STM 038 - Kreng

“Secret Thirteen Mix 038” is a painstaking musical montage composed of sampled parts from diverse performances of solo instruments. The work is filled with compositions by esteemed classical virtuosos such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Bernard Herrmann, Erik Satie, Bill Dixon, John Cage, John Butcher, Giacinto Scelsi, and others. This enigmatic musical selection has the potential to be considered a timeless masterwork, connecting talents from different periods and generations in a luxurious fictional soundscape.

The author of the mix is Pepijn Caudron (born in 1975), widely known as Kreng. Caudron is a Flemish actor and contemporary composer who lives and works in Mechelen, Belgium. Kreng began as a sample-based project that thoughtfully incorporated sounds from various rare musical sources: free improvisation, experimental electronics, modern classical, folklore, field recordings, and more. The project progressively gained theatrical and cinematic color, attracting attention from alternative film and theater directors. Kreng has worked on more than twenty theater and dance performances, most of them produced by the Belgian non-traditional theatre-commune Abattoir Fermé. Caudron has officially released two striking full-length albums (on both CD and vinyl) on the esteemed Miasmah record label, and two digital EPs on the short-lived Fant00m imprint. This October, he is set to launch his third album "Works for Abattoir Fermé 2007–2011," which will consist of four vinyl records.

“Secret Thirteen Mix 038” is a grandiose musical collection consisting of thirty-four meticulously cut and edited tracks. The skillfully merged and smoothly developed instrumental assemblage creates an absolutely solid experience for the listener. The deliberate layering of strings, keyboards, percussion, and wind instruments is equivalent to a professional live performance by a full ensemble. Occasionally, significant spoken words emerge in the fragile background, enriching the musical narrative from a dramaturgical perspective. Subtle dissonances that occasionally appear mystify the entire work and evoke conflicting depressive and nostalgic feelings. In some ways, this mix exemplifies Kreng's personal creations where he uses micro-scale samples; only this time, it operates on a macro scale. The high-quality, cathedral-like sound experience, with its subtly balanced emotional vision and arrangement, fully engages and educates the listener.

“Secret Thirteen Mix 038” is akin to Jean Dubuffet's genuine and humanistic 'low art' painting "Grand Jazz Band," where the beauty of truthfulness expresses personalities and their musical instruments as equally important. Caudron reveals himself as a passionate and educated collector of records, possessing an extensive musical philosophy and the talent needed to be a major composer.