Projects
Philosophy
Each TouMilou production aims at a unity between music, narrative and artwork. Within the space defined by genre, material, skills and time, an album can be taken anywhere, and having a theme helps focusing and maintaining coherency. For Pîrî Reis it was exploration and discovery, for Európe the still ongoing political leadership crisis, for Erato inspiration and love, and for Mulciber exuberance. The theme will have guided repertoire choices and interpretation, is reflected in the album art, and recurs in the liner notes.
To serve their pupose on a concept album, the texts that acccompany my own releases are stories rather than technical notes. Similarly, I discuss Čalgija’s music not only in terms of provenance and tradition, as their musical director Wouter Swets did, but also as a typically Dutch cultural expression of the 1960s to 1980s.
While music is more than able to speak for itself, there are people behind it, who have feelings, ideas and intentions, and who are influenced by culture, zeitgeist and each other. It is always good to know who is speaking to you.
Michiel van der Meulen
Bunnik, February 2023
Completed projects
- Alnadi podcast episode 115 (2024) – Interview by Fadil Al Turki
- Traditionele Turkse Kunstmuziek (2024) – Production of the second edition of a textbook in Dutch language on Turkish art music.
- Liedboek (2023) – Publication of thirty two arrangements by Wouter Swets of Dutch folk songs using Balkan rhythms.
- Ripplets (2023) – Composition and production of single
- Erato (2019–2023) – Production of album with original compositions
- Music from the Balkans and Anatolia #1 and #2 (2022) – Online publication of the liner notes of Čalgija’s vintage albums
- Üçayak (2020–2021) – Digitisation of unreleased recordings by Čalgija, research, album production
- Oats in the Water (2020) – Recording of single, video production
- Unforgotten (2019–2020) – Digitisation of unreleased recordings by Čalgija, research, album production
- Microtonal tambura (2019) – Modifying a Macedonian tambura for modal accompaniment
- Európe (2018–2019) – Production of album with original compositions
- Mitos Orchestra (2017) – Contributing two compositions to a program of contemporary modal music
- Vintage Recordings (1962–1964) (2017) – Digitisation of unreleased recordings by Čalgija, research, album production
- Pîrî Reis (2016–2017) – Production of album with original compositions
- Balkanika (2010 to date) – Digitisation and online publication of paper archive of music from the Balkans and Anatolia