In short, I’m living in the Grachtengordel District, which is the center of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I studied art history and computer music at the University Utrecht. Currently I’m webmaster of Dutch educational TV. I’m single and I don’t have a driver’s license.
My hobbies include art, music, movies, literature, good food, travel, and about everything Japanese, Chinese and Korean (including art, music, movies, literature, good food and travel).
I’m quite busy making very bad computer music. I use the SuperCollider language (for synthesis and live interaction), “M” (for composition), Ableton Live (live interaction), Reaktor (synthesis), MetaSynth (synthesis and sound design) and Logic Studio for synthesis, sound processing and mixing. I’m also doing video things with Quartz Composer, Final Cut Express and ArtMagic.
Currently I’m focusing on controlling everything with Wiimote, iPhone and the Novation Launchpad,
Here are some lists of the things in life which I like or dislike:
Likes
- Most beautiful skylines and city views
- Hong Kong Island, seen from the Promenade at Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
- New York City, seen from the plane, approaching Newark Airport from the North, passing Manhattan on the West side
- Istanbul, the Old City by night, seen from Galata – the Sultan’s Mosques on top of the hills
- Jerusalem, seen from Mount Scopus. The view in the other direction (Jordan) is quite something too
- Favorite cities
- Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York City, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Isfahan
- Favorite cities I’ve never visited (yet)
- San Francisco, Las Vegas, Rome, Prague, Samarqand, Kadath
- Japanese avant-garde rock
- Merzbow, YMO, Ground Zero, Yoshihide Otomo, Aube, Ryoji Ikeda, Machine Gun TV, Wrench, Sachiko M
- Chinese alternative music
- Muma, Faye Wong, People Mountain People Sea: Pixeltoy, At 17
- Japanese rock
- Mr. Children, Arc en Ciel
- Japanese mainstream pop
- Max, Speed, Globe, Say a Little Prayer, Every Little Thing
- European contemporary music
- Karl-Heinz Stockhausen, Gyorgy Ligeti, Louis Andriessen
- East Asian contemporary music
- May Kay Yau, Tan Dun, Makoto Shinohara, Takayuki Rai, Isang Yung, Toru Takemitsu
- American contemporary music from the school of John Cage
- John Cage
- Classical Music
- Richard Wagner, Claude Débussy. That’s all I’m afraid
- Modern art
- Max Ernst, Sigmar Polke, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Francis Bacon
- Writers
- Gertrude Stein, William S. Burroughs, Raymond Chandler, James Joyce, Junichiro Tanizaki, Haruki Murakami
- Science Fiction writers
- Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock
- Fantasy writers
- J.R.R. Tolkien, Roger Zelazny, Clive Barker, Howard Philips Lovecraft
- Islamic architecture
- Red Mosque, Isphahan; Mosque of Suleyman, Constantinopel; Ahmed Ibn Tulun Mosque, Cairo; Mosque of the Ommayads, Damascus; Mosque of Omar, Jerusalem;
- Japanese Food
- Kakinabe, Okonomiyaki, Sushi, Sashimi, Fugu, actually everything Japanese will do
- Chinese food
- Oysters in Black Bean Sauce, Chicken Feet, Ngau Pau Yip, Snake Soup, Century Eggs, any Dim Sum, anything Cantonese. Oh yeah, and Hakka food. And Chiu Chow Oyster Cake!
- Korean Food
- Sundubu Chigae, HanJeongShik, any hot pot or BBQ dish (with garlic and pepper) (but no dog please), Korean Sashimi (with garlic and pepper)
- Fruits
- Durian, Mango, Longam
- Alcoholic drinks
- Sake, Frozen Margarita’s, Cava, Mojitos, Cabernet Sauvignon Rosado, Soju (Korean Vodka)
- Tea
- Oolong, Jasmin Tea, Bo Lay (or Pu-Erh), any good green tea like Sencha or Nukcha, most Korean herbal or fruit tea, especially Omija (made of Schisandra Sinensis, whatever that may be)
Dislikes
- Pop music
- Phil Collins, Supertramp, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, the Electric Light Orchestra, most music of the 1970’s
- Classical Music
- Everything except Richard Wagner and Claude Débussy
- Actors
- Phil Collins, Richard Gere, Richard Chamberlain, Martin Lawrence, and of course Steven Seagal.
- European film directors
- Andrei Tarkovsky, Alexandr Sokurov, Lars Trier, Claude Chabrol
- Artists
- Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali
- Writers
- Hubert Lampo
- Languages
- Somalian, Dutch, Frisian, Swedish, Ainu
- Fruit
- Carambole (Starfruit), Apples, Oranges
- Coffee
- All coffee except iced decaf vanilla iced macchiato with soy milk and cinnamon (no, I’m not homosexual)
- Dutch Food
- Except Erwtensoep, Hutspot, Bruine Bonen with Spek and Stroop, Zuurkool with Worst
- Holland
- It always rains, streets are filthy and unsafe, too many people are rude, service is unbelievably bad, so is public transportation, etc.