Dutch group of more then three decades, The Ex are the last band
standing, they came from a time when standard rock was abolished and new
methods of communication were established. For the past three decades
they have been a restless band incorporating a whole gamut of musical
styles into an aural adventure that makes most other bands look lazy and
pointless. Like a clanking, mechanical Dutch rhythm machine they
have somehow managed to combine strands of music as diverse as
Ethiopiques, Burundi, Gnawa, dubstep, post punk, blues, free jazz and
folk into their innovative whole. And that’s the cool thing about the
Ex, no matter how far they wander from their base they still manage to
make the whole caboodle of sound as direct, focussed and punk rock as
when they started.
The band have their roots in punk rock
Amsterdam and in the vibrant late seventies anarchist squat culture of
the city. They grew out of the ideas thrown into the air by Crass- that
direct political anger fused with inventive avante garde take on punk’s
template- and took them in their own idiosyncratic direction. They
shared Crass’s intelligence and collective spirit and the idea that punk
rock could be so much more than an excuse to get pissed. The UK Death
To Trad Rock bands found a common ground with the Ex when they toured
Holland in the early eighties. My band the Membranes bonded with them
and the Ex’s squat was the port of call on endless European tours. They
were the epicentre of a thriving scene then and their musical adventure
was already unfurling in a fascinating direction of unapologetic records
and fierce, idealistic politics.
Then
and now an Ex show is like no other. There are no stars, no concessions
to boorish rock n roll stupidity. This is a joyous affair, a stage
crammed with equal partners- there is the twin guitars of Andy (formally
of the fantastic Dog Face Hermans) and Terrie- scratching, scraping
hypnotic riffling on battered Telecasters and weird half bass/half
guitar combinations that build and build into the amazing song climaxes.
There’s the brass section that is culled from some of the world’s
finest brass players- that cut loose with moments that are sheer Sun Ra
or Coltrane or even the legendary police brass band that plays on all
the Ethiopiques records from early seventies Ethiopia. New singer Arnold
de Boer, who replaced recently departed Jos whose 30 years service in
the band was as unstinting as it was brilliant, has nobly filled the gap
with the right combination of intensity of modesty that marks the band
out.
And perhaps the key part is the delightful Kat on drums- she
is the best drummer in the world. Still. I've seen the Ex so many times
in the last thirty years and she has been unfailingly brilliant. There
is no dull 4/4 here- Kat is a rhythm machine- the combination of
cowbells and woodblocks with her rolling, multi rhythmic approach are
amazing- no song ever gets bogged down in the obvious but every song is
unfailingly danceable and that’s yet another key to the Ex. She also
sings two songs- one in Ethiopian- in her great voice.
The Ex
have managed to keep moving through the decades with this spirit- their
restless hunger for music has seen them play all over the world
including several trip to Ethiopia where they have played several gigs,
their outward looking international approach has fused their music and
outlook and their approach to making music.
An Ex
show is a shared experience, they take the audience on an adventure, a
musical adventure to places no one has been before. They are the most
interesting musical unit in the world today- several other long standing
post punk bands get endless accolades for their sense of exploration
but all of them bar the Ex just repeat the same tricks over and over to
the same applause- go and see the Ex and you will hear rhythms you have
never heard before, you will find yourself dancing to some free jazz
wildness in 13/8 time you will find your self grinning to a piece of
white noise, you will shut your eyes and get lost in the brass section
free jazz skronk- all this should not really be happening- afterall that
kind of music is normally in the hands of the snobs but the Ex are
playful and make the tough musical choices, the breathtaking frontier
music, the direct political anger into a sweaty seething party, an
uplifting, joyful celebration.
No-one else can do this.
And the
cool thing is that suddenly they have become quite popular doing it.
Right out of the blue, after thirty years, after the gradual
strangulation of creative culture by the corporations and the cynicism
of the music industry they have brilliantly proved that playing music
with this sense of wild eyed fun and radical political edge and this
adherence to all that was good and great about the positive politic of
the punk and post punk period can actually fucking work. And you know
what really makes me feel great this morning? This Ex tour sold out
fast. After years of being a best kept cult secret they have suddenly
started to become popular.
Today the world is smiling. The good people are winning.
The Ex in October in Greece. Friday 21 Οctober 2011, Gagarin 205, Athens Saturday 22 Οctober 2011, Block 33, Thessaloniki
