(03.28.06) VIEWLEXX, like many other electronic music labels, loves to
shroud itself in a veil of mystery. The label is the child of the infamous
figure of Ferenc E. van der Sluijs, better known as I-F. I-F shot into the
world of electro with his revivalist, now cult classic, EP Space Invaders
are Smoking Grass. Yet, despite the success of the record, Viewlexx as a
label has never went into the popular stream, like labels such as Warp, Skam
or Rephlex have. How and why did Viewlexx stay out of bigger record stores?
What is the label all about? Why such mystery?
Viewlexx sets itself up almost like a gang, an underground syndicate. Yet,
it is not out for itself, as many such organizations may be. Viewlexx is out
for the music, to create the sound they like and get it out to those who
want to hear it. That is their mission. Some of the most talented artists of
Europe have joined the Viewlexx Party, Rude 66, Alden Tyrell, Legowelt,
Orgue Electronique and Bangkok Impact for example. This team of crack
musicians are the organs, the muscles, of the Viewlexx body. They give it
life, and it gives life to them. This almost symbiotic relationship means
that the label and its artists are not just in business together, they are
co-workers, co-musicians, partners, and friends. This is what gives
Viewlexx its prestige, its unity of spirit and idea.
This Hague based label has been shaped by a number of musical influences
from around the globe. Detroit techno, and the exploits of labels such as
Underground Resistance, has been a major factor in the label’s formation. As
has the Chicago house movement of the late 80’s and early 90’s. The musings
of electro artists, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, the Human League, has figured
heavily in the Viewlexx catalogue of inspirations. Perhaps the final element
is the most important of the lot. The label reflects and almost parodies the
italo-disco movement of the early to mid 80’s. That is a foundation of the
Viewlexx ideology; this is music for people to dance to. Viewlexx is disco
for today, in warehouses, disused factories, and condemned shopping malls.
Viewlexx has adapted the sound of the 80s gay disco scene and re-made it.
The addictive melodies remain, but sinister synth lines have been injected,
underhanded beats transplanted. Viewlexx has taken the uneasiness, the
confusion, expressed by many italo records and ran with it; and is still
running with it. That’s why this music has the following it does, it says
something to people who travel on trains, on buses, it talks to those who
stare in awe at sky scrapers, it speaks to those who feel lost in the
complex network of the computer welt; embrace it, but think about it, it is
the Viewlexx message.
The mystery of Viewlexx is the mystery of modern life. What is it? Nobody
knows, but their going to try find out. Viewlexx is a hedonistic sound,
giving the people the addictive tracks that they desire, but implanting a
question: What is going on? Viewlexx embraces the artifice, as italo disco
did. But Viewlexx has changed the questions that italo disco raised on such
artifice. Viewlexx illustrates the lack of the human in modern life, through
its alienating tones; reflecting the estrangement that techno and house
demonstrate with their heavy beats and dirty distortions.
Viewlexx is the postmodern romantic. Viewlexx talks of love, but in a
computerized voice. Viewlexx speaks poetry, but through a vocoder. Viewlexx
exemplifies one of the most significant incidents of the postmodern world,
the creation of Computer Love; what lies beyond the fetish of the
commodity. Can this be real? Is the computerized world an estranging evil or
a uniting force? The label, the combination, the guild, is a new breed of
socially aware musicians. Through parody, through pastiche, through
retrospection, through introspection, this group of artists have created new
questions of the world we live; questions born from music.
Why have Viewlexx stayed out of the big record stores? Because they are not
part of what Viewlexx is. Why does the playwright opt out of academia?
Because his views become diluted, his message is lost in the sea of ideas.
On his own, he can pick and choose what he wants. As part of the all
encompassing whole he is swallowed up, his mind and his love of writing.
Viewlexx is an independent thinker. The Viewlexx message is complex, and not
an internationalist theory. Viewlexx, with the Cybernetic Broadcasting
System, is there for those who want it. The questions are there, the
listener just needs to know if he wants to know these questions.
For more info about Viewlexx, visit their website here.
