Minco Eggersman takes his time and creates space for a melancholic 80’s record.
On Monday February 13th, 2012, Minco Eggersman presents what will be his fifth solo-album under the guise of ME – where ‘solo’ is relative, considering the musical journey Eggersman has made over the last few years, and which has landed him in a filmic niche all of his own.
ME’s debut ‘The Wagon Fair’ sounded primarily as a minimized version of his band at the close of every day, but as time went by his path crossed that of filmmaker Jaap van Heusden (for whom he made the soundtracks to ‘Ooit’, ‘WIN/WIN’ and ‘Drone’). Both worlds collided in ME’s third, very penetrating album ‘Hamden’ – a remarkably intimate and dark album with a crystal clear sound, on which ME’s characteristic style is combined with a more ambient, stratified sound that reminds us of David Sylvian’s later work.
This sound is also the foundation upon which ME builds with his new album RESERVOIRS. RESERVOIRS takes its point of departure in ME’s more filmic work, but also unabatedly hints at the late 80’s (like Talk Talk’s ‘Spirit of Eden’), and could well figure in a stray episode of Twin Peaks. The typical, synthetic sounds of the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, the electric chorus (bass) guitars and the Hammond melt together with the many acoustic instruments in a beautiful reverb unique for the reservoir in which ME recorded this album.
During eight cold days in the winter of 2010/2011, RESERVOIRS was recorded in the water tower of Oostburg in the province of Zeeland (The Netherlands) – a remarkable location where a resplendent helicopter view over land and sea alternates with the confines of a concrete reservoir, where all of a sudden one finds oneself alone with the reverb of thoughts, dreams, nightmares (‘AMMUNITIA’) and memories. Precisely this location and barren circumstances (no heating) provided ME (again together with Jan Borger, Ruben Bekx and Mariecke Borger) with the atmosphere they were looking for. An abstract and weatherworn place where time would stand still to create a private universe in which the music could resonate, breathe and crystallize (‘DISTANT REFLECTIONS’).
As in the 80’s, recording in such a spacious environment allowed for a natural reverb, which combines with technician Jan Borger’s transparent recording into a layered but open sound. ME’s youth hero Lothar Kosse found some time – while recording in Nashville with Genesis/John Mayer drummer Nir Z. - to add some subtle guitar parts. To complete the picture, audio guru Eelco Grimm of Grimm Audio offered to master RESERVOIRS after listening to Hamden.
Thematically, RESERVOIRS is about illusions, estrangement, dreams, nightmares and memories. The atmosphere of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series (one of ME’s favorites) is always close by, with the angelic voice of Mariecke Borger – who fills in more and more leads - starring as ME’s own Julee Cruise.
As is the record, such is the beautiful and minimalistic artwork, created by Robert Jan van Noort of Pankra. The black & white photography by Albert Korf uses a lot of shadow - a form of resonance as the album itself shows. While Hamden was presented in a hand-made case, each cd or lp of RESERVOIRS will be made available in a true industrial miniature reservoir. The basic version is a small reservoir with 12 pictures and lyrics on silver paper, and each copy of the large limited edition holds one hundredth of a unique work of art. Artist Art van Triest created a life-size metal etching, which he let rust in the shape of the cover picture. The limited editions each contain one piece of this work on a hand-made base, plus a photograph of the whole work, indicating which part exactly is in this particular reservoir. To top it off, there will be a large, reservoir lp edition, including 50 copies on silver vinyl.
When most record labels try to make the cheapest products possible, ME comes with his most beautiful limited edition ever which does honor to the highest quality of audio. RESERVOIRS takes its time and creates its own space. RESERVOIRS forges the depth of introspection and the wideness of a gaze into the open into a work of art, that does not wear off by the rust of time, but rather finds its shape. A record that shares itself with its listeners, and that its listeners can become part of. As from February, 2012 BY VOLKOREN/Munich.