Drone Records

BEEQUEEN - Winter

Format: LP

Label & Cat.Number: A COLOURFUL STORM -029

Release Year: 2020

Note: two new / old (does it matter? it's BEEQUEEN!) side long pieces = older unreleased material (dating back to 1988!) with new re-shaping in 2020, inspired by the ever mysterious winter atmospheres... - "Think woodblock, guitar, static radio signals, ethereal ambience. An honourable addition to Beequeen's discography and a beautiful piece of the Dutch avantgarde with historic ties to Edward Ka-Spel, De Fabriek, Merzbow and Nurse With Wound."

Price (incl. 19% VAT): €21.50

More Info

"A Colourful Storm presents a new album by Beequeen, the duo of Frans de Waard (Kapotte Muziek) and Freek Kinkelaar (Brunnen). Over two long-form pieces, new material from 2020 and almost-discarded fragments dating back to 1988 are collaged to form a brand-new composition. Think woodblock, guitar, static radio signals, ethereal ambience. An honorable addition to Beequeen's discography and a beautiful piece of the Dutch avantgarde with historic ties to Edward Ka-Spel, De Fabriek, Merzbow, and Nurse With Wound. Mastered by Peter Johan Nyland. Full-color sleeve photography by Alfred Boland."

"Has it been six years since Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar put out Beequeen’s release ‘Aroyund Midnight’? Sadly, it has. In that time, well, a lot of shit has gone down that we don’t have time to go through here, but needless to say, it’s been a minute since they last released something. However, Beequeen has returned with a new album ‘Winter’. As the title suggests this is an album about the winter months. A time when you have to pull the collar of your coat up tighter round your neck, yet the wind always manages to find a gap to send a chill down your spine. It’s the time of year when usually busy parks, and public spaces, are quieter and there is a heavy, earnest silence all around. And this is effectively what ‘Winter’ sounds like.
The album opens with ‘Early Winter’. There is a claustrophobic vibe from the opening, but there is a feeling of space. Like when you are stuck inside on a heavy snow day. You can see an expanse of white surrounding you, there is space to move around inside, but you are
stuck inside, and the walls are getting closer. As ‘Early Winter’ builds it suddenly drops off and we are left with nothing but creaky sounds and space. As the creaking gets more pronounced a white noise hiss becomes louder and louder before strains of feedback started to come into the mix. This feels like walking through the park on the way to, or from, somewhere. Everything is silent. It’s all-consuming, but you are wrapped up in a cosy bubble so the biting weather can’t get to you. ‘Late Winter’ is more of the same, but the sounds and tone are colder. Opening with a stark tinkering loop that conjures up images of icicles. Despite being slightly shorter than ‘Early Winter’ it takes more time to build to its peaks. Throughout that feeling of claustrophobia permeates, giving the sense to dread to that ‘Early Winter’ was missing.
At its heart ‘Winter’ is a love letter to the season. Despite its stark nature, it is filled with longing and compassion.
Whether that is a longing for the season to never end or to be able to go out and see people again is debatable. What isn’t up for argument is how ‘Winter’ is a fascinating listen that really has the power to get under your skin, regardless of the number of layers you have on." [Vital Weekly]

https://beequeen.bandcamp.com/album/winter