Ensemble Pittoresque – For This Is Past Label: Clogsontronics – sg 003 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Country: Netherlands Released: 1983 Genre: Electronic, Rock Style: Synth-pop, Minimal, Coldwave, Experimental, Electro This rare record comes from the attic of a former radio dj. He did not see it for more than 40 years and could not remember if he ever played it in his radio show. Sleeve: EX Vinyl: EX, close to NM Part 22 in the Postpunk Netherlands series, a series of articles about interesting Dutch bands that emerged after the punk wave of 1977 and 1978. Idiosyncratic, often undervalued bands that deserve lasting applause. This week: Ensemble Pittoresque. Ensemble Pittoresque Richard Neumöller and Paulus Wieland had not been out of school long when they met Ton Willekes in 1977, in a squat in The Hague. The pair had just left school and viewed society with a cynical eye. Alternative, innovative music was a shared passion. Ton Willekes turned out to be very technically skilled, and a musical collaboration was born. The gentlemen moved to Wassenaar and squatted in a small house in the dunes. They were not the only experimental musicians in the immediate vicinity. However, Neumöller, Willekes, and Wieland were the most serious. They experimented with a growing arsenal of electronic equipment. Ensemble Pittoresque - For This Is Past It is entirely justified that For This Is Past receives the necessary attention. The album can undeniably be called strong. The opening tracks Better Life’s and The Art Of Being showcase atmospheric electrowave, with evocative synths and guitars, subtle electronic beats, and upfront vocals. In Auratorium, an effective sample of a choir creates a dramatic effect. In Ash Grey As (a reworking of the 1981 song Re-evaluation), an acoustic guitar, a church bell, and a piano evoke a solemn atmosphere. The band members have retained their healthy aversion to societal conventions, as evidenced by the musically somewhat lighter Artificials: “a narrow-minded teacher in shabby clothes forces his religion in my throat oh my god i can nearly breathe all these religions just are not for me”