When is the last time you listened to an album from beginning to end? And sticking it on in the background while working on the computer, talking on the phone or doing chores around the house does not count. I mean sitting down and giving the album your full attention. For many of us, it has been awhile.
Hearing is like breathing and smelling – it does not require an active, directed effort; we do it subconsciously. When we want to look at something, we direct our gaze toward the object; when we want to touch something, we must reach out. In short, we have to focus our attention. Hearing, however, is different as we constantly hear 360 degrees around us. We can hear things going on in the other room while we chat to a friend whether or not we are trying to listen. We cannot shut our ears and therefore we often take our sense of hearing for granted.
At Classic Album Sundays we invite you to join us as we dim the lights, switch off our phones and immerse ourselves fully into a sonic oasis, allow yourself to truly hear and album and give it the attention it deserves.
We are delighted that we have been able to launch a series of events in Amsterdam at the fantastic Doka nightclub which is housed in the basement of Volkshotel, Wibautstraat 150. As with all of our events, sound quality is of the upmost importance, and we offer music fans the opportunity to hear it on one of the world’s best hi-fi sound systems so they can hear it in the way the artist intended.
We are delighted to announce that the audio menu for our events in Amsterdam will be provided by Avantgarde Acoustic and their dealer, Audio-Life in Buren. The full audio menu that will be used can viewed on our website here.
For our first event in Amsterdam we will be featuring Patti Smith Horses. A huge influence on post punk acts like The Smiths, Patti Smith’s debut album Horses emerged from New York’s music underground in late 1975. A cornerstone of the burgeoning punk rock scene, Horses is truly a classic album with poetic beauty. Produced by John Cale of the Velvet Underground, it also includes guest musicians Tom Verlaine of Television and Allen Lanier of Blue Oyster Cult on ‘Elegie’. The latter, written about Jimi Hendrix’s death, is made more poignant by the fact that it was recorded at the famous Electric Lady Studios.
Our special guest for the evening will be freelance curator Femke Dekker of My Little Underground focusses on interdisciplinary projects that explore the boundaries of autonomous and applied arts, design and music. She has curated exhibitions and events for amongst others Foam, Marres and the Brno Biennial for Graphic Design. She is also active as a consultant for both commercial brands such as Nike and Teva as well as external advisor for several Dutch funds such as the Creative Industries Fund and the Art of Impact. As a resident of Amsterdam based Red Light Radio and half of DJ and artist duo Strange Boutique she exhibits a fondness of the strange, the weird, the psychedelic and some disco. Recently she added moderator to her cultural maverick resume, hosting events such as the Amsterdam Dance Event University, the Online Radio Festival, artists talks at Framer Framed and Rijksakademie Open Radio.
You can find out more about Femke here:
To get yourself in the mood for the event you can check out our Album Of The Month feature on our website here which gives a more detailed look into the album and why we believe it is indeed a classic!
Also, as with all of our albums of the month we have a Musical Lead-Up Playlist, this months playlist is a mix of the Patti Smith Group’s inspirations and contemporaries including The Velvet Underground, The MC5, Jimi Hendrix and Television. You can check it out on our website here.
We were recently lucky enough to host two events in Brussels and New York City with Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye as our special guest, we were lucky enough to ask him what his Top 5 Albums Of All Time are, check them out here and see if you agree!
Join us to hear the story of and a full vinyl replay of Horses in a manner you never have before. Tune in and tune out…
Amsterdam
Sunday November 22nd, 2 – 5pm
Doka, Wibautstraat 150 (basement Volkshotel)
Tickets: €7,50 in advance here, more on the door.
Presenter: Femke Dekker with special guest TBA.
Audio Menu: Acoustic Signature Challenger Mk3 turntable, Acoustic Signature TA-1000 tonearm, Ortofon SPU Royal N MC cartridge, Air Tight 300B amplifier, Avantgarde Acoustic Duo XD loudspeakers in Pearl White, Furutech cables and power conditioning
