Available
Het Zweet
Het Zweet (2lp)
Marien Van Oers' work under the name Het Zweet ("The Sweat" in English) originally came out in the 1980s (specifically
1983-1988), but listening to this reissue of the self-titled album from 1987 can feel like one is listening to something
that's both much more current and also much, much older than that. Van Oers, who passed away in 2013, made music that
tended to get classed as "industrial", and tracks here like the steady, clanging churn of 'From The Lowland' or 'On
Earth' show why, but he was as or more inspired by tribal music intended to
produce trance-like effects via rhythm and (percussive and vocal) repetition. Using instruments made by himself out of
anything from shopping carts to cardboard tubes, the music of Het Zweet locks into grooves that somehow feel more
elemental and physical than many of his contemporaries. It never quite feels like Van Oers is emulating or echoing the
music of any particular region or tradition so much as trying to synthesize all the ones he's heard into some sort of
ur-pulse, an overtone so powerful as to compel the 'Massive Trance' the title of the last song on the record evokes.
While the 1987 'Het Zweet' album has four track titles per side, and on listening you can discern some segues and places
where it feels like new movements do shift into place, it's fitting to have this record on vinyl where the listener is
encouraged to experience each side as one uninterrupted piece. The bonus material included on this reissue expands 'Het
Zweet' from one LP to two, the second LP consisting entirely of previously unreleased material. This bonus LP is
sequenced similarly, with three untitled tracks and two live excerpts presented as side-long experiences that belie
their disparate origins with a unity of sound and purpose. Van Oers' percussive nous and distantly yelled chants
certainly sound capable of working up a sweat in both the performer and any movement-minded listeners, but maybe the
most striking thing about 'Het Zweet' is how vital it still sounds, despite its age and relative obscurity. Hand
screenprinted in two colors on Gmund Alabaster 300 g/m. Numbered limited edition of 400.
Price
€ 32.95
Genre
Format
LP - 2 disk
Release
17-06-2022
Label
Item-nr
512162
EAN
2090505121629
Availability
In stock