Coolhaven

version 1.3

COOLHAVEN

Coolhaven is a band based on the principle of diabetics. Their music is inspired by the disturbance of balance between centrifugal and centripetal energies. The first and last thing Coolhaven has is some kind of concept or idea about how the noises they make should sound. They think the idea of making ‘good' music is kind of obsolete.

There could be improvisation (utterly and totally composed) involved, or badly played dutch tribal polka blues. It's the moment that counts, not   fame or respect from future generations of   cd-listeners.

Their first records sounded like some kind of lo-fi techno ambient country and western and in the beginning of 2003 they released their first feature album; “Blue Moustache” , inspired   by electronic music, bullshit generators and flying trapeze's.

At this moment their interests lays more in the exploitation-genre field. Their recent projects include something called ‘Strömblock Phantasieën' with German lyrics by David Hasselhof and visuals by Martijn Van Boven, a collaboration with Beautiful Young German Electro Pop Star Felix Kubin,   an ungoing ‘electrosoap' called ‘STROMBOLI and lots of other ways to strange and inventive use of soup, words and sound.

The members ;

Hajo Doorn   ; He used to play with Veryan Weston, and in the notorious group ‘The Lost Lovers. And Dull Schicksal. He's some kind of director at WORM , and his writing alter ego is called ‘Raoul Goudvis.

Lukas Simonis   ; Sometimes calls himself 'musician'. Played/plays in Dull Schicksal, Apricot My lady, Liana Flu Winks and Trespassers W. Also works at WORM where he has a 'free' role. Just Like in the bible.

Peter Fengler   ; His other group is called ‘Pool Mongool ‘ .And besides that he's a visual artist. And besides that he still has a nice body. And besides that he has a club called DE PLAYER in the former red-light district of Rotterdam. But they do art there nowadays.

Johan De Koeyer (aka. as culthero ‘Donkey hare Joe) is their technical slave. Doing the visuals, taking care of the sound and doing their dirty laundry.

But what do the actually sound like live ?

Let's say it's a mixture of electronics, sampling, loops and delays, live-video and self made films, free improvised compositions, folksy bits with acoustic instruments, strange little songs, performing (blowing your nose in front of an audience, etc.) 'sprechgesang', surreal tearjerking stories and even some clicks & cuts.

2006

March; An Evening With Coolhaven In De Willie in Deventer, Holland

In this beautiful club in Deventer, Coolhaven did another of their extended shows with dancing, lots of mime,russian punk electro and another live radioplay.

February;   Coolhaven does live radioplay ‘Kachelmeisje' at Extrapool, Nijmegen, Holland

Actually this was in the ‘Stromboli' ( the endless electro coolhaven soap) cycle but this time in the form of a live-radioplay, initiated by the Extrapool's ‘Radiotoop'-series.

2005

December; For the Charms festival, Coolhaven produced and played ‘Branding' on several locations.

Another ‘theatre' play –with some real bicycling!- about the virtues of branding a good name.

September; ‘De Vrolijke Brigade', Schouwburg, Rotterdam, Holland

A ‘theatre' play –with some real acting!- about the cultural Abendland of Socialism.

July; ‘The Chroup' in WUK, Vienna, Austria

Coolhaven plays and produces a Milky Media Play April; Coolhaven plays the SKIF festival (again), St Petersburg, Russia

March 2005; STROMBOLI, DePlayer, Rotterdam, Holland

the new series of 5 blunt guerilla music-theatre pieces about mannliness, empathie, choices and more

2004

September   ; COOLHAVEN plays the performance 'Museum Darlings' in Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Holland

We offered the museum to buy this performance (which was to say the least, arty) but they couldn't afford it.

August ;   The COOLHAVEN fashion show, in club De Player, Rotterdam, Holland

There were a lot of requests from fans all over the world to make a show that showed all our different costumes we used through all our different projects. So we got them out of their closets. It smelled good,too.

July;   Coolhaven plays the Garage Festival in Stralsund, Germany.

A small but very inspiring festival on electronic arts.

May;   An evening with... COOLHAVEN in Chicago , USA

Coolhaven plays the Hidden Network Festival this time, preparing & writing new stuff as part of the project.

february; An evening with...COOLHAVEN in Switserland

In Uster, Switserland.Singing, dancing and other pragmatic forms of entertainment.

february; COOLHAVEN meets STEAMBOAT in Zurich, Switserland

The old 'Battle Of The Bands'-thing revised, in the WIM in Zürich Coolhaven meets up with the notorious 'Steamboat Switserland'.

january; playing 'Strømblock' at the Transmediale Festival, Berlin, Germany

Well attended multi-media spectacle but shitty produced, anyway, we had a good time.

2003

october; Strømblocque Phantasieën

Schubert meets Electronics while baywatch is on; mega-production for several big festivals; Crossing Border, October Music, Rumor Festival and more.

may; Hamburg, Bremen und Berlin, Germany

Confirming the friendship of french wood with german dwarfs while drinking too much wodka.

april; ‘Stromboli' at ‘The Player' ,Rotterdam , Holland

An electro soap with lots of guests, one week ,doing a different show every day at a former sexclub in the former red light district of Rotterdam.

january; the CD ‘Blue Moustache'

2002

november; presentation Worm salon, Worm In Las Palmas , Holland

Which means we presented all the people that presented something on this occasion. We created our own vehicle for this (with wheels that is) and wrote meaningfull poems.

october; Tour to Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Czech republic

Together with S.Spier and Liana Flu Winks.

september; ‘Fanfare' during the ‘Kunstexpress'

A lucid tribute to the youth and it's tight ass.

april; Coolhaven goes to Russia

Playing ao. at the Kuryokhin Festival in Petersburg and DOM in Moscow.

march; ‘Het Zoveelste Kutbandje Dat Op Het Dak Speelt'

During the ‘Museumnight 2002 Coolhaven played ‘Let It Be' on the roof of the V2 building for almost an hour.

february; 'Ambiance Asthmatique', Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam , Holland

A multi media experience for visitors of the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen during the opening of an exposition.

2001

november;   Radioplay ‘Grindpad Naar Las Palmas' icw. radio Worm, for‘Supplement'   National Radio4.

A 2-hour live radio play with some electronic stuff, and a neo-postmodern approach to telling stories, on Dutch National Radio.

november;   Langweiligkeit festival, Paard, Den Haag , Holland

september ; 'The Summer Of Love' set , Lantaren/Venster, Rotterdam , Holland

Maybe this will lead someday to our long awaited spoken word project called 'Spoken Worst'.

july ; playing the ‘Stubnitz' multi media boat.

may ; 'Futurism Was Now' workshop and presentation during Worm In Las Palmas, Rotterdam

With students from the art-academies in rotterdam and Den Haag we made a very audience-challenging performance.

april; ‘Klank' festival, Den Haag , Holland

Winning the Klank- trophy, and being very proud of that as it is probably the only thing we will ever win.

2000

december ; the piece ‘kutbandje' during the ‘ Ver Uit De Maat”-festival, Rotterdam , Holland

Trying to recall that good old 'playing in a rockband' feel, but failing miserably.

october ; ‘the best of Impakt', Paradiso, Amsterdam , Holland ; the piece‘Four Labtops'.

Making some mighty intelligent comments on playing live-music with labtops.

august;   ‘de armada' in Nijmegen, organised by   Extrapool, premiere of the piece ‘Four Labtops'.

This piece was a comment on playing electronic music in a live situation. With other words ; who is doing what on their labtop and is there a big difference with just playing the tape and who cares ?

july;   performance festival in ‘De Verschijning' Tilburg

may; Nesserdijk (Rotterdam), Historical &   Environmental Foundation Performance with live cinema.

march/april/may ; Lantaren/Venster workshop production ‘Tribune'.

‘TRIBUNE' is a musical performance with the help of the syndrome of Gilles De La Tourette. Most people live their lives without ever having to seriously react   or make decisions. People with the Syndrome can't do that ; they are forced to organise their own ‘spectacles'. ‘Tribune' used this thought as a starting point for a theatrical reality.

january/february/march; ‘the linzentour'

Performances in Zwatra (Rotterdam), Vrij Entrepot (Amsterdam), 2B (Eindhoven), Extrapool (Nijmegen), London(Centurion, Klinker en Mopomoso)Brightton, Eurodusnie (Leiden) and Ekko (Utrecht). This tour had a conceptual program ,concerning human suffering and very thick soup.

1999

september; ‘Estafette' filmmusic for animations, in cooperation with Karel Doing.

Mixing animation cinema with performance & sound.in Nighttown, Rotterdam

september; ‘Coolhaven plays Tourette', in Lantaren/Venster

A try out for the theatre piece ‘tribune' that turned into something totally different then the latter -we found that out later- this was a performance about the Syndrome of Gilles De La Tourette.

juni 1999; tuinhuis/huistuin 7” on Room records, performance Room gallery

Coolhaven exists since june 1999. In that month they released a 7” Single on Room records, with a sleeve by the well respected simple mind Jan vd Ploeg.