plus instruments

TRANCESONICS (BP059) - 12” vinyl album

TRANCESONICS (BP059CD) - album

1/ To Do 2/ It’s Complicated 3/ Into Oblivion 4/ Love Is Enough 5/ Obsolete

6/ Magic Carpet 7/ Detour Square Dance 8/ Snake Charmer 9/ You Make Me Stomp

10 / When The Rain Comes 11 / In My Dreams

Recorded at the Ranch, Escondido, CA, USA 2013
Written, Engineered, Mixed, Performed & Cover Art by Truus de Groot

Mastering and Post Production by Theo Van Rock and Peer Rave at Custom Recording, Eindhoven, Holland customrecording.nl

Last year saw a small revival of Ultra - the Dutch version of post-punk (in 2 words). You'd better browse back to Vital Weekly 822 and read more. It brought back a lot of happy memories and old musicians, but it seems that the one artist who benefitted most was Truus de Groot. Once a member of Nasmak, then Plus Instruments (in a first incarnation with Lee Renaldo and David Linton). Just before the revival started she released a great CD 'Dance With Me', of all new songs, which showed she still had the same great charm as she had thirty years ago. It brought her a retrospective album on Vinyl On Demand and concerts in The Netherlands and France. Plus of course new work, and here's another album of eleven new songs. 'Dance With Me' was great, but this new one is even better.

More coherent altogether, variations on what Truus does. And what's that, you may ask? Truus de Groot plays her crackle box, synthesizers, rhythm machines and sings. She does that with great style. The music is pretty much straight forward, sequenced rhythms, to which she bends her voice to sing songs. Not moan, howl, whisper, but actually singing great songs. Her crackle box functions as machine to create weird songs that float around her strict beats. Music that reminds you of DAF at their peak, but less macho, more feminine and, perhaps, listening to sweat ditty as 'Magic Carpet', also a bit more hippy like. That whole thing makes this something which is something that surely some people will like, who found DAF a bit too pathetic, too German. It still sounds like 1982, but then updated and way more poppy. 'Detour Square Dance' is her version of 'Der Mussolini' and should be an underground dance classic. Excellent!

Dwalmacat RADIOSHOW

de heimelijke plaatneigingen van Truus de Groot (Plus Instruments):

TRUUS DE GROOT & WIM LEMAIR – Herfst

TRUUS DE GROOT & BRECHT CAMPHUIJZEN – B & T and the instruments

TRUUS DE GROOT & WIM LEMAIR – Spagetthi

TRUUS DE GROOT – Fun with Korg

BAND T + INSTRUMENTS – Unreleased album

TRUUS DE GROOT – Live improvisation at Van Abbe Museum

NASMAK – So

TRUUS DE GROOT – Intro crackle & dialog

PLUS INSTRUMENTS – Freundschaft

PLUS INSTRUMENTS – Manhattan

PLUS INSTRUMENTS & SUSPECT – Live improvisation

PLUS INSTRUMENTS – Lily Marlene

PLUS INSTRUMENTS – Sailors & ships

TRUUS DE GROOT – Hoboken crazy kids

TRUUS DE GROOT & BRECHT CAMPHUIJZEN - Improvisation

TNT – Devil in the backseat

TRUUS DE GROOT – Argument on the block

TRUUS DE GROOT – Heavy me

TRUUS DE GROOT & JAMES SCLAVUNOS – Mackie Messer (Live at Pyramid Club NYC)

TRUUS DE GROOT – Deep voyage

TRUUS DE GROOT – Bodies improv version

press:

a nice **** review on Trancesonics @ Chain D.L.K.

SIGNAL THROUGH THE WAVES (BP087CD) - album

GHOST (BP097) - single digital

1/ Ghost 2/ This Fire Burns 3/ It’s Over 4/ Signal Through The Waves 5/ Come Closer

6/ Unlikely Crush 7/ Bad Mood 8/ You and Me 9/ On The Other Side 10 / Your Mind

Recorded at the Ranch, Escondido, CA, USA & Jolly Studio & Anvil FX Studio, Sao Paulo, Brasil
Mixed & arranged by Truus de Groot & Paulo Beto

Mastering and Post Production by Peer Rave and Theo Van Rock

The purpose of Plus Instruments’ new album “Signal Through The Waves” is to bring you, the listener, into the recording studio. In the following explanatory notes, you shall not be provided with the entire production breakdown, as devised at the actual recording sessions. Rather you will hear things to your left, to your right and in the center.

Plus Instruments pictured above is a trio of collaborators from around the world that enable you to feel what you’re hearing. Initially conceived through an intricate net of tubes also called “The Internets”. We are certain you shall find that Plus Instruments has attained through this specialized method the finest and truest stereophonic recording available today.

Lyrics & Music by Truus de Groot (Geertruda Degroot), Dewclaw Ditties (BMI)

* Music co-written, performance on Synthesizers, Bass and Guitar by Paulo Beto (Anvil FX)

# Music co-written, performance on Drums by James Sclavunos, Naked Spur productions (BMI)

Thank you Arthur Jolly & Miguel Barella .

Artwork by Truus de Groot - plusinstruments.com / truus.net

De Subjectivisten - SCHADUWKABINET – Web Magazine - http://subjectivisten.nl/?p=5204

By: Jan Willem 24 mei 2016

Plus Instruments – Signal Through The Waves (cd, Blowpipe)

I must admit that I've never heard of the group Plus Instruments. Yet since 1978, this is already a fact in the Dutch music scene. This brainchild of Truus de Groot (Nasmak, Doe Maar, Trigger And The Thrill Kings) delivers in early 80s two releases that lie somewhere between new wave, no wave, synth-pop and experimental music. After another 30 years they restart and release a few more albums. Truus meanwhile released a few solo releases. Signal Through The Waves is yet another solid presentation of this group. Besides Truus (vocals, arrangements) are the drummer Jim Sclavunos (8 Eyed Spy, Grinderman, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Sonic Youth, Teenage Jesus And The Jerks, The Cramps, Trigger And The Thrill Kings) and keyboard player and bassist Paulo Beto (Anvil Fx, Freak Plasma, Shiva Las Vegas). The passage of time seems to have absolutely no effect on this trio, let alone any hype of today to influence their style. Uniquely they bring a mixture of the above styles, which has virtually nothing in common with any other artists. That alone is a great thing in this beaten musical landscape of today. The true roots lie in the 80s, but the music is completely here and now. For those who want to have some reference, think of a kaleidoscopic cross-fertilization of AGF, Diamanda Galas, Lydia Lunch, No Safety, Peaches, The Residents, Sonic Youth, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Diana Rogerson. Utterly unique that deserves our full attention. Pleasant introduction!

By: Peter Bruyn - Bruyn's Bulletin – April 2016

Plus Instruments – Signal Through The Waves (cd, Blowpipe)

The Dutch Ultra movement revival of a few years back was highlighted by the return of Plus Instruments (AKA Truus de Groot). Truus, vocalist and electronica musician, was a member of Dutch group Nasmak around the late 70’s, in 1981 she left for the US where she still resides. She still makes music with the same naivety, yet as torrid and exciting as she did 35 years ago. This was the case with her previous album Trancesonics of a few years back, but this new Album “Signal Through The Waves” has even more of these aspects and it is actually much better. True, this electro pop sounds quite vintage, you can call it “the future of yesterday”, but the songs are very strong and the production is exciting. Sometimes a Kraftwerk-like Robot mood predominates the sound, other songs are organic and melodic. Collaborators are James Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) who was a Plus Instruments member in the 80’s and Paulo Beto (Anvil FX).