When it comes to live concerts – especially in the ambient/minimal genre – I personally prefer small, intimate concerts above large crowded venues. In the Netherlands, the Dordrecht-based Fluister, run by Wilbertjan Vlot, is a perfect example: these concerts are usually attended by about 50-70 people and located in small venues for optimal intimacy. Active since 2008, Fluister boasts an impressive list of familiar artists (check the ‘past events‘ page for details).
I was lucky enough to sit in the front row attending the Deaf Center concert a few weeks ago (September 20), which took place in the lovely little Trinitatis church in the centre of Dordrecht. A show which was recorded and is now released as a (digital only) download.
Deaf Center and Wilbertjan Vlot have a special relationship ever since Vlot booked them for the Urban Explorers festival back in 2007. Otto Totland and Erik K. Skodvin do not perform very often, but this is the third time they performed in Dordrecht – almost 20 years after their first live appearance.
The Trinitatis church proved to be a great location for this set. As usual, it is fully improvised: “we prefer to be in the moment to see what happens instead of re-creating previously made material”. The set starts with Totland’s bright and melancholic piano theme, on which Skodvin gradually adds subtle effect. Slowly but inescapably, the piece morphs into more abstract territory, without losing any detail.
Apart from the live processing, Skodvin also adds guitar and benjolin. (A benjolin has nothing to do with neither banjo nor mandolin: it’s a semi-modular synthesizer designed by the legendary Rob Hordijk).
The Trinitatis set is beautifully recorded by Chris Slager, and can be seen as a great companion to their previously released Reverie from 2024 which is also an improvised live set. This time, there will be no physical version: the self-released Trinitatis session is available for a small symbolic fee.
