Why Antwerp is ahead of Dutch culture: Dropa House

The recording studio and residency venue of Antwerp's Sound In Motion/SIM under construction is why the Belgian cultural sector is miles ahead of that of the Netherlands in one important respect. Magic word is: residency.

Do It Yourself

From Antwerp, the couple Christel and Koen, both marinated in the DIY spirit of punk, have been bombarding city and world with concerts under the name Oorstof for years. They do this in venues such as Rataplan and De Studio (former home of the renowned theatre school Studio Herman Teirlinck). For some time now, SIM has also been working with the similar concert organisation Klankhaven, an indie platform. In the Netherlands, Oorstof can regularly be enjoyed in venues such as Pavilion Unheard Music in Eindhoven and OCCII in Amsterdam.

Network

With punishing regularity, brilliant releases usually appear on SIM's own label, Dropa Disc. The annual summer festival Summer Bummer, nowadays in music centre Trix, also comes from the minds of the indefatigable Koen and Christel. Under the banner Visitations SIM also organises international residencies for musicians mainly from the improvisation field. Their network is immense and intense. One example: when Kim Gordon (bassist of Sonic Youth) was dealing with some marital troubles, she stayed with the couple at Sound in Motion's previous home. Of the younger generation of interesting creators, I mention here bassist Farida Amadou and harpist Ann Eysermans.

The House That SIM Built*

Now it will finally open: Dropa House, a brand-new 'cooperative', from which all these activities will have a natural starting point. Dropa House is a recording studio, 4 guest rooms, spacious kitchen and living room plus living space for Christel and Koen themselves, and another resident above the complex. This is where the wing of the late Fred van Hove (the Belgian and international equivalent of the late Misha Mengelberg, ed.) gets its final use. As it should be: first there was the instrument, then the place followed.

Quiet acoustics

Having already heard a lot about the preparatory work, last Friday evening I saw how advanced Dropa House already is. This despite the mild lamentations you can detect between the lines from Christel and Koen (variations on the tune: new buildings are always more expensive than expected). Still, only thorough enthusiasm is appropriate here: Dropa House has been conceived and realised on a human scale, sleek but not cold-postmodern architectural. And above all: every room has a tranquillity in its acoustics that already feels benevolent. 'Sound-absorbing concrete in both walls and ceilings, the floor reflects a little and, of course, the windows, but the afternoon concert in the living room with Ann Eysermans and accordionist Stan Maris, among others, today exceeded all our expectations,' says an elated Koen when he gives me a tour.

Position the microphone correctly

Further gratifying news is that - should you still think of The Police and The Rolling Stones at Hilversum's Wisseloord Studios (a multi-million dollar complex) when you hear the word 'recording studio' - - they do things differently here with the folks at Sound in Motion. With a punishing laptop, a so-called DAW ('Digital Audio Workstation') and some good microphones, especially correctly positioned, you can already achieve a lot. The first request from a known contemporary music ensemble already reached the Dropa House office under construction. It proves the vital potential of this place.

Generous light

In every room, you marvel at the elegant balance between practicality and aesthetics, a balance that has been consistently carried through to the square centimetres. The four sleeping quarters for the internationals might seem a bit cloister-like, but then you have to take a look at the ceiling, in which skylights have been cunningly plastered above the square skylights, making the light output magisterial. For the jet-lagged musician, there is a remote-controlled dimming system for the skylight.

High End

More good news: although the years of building are currently a little off on the two, the supreme spirit reigns supreme. It doesn't take a breath of fresh air to know that Dropa House is just going to get there, although additional funding to make it completely high end make of course always welcome is. But it goes without saying that their residency and recording calendar will be heavily questioned. Given their already international network, Dropa House has everything to become a crucial player in the field of adventurous music.