Machinefabriek Update May 2026

Hi everyone. Busy times… ready? Here we go:

I already talked about this one in a previous post, but the Samen compilation is here. The CDs turned out great. 76 minutes of audio, most of it available on CD for the first time. It really has some of my favorite material on it, so check it out on Bandcamp (it’s not on streaming services).

Gusstaff Records (whom released my Eventual album with Gonçalo Almeida) is putting out a 10-inch with music I created for Roshanak Morrowatian’s dance piece Alphabets of Flesh. Four tracks, with a strong role for the (sampled) vocals of Jenny Hval, Molly Berg, and Lisa Nordström). The EP will be out on June 12, but one track is streaming on Bandcamp now, and the 10” is ready for pre-order.

Hyperrêve is the poet and composer Samuel Lequette, from France. He asked me to do a remix for his piece Ultra-noir, which was produced by the great Thomas Knak, whom you might know as Opiate, and partly produced Björk’s Vespertine.

The original, my remix, and two reworks by Extrawelt, are presented as a 4-track EP, released on CD and as download on June 19th. My remix is on preview on my Bandcamp page, and pre-order is now open, here.

This was released in April already, but I didn’t give it much atention… but it’s simply two live performance that were on YouTube for some time already, presented here as an audio album. The performances were recorded in 2008 and 2012, at [F]luister events in Dordrecht. They’re far from perfect, but I like them nonetheless. Available on Bandcamp and streaming services. Enjoy!

As mentioned in a post earlier this week, Margarida Cardoso’s beautiful film Banzo was a big winner at Portugal’s Sophia Awards ceremony. And yes, this included the award for best original soundtrack (made by me, duh)! Exciting news, obviously, and to celebrate this, I’ve set the price for the score’s digital edition to ‘pay what you want’. Here’s the album, and the film’s trailer below:

Curve is back! After Into the Great Wide Open 2025, the giant inflatable installation can be experienced at the Loeren festival in Houten (NL), on June 7.

The Curve installation is a two-part inflatable tube, with a diameter of 2.5 meters, positioned as two interlocking spirals. One enters the Curve, walks through it, uninterrupted, with the rhythm of the music indicating the pace. At the end of the first tube, in the middle of the installation, there’s an open space. Still slowly walking, the visitor enters the second tube, which spirals outwards and leads towards the exit. The whole experience takes about 20 minutes, and is as beautiful as it is dissorienting.

I rarely perform solo nowadays, but on Saturday June 13 I’ll have a gig at the Zondvloed poetry festival in Deventer (NL). It’s a weird one, since it’ll be during the audience’s dinner break. But I accept the challenge, and will try (not) to ruin your appetite…
Other artists include Spinvis, Tjitske Jansen, Meindert Talma, GW Sok, and Rozalie Hirs (with whom I’ll do a short collaboration on site).

I think that’s it (though I always feel that I’m forgetting things). Thanks for reading!
Best, Rutger