about the cd

"This album wouldn’t exist without clarinetist Gareth Davis, with whom I’ve collaborated several times. When I asked him to participate on my + album, he was working with Monika Bugajny. She got wind of my project and asked if she could join. I agreed and reworked her beautiful clarinet recording into a ghostly one-minute piece.

Apparently my concoction was convincing enough for Monika to propose another, more elaborate collaboration. Her suggestion was to use the same working method again, but this time with classical pieces as a starting point. Again I couldn’t say no, and off we went!

Debussy, Messiaen, Brahms, Stravinsky… who would have ever thought to see these on a Machinefabriek album! Well, they’re not exactly recognizable as such, but still… Monika reinterpreted eight classical pieces, beautifully played and recorded. I then stacked, cut, and manipulated the material into the tracks you’ll find on Recycle (see what I did there?): 30 minutes of moody and woozy clarinet/electronics vignettes.

If you’re looking for a faithful rendition of Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie, this is obviously not your go-to release. But in their own right I hope the tracks on Recytle might offer an intriguing counterpoint to their originals."

-Rutger Zuydervelt, May 2023