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Field trip
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Field trip
When attempting to make plans to meet the
minds behind Meduse MagiQ, I was kept largely
in the dark. An apt introduction to the enigmatic
entity that defines itself as a “community for
musicians by musicians” and releases records,
puts on shows and unearths emerging artists.
The one thing we knew for certain was that it
was set up by Alexandra Duvekot, front woman
of moon-pop foursome Blue Crime, and Rosa
Ronsdorf, front woman of dreamgaze quartet
Bird on the Wire. We tracked them down to find
out more.
Text by Roxy Merrell
Photos shot by Iris Duvekot in Amsterdam, Netherlands
We meet on a gloomy October morning at Plantage Dok, a collective and creative space in the
East of Amsterdam, set up by a dedicated community spanning NGOs, activist organisations,
musicians and tattoo artists. Meduse MagiQ is their most recent addition, and there couldn’t
be a more serendipitous match. The Dokzaal, a former church hall, is now a blank canvas that
can be morphed to evoke divergent ambiances, “ranging from shamanistic weekends to very
experimental cello music, from drawing exhibitions to theatre plays. It’s very broad, but the
Dok collective does have a vision,” Alexandra tells me.
We’re sitting in the homely restaurant of the Dokhuis Gallery when Alexandra explains, “We
like to think of ourselves as a community. We are both musicians with backgrounds in the arts.
We really wanted to have a curated community, based on our love for experimental music.”
Her charismatic gaze, peering from under heavy bangs, immediately draws you in. “We decided to set up a space that will function as a record label, a venue, a sound studio and a radio
station, all dedicated to that love.”
In the hazy morning light, a faint glimmer reveals a silhouette of what Meduse MagiQ wants
to become. “We are very specific about the things we book. It’s all about an atmosphere, an
experience of music.” I dig for descriptions to get a grasp of “the experimental,” but Alexan40
Meduse MagiQ
dra and Rosa cunningly elude my pinpointing. They
seem wary of the limitations that being pinned down
brings. This is difficult to rhyme with their desire to
curate and organise. Are they contradicting themselves? Alexandra insists, “We do have a genre, a
direction. Our bands Blue Crime and Bird on the Wire
have a specific sound that fits, too.” Rosa sits calmly
and quietly, without being withdrawn. She interjects:
“Atmosphere is key to what we do. We envision our
events as experiences you can step into.”
Their events are masterfully coordinated occurrences, dedicated to evoking the atmosphere of
their choosing. Meduse MagiQ dedicated one such
night to the moon in late 2014. For MAAN, the
Dokzaal was spun into a shrine, featuring artists
willing to indulge in the sound of the moon, such
as “charming astronaut” Molly Nilsson “music for
sleeping stars” Bed, and art by “spaceman of the
unforeseen dream landscape” Amos Mulder. International acts and artists, matched with costumes,
installations and research, resulted in an undoubtedly atmospheric experience. The point is exactly
this: what they do is distinct and recognisable, but
sometimes there is no simple way to articulate or
verbalise something so versatile. They require props,
projections and a willing group of explorers to investigate with them. Their niche is exactly what they say
it is – the experimental.
“We really found each other in these views,” Rosa reveals when we speak of Meduse MagiQ’s genesis. “We
met by playing similar shows, in De Nieuwe Anita and
such, five years ago.” “Always friendly but operating
in our own range,” Alexandra refines. It wasn’t until
after their artistic paths took them both to New York,
separately, that the two found each other, that they
connected. “I lived in New York for a while,” Alexandra explains, “where I was alone most of the time.
The solitude gave me the space to think about how I
experience music. I was feeling uncomfortable with
the commercial approach to making music, and realised I needed to connect – not professionally, but
intimately – to continue making the music I wanted
to make.”
“It was years later, after I returned from New York,”
Rosa chimes in, “that I reached out to Alexandra
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“We live in a time in which people that live across the ocean
don’t feel far away. So we want to create a kind of web.”
and we found ourselves sharing the exact same feeling. A sort
of epiphany – music should be about that connection all of the
time. That’s why we wanted to set up this community, which does
exactly that.”
Connection is at the core of everything they do. Chemistry and
mutual understanding make the groundwork for their collaborations. “It is about connection, friends, making things happen,”
Alexandra explains. Meduse MagiQ is expert at channelling the energy different people bring forward, to get things done, together.
In that way, they have placed themselves at the axis of a web of
creators. Take for example Blue Crime’s album cover, which was
shot by Alexandra’s photographer sister, Iris Duvekot, or the one
for Bird on the Wire’s recent record, painted by Jacco Olivier after
the band played at his exhibition. FANGOVER, made up of cinematographer Fan Liao and director Gover Meit, directed Blue Crime’s
video for “The Whore,” and even landed the band with an interview
published in Chinese. Then there’s their date with The Space Lady,
which they put on with Red Light Radio — it was sparked during a
chat Rosa had with Susan Dietrich herself after a show.
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But this is not happenstance, it is a philosophy; one
that pursues connection and cultivates personal exploration. And although it sounds ethereal, it is all very human. “I make music because I love making music, but I
also love to connect to an audience,” Alexandra speaks
of her ten years of experience. “To do that, you have to
give them part of yourself. I think Meduse MagiQ works
like that too – we’re trying to give.”
They want to create a stage for the artists they believe
in and build bridges between the “islands of communities” operating throughout the country. They began
locally, at Amsterdam squats Vrankrijk and OCCII, while
dreaming of broadening their scope internationally.
Alexandra has recently been on an Eastern European
tour and Rosa has just returned from a trip to America’s
West Coast. “We meet these kind of people everywhere
we go,” Rosa marvels. “We live in a time in which people
that live across the ocean don’t feel far away. So we
want to create a kind of web. You want to be able to go
places where people like your music, but you also want to bring something new to Amsterdam
– a fairly small place.” Alexandra encouragingly observes, “Things are really starting to change
here, now. I have hope for our small city.”
Upstairs lies their headquarters, in the depths of its transformation. The small space aspires
to be a manifestation of all their explorations. It is destined, according to Rosa, to be just as
multidimensional as Meduse MagiQ. “A music studio, radio station, cosy hang out, and tiny
shop with mini exhibitions” – essentially, a home base for their curiosities. On 26 November,
the duo will hold their headquarters’ grand opening, MQ EXORDE*, in what I now understand
is the quintessential Meduse MagiQ style. “We’ll be debuting projects that have never seen the
light of day,” Alexandra beams. “From artists such as Slumberland & Sven Torfs, from Belgium,
who I’ve toured with a lot, Meduse MagiQ’s newest project Raaf & Rover and shaman folk by
Right on Mountain.”
As my morning with Alexandra and Rosa draws to a close, I realise that in seeking to reveal
what they do, I have largely discovered who they are. They are intuitive and spontaneous, both
on their own and in their collaborations with other artists. They are anchored by a clear point
of focus, whilst still being free to explore beyond that. It is a mindset truly fitting those interested in the experimental. The fact of the matter is that if you want to know more, there’s only
one thing for it. Attend an event and immerse yourself in the depths of Meduse MagiQ, and be
ready to discover the intricate mysteries that await you.
* This feature was written and published prior to the MQ EXORDE event.
—
Meduse MagiQ would like to say “Merci to Cyriel Cremers from
Studio13 for his generosity and Panda de Haan for being an excellent hustler.” Bird on the Wire’s Elephanta is out on Meduse
MagiQ on 22 January 2016.
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