Five Sound Questions to Dennis de Bel

We were amazed by the effective simplicity of his Sew-O-Phone and Vacumonium as well as his Brick-Up. Dennis de Bel is an “extemporary artist” from the Netherlands, transforming everyday objects into something new. We could say he extends their functionality. 

The titles of his work are very descriptive and the functionality is limited, but they tickle the imagination. Read more about his work on his website www.dennisdebel.nl.

1. What sound from your childhood made the most impression on you? 

Music: David Bowie - let’s dance (+ videoclip as earliest memory), Dire Straits as my parents ‘car music’ during our holiday drives. Pink Floyd as ‘the-band-that-demolished-buildings-with-their-soundsystem-in-venice’ (was it such a loud system or were the buildings so crappy?).

 

Sound: vacuum cleaner. When I was still in the womb, my mom used to vacuum clean her clothes to remove the hair of our cats when they had been sitting on her lap. After my birth, I would stop crying when my mom turned on the vacuum cleaner. This might explain my love for monotonous sounds/noise, although this might as well be a genetic condition most people suffer from (truck drivers falling asleep from the diesel engine’s hum etc.).

2. How do you listen to the world around you?

Depends on the situation and mood I’m in, or the mood I want to be in. When I’m running late, or in a hurry I like to listen to my iPod, acting as drill instructor: beats, beats, beats. Really gets you going! But when I’m waiting for a train to arrive, I often turn off the iPod to enjoy the ‘wall of sound’ created by passing trains and the acoustics of the concrete world around them (especially in tunnels @ stations at Blaak, Rijswijk, Schiphol).

 

I always try to absorb/grasp and deconstruct as much of the sound as possible. I’d like to that I listen to the world analytically: ‘looking’ for patterns, sample loops, randomness, Doppler and associate the auditive with the visual information (for example patterns in sound and architecture… duh). 

3. Which place in the world do you favor for its sound?

The ‘main square’ in Zagreb: Full of people but covered in a serene silence that makes you whisper (…as well).

4. How could we make sound improve our lives?

It already does. Otherwise we would live in the vacuum of space. Sound literally keeps us alive. Sound and music (there’s no distinction) enriches life both mentally and physically. It brings (certain) people together, influences mood, creates atmosphere (as well as removing it*). How it could improve living/our lives even more, I don’t know, I’m happy with sound as it is.

  

*Some say the ‘mosquito’ sound boxes used as ‘people repellent’ improve our lives. I just love the fact I can still hear them, it’s like a (hassle-)free hearing test.

5. What sound would you like to wake up to?

My old drum ‘n bass mix tape did the job quiet well. Since I haven’t got the tape around anymore I’m still looking for an alternative. An ever changing (random) alarm might do the job, although my bio rhythm is frighteningly accurate now and then. Till then I’d say: silence (white noise for Sunday mornings ;) ). As sound to fall asleep to: an incoming thunderstorm with hail, winds etc.

Also read the answers of other artists in the Five Sound Questions section.

Comments

[Pedro Oliveira]

I liked a lot his answers! I think so far he's the only one that mentioned music or at least admitted to have an iPod... what I see nowadays is a "fear of music" by many sound artists that quite intrigues me...

I love this series! And his works are quite nice, too :)

[Hugo Verweij]

Thank you very much Pedro! I agree with you that we should not fear music, as in my opinion the border between sound and music is hard to describe, it that would be possible at all. And in my daily life I wouldn't want to do without music.

[dennis de bel]

Thanks Pedro for the good comment and Hugo for the opportunity! A bit late maybe, but better late than....
Four years ago a teacher (Reinaart van Hoe, recommended) pointed out this "fear-of-music" phenomenon to me, because I was more into music than into sound. He wanted to make me aware of sound. This was, and is, in the light of Pedro's comment, a very interesting moment.
I think this moment, this notion, was very important for my development, at least to hunt/get me out of my trusted 'bubble' for the following years. I never lost music though.
Exploring sound just got me back into music again and again.
Though I'm not sure this fear of music amongst sound artist actually exist, I understand or feel the need to experiment/conceptualize/synthesize sounds in new ways. The outcome might be boring musically but could be interesting 'soundly' and vise versa.
As Hugo points out, it's hard to define the border between music and sound. Maybe through this subjective nature it let's us to exist and create.
Although everything can be rationalized with 'subjectivity' (yes, even subjectivity itself...woooh meta-subjectivity!) I'd like to leave the discussion open! Please share your thoughts.

(I found the old dnb mixtape in question 5., but only on minidisc, and my minidisc recorder is broken... )