Let's unfold the Pet Project by means of a brief retrospective:
Eindhoven, march 29th, 2006. Musician Martien van Bergen writes the following:
Somewhere in the past Martien van Bergen, being in his twenties, paid a visit to a local club. He was immediately struck by a cute teenage girl behind the bar who was wearing a t-shirt with the Velvet Underground debut album sleeve printed on it. This creation of Andy Warhol on such a young person made him dazzle; could she possibly like this bohemian underground music, with its odd tunings and dark lyrics? Yes, she did. She'd never heard anything like this before, she said. Van Bergen agreed. Had he himself not been completely overwhelmed when he first listened to songs like 'Venus in furs', Lady Godiva's operation and 'Sunday Morning'? 'What's your name?' he asked. Esther was her name, Esther van Waalwijk. And she was 15 years old and played the guitar. 'I've got one too, and I play a lot,' van Bergen said, 'that is: I try.'
Somewhere in the presence van Bergen feels like surprising his beloved. His beloved? Yes, indeed, Esther became his girlfriend. And even more than that. They married and now have a little son, called Igmar. The weirdest creature ever. But what about this surprise? Well, van Bergen decided to start an independent record label: PP-records. And now he's releasing some tracks that Esther and he recorded in 2004. Hometaped recordings, lo-fi, nearly all first takes, and undoubtedly inspired by the Velvets. It's an LP ( 12" vinyl) containing 13 songs, including Pink Floyd's song 'The Gnome'. Esther doesn't know anything about the LP being made at the moment. Van Bergen's accomplice is called Katelijne Arts, a roguish little creature and a very good friend of the couple. She's taking care of artwork and is dying to see Esther's face when she's presented the finished product. But now we're already talking about…
Somewhere in the future.
Facts and figures:
Line-up: Esther van Waalwijk and Martien van Bergen
Inspirations: The Velvet Underground, The Moldy Peaches, Guv'ner, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Syd Barrett, Wil oldham.
Release debut LP: June 16th, 2006, PP-records.
Other: For both artists the Pet Project is a sideline. Martien van Bergen is a solo musician, known as Blimey!, record deal since 1998. Website: Blimey!
Esther van Waalwijk is an artist mainly making installations. Website: Esther van waalwijk
A Pet Project videoclip made by Maureen Prins:
Musicfrom.nl asked Martien and Esther to discuss their album track by track. Check website (in dutch): musicfrom.nl
REVIEWS (IN DUTCH): De Volkskrant: De vanuit Eindhoven opererende Martien van Bergen was ooit frontman van de band Tupelo Honey en maakt al jaren mooie, 'lo-fi' opgenomen popplaten onder de naam Blimey!. Dat zijn muziek meer belangstelling verdient, bewijst hij nog maar eens op The Pet Project, een alleen op vinyl verkrijgbaar album dat hij maakte met zijn echtgenote en installatiekunstenares Esther van Waalwijk. Van Bergen lijkt zijn liefde voor The Velvet Underground te hebben willen verklanken, en dan niet de noest rockende kant van die band, maar de even lieflijke als verraderlijke kant die we kennen uit Sunday Morning en Pale Blue Eyes. Het resultaat is een sfeerrijke en fragiele lp, die te bestellen is via de Pet Project-website.( M.P)
Blend: De aantrekkingskracht van indie lo-fi muziek is spontaniteit en hoe er met weinig middelen wordt gemusiceerd. Tenminste, als dat goed gebeurt ontstaat er diepgang. En dat is zeker het geval bij The Pet Project van Martien van Bergen (Blimey!) en Esther van Waalwijk. De simpele, gevoelvolle nummers duren gemiddeld twee minuten en bezitten triestheid. En dat met plezier. Ijkpunten lijken The Velvet Underground, Wil Oldham en Bright Eyes, toch ontstaat bij The Pet Project iets eigenzinnigs. Van Bergens sten priemt en kronkelt snijdend het gehoor binnen. Dat verschaft de cover The Gnome, geschreven door de onlangs gestorven Syd Barrett, meerwaarde. Wordt hopelijk vervolgd.
Musicfrom: http://www.musicfrom.nl/magazine/recensies/22710/the-pet-project-the-pet-project.html
8-weekly: http://www.8weekly.nl/index.php?art=4422
Cut-Up: http://www.cut-up.com/reviews/detail.php?id=429
Wobly.nl: http://www.wobly.nl/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=523
De Recensent: http://www.derecensent.nl/pivot/entry.php?id=393#body&file=article&sid=523
Eindhoven, march 29th, 2006. Musician Martien van Bergen writes the following:
Somewhere in the past Martien van Bergen, being in his twenties, paid a visit to a local club. He was immediately struck by a cute teenage girl behind the bar who was wearing a t-shirt with the Velvet Underground debut album sleeve printed on it. This creation of Andy Warhol on such a young person made him dazzle; could she possibly like this bohemian underground music, with its odd tunings and dark lyrics? Yes, she did. She'd never heard anything like this before, she said. Van Bergen agreed. Had he himself not been completely overwhelmed when he first listened to songs like 'Venus in furs', Lady Godiva's operation and 'Sunday Morning'? 'What's your name?' he asked. Esther was her name, Esther van Waalwijk. And she was 15 years old and played the guitar. 'I've got one too, and I play a lot,' van Bergen said, 'that is: I try.'
Somewhere in the presence van Bergen feels like surprising his beloved. His beloved? Yes, indeed, Esther became his girlfriend. And even more than that. They married and now have a little son, called Igmar. The weirdest creature ever. But what about this surprise? Well, van Bergen decided to start an independent record label: PP-records. And now he's releasing some tracks that Esther and he recorded in 2004. Hometaped recordings, lo-fi, nearly all first takes, and undoubtedly inspired by the Velvets. It's an LP ( 12" vinyl) containing 13 songs, including Pink Floyd's song 'The Gnome'. Esther doesn't know anything about the LP being made at the moment. Van Bergen's accomplice is called Katelijne Arts, a roguish little creature and a very good friend of the couple. She's taking care of artwork and is dying to see Esther's face when she's presented the finished product. But now we're already talking about…
Somewhere in the future.
Facts and figures:
Line-up: Esther van Waalwijk and Martien van Bergen
Inspirations: The Velvet Underground, The Moldy Peaches, Guv'ner, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Syd Barrett, Wil oldham.
Release debut LP: June 16th, 2006, PP-records.
Other: For both artists the Pet Project is a sideline. Martien van Bergen is a solo musician, known as Blimey!, record deal since 1998. Website: Blimey!
Esther van Waalwijk is an artist mainly making installations. Website: Esther van waalwijk
A Pet Project videoclip made by Maureen Prins:
Little Dog - Pet Project from Maureen Prins on Vimeo.
Musicfrom.nl asked Martien and Esther to discuss their album track by track. Check website (in dutch): musicfrom.nl
REVIEWS (IN DUTCH): De Volkskrant: De vanuit Eindhoven opererende Martien van Bergen was ooit frontman van de band Tupelo Honey en maakt al jaren mooie, 'lo-fi' opgenomen popplaten onder de naam Blimey!. Dat zijn muziek meer belangstelling verdient, bewijst hij nog maar eens op The Pet Project, een alleen op vinyl verkrijgbaar album dat hij maakte met zijn echtgenote en installatiekunstenares Esther van Waalwijk. Van Bergen lijkt zijn liefde voor The Velvet Underground te hebben willen verklanken, en dan niet de noest rockende kant van die band, maar de even lieflijke als verraderlijke kant die we kennen uit Sunday Morning en Pale Blue Eyes. Het resultaat is een sfeerrijke en fragiele lp, die te bestellen is via de Pet Project-website.( M.P)
Blend: De aantrekkingskracht van indie lo-fi muziek is spontaniteit en hoe er met weinig middelen wordt gemusiceerd. Tenminste, als dat goed gebeurt ontstaat er diepgang. En dat is zeker het geval bij The Pet Project van Martien van Bergen (Blimey!) en Esther van Waalwijk. De simpele, gevoelvolle nummers duren gemiddeld twee minuten en bezitten triestheid. En dat met plezier. Ijkpunten lijken The Velvet Underground, Wil Oldham en Bright Eyes, toch ontstaat bij The Pet Project iets eigenzinnigs. Van Bergens sten priemt en kronkelt snijdend het gehoor binnen. Dat verschaft de cover The Gnome, geschreven door de onlangs gestorven Syd Barrett, meerwaarde. Wordt hopelijk vervolgd.
Musicfrom: http://www.musicfrom.nl/magazine/recensies/22710/the-pet-project-the-pet-project.html
8-weekly: http://www.8weekly.nl/index.php?art=4422
Cut-Up: http://www.cut-up.com/reviews/detail.php?id=429
Wobly.nl: http://www.wobly.nl/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=523
De Recensent: http://www.derecensent.nl/pivot/entry.php?id=393#body&file=article&sid=523
