Dirk Serries

*200 copies limited edition* Dirk Serries collaborated with his dear friend and musical comrade, the legendary experimental composer, Asums Tietchens for the 6th time. Germany’s Attenuation Circuit released the album officially today ! “With Dirk Serries and Asmus Tietchens, attenuation brings together two towering figures of experimental sound. Serries—known for Vidna Obmana and Fear Falls Burning—has been a key force in shaping (dark) ambient, while also maintaining a presence in free jazz. Ti…

The next installment in Dirk Serries’ “” cycle. As with the previous chapter, the musician recorded material using electric guitar coupled with numerous effects. He recorded four more longer compositions that further develop Dirk’s direction, constructing his signature ambient style. Organic, somber, and eerie. The entire piece was also recorded live, in a single space, resulting in music that reveals the artist’s penchant for minimalism and slow, repetitive sound clusters, thus drawing on his r…

"Following their first collaborative LP, which I reviewed in Vital Weekly 1451, there’s a new album by Dirk Serries (guitar) and drummer Jörg A. Schneider. For me, that was an introduction to this musician (Dirk, I have known since 40 years!), who plays with Gaffa, Glimmen, Jealousy Mountain Duo, Les Hommes Qui Wear Espandrillos, Nicoffeine, Roji, SWWS, Tarngo, Teen Prime, The Nude Spur and has several collaborative projects, mostly with guitar slingers, such as Thisquietarmy, N, Mikel Vega, Aid…

A 3CD collection of unreleased Vidna Obmana tracks (1995–2002), showcasing deep ambient textures, tribal rhythms, processed acoustic sounds, and rare vocal elements. These 16 pieces, mostly unheard until now, reveal the depth of Dirk Serries’ archive and his fully formed sonic vision.

1993 release ** Featuring: Vidna Obmana, Kapotte Muziek, Asmus Tietchens, Das Synthetische Mischgewebe, PBK, S.Core, Frank Dommert, Hesskhé Yadalanah, Chop Shop, Brume, Hybryds, Temps Perdu?.

*300 copies limited edition* The Might of Stars Sublime is Dirk Serries' debut on German label Audiophob. Drawing from his oeuvre and experience in ambient and experimental music, projects like his Microphonics project, "The Might Of Stars Sublime" feels familiar, close to home, but simultaneously creates another dimension in his realm of ambient music. This album leads the listener through a trip of minimalism, a sense of grandeur, a specific harmonic quality and beautiful ambient music which b…

Following Dirk Serries’ recent albums the composer continues to explore different sonic terrain. Still on the electric guitar with a motherboard of analog pedals, the 4 tracks on Zonal Disturbances II start to give signs of a new signature style of ambience Dirk is constructing. Organic, brooding and eerie. All recorded live on the spot creating music that still showcases the artist’s fondness for minimalism and slow repetitive clusters of sound while tying connections with his roots in industri…

*100 copies limited edition* Quality label Raw Tonk Records never shies away from a challenge and this release is no exception.  A gathering of three wilful musical characters in the beautiful resonance of the Oude Klooster chapel in Brecht (Belgium). Guitarists Luis Lopes (Portugal) and Dirk Serries (Belgium) and pianist Martina Verhoeven (Belgium), this time on the electric piano, creating a nightmare-ish live soundtrack to a fictional David Cronenberg movie.  From a calm jazzy opener to dense…

'Solo Acoustic Guitar Improvisations VII' is volume 7 in a series Dirk Serries is recording in honor of the Höfner archtop guitars.  A few years ago Dirk fell in love with the acoustic guitar and specifically the Höfner brand for its specific and unique harsher sound their vintage archtop guitars hold.  It's definitely far away from Dirk's electric constructions but at the same the acoustic approach is merely another way for him to express his fascination for sound in particular and how you can …

*250 copies limited edition* 1992’s Terrace Of Memories is an organic ambient album of longing and gentle melancholic minimalism. Sam Rosenthal (Black Tape For A Blue Girl’s founder/synthesist, then based in Los Angeles) and Dirk Serries (then recording under the moniker vidnaObmana in Belgium) blended their atmospheres and somber contemplative electronics on this timeless album filled with lush, dark and beautiful impressions. Energized by a passage of text written by Sam concerning a lost love…

After quite a numerous series of reissues of classic albums, it's time for another real treat for fans of the Vidna Obmana. The compilation "Twilight Of Perception Redux Volume One 1990-1998" opens a collection of rare recordings, often unreleased before or scattered on various types of samplers, small formats, which are practically impossible to obtain today. Now these tracks have been collected in one place, rearranged, remastered and provided with a proper commentary by Dirk Serries. This col…

*100 copies limited edition* Freshly on Creative Sources is this debut duo collaboration by French 11 string guitarist Christian Vasseur and Belgium's Dirk Serries on his archtop guitar. Performed and recorded at the stunning Oude Klooster chapel in Brecht (Belgium). Both musicians met each other for the first at the Alternative Guitar Festival, organised by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg in 2023 at Haekem Theatre (Brussels, Belgium) and immediately felt a kindred spirit for the abstract and immense…

Recorded June 2023 at the Loundry Room, Hückelhoven Germany.Recorded, mixed and mastered by Peter Koerfer at the Unknown, Döhr Germany. Dirk Serries : guitarJörg A. Schneider : drums

"Masters of musical tension. Maintaining tension, resolving tension. It's an integral part of improvised music, but of this international trio in particular. Rodrigo Amado and Dirk Serries first bonded over a couple of duo concerts in the summer of 2018. With his roots in (free) jazz, lauded Portuguese saxophonist Amado became an intriguing sparring partner for the Belgian guitarist, who's been involved in a more abstract style for some time now. With English Andrew Lisle, a drummer with an extr…

*200 copies limited edition* After "The Disintegration Of Silence", marked as a continuation of the work between visual artist Stefano Gentile and Belgian ambient musician Dirk Serries, Dirk returns to Stefano's Silentes/13 label with a new album, entitled "Defiance Of Self". In the wake of its predecessor, Dirk worked on this album in January 2024 using his motherboard of pedals and an electric guitar to create this slightly darker and experimental album. Once again performed and recorded entir…

"At Future Dawn" is the second Cloudchamber release for Dirk Serries. Picking up where Dirk left off with "Nocturnal Discord", this album pushes those ambient boundaries once more. Known since the early eighties for his trademark ambient music under the Vidna Obmana pseudonym, Dirk continues to steer his music into new territory using a motherboard of pedal effects and one electric guitar. "At Future Dawn" contains music that constantly breaks down and build itself up again, all done real-time w…

2024 stock. Shifts is a solo project by the omnipresent Frans de Waard, founder of Kapotte Muziek, Beequeen, Goem, as well as other solo projects including Quest, Captain Black, and more recently, Freiband. Shifts started life in 1995 with the purpose of producing ambient music by means of the guitar. In the period 1995-1999 Shifts released seven 7″s, two 10″s, three CDs, six CD-Rs and 2 LPs and contributed to several compilations. Shifts has performed four times in concert (1998, 1999 and 2002)…

2024 stock. The fashionable term “remix” is often based on a misunderstanding. To re-mix a piece of music means to mix all tracks of a multi-track recording in a new way. Putting the complete piece (the sum of all tracks) through the wringer means “recycling”. Before starting the recycling two questions might arise: “Why recycle this piece?” and “Are the structure and sound of the piece convenient for recycling?” The ability to answer these questions depends more or less on the artist’s percepti…

*200 copies limited edition* Our 2nd release in the Axis series, graced with the beautiful b&w photography of Martina Verhoeven, is a special one.  When José Lencastre came over last year for a recording with Dirk Serries (a pending release somewhere), we did this last-minute trio concert for the Jazzblazzt series in The Netherlands.  With Martina Verhoeven on the electric crumar piano, this trio became something else.  Tryptophan Suite represents the very first notes this new trio played togeth…

The first release of 2024 is in! After their well-received debut duo album Puncture Cycle (released five years ago on A New Wave Of Jazz - this album you find here), British key improviser Benedict Taylor (viola) and Dirk Serries (archtop guitar) are back with a new duo album.  An album they recorded at the fantastic Oude Klooster chapel in Brecht (Belgium) on August 11th, 2023.  Full-on interaction, fast-paced dialogue while still listening and corresponding in depth with the sublime acoustics …

Le Sud trio works from the concept of lower-case free music, which has been a common European currency since the mid-1970s. Despite Brexit, violist Benedict Taylor asserts himself during this continental concert by sawing, sweeping and stretching distinctive patterns from his strings. During the two over half-hour each improvisations however there’s no lead instrument. Positioned power strokes, steel string plinks and diverted chords from Dirk Serries plus Friso Van Wyck hollow pops, metal casca…

*200 copies limited edition* Impetus Group is Dirk Serries’ big band formation. The band name naturally refers to the Latin meaning: urgency, driving force, but even more spiritually to the moving language and strength of each musician in the ensemble to realize this free improvisational music. Impetus group is also a tribute to the improvisation scene of the sixties and seventies, more specifically the London scene led by guitarist Derek Bailey with his Company group. The group has a fluctuatin…

Tip! When Dirk Serries travelled last May to Portugal for a series of concerts with José Lencastre, he didn't know he was going to be invited to record some amazing sessions with several key players from the Portuguese impro scene.  This is one.  Lively session recorded at the studio of João Madeira in Lisbon on May 7th, 2023.  A blast it was.

Following 'Gargoyles' and 'Light Industry', Colin Webster and Dirk Serries recorded their third studio album at the Sunny Side Inc. Studio in May 2022.  With Colin on the baritone, the pressure is high.  Carefully selected from a way longer session, this shorter album is just that : full-on free interaction with no boundaries hold, spiced by the friendship of both musicians and the respect for each other' skills and approaches.

*350 copies limited edition.* This edition of "Crossing The Trail" is next installment of the informal series contains Vidna Obmana reissues. This time it is material that was originally published in 1998 by the American label Projekt. The album was recorded between 1996 and 1997, with guest appearances inc. Steve Roach, Jeff Pearce and Martina Verhoeven. The album contains seven compositions, characteristic of Vidna Obmana work from this period, also being a perfect link between "The River Of A…

*250 copies limited edition* Stefano Gentile and Dirk Serries met almost thirty years ago when Stefano’s Amplexus label released Vidna Obmana’s seminal classic "The Transcending Quest" on a limited 3” CD. Fast forward twenty years later, after the ending of Dirk Serries’ critically acclaimed Vidna Obmana project, Stefano and Dirk, under his own name, regathered with another gem "The Devastation Chant", a limited 8” lathe cut and a 10” vinyl on Gentile’s new label Silentes/13 that featured Stefan…

An almost his 25 year existency as Vidna Ombana (Dirk Serries) never shied away from challenges, sometimes to the regret of many of his fans, but it’s when he was offered a record deal with the renowned metal label Relapse Records/Release Entertainment Vidna Obmana took his boldest step ever. With his Dante Trilogy he created his most ambitious, daring and unique set of albums which, for good, made him to be one of the most unique voices in the ambient and experimental scene.   Not only brought …

“Cycles of tonal phrases, washes of guitar drowned in a vast sea of sustain to create a surreal sonic mood to dwell in on repeat.” - Dirk Serries

Tip! Release on Raw Tonk Records. Colin Webster - Baritone SaxophoneDirk Serries - Acoustic GuitarEmilie Škrijelj - AccordionMartina Verhoeven - Double BassTom Malmendier - Percussion Recorded at Oud Klooster, Brecht, Belgium on 5th May 2022. Mixed and mastered by Dirk Serries

Dirk Serries is an extremely prolific and creative artist who has a huge amount of music composed solo, under his own name or under the name Vidna Obmana. In addition to solo recordings, Dirk often collaborated with other artists, thus introducing a new quality to his own music. While implementing the next installments of our informal series, we also published a few of them; for example "Traces" in collaboration with David Lee Myers, or "The Shape of Solitude" with Serge Devadder. This time we p…

Tip! *200 copies limited edition* “If the measure of freedom is measured by the resilience of an elastic band, they get close to the point where the rubber is about to snap, but it is exactly at that spot, where they recognise something and react to that with a refreshing lack of explicitness, that you can feel the result, and unfolded potential, of a shared intimacy.” - Guy Peters

3CD album released in eight-panel digipack, limited to 400 copies. This publication is the second Trilogy of this project, released under the banner of Zoharum. This time it collects ambient recordings, recorded in the early period of Vidna Obmana's activity, originally published on 3 different cassettes in 1989-1991: "Gathering In Frozen Beauty", "Near The Flogging Landscapes", "Refined On The Gentle Clouds", and which have never been re-issued in any other form so far. Now fully refreshed, mas…

*Limited edition of 300 copies. 3 sided 2LP in gatefold sleeve.* Long time Roadburners will be familiar with Dirk Serries – he has performed at the festival under various guises a number of times. Having already hosted him with Fear Falls Burning, Microphonics, Year of No Light, Yodok III and Scatterwound already, we were due to welcome him back in 2020 with Kodian Trio. Fate had other ideas… but in with a creative spirit that never stops wandering and a thirst for experimenting, we knew that Di…

*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 500 copies.* The Chapters Of The Eclipse reveals layers of eternity in each phase like a moon bath vitalizing luminous patches in expanded and contemplative dronescapes. The meditative and minimalist electronic ambient sky is suspended at the interval for liberation from the shadows of becoming: life in its most essential orientation. The chapters of the eclipse is the new musical union of Italy's Alio Die (Stefano Musso) and Belgium's Dirk Serries (vi…

*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 60 copies.* A New Wave Of Jazz is entering the realm of cassette albums again. Consider it a side series for the more abstract, electric and noisy in free improvisation and avant-garde. That label curator and guitarst Dirk Serries has a knack for the abstract and wilful isn't a secret and it was only a matter of time when he would hook up with French soundartist Anton Mobin (France) either.  So here he's teaming up with Anton, using his impressive prep…

Limited edition of 100 copies.* Cellist Guilherme Rodrigues (Portugal, residing in Berlin) and guitarist Dirk Serries teamed up for a chamber music-esque session at the Sunny Side Inc. Studio (Anderlecht, Belgium). The Sage Flower is that collection of detailed interaction, acoustic outbursts and linear minimalisme.

**Limited to 240 hand-numbered copies** "Fantoom is a quartet that feature Dirk Serries, his wife, autodidact double bass player Martina Verhoeven (who is also a gifted photographer), drummer René Aquarius, and sax player Otto Kokke, both from the Dutch group Dead Neanderthals, with whom Serries played in their Endless Voids project on the 2014 edition of the Incubate festival in Tilburg, Netherlands.  The quartet debut album, is a free-improvisation affair that was recorded in studio in Decembe…

Tip! New collaborative work by two veterans of the European experimental scene, Dirk Serries + Asmus Tietchens. Dirk Serries and I have long been colleagues and friends. Since the 1990ies we have exchanged sound materials to be reworked and published on an on and off basis. "Die Höfner Akten" are something new and special to in so far as the source material with its basic structure has been improvised exclusively on an acoustic guitar (of the 'Höfner' brand). Dirk and I had agreed upon the follo…

"As such, the music succeeds in maintaining a balance between cohesion and surprise, occasionally coming close to the jazz tradition, but always on its own terms. It gives the album a refreshingly unconventional approach, a counterpoint of ideas that consistently marches to the beat of a different drummer. " - Guy Peters

*In process of stocking* "Onno Govaert. Now here is a guy who deserves to be in the spotlights.  Verhoeven and Govaert form a beautiful musical partnership that thrives on abundant dynamics and colourful interaction. Whether it is the subtle ripostes or the unanimous cadences that develop throughout their improvisations, there is always a crisp and natural affinity at the core of their partnership. With Dirk Serries, Govaert alters his approach. The combination with the amplified acoustic guitar…