liner note The Singing Painters as a trio began early 1998 and had its first performance at croxhapox. The original trio had Laura van (lyrics, vocals), Michaël Borremans (guitar) and Merlyn Paridaen (drums, percussion). After the split in 2011 Merlyn Paridaen and Laura van went on operating as a duo, occassionally with Adriaan Verwée on bass clarinet, until Mathias Van de Wiele (guitar/ Moker, Wheels) joined the troops, early 2016. From this The Singing Painters Meet Carver & Horn emerged, adding Bart Maris on trumpet and Peter Jacquemyn on bass. The May 28 concert, offering all tracks on this album, had improvisation on some of the older songs and a large amount of new material, moulding at least three songs to a newt. May 28 as well gave the first concert of The Singing Painters Meet Carver & Horn. The vocal scrutinizer may be heard as stunningly active in all of that, moulding both The Food Supplement and Ocean, songs that spontaneously emerge from the vocal act, and sitting horseback on Thin Walls with both double bass and trumpet in a steady leap. This release features Embryo Dictaphone as well, one of the ear- liest pieces from The Songbook and the only one on this record with a sluggy groove. The May 28 live set at croxhapox naturally had a large amount of instrumental im- provisation, switching from the energetic bass and trumpet fist game on Gasoline to the syncopatic mood on Brain Dust with subtle remote control of the percussionist. Irregularity and experimental sound gestures frame the track. As in any of the other tracks double bass, guitar, trumpet and drum move smoothly in between irregular scopes of sound, making a deep plunge in I Can't Remember and Sally Got Sand. The Food Supplement Late at night three punks get stuck in a girl's appartment. They get sick on each other, violate the girl and finally eat the dog as well. The lyric has a touch of Daniil Charms' reckless prose and Monty Python hokum. Thin Walls Nextdoor An elder couple bluntly argues on who said what. The lyric is based on a ferment of pulp writing and the diary of Virginia Woolf. Embryo Dictaphone A song on wildlife. The secret behind the enigmatic lyric is the naked as a newt. Ocean From darkness and silence emerge an extremely violent act, that of the rape and murder of innocence. Laura van - lyrics, vocals Mathias Van de Wiele - guitar Bart Maris - trumpet Peter Jacquemyn - double bass Merlyn Paridaen - drums, bells & metals Recorded live at croxhapox Gent on 28 May 2016 Recording Engineer: Giovanni Barcella Mixing Engineer: Mathias Van De Wiele Mastering Engineer: Üwe Teichert Artwork: Dirk Zoete, Broodkoppen (2008-2012) Cover & Sleeve Design: Krysztoff Dorion Production: Laura van Executive Production: Rogé Verstraete Available on vinyl and vinyl + download coproduction S.M.A.K. - BruthausGallery — croxhapox — het balanseer — el NEGOCITO Records CROX-VINYL 004 / el NEGOCITO Records 056