ABOUT

Fremdkunst is the b-beats & soundscapes project initiated by Dutch DJ/producer Mace. It’s a blend of cinematographic tunes, b-beats, bass, soundscapes, turntablism and electronics.

DJ Mace was once inspired by artists like Run-DMC, De La Soul, Stetsasonic, Dust Brothers, Ultra Magnetic mc’s, Urban Dance Squad, Bomb the Bass, EPMD and 3^rd Bass. He rhymed, scratched, dj-ed, tagged, beat-boxed: an all-round b-boy so the speak. Being schooled by people like Mc Sranang and Skate the Great he learned the trade of being a hiphop-artist and as the 90’s passed he became more and more influenced by different musical styles. Jazz was always a part of his sample-based productions, but also music by The Ventures, Eric Satie, The Meters, Rachmaninov, Raymond Scott and Kraftwerk ended up in his music-collages. His first vinyl release appeared in 2001 on 4 Elements Recordings (GrandMasterMind 12”). The first instrumental album he produced was Zarathustra, released as a demo in 2002.

B-beats & soundscapes
Influenced by the (nihilistic) works of philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche, Arthur Schopenhauer, Bandana Handoekoe and Martin Heidegger amongst others, and after an inspiring trip to Berlin, DJ Mace started working on more new instrumental (break)beat material. The result was the demo Fremdkunst: b-beats & soundscapes by DJ Juggernaut Mace, released in late 2006/early 2007 (an album that gained great press reviews). That same year he put out Fremdkunst: second opinion, a remix album which featured tracks by DJ’s Optimus, Vindictiv, Erwin Vann, DNS, Artek & Y? (Coco Bryce) and others.

Live and the future
As Fremdkunst, DJ Mace, Optimus and others also started working on live shows, using turntables, laptops, fx and other electronics to perform the Fremdkunst songs on stage. This resulted in teaming up on stage with different musicians like Shycop (guitar), Erwin Vann (saxophone), Eric Vloeimans (trumpet), Mete Erker (saxophone) and others. Currently Mace is working with drummer Vincent den Hengst on a DJ-set/live show.

Stream of releases
In 2010 some new and remixed material appeared on Fremdkunst: resonance and that same year (finally) came the full-length album Fremdkunst: b-beats & soundscapes out on brand new label Fremdtunes (run by DJ Mace & DJ Optimus). The latest album is Zauberschwein im krankenhaus: an LP filled with mostly complete new tracks (based on three previously released EP’s).

The latest Fremdkunst releases are The Blue Marble (issued through Kitchen Dip Recordings), the other – Human Beings May Be Zombies (via Fremdtunes). In 2014 a new EP called Zibaldone saw daylight…

Press on Fremdkunst
3voor12 website: “DJ Mace and his friends speak to body and mind on this soulful hotchpotch. The quality is consistent and the result is a good, innovative album….”
Giel Beelen (Radio 6): “New Dutch heroes…”
Live XS: “Original, diverse and experimental are the keywords”
Pobsessie: “…a classic in the making….”
Statemagazine.nl: “A unique self-produced music-collage…”
Volkskrant on Fremdkunst XL live: “adventurous and at some points grand…”

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