Embodiment redefines the concept of artist residency

The Rotterdam-based collective has made a strong comeback after the pandemic with new concepts and challenges to the local and national scene

It has been quite a while since I tuned in here, and I dearly missed all of you, my beloved readers. The reason for my silence was the fact that there were quite some major changes in my personal life. I am happy to announce that after nearly 7 years of amazing life in one of Europe’s most exciting cities – Berlin, I have taken the step to relocate back to my other home, The Netherlands. Berlin has been and will always be an integral part of my identity and my life journey. It was the place where I dared to dream big, and start my passion project Nachtblumen, after being so deeply touched and inspired by the art, culture and music scene there.

In my heart Berlin will always remain one of the most special places that will always pull me back with its extreme magnetism and powerful character. This is the beginning of a new chapter for Nachtblumen too. I have chosen a city that is a cool new challenge – Rotterdam. I had the chance to get a glimpse of what this place had to offer over the past 2 years, and I must say that my excitement is significant. It is raw but modern, extremely cultural and beautifully weird. The people of Rotterdam are real and honest, and when it comes to the scene there is exciting history and huge future potential. 

I am honoured to be warmly welcomed and closely working with Embodiment - a special crew coming from Rotterdam, that I had a chance to present to you last year in depth. As you already might know, they are an event organization that is trying to change the status quo by doing things differently, holding strong values and being consistent in their approach. 

Last year, The Netherlands was in a tough spot due to the pandemic. It was hard for every organization that wanted to legally do something to thrive. Luckily, we are past that point, and everyone has returned with full power. Embodiment makes no exception. In March 2022, they had their ‘comeback’ edition at Perron in Rotterdam featuring all three residents Jephta, Rosillon and RON L together with a local guest from Amsterdam, the talented Jaipa.

Fast forward a few months, and the Dutch crew is back with a fresh and very strong concept for their next event coming weekend - the Resident Invites. You might wonder what can be so new and exciting about that? Well, the truth is that residencies have always been somewhat of an abstract term. What is widely understood under ’a resident’ is someone, who often plays in a certain club. When we are talking about club residencies, that might be true, but not when it comes to the type of residency that stems from an event organization. When one resides in a club, it is quite normal that they will often play and maintain a certain sound aesthetic within those walls. They are somehow the guardians of the sound identity of the club, but what does it mean to be a resident of an event organization? 

I wanted to understand better what was the idea behind this new concept, what is their understanding of residency and what does the rest of the year hold for the guys so we had a quick catch up.

Jerry: ‘’ The term 'resident' has always been a bit of a hollow concept for us. We have always wondered what the objectives of a club or organization are to bind people to themselves as residents or more precisely, what exactly does a residency entail? Personally, I never really got the picture. I saw clubs or organizations naming artists as residents, but the context was always left out. We spent several meetings brainstorming how we could give the term the meaning it deserves, at least for Embodiment. This has resulted in a fresh concept that we will use from now on to give our club nights a different look, as they are central to both the image of Embodiment and the artistic image of the resident.’’ 

Knowing the guys from the team, I am impressed how yet again they ‘put their actions where their mouth is’, which is something rather rare nowadays among organizations. It’s easy to make big promises, but not so easy to follow through with them. Let’s see how exactly the boys are planning to achieve theirs. Jerry goes on to explain:

• Every resident gets his own club night in which he has full control over the programming. This puts him in a position to create a night as coherent as possible for himself soundwise. It also includes contacting the artists they want to book, and overseeing the booking process in order to understand how different parts of the organization of an event work.
• The club nights will be named specifically after the relevant resident so they will be the centre of attention.
• The resident will be creating the artwork and entire visual concept together with our designer Job Verhoeven. They are in full control of every artistic choice in that process and the story behind it.
• Creation of a lighting plan in collaboration with the programmed artists to ensure the perfect atmosphere to fit the music journey is also on the table. Showing character through light stimulation in perfect symbiosis with the music is to be achieved here.
• The role as 'speaker' on social media leading up to the event will be taken by the resident too. This means that all announcements and everything that goes with it are written and taken care of by that person.

‘‘With this concept we hope to provide a very transparent insight into both the character of Embodiment, and the characters of the residents and to let the mutual collaborations between all artists/parties result in a valuable and long-term connection.’’

The reason why we are going this way is because, in addition to Embodiment as a platform, we find the individual careers of the Residents just as important. With this concept we hope to provide a very transparent insight into both the character of Embodiment, and the characters of the residents and to let the mutual collaborations between all artists/parties result in a valuable and long-term connection.’’ 

Did you get goose bumps just by reading? I am really impressed with the way the team has approached this question, and to me this is truly what I can call a forward-thinking inspired approach. The first one to get the spotlight on the 4th of June in the Resident Invites nights is Camille Ferdinandus, also known as Rosillon. His sound is deep, hypnotic and mesmerizing. Playing vinyl only, Rosillon always leaves the crowd in awe with his flawless mixing skills and captivating track selection. I asked Camille to share a bit more about what is going to happen on the 4th of June, and how he curated his edition. 

‘’For me, the ideal club night captures a full story, where every artist complements each other and fulfils their role in the progression of the night. To make this happen, I believe it’s essential to strive for a musical balance between an introvert and an extrovert dance floor experience. I would describe this as getting lost in your own mind, after which you find your friends again to get energized for the next chapter of the night. This dynamic is exactly what I took into account while curating the first edition. I can’t wait to see how the experience unfolds together with everyone.’’ What a beautiful view on the perfect club night. Especially after having experienced an Embodiment event already, I can assure you that all of that is exactly what you will get, and probably more. A very sincere, sexy, free and welcoming atmosphere created by a dedicated community. When it comes to the line up, I am happy to see that one of my long-time favourite artists Distant Echoes is present, and next to him is an artist that I have not yet had the chance to experience but am very much looking forward to - Refracted. I wanted to know what made Camille choose exactly these artists for his first night?

‘‘For me, the ideal club night captures a full story, where every artist complements each other and fulfils their role in the progression of the night.’’ - Rosillon

‘’After following Andrea’s (Distant Echoes) creative output over the last couple of years, and eventually having had him on our SALON podcast series, it’s been a true pleasure working with him. His contribution to our podcast was so refreshing, and it made me realize that he is an artist that dares to do things differently. You can imagine how well this kind of attitude resonates with me and our team’s vision to break stigmas and current trends in the scene.’’ says Camille with a cheeky smile and goes on. ‘’Last year, I heard Andrea play in Berlin one of the best opening sets I’ve heard in a long time, and eventually we also connected on a personal level. I am excited to show our community that Distant Echoes is one of the finest artists our scene has to offer.’’ I couldn’t agree more! I really love to see that Andrea is given the closing slot, which is certainly going to be an interesting end to a dreamy night.

‘‘I am excited to show our community that Distant Echoes is one of the finest artists our scene has to offer.’’ - Rosillon

To complete this curation, Camille has invited Refracted – an artist that has established himself firmly in the electronic music scene through his releases on labels like Bitta, Pole Group and the ambient/experimental Silent Season, next to his own imprint Mind Express. He has specifically made a name for himself within the hypnotic world, as his music is one of a kind and always reaching for those deeper, intense, far and complex corners of your mind. I was curious to hear what Rosillon had to say about this choice. ‘’I am someone who loves to be challenged by unheard sounds and who is sparked by authentic human interaction. Having said that, it is no surprise that I have a lot of respect for Refracted. He is an artist, who has already shown for more than ten years that the urge to explore and create something new speaks louder than any words. His creative output is diverse, but always loaded with conceptual thoughts, and I see a lot of artistic value in that. Whether he guides you through his nature-infused soundscapes or heavyweight loops, one thing is clear: there is a journey ahead.’’

‘‘Refracted is an artist, who has already shown for more than ten years that the urge to explore and create something new speaks louder than any words.’’ - Rosillon

The conversation I am having with the Embodiment crew reveals once again the depth of every decision, and how much thought is involved into everything they put out. After Rosillon, there are two more exciting nights to come courtesy of Jephta and RON L by the end of this year. For this edition, the team’s designer Job Verhoeven helped Rosillon to translate his vision, and created a stunning artwork, which captures the current summer mood. Painted with acrylic on canvas by hand, this is yet another personalised token that adds value to the experience that lies ahead.

I am happy to invite you all to join us for that special night at Perron on the 4th of June in Rotterdam. You already have an idea of what you can expect, but in addition I must say that there is also a lot to discover during the Embodiment nights. Lastly, this is a safe environment, where the well-being of the guests is of utmost priority to the crew. There is zero tolerance towards any kind of hatred, and behaviour that endangers any visitor. The social context is of high importance to the team, as they realize that this is not independent of being able to actually enjoy the music.

You can get your tickets here, and above all I wish the team and all of their guests this to be one for the books! See you there dear Nachtblumen!