Kees Aerts - Discography

Discography

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Below is a list of all my releases, solo and collaborations.
Click on any cover to see an enlargement. Click on any title to see all details.
Most products are available from Groove Unlimited.
My solo CD's can also be bought from cdbaby.


Solo

	Kees Aerts - If One Door Closes (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-156, October 2008 My second solo cd. A collection of new and old, previously (un)released tracks.
	Kees Aerts - If One Door Closes (MP3 download, 256Kb) Groove Unlimited, gr6001, October 2008 Contains an alternate version of "The Sun Shines, The World Smiles", and a live version of "Surfacing from Beyond".
	Kees Aerts - Slices of Time (CD) Groove Unlimited, gr-001, September 1997 First solo cd.

Collaboration

	Boots, Aerts, v.d. Heijden - Livelines (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-066, March 2002 Live in Essen, Germany on Jan 26 2002. With Ron Boots and Harold van der Heijden. Contains 45 minutes of new and 20+ minutes of old/reworked material.
	Boots, Aerts, v.d. Heijden - Joie de Vivre (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-026, April 1999 More live material. The first 3 songs (about 45 minutes) are from the Cologne performance.
	Sonic Scenery part 1 [13:39] Sonic Scenery part 2 [14:24] Stranger [16:47] Light pollution [6:56] Freewave [8:13] Aftermath [13:33] Track 1, 2 and 3 are recorded live at CEOS 1999 in Cologne, Germany Synths: Ron Boots, Eric van der Heijden, Kees Aerts Drums & percussion: Harold van der Heijden Vocoder voice on "Stranger": Kees Aerts Track 4 recorded at the Planetarium of Ville Neuf D'asq on March 14 1999 Synths & drums: Ron Boots, Harold van der Heijden Track 5 recorded during rehearsals for E-Live 1998 Synths: Ron Boots, Eric van der Heijden Drums & percussion: Harold van der Heijden Track 6 recorded at the Summer Jam Session on Sept. 11 1993 Synths: Ron Boots, Eric van der Heijden, Harold Theunissen Guitar: Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock Drums & percussion: Harold van der Heijden This is our third official live release and it gives an impression of the music we play as specials and encore pieces. In other words: This is all new music. You don't hear any familiar pieces from other CDs. That makes this CD unique, with music that was played once and will never be heard in this form again. For us musicians this is the greatest way to perform; not being limited to studio versions, it gives us a feeling of freedom on stage and it certainly increases the amount of adrenalin in our vains during the performance. Some mishaps are inevitable and also remember that NO overdubs or after-editing is done other then making it as good sounding as possible. The audience you hear are the people who came to CEOS 1999 in Cologne. I decided to let them in for the atmosphere and edit them in after Harolds drumsolo in Freewave. Have fun listening and remember... Live recordings should be played LOUD! Never mind the neighbours, you can blame it on me. 1999. Ron Boots Very atmospheric beginnings conjure up all sorts of lost in the dark images on the aptly titled "Sonic Scenery part 1". This scenery is not all tranquil however as a sequence starts four minutes in, develops and becomes more dominant as the track progresses. I now know what he means about playing it loud! It is all change at the beginning of "Part 2" (or is it end of "Part 1"?) to this track however with a beautiful piano melody being introduced. This is then replaced by a slow beat and an echoing sequence combines with it to superb effect. The main melody is carried by a flute sound which just manages to make itself heard as the sequence again develops and sizzles from the speakers in wave after wave, absolutely magnificent stuff! The further we get into the track the greater part the drums play imparting more energy to a piece that is already super heated. The sequences are back for "Stranger" though the first one up is rather melodic, accompanied by vocoded vocals in true "Chromium Echoes" fashion. A very beautiful (but not pretty) track. "Light Pollution" is an atmospheric and moody piece for piano and swirling synth pads and is an ideal break from the sequencer dominated pieces we have had so far. So thoroughly refreshed lead me back to the fray! The first half of "Freewave" gets right into the groove and dare I say it is almost funky, very rhythmic and melodic but above all great fun, I couldn't keep still to it. There are then a couple of minutes of drum solo by Harald van der Heijden returning to where we left off with blistering lead lines right to the finish. "Aftermath" starts as a piano solo and develops with drum and synth pads through quite a heavy guitar section. To be honest it isn't the strongest track on the album but with such a long running time and with the quality the rest of the album possesses you can afford to drop one track and it still be a superb buy. DL "Joie de Vivre" contains over 70 minutes of live (and some studio) tracks which, for the greater part, came about through improvising. The first three tracks – together about 45 minutes – are all descended from the CEOS- concert in Cologne. They form, as for me, the top of the already very glorious musical skills which Ron Boots & Friends have built up in the course of the years. This triptych (performed by the exceedingly flexible running and again surprisingly strong tandem Ron, Eric, Kees and Harold ) leaves an impressing and above all, magic orgy of whipped up sequencers, soundscapes, effects and rhythms which will enthrall many a listener. In that sense it is one piece of pure, deeply rooted musical emotion which keeps on bubbling up and splashing apart in the ears of the listeners for 3 quarters of an hour. In the slowly built up track "Stranger" very spheric vocoder singing of Kees Aerts has been recorded. After this track follows the – recorded in France one day later – planetarium piece "Light Pollution" by Ron Boots and Harold van der Heijden. Track 5 is something special, namely a studio version of the, at live performances very popular "Freewave" (a.k.a. "The Wave Police"), in which Harold really goes bananas during his racy drumsolo in the in-between part of this track. However, it is difficult to accustom to the studio version, because the "bubbling excitement" of the live atmosphere is unmistakebly missing , despite an excellent performance and faded-in applause. A thing or two could be blamed on the fact that a qualitative good live-recording of "Freewave" wasn’t available. Also, the live recording failed more than once. ( During their concert in Cologne the harddisk was full all at once ) The CD ends spherically with a 13 minute lasting Summerstudio-jamsession of Ron, Eric, Harold van der Heijden , Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (Mr. Mind over Matter) and Harold Theunissen (of Syndrone). Summarizing: For over 70 minutes "Joie de Vivre" leaves a superb musical statement of high-qualitative, flaming electronic music as it has been performed live by Ron & Friends throughout the years, always earning a lot of success. In that sense this CD is a "perfectly chosen thank you" to their large crowd of loyal fans. 1999. Bert Strolenberg Listening to a live CD of a concert you've seen can be an interesting experience. But live CD’s are also a good way to catch up on the concerts that you haven't attended. Sometimes, as an EM fan, you just can't help but conclude that you've missed something special, which is the case with "Joie de Vivre". Ron Boots and his friends Kees Aerts and Harold and Eric van der Heijden claim that this is their third official live album. This is a questionable claim. The first four tracks on the album were recorded ‘live’, while the last two tracks were recorded ‘live in the studio’. The foursome’s performance at the CEOS festival (Cologne, March 1999) provides us with three tracks. "Sonic Scenery" is in two parts and it is, musically, mostly Ron Boots’ work with beautifully arranged keyboard parts, subtle sequencers, and dark (but not too dark!) sounds. Van der Heijden adds a few excellent solo parts, while Harold is busy with his electronic drums. The third track, "Stranger", is the highlight of this album. In 16 minutes, Boots & Co. show us why their collaboration is so fascinating. Aerts’ vocoder text is the finishing touch and reminds us of Klaus Schulze’s experimental works of the late seventies and early eighties. In "Stranger" everything just falls into place. Unfortunately, these highlights do not occur in the remaining three tracks. The first, "Light Pollution", which was recorded in Lille and is too short, at least leaves us with a positive impression. Yet the rehearsal piece, "Freewave", and the jam piece, "Aftermath", don’t substantially add to this CD. Both tracks sound aimless and uninspired, and could have been left off of the CD. Whereas the first set of tracks on this CD makes a very professional impression, the second set is the height of amateurism, which is a shame. On top of that I always wonder if it wouldn't be better for Harold van der Heijden to use sturdy ‘analogue’ drums alongside the warm and partly analogue sounds made by Boots, Aerts, and cousin Eric. Listening to his substandard electronic drumming on "Freewave" I can't draw any other conclusion. I believe that van der Heijden is capable of far better technical performances. A missed opportunity? But to be honest, as the album cover already implies, musical freedom reigns on this disc and characterizes the music made by Boots & Friends. Every ingredient is certainly present in this collection of tracks, yet the combinations just don't turn out to be quite what they could have been. Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend buying this album, if only for the fantastic tracks recorded at Cologne! Wouter Bessels "Joie de Vivre" (6 tracks; 74 min.) consists of the first 4 tracks recorded live in March, 1999. With most of these live electronic/ambient live releases, you can't really tell that they are live, but for the occasional applause at the end of a track. "Sonic Scenery Part 1 and 2" is a 28 min. piece that takes its merry time to evolve, and it's the reason to get this album. The line-up consists of 3 synth players and a drummer, and at times the drumming nicely compliments the whirlwind of synthesizers, at times it does not (I'm generally not a fan of live drums on this type of music). "Stranger" is another nice long 16 min. piece. The last 2 tracks were recorded live in 1998 and 1993 (per the album's liner notes), and really don't fit as well with the rest of the album. They are not bad, but are not essential either, and in particular "Freewave" feels kinda out of place. In all, "Joie de Vivre" is a good album, although not quite as strong as "Tainted Bare Skin". That said, I'll still recommend this album to any fan of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Spacecraft, Harmonia, Cluster, and the like. Paul Allaer

	Boots, Aerts, v.d. Heijden - E-Live '98 (CD-Single) Groove Unlimited , gr-019, October 1998 Contains two new songs: "Valö by Night [8:21]" and "After the Stripper [9:34]".
	Boots, Aerts, v.d. Heijden - BAH! Live in Sweden (CD-R) Groove Unlimited , gr2010, July 1998 Live concert with Ron Boots and Harold van der Heijden on the island Valö in Sweden, on June 1 1998.
	EEKA - Soms Ben Je Alleen (Cassette) Private Release, 81520, October 1984 This cassette is never officially released. Just before the already copied cassettes were about to be released, Kees and Eric Vermeulen broke up and all copies were destroyed.
	EEKA - Pluggen (Cassette) Private Release, 24679, April 1984 The music on this cassette was composed and played with Eric Vermeulen and sold about 50 copies. The groupname was EEKA.

Participation

	Ron Boots - Acoustic Shadows (CD) Groove Unlimited, gr-125, August 2006 Solo CD by Ron Boots. Effect sounds on "The Unknown Soldier" by Kees Aerts.
	Ron Boots - Close, But Not Touching (CD) Groove Unlimited, gr-046, September 2000 Contains "Giants Of Once Before", a live recording with Ron Boots and Harold vd Heijden from the Summer Space Party, held on July 22, 2000 in the Gruga Park in Essen, Germany.

Compilation

	Various - Analogy Vol. 2 (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-136, August 2006 New solo track "Branch Hopping", composed and played on old synths, and specially made for this project.
	Various - Analogy Vol. 1 (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-124, October 2005 "Grey Keys" is composed on old synths and specially made for this project.
	Various - E-dition Magazine #1 (Magazine and CD) Groove Unlimited , gr4001, January 2004 The CD came with E-dition Magazine #1 and contains my track "Undelivered Delivery". A year later I found the original track on cassette with the title "Monorail".
	Various - Tracks Across The Universe (Book, CD-Rom, 3x CD-R) Hexagon Records, 75691, March 2003 Set contains of 1 book (382 pages), 1 CD-ROM with the book and 3 CD-R's with music. My track is called "Put Me Down, Scotty" and is specially made for this project.
	Various - Sequences #27 (Magazine + 2x CD) Sequences, 61558, September 2002 UK Magazine with a 2-CD compilation. "Sequences Piece" is a unique song that Ron Boots and I composed.
	Various - World Wide Kind (CD) Ummo Discs, gr-045, October 2000 Japanese compilation with unreleased music. It contains the track "World Wide Kind" from Ron Boots and me.
	Various - E-Live 2000 (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-049, September 2000 Contains the unique song "Lively Detached" which was performed during the E-Live festival 1998 by Ron Boots, Eric and Harold v.d. Heijden and myself.
	Various - Four, The Truth (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-012, March 1998 The fourth and last CD in the series of music inspired by the SF-series "The X-Files". I can be heard with James Clent on the track 'Straight Ahead'.
	Various - Truth Or Dare (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr1129, September 1997 The third CD in the series of music inspired by the SF-series "The X-Files". I'm on three tracks: Crossing the Road (Running Frog) [9:40] (with Airsculpture) Surfacing from Beyond [7:40] (with James Clent) The Silence of the Scream [8:30] (with Ron Boots)
	Various - The Truth is Twisted (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr1124, September 1996 This is the second CD in the series of music inspired by the SF-series "The X-Files". You can hear me on three tracks: The Sensation of the Vortex [9:18] (with Ron Boots) Asylum [7:06] (with Harold van der Heijden) Alien Artifacts of Ice [7:00] (with Alpha Wave Movement).
	Various - Out These Lies The Truth (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr1117, March 1996 This is the first CD in the series of music inspired by the SF-series "The X-Files". It contains the track "Superficial Analysis of the Unsound Mind". A 12:40 mins track I composed together with Ron Boots.

Sampler

	Various - Moogazyn (11/02) (Magazine + CD) Generator, s04, November 2002 Contains "Take off" from the CD "Livelines".
	Various - Schallwende #4 (Magazine + CD) Schallwende, 2002s4, March 2002 The CD contains a unique song called "Cool Runnings" that I composed together with Ron Boots. Drums by Harold van der Heijden. Click on details to download the song for free.
	Various - A Groove Selection (CD) Groove Unlimited , gr-900, May 2000 Contains "Travel" and "Surfacing from Beyond".
	Various - Schwingungen Radio Auf CD Vol. 38 (CD) Winfrid Trenkler, s03, July 1998 Contains 3 tracks of "BAH! Live in Sweden". "Detachment of Worldly Affairs", "Among the Stars" and "Gibberish".
	Various - Schwingungen Radio Auf CD Vol. 30 (CD) Winfrid Trenkler, s02, November 1997 Contains "Travel" and "Friends" from my solo CD "Slices of Time".
	Various - Schwingungen Radio Auf CD Vol. 19 (CD) Winfrid Trenkler, s01, December 1996 Contains "Asylum" and "The Sensation of the Vortex" from "The Truth is Twisted".