The Misz – Eddy Merckz

THE MISZ – Eddy Merckz LP BE 2010 OS002 10 Tracks 44'44''

THE MISZ was Jan van den Broeke (aka Jean Pierre van den Broeke, also in Absent Music and June11) and Dries Dekocker (also in Jus d’Orange, June11) from Gent, Belgium. They released three tapes: „It ain’t all Garbage“ (Misztapes 001, 1984), „Eddy Merckz“ (Misztapes 002, 1985, 200 copies) and „Violence and Love“ (Mad Tapes and Records, 1987), plus numerous tracks on various – mostly cassette – compilations, including their maybe most known hit „Even bad Times are good“. OnderStroom Records have now re-released the „Eddy Merckz“ tape (unfortunately leaving two tracks out – probably due to total length though), remastered by Jan and Dries themselves. On „Eddy Merckz“, which is sort of tributed to their „last Belgian hero“, the professioanl cyclist Eddy Merckz, who has won both the ’Tour de France’ and ’Giro d’Italia’ five times each – a „nostalgia to a long gone heroism“ as they say – they used a Roland TR-909, and borrowed TR-707 and TR-606 drum machines along with anything that makes noise like synthesisers, guitars, bass, tapes, cheap Casio keyboards, Glockenspiel, toys, percussion, flutes, etc. They said that their recording process was a very organic and spontaneous one, most was actually created while the Fostex 4-tracker was running and while friends were simply dragged behind the microphone. Their fun in experimentation and spontaneity can be heard throughout the tracks, even though they are not choatic, they also do not really develop a real pop character. Maybe this also due to a good portion of melancholy, dealing with politics in the tracks, and sometimes the lack of real or catchy choruses and the TR-909 being not the best drum machine for non-dance music, even the pretty funny sounding „Eddy, Eddy“ sounds more ironic (musically, but they said they were drunk that night, so what ...). It’s maybe more for those into slightly experimental electronic wave à la Kaa Antilope (e.g. „The Wave of Miszbehave“), Pseudocode or Opera Multi Steel (e.g. „Roll over Bhopal“, or „CVC: Out of Hand“), definitely it’s not synthpop, but no-one ever claimed it was.

LPs are new, 180 grams vinyl, lyrics sheet and limited to 300 copies.