NO TRIBUTE – Tribute to Jan Borchers – 24 april 2021
And all at once, the city of The Hague was quiet. Not just because of the unfathomable surrealness of the global pandemic in which we now live, but also by the exchanging of an earthly existence for an eternal existence in the infinite universe by Jan Borchers on November 13, 2020. His departure leaves an empty space in the alternative music scene of the city. Jan Borchers was not only an important organizer, influencer and musician, he was also a key collaborator and advocate of the Hague’s alternative music circuit. Jan is sorely missed by the many musicians inside and outside of the city.
The always resilient and renowned alternative scene from The Hague has not been idle in the wake of this sadness. To break the silence that arose after the departure of Jan Borchers, an initiative has been taken to honour The Noise Guru in The Hague. Dozens of musicians, from attic artist to more established musicians have each paid tribute to Jan Borchers in their own way.
On Saturday the 24th of April the album ‘NO TRIBUTE’ will be released as a tribute to Jan Borchers. This release will be a compilation album featuring 27 artists with a connection to Jan and with whom Jan has collaborated. Alongside collaborators are admirers and fans of this special artist, programmer and organizer. The album will be released on the Hague based record label Antilounge. The 27 artists have each created a new track for this tribute album using samples from ‘Field recordings or sound drones’ from Jan and from AU (Jan Borchers and his music partner Paul Klaui).
Jan Borchers was an anthropologist of the Hague underground and was constantly on a voyage of discovery and in search of new forms of music. The Hague musicians often referred to Jan as the Underground Guru of The Hague. Jan could be found in the audience at every festival or new initiative, however small. In addition, Jan has collaborated or contributed to dozens of festivals and projects. He was often the initiator and instigator. Festivals such as State-X New Forms, CONTEX, Ground and projects such as MuziekLab and Drone Valley are just a few examples of this. If Jan was “In Da House ” then you knew it going to be good. His views on various bands, performers, music and projects have always been taken very seriously in the music scene. He was therefore a welcome guest at almost every alternative festival and project in The Hague. Jan Borchers’ great passion was music in all its manifestations and boundlessness. This can be seen in the enormous collection of vinyl records that Jan has built up over the many years with music from all over the world and from every recess and era. As long as it was special, original and authentic. And through music, Jan Borchers lives on.
