ACID KIRK

Cédric kicked off his career as a DJ and techno composer / producer
under the pseudonym "Acid Kirk" in 1993. He quickly established
himself as one of the most revered figures in the Belgian scene and
his reputation soon spread beyond his home country's borders. Between
1993 and 1997 he produced over a dozen records (now widely regarded as
classics of the genre) and regularly performed at most of the major
Belgian clubs and dance events (Fuse, Rave Explosion, Cherry Moon...).
He was also frequently booked to play abroad in a number of the
world's major cities - New York, Melbourne, Paris (Rex Club), Rome,
Vienna, Berlin (Love Parade) and Amsterdam (Melkweg) - often sharing
the bill with many of the biggest international DJs, namely Jeff
Mills, Laurent Garnier, Miss Djax, Richie Hawtin, Dave Angel and Dave
Clarke.

In 1997, driven by his growing interest in free jazz, alternative,
psychedelic ambient and experimental music - and the avant-garde in
general - he co-founded Elf Cut records and assumed the role of art
director for the label. He also launched his new project: "The
Syncopated Elevators Legacy" (S.E.L.), with which he would go on to
explore fresh sonic horizons. Over a period of four years, Elf Cut put
out ten records (including three S.E.L. releases) and quickly came to
be known as one of the more influential labels on the avant-garde
electronic music scene. S.E.L. performed at numerous venues and
events, primarily in Belgium and France (AB, Nuits de Botanique,
Halles de Schaerbeek, Festival de Dour, Recyclart, Vooruit, Zaal
Belgie, De Singel, Batofar (FR), Festival Multimédia de Créteil (Fr),
Centre Culturel de Nantes (FR)...). S.E.L. records were
enthusiastically received by a number of prestigious artists
(Christian Fennesz, Vibracathedral Orchestra, My Cat Is An Alien) and
a few of the tracks even caught the attention of the late John Peel,
who played them on his legendary BBC radio show.

Between 2000 and 2004 Cédric composed the music for three productions
by choreographer Bud Blumenthal: "Les Entrailles de Narcisse", "Red
Cliff" and "Les Sentiers d'Ulysses". In 2003 the Flemish Community commissioned him to reinterpret a work by the contemporary music group "Hermes Ensemble", which he performed at the Theaterzaal in Vooruit, sharing the bill with pianist Kris Defoort and the Hermes
Ensemble themselves. These ventures illustrate the evolution of his approach, which has become increasingly influenced by minimalist and
contemporary music.

In addition to his work under the S.E.L. banner, Cédric formed the
"Drifting Bears Collective" in 2003. Accompanied by a guitarist, a
bassist and a drummer, he would use this new side project to develop
the more physical aspects of his music - and thus a long creative
process was set in motion, culminating in the release of the album
"South of No North" in 2007. A psychedelically noise-esque free rock
epic of sorts, this album garnered high praise from the discerning
music press, receiving glowing reviews from publications such as "Riff
Raff" and "The Wire" (the ultimate international reference magazine
for the best in alternative and avant-garde sounds). The Drifting
Bears Collective is also known for its numerous concert performances,
having appeared alongside eminent neo-folk entities from across both
the Channel and the Atlantic (No-Neck Blues Band, Vibracathedral
Orchestra, Double Leopards,...).

Using his own name when performing in the experimental and minimalist
music domain, Cédric's appearances and involvement in this scene are
increasing. He recently participated in the "toute crauté est elle
bonne à dire" expo at the "centrale électrique", for which he
performed an audiovisual piece in collaboration with the painter Serge
Golwicht on the day of the private view (6/2/2009). It was extremely
well received by the public.

The Communauté Française issued Cédric a grant for the creation of a
minimalist piece that was to receive its first public performance on
the 19th of June 2009 at the Notre Dame de la Chapelle church as part
of the "Fetes de la Musique". This took place on the minimalist night,
during which prominent international artists such as Janek Schaeffer,
Christian Fennesz and Alva Noto also performed.

Cédric recently dusted off his Acid Kirk alter ego to reprise his
experiments in the progressive acid techno domain and - for the next
couple of years at least - will be DJing and performing this fresh
material live at various events. A new EP titled "Out of the Blew" was released in February, co-produced by the labels WeMe and First Cask. This revival of interest brought a lot of new bookings and Acid Kirk is now back on the international scene, playing in main events in cities such as Den Haag (The Netherlands), Rome (Italy) or what could be seen as a consecration, a gig in the most world-famous organization of underground rave parties: Bangface (n°72) in the center of London (U.K.).