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.
	Take off [6:27] Desert Clouds [15:21] Moondust [12:41] Triple Rock [9:02] Radio Danceable [8:12] Surfacing from Beyond [7:45] Three in All [15:08] All tracks recorded live in Essen, Germany on February 26 2002 during the Schallwende Elections. Tracks 1, 2, 3 and 5 composed by Ron Boots. Tracks 4 and 7 composed by Ron Boots, Kees Aerts and Harold v.d. Heijden. Track 6 composed by Kees Aerts and James Clent. Gear used: Trinity, K5000, XP50, S2R, JX3P, D50, MAQ 16, D180, MF11, TDM8. TD7, MPX1, DL8000. All tracks performed by: Ron Boots - Synths and sequencing. Kees Aerts - Synths, vocals and percussion. Harold v.d. Heijden - Drums and percussion. "Livelines" has a great version of "Desert Clouds" from one of Ron's earlier CD's ("Ghost of a Mist") and is excellent thoughout. Do not be frightened by the photo of Kees apparently singing on the cover. It's just some nice vocal effects on the last track, I think. Harold van der Heijden provides some great drumming throughout. Another great CD! R. Fox "Livelines" is one of the strongest EM discs I've heard in awhile for irresistibly catchy rhythms and melodies, with Boots' usual strong sequencing for hypnotic effect. This is pure synth fun, from revisited classics like "Desert Clouds" to the bouncy "Radio Danceable", complete with some excited person whooping it up, with a single loud "WHOO!" That pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly on hearing the CD. The thumping beat on this track really moves, surrounded by the coolest electronics and a light, tinkling sequence that is tart and crisp. Very hard to sit still to this one, and who would want to? I was thrilled to hear the live rendition of "Desert Clouds" , one of my favorite tracks from my favorite Ron Boots CD, 1991's classic "Ghost Of A Mist". It is faithful to the original, but different enough to warrant enjoyment in its own right. Also spot-on is the space talk as "Take Off" begins the CD. "All lights are green. We are at T-minus 18 seconds from liftoff." And off we go, stopping along the way for the vintage sequencing of "Moondust", the powerful pounding drum solo of "Triple Rock", and a souped-up version of "Surfacing from Beyond", which previously appeared on one of the fine X-Files compilations. "Three In All" is a perfect closer, a mellow moody piece to bring us in for a sublime landing. 2002. Phil Derby, Exposé Magazine "Livelines" is a live album, recorded in Essen, Germany during the Schallwende Elections in February of 2002. The concert artists (performing as a trio) were Ron Boots (synths and sequencing), Kees Aerts (synths, vocals and percussion) and Harold van der Heijden (drums and percussion). And as an opening to this review, I sure as hell wish I could've attended this concert! The music on Livelines is one spacy yet explosive EM-infused burst of energy after another - and, surprise to all fans of Groove Unltd. artists, not everything here is neo-Berlin in flavor. But it's all ultra-cool. The CD opens with "Take Off," as a spoken-word "countdown" starts with "T minus one minute and counting." The various synths start to whoosh, and at "lift-off," a thundering synth chord and other effects signals the true beginning of the concert. Audacious as hell and damn, it works! Your blood pressure will elevate just hearing this! Swirling keyboards and dramatic washes of synths gradually subside to the echoed refrain "Roger....Roger....Roger." A slow but steady sequenced rhythm emerges from the washes to pulse on top of a series of spacy undercurrents. Tempo picks up as other EM elements are added into the mix as well, such as a synth chorus of men's voices. All in all, itąs a great start to this wonderful album. There's actually more variety here than you might expect. Plus, since drums and percussion are not synthesized, the actual sound of the music on some cuts has a refreshing "real" feel to it. Which is not to say that Livelines is not solidly an electronic music recording. However, there's also no mistaking this for anything but a live album, as the improvisatory nature makes it clear. And these three artists sure can rev it up and let it fly! Track transitions are usually signaled by applause, but not from track 1 to track 2. The second song is "Desert Clouds" and it starts off in a non-Berlin vein. Astute listeners might hear echoes of Open Canvas, although the music is much more dynamic and less tribal. At more than fifteen minutes in length, itąs the longest song on the CD (although only the opening cut is under seven minutes and two more are over ten minutes in duration). "Desert Clouds" offers a mesmerizing soundscape of lower register washes, kinetic drums and hand percussion, snaky lead keyboards, a sultry flute keyboard sample, and plenty of spacy effects in the background. Sequenced beats do become part of the picture at times, but the "real" drums keep the music rooted in a non-Germanic vein (at least to my ears). Intensity ebbs and flows, sometimes with just the hand percussion being played and other times a huge sound is heard, courtesy of a blistering "electric guitar" keyboard line and sequenced synths. Another stretch of the song introduces classical Tangerine Dream-like synths soaring over the rhythms. As I said, there are plenty of contrasting moments here. "Moondust" has a spacemusic-meets-sequencer cosmic feel to it. Serene floating chords of lush keyboards glide effortlessly over the sequenced notes. Itąs probably the "prettiest" track on the album - and sits solidly in the realm of spacemusic, albeit as the song builds, the Germanic elements become more dominant. Vocal effects add layers of majesty without tilting toward bombast. Only when the drum kit enters the song will traditional spacemusic fans possibly think itąs evolved too far - although I consider the evolution of the piece to be perfectly natural and a good fit. My favorite track (and it's hard to narrow it down to one) is the bubbly and fun "Radio Danceable," which is just too gorgeous for me to describe accurately. The early-on synth bells twinkle like diamonds but soon a funky series of beats and rhythms (both synth and organic) take over, driving the track into a top-tapping cruising mode. This isn't really techno or any other form of electronica, but it's not any of the other easily noted subgenres of EM either. Itąs a confluence of drum programming, buzz saw synths, chattering keyboards, and celestial-sounding bells. Like I said - I dig this track a lot! "Three in All" closes the album. It's a solid fifteen-minute conclusion, uniting some Germanic elements to other textures, such as ethno-tribal, prog fusion and even a touch of new age music. Opening with mellow piano, hand percussion, and spacy synths, I was reminded (believe it or not) of Lanz and Speer's "Desert Vision" (owing to how the piano is folded into the underlying electronics and the more sedate yet stately melody of the lead line). Until, of course, things started heating up - and they do heat up. Like water being slowly boiled, the musical steam starts slowly, with sequenced beats and synth choruses - van der Heijden really gives his drums a workout on this track. By the way, engineering on the album is sterling. The drums are never too far forward nor too far back in the mix - which is a good thing because van der Heijden's playing of them is a highlight of "Livelines". The ethno-tribal rhythms also become predominant later in the track, intermixed with some of the most spacy synth work on the album. Hand percussion by Aerts and van der Heijden also deserves special recognition here. But then the sequencing by Boots is what brings everything together so seamlessly throughout much of the CD. Oh hell, all three of these guys kick major amounts of ass on this recording. Kudos to all of them! No matter if the music is cruising through space, thumping along the neon-streets of Berlin, or dancing by firelight outside of primitive caves, Livelines is both a superior concert album and a worthy addition to the collection of any fan of Germanic EM or active spacemusic. The use of non-synthesized percussion and drums adds a vibrancy that is seldom heard in this music and the electronics themselves hold up their end of the bargain as well. All in all, a splendid time was obviously had by all (and will continue to be had by purchasers of this CD). Highly recommended! 2002. Bill Binkelman, Wind And Wire Also know as BAH!, on February 26th this trio gave a concert at the Schwallwende Elections in Essen, Germany. That live now is this incredible album. Boots with synths creates wonderful passages, while Aerts and v.d. Heijden with percussions complete every free space of the melodies. Tracks of a slow and dark electronic and others full of a dawn of solar notes that shine of cold effects of crystal, as that winter night when thay could give a live full of Atmosphere. Here, we find too "Desert Clouds", one of best tracks loved in the career of Boots, and "Moondust" from last new Ron's CD, one the best he has created. Very good! Stefania Carezzoli, 21st Century Music You know where you are with this trio, and these tracks recorded live at the Schallwende show in February 2002 are typical of their combined style. With two synthesists you're guaranteed huge layers of strings under wobbly abstract noises, slipping slowly into fat analog sequencer territory, and after a few minutes the hi-hats come in, rapidly followed by the rest of the kit... At least that's the formula for the first pair of tracks. It's great to hear a human drummer at work, even though both drum and cymbal sounds are digital so there's not the acoustic element there might have been. The sequences are pretty varied - none of this eight notes repeated ad infinitum business - but although plenty of pre-composition has obviously gone on, there's also the feeling of an extended jam session in most of the performances. There's a bit of background hum throughout, which although it only shows up during applause at least proves the recordings are live, but otherwise the mix is pleasant and powerful. Standout track is "Radio Danceable", which plays with voice and orchestral hit samples and disco toms over a 4/4 beat, though the closing "Three In All" which is a much more mid-paced piece more typical of the album as a whole has some nice Moog-like soloing to recommend it. E-Mix Ron Boots, Kees Aerts and Harold van der Heijden are prolific concert performers. And they frequently - if not always - document their concert tours with a CD. They release the discs using the group name BAH!. "Livelines" is a recording from their 2002 tour. They recorded it on February 26 in Essen, Germany. It is a stunning documentation. Ron, Kees and Harold are on the same page at the same time. It is almost like they are one performer. The simpatico is obvious. The enjoyment is obvious too. It must be a total experience to attend a BAH! concert. It is totally cool that the fun comes through on the CD's. They have many live CD's available. They are all treasures. Jim Brenholts, AmbientVisions

	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.
	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".