprints" but it's definitely The Ex, with all those strange rhythms and percussive guitars. Many (most?) of the tracks are live, and it may be best to take two sides at a time instead of trying to digest the whole mess. You might notice that they cover Chumbawamba's "Adversity," and then there's a nice bit you might recall having heard sampled in Chumba's "Do The Revolution."



 The Ex - Too Many Cowboys (flac  485mb)

01 Red & Black 5:47
02 White Shirts 3:53
03 Adversity 0:30
04 People Again 4:12
05 Knock 2:46
06 Hands Up, You're Free 3:06
07 Ignorance 2:54
08 Butter Or Bombs 4:11
09 Dumbo 3:18
10 How Can One Sell The Air 5:46
11 Business As Usual 5:56
12 Olympigs 4:19
13 Choice 2:58
14 A Job / Stupid 2:40
15 Oops 6:32
16 No Fear 5:04
17 Vivisection 1:19
18 A Piece Of Paper 6:37
19 They Shall Not Pass 3:28

The Ex - Too Many Cowboys   (ogg   185mb)

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These dutch Aural Guerillas put Sonic Youth to shame. Granted, Thurston M. & co. win in the songwriting department but this is actually the first The Ex album where they get everything (edit: most things) right. Unlike earlier efforts there's not only layer upon layer of scraping guitar noise but here the band also manage to channel the chaos & rage and shape it into tight slabs of fierce anarchonoiserockpunkandwhatnot with strong hooks. Rather different from the melody-less agit prop of yore. Aural Guerilla is the moment where The Ex evolves from being the sonic equivalent of a political pamphlet into a musically interesting band which matters. And they would only get better, way into the 90s.



The Ex - Aural Guerrilla   (flac 262mb)

01 Headache By Numbers 2:34
02 Fashionation 4:02
03 2.2 2:57
04 Carcass 5:12
05 Welcome To The Asylum 4:17
06 Meanwhile At McDonna's 2:58
07 Shooting-Party 2:20
08 Evolution(?) 4:38
09 A Motorbike In Africa 7:12
10 Godgloeiendeteringklootzak 4:01

The Ex - Aural Guerrilla   (ogg  93mb)

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The Ex compiling the group's three different Peel sessions recorded for BBC Radio 1 during the 1980s. The Ex released the collection on their own label, Ex Records, first on vinyl in June 1988, then on CD in 2003.

Session 1 (track 1-4) took place on September 4, 1983.
Session 2 (track 5-8) was recorded on November 24, 1985.
Session 3 (track 9-12) dates from November 30, 1986.
All sessions were at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in London, England.
Except for track 8 (which was never released before), all songs appear in different musical settings (while recorded elsewhere in time and place) on various other (formerly vinylised) Ex-products.



 The Ex - Hands Up! You're Free (flac 284mb)

01 Crap-Rap 2:14
02 U.S.Hole 3:21
03 Pleased To Meat You 3:20
04 Scrub That Scum 7:39
05 Choice 3:04
06 Hands Up! You're Free 5:04
07 Butter Or Bombs 4:37
08 Uh-Oh Africa 3:56
09 Knock 2:42
10 Ignorance 2:53
11 A Job/Stupid 2:37
12 Business As Usual 5:31

The Ex - Hands Up! You're Free   (ogg  113mb)

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The long-standing Dutch anarchist punk group's magnum opus double album in many ways recall the extended collages of the Crass albums, whereby the sessions were not strictly performed by the entire group, but were in fact collections of solo tapes, ad-hoc collaborations, and improvised sketches. There are plenty of full-throttle Ex avant-punk tracks, however, and collaborators include numerous players from the free improvisation world, as well as members of Sonic Youth, who contribute their parts by tape and even apparently via telephone on one piece featuring Kim Gordon. Joggers and Smoggers marks a tuning point in the group's sound; from this point they would embrace more fully the aesthetics and methods of avant-garde jazz, free improvisation, and delicate European folk. Over the four sides, this is an excellent introduction to the labyrinthine world of one of the most inspired and inventive groups in European post punk. Highly recommended release from their expansive catalog, along with their collaborations with Tom Cora and the more strictly avant-rock album Mudbird Shivers, this is among their most focused and courageous work.



 The Ex - Joggers & Smoggers   (flac 478mb)

101 Humm (The Full House Mumble)
102 At The Gate
103 Pigs & Scales
104 Coughing
105 Morning Star
106 Wall Has Ears
107 Invitation To The Dance
108 Tightly Stretched
109 Ask The Prisoner
110 To Be Clear
111 Gentlemen
112 Make That Call
113 The Buzzword Medley
114 Shopping Street
115 Crackle Engines Vrôp Vrôp
116 Greetings From Urbania
201 Wired
202 Got Everything?
203 Waarom Niet
204 Courtyard
205 Burst!crack!split
206 Brickbat
207 Hieronymus
208 Nosey Parker
209 People Who Venture
210 Watch The Driver
211 Let's Get Sceptical
212 Tin Gods
213 The State Of Freedom
214 Provisionally Untitled
215 Kachun-k-pschûh
216 The Early Bird's Worm
217 Catkin
218 Upstairs With Picasso

The Ex - Joggers & Smoggers     (ogg  205mb)

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6 is a collection of six singles by Dutch musical group The Ex. The singles were available in record shops and also through a subscription with a new one being issued every two months throughout 1991. Each of the singles explored different facets of The Ex's musical relationships and interests, featuring collaborations with an array of musicians and other artists. The 6 singles were not released on The Ex's CD collection, Singles. Period. The Vinyl Years 1980–1990 as they comprised an album to be collected and stored in a single box. The band announced plans to reissue the collection on CD in 2010, but have yet to do so

Each of the 6 singles featured cover art riffing off an iconic image by Soviet Constructivist artist Alexander Rodchenko. The 1924 original featured a portrait of Lilya Brik with hair pulled back under a bandanna and hand raised to her mouth, shouting "КНИГИ!" ("BOOKS!")[3] The Ex maintained Rodchenko's format, swapping Brik out for each record's primary vocalist and filling in the record's song titles and issue number, 6.1 through 6.6, as the shouted text. The corners of each record's cover bore the band's name along with those of any guests appearing on the recording.

6.1 came in a paper shopping bag screenprinted with the image of a despised Dutch politician bearing the words, "This is an Amsterdam Scumbag". In addition to the record, the bag contained a Rodchenko-stylized die-cut box for storing all six 7-inch singles as they were released. Because 6.4 was a double 7", the box was filled up with the release of 6.5, and 6.6 revealed itself to be a 12" single, supplemental to the 7" box set. All the records were issued with various inserts, including booklets, buttons, leaflets, posters and stickers.
Music

Every issue of 6 had a special theme. 6.1 bore two songs sung by Ex vocalist G.W. Sok and were characteristic of the band's music from that period. 6.2 featured vocals and saz by Brader Mûsîkî, a Kurdish musician who had previously collaborated with The Ex on their album Joggers and Smoggers. On 6.3, The Ex's drummer Kat Bornefeld stepped up to the mic to sing the Hungarian folk song "Hidegen Fújnak a Szelek" ("Cold Winds Are Blowing"), a song that also appeared on the band's first album with Tom Cora and became one of The Ex's most well-known songs.

The double 7" 6.4 had The Ex playing live with improvisational elements added by members of the Dog Faced Hermans and Amsterdam's Instant Composers Pool. 6.5 offered commentary on the dominance of the English language from Belgian comedians Kamagurka and Herr Seele, and 6.6. had The Ex exploring the genres of dance and rap music as was implied by the 12" single's format at the time.



The Ex - 6pack (flac  350mb)
 
6.1
01 Slimy Toad
02 Jake's Cake
6.2
03 Millîtan
04 Çemê Rynê
6.3
05 Hidegen Fujnák A Szelek
06 She Said
07 She Said (Live)
6.4 - Bimhuis 29/06/91: 6.4¹ & 6.4²
08 A Pretty Cattle Office
09 Shopping Street
10 Wolter 'n' Andy
11 Kat 'n' Ab
6.5: This Song Is In English
12 This Song Is In English (Voc Kamagurka)
13 Dit Lied Is In 't Engels (Voc Kamagurka)
6.6
14 Euroconfusion
15 A Bird In The Hand

The Ex - Sixpack     (ogg   153mb)

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