Originally a musician, a composer and a producer, Marc Hollander released two inaugural albums with his Aksak Maboul project, respectively in 1977 and 1980. Fusing and deconstructing many genres (minimal music, pre-techno electronics, so-called Canterbury pop, improv/experimental, jazz, 20th century classical, African & Balkan music etc), these LPs have consistently remain cult records, worldwide and throughout the following decades. They were recently reissued on vinyl, to critical acclaim. Marc was also a member of Brussels band The Honeymoon Killers between 1980 and 1985.
In 1980, Hollander founded the Crammed Discs label, which started out as an extension of the Aksak Maboul aesthetics. He has been managing the label ever since, while also acting as its artistic director. Crammed has released over 360 albums to date, spanning a territory which encompasses indie rock, world music, pop and electronica and anything in between, discovering, launching and/or developing the careers of dozens of artists.
An unexpected development occurred in 2014, when the “lost” 3rd Aksak Maboul album was released. It had been written & recorded by Marc and Honeymoon Killers vocalist Véronique Vincent in the early ‘80s, left unfinished, shelved for over 30 years, and assembled/revamped by Hollander in 2014. Enthusiastic media & audience reactions led the pair to take back to the stage in 2015, with a revamped Aksak line-up, including members of Amatorski and Robbing Millions.
This new incarnation of Aksak Maboul toured for two years (and performed a.o. a series of shows with guests such as Laetitia Sadier, Jaakko Eino Kalevi and members of Aquaserge).
Marc Hollander and Véronique Vincent then proceeded to write a brand-new double album, Figures, which was recorded with Aksak Maboul's current line-up of Faustine Hollander, Lucien Fraipont & Erik Heestermans (and guests including Fred Frith, Steven Brown and members of Aquaserge). The album came out late spring 2020.
Marc Hollander also recently started creating layered mixtapes/mashups, for the likes of Boiler Room, Red Bull Radio, WDR Cosmo, dublab, NTS and The Word.radio.
AKSAK MABOUL ANNOUNCE THEIR NEW ALBUM WITH A HYPNOTIC VIDEO AND SINGLE
"Tout a une fin / Blaue Bleistift”
Crammed’s Radio Show
A great non-guide for getting lost in the jungle of the label's output…
Aksak Maboul "Un peu de l'âme des bandits"
Deluxe vinyl reissue for the first-ever Crammed release