Maciunas Ensemble

Founded in 1968, The Maciunas Ensemble took Fluxus founder George Maciunas (1931-1978) score Music for everyman (1961) as an invitation to explore the infinite space of sound patterns and musical structures. This exploration still continues after more than forty years. With Paul Panhuysen, Remko Scha, Jan van Riet, Leon van Noorden, Hans Schuurman, Helena Koning, Vincent Panhuysen. Since its foundation in 1968 the musicians of the Maciunas Ensemble always recorded their music with tape recorder, listened afterwards to the results and selected the best parts. The group met every weekend to play music, record their sessions, and discuss them after listening. The music was to be free in form - the musicians chose their instruments (piano, violin, saxophone, but also toys and a wild array of instruments from ethnic traditions) and what to do with them on the spur of the moment. There were to be no leaders, and no followers.

No specific aim was set beforehand, either in the weekly sessions or on a longer term. The ensemble performed only very sporadically in public. From 1980, Het Apollohuis in Eindhoven, also the home of Panhuysen and his family, became their home base. Centered around handmade instruments (long-stringed duochords & monochords of wood and aluminum, modified guitars) as well as cellos, Panhuysen conjures rich harmonics and overtones through a variety of bowed and plucked techniques that aren't always tied to the drone. Mark van de Voort together with Paul Panhuysen made a final selection from these early archival recordings of the first 12 years: this box contains eleven CDs, all of which have about sixty to seventy minutes of music, which are the best moments from the period 1968 to 1980, carefully selected from those weekly tapes by Panhuysen and Mark van der Voort.

Over 11 hours of experimental music history from one of the most important ensembles to emerge from the Fluxus movement. Part art project, part socio-musical experiment, the Maciunas Ensemble represents a unique approach to collective improvisation - recording everything, discussing everything, keeping only the essential. Essential documentation of radical sonic exploration at the intersection of conceptual art and experimental music. Limited edition of 450 copies.