Reversed soundtrack 

For museum fans who may not know you yet: how would you describe yourselves and your music?

Dries: “That’s a question that comes up often and always remains difficult.”

Menno: “It’s a coming together of different worlds. A search for a common denominator within many and diverse interests. Without really needing to define it. We simply let it happen. It’s a mix of different atmospheres. Instrumental music that doesn’t belong to a single genre, with respect for all genres.”

STUFF. had previously already been a guest at the museum site for the series Lefto in Transit. So you already have experience with music in architectural spaces.

Dries: “At that time, the museum was still really in a shell construction state. That made the space very special. In any case, it’s interesting to hear your music in a completely different acoustic environment for once. That’s also the case with these recordings. A beautiful, long museum gallery with wooden floors… That sounds fantastic!”

What did you take from your previous experience into these recordings?

Dries: “Above all, the awareness that it’s going to sound very different. Especially this music with drums. That’s not always simple. We mainly want to let ourselves be surprised. How does the space sound? What does the space look like? We hadn’t seen Vandenbranden’s work in person yet, so that was actually a surprise for us as well.”

What is the connection between the music and the work?

Dries: “It’s not too figurative and not too abstract. It’s a work you can drift away with, but that doesn’t push you too strongly in any one direction.”

Menno: “We try to find an image for the music that we feel fits the album.”

How do you build a soundtrack around a work of art?

Dries: “I think it’s actually the other way around. The music was already very concrete and almost finished. Only then did we start looking for images that fit. This work still has something very modern about it. The craftsmanship and the modern character of the piece match the music. The fact that we all see different things in it is very interesting to us.”

Did you find it challenging to play here?

Dries: “Not really a challenge, because we’ve done it before. I’d rather call it a luxury and an honor to be able to play in the museum. We think it’s fantastic to be connected to the museum as Artists in Residence. Just walking through the spaces already feels like an honor. We like to let ourselves be surprised by how it sounds and feels in the space. By now, we’re used to very extreme situations. We’ve played in the dirtiest basements and on the biggest stages. It’s amazing that we can do that here too.”