About The Micrart Group

The Micrart Group is a small initiative of a few people bundling forces to organize, publish and release their music and keep these processes under control. Through the years, The Micrart Group has become an official non-profit company with the single goal to allow the continuation of musical production (and other art forms) and spreading the word about it.

The Micrart Group has evolved to become a music publisher and has managed the businesses for its bands, of which A Split Second was the most popular in the late 80s-early 90s. Nowadays, the aim is less ambitious and is focussed on the availability of old and new materials of its traditional bands.

The name of the organization is compiled out of 'Micro' and 'Art', expressing the initiating ideas behind the foundation of the organization. Artistic expression is valued above commercial broadcast.

The Micrart Group Story

Always in search of the new sound

The early days : 1977 - 1980

As many stories do, the story of the Micrart Group starts as young kids get together. At the age of 14, Geert Coppens and Peter Bonne were already playing music together, assembling one school band after the other, and performing on various occasions. Growing up in the seventies of course meant being involved in rock music, thus playing the guitar in many different ways: acoustic, 12-string, electric, and bass. Most bands had a traditional lineup, and although some popular songs were covered, they started writing their own songs immediately. Many friends came to join the band and left again as the years passed by. As they were both in search of new music, the underground scene of those days was extremely appealing: "cosmic" and experimental electronic music. They started to use keyboards and sequencers and combine them with guitar, flute, and more. Most of the equipment was hired or lent for a weekend or holiday, as the kids couldn't afford to buy the very expensive synthesizers. As a lot of interesting music was created during some single-week sessions, it became clear that they'd found their way.

The Autumn Years : 1980 - 1984

Some live performances of a new band, with keyboards, sequences, organ, guitars, bass, flute, drums, and vocals, made this band quite known in a wide area. It ignited the idea of setting up a special event, 'Hard Breakfast'. In turn, this required an organization and the Micrart Group was born, subtitled 'Electronic Sound Generation'. It was a concatenation of micro and art, bringing a group of people together and active in different areas: Hard Breakfast was built around the electronic music of Autumn, but assisted by live jazz-dance and live computer graphics art: it was dated 1981! Hard Breakfast required a team of 11 people of which 5 were on stage, and the guys were all only 17. From that period on, graphics will be playing an increasing role. The first 3 Micrart Tapes were the legacy of this era. In that same period, Autumn wrote some original tracks for the soundtrack of the first 8mm movie by Jan Verheyen, a classmate of Peter and Geert. Jan would later found his film distribution and production firm and started directing movies. He has become a well-known movie director with over 10 successful full-feature productions. Shortly after Hard Breakfast, Geert and Peter were able to buy some synthesizers for themselves, allowing them to drastically increase their musical creativity and productivity. It soon resulted in many tracks, which were released on several tapes, and performed live in many concerts. In those days, Autumn was a loose initiative rooted by Peter and Geert, sometimes joined by Peter Koutstaal. It also allowed them to get into different styles again, which resulted in the formation of two other bands, Linear Movement and Twilight Ritual. As ‘Autumn’, They released a single 'Synthesize' which became a modest summer hit in 1982. In Autumn, Geert and Peter used the artist name 'Sen' and 'Ense', which became identified with the band. Autumn produced many great unique sounding tracks, of which the tape 'Experiments With Environments' became a landmark in their history. This period also saw the rise of the Micrart Group in the independent circuit, resulting in cooperation with other bands, participation in many compilation projects, and worldwide communication with contemporary musicians and magazines. Micrart became involved with Henk Wallays and his project Unovidual. In 1983, Geert initiated the idea of writing a soundtrack to the classic Fritz Lang silent movie 'Metropolis'. After searching for a long time to get a good copy on video, they spent over 6 months writing a soundtrack and preparing it for LIVE performance. On February 22nd, 1984, Autumn performed their soundtrack live during video playback of the movie at Leuven University. It was an instant success and plans were made to tour across Europe. But they had no luck : somebody else had also made a soundtrack, and bought the copyrights of the movie: Autumn was officially forbidden to perform their soundtrack again. Autumn continued until the end of 1984 with the last tape 'Silicon Valley': a beautiful ending.

Twilight Ritual : 1982 - 1985

Since 1982, Twilight Ritual became the laboratory for expressionistic and minimalistic music. From the first tape, 'Elegy' was chosen for an experimental Video production. TWR kept growing and making tracks in a clearly different way than Autumn or Linear Movement, guided by Geert's focus on art, rather than sound. Also, the choice of Metropolis as a movie for the Autumn soundtrack, is a rather TWR-inspired choice.TWR produced a few tracks during 1982-1984, where each track was more elaborated than in other projects. Many of the tracks appeared on some compilation projects before finally the Spanish independent record company Auxilio De Cientos was interested in releasing a full-length album of TWR. Finally, in early 1985, the album 'Rituals' was released. Only 1000 copies were ever made, and they sold out pretty fast. Until today, this record is a much wanted and sought for collector’s item (and expensive too !). Micrart Group acted as publisher and therefore required and obtained official status. Twilight Ritual has always been a project between Geert and Peter, with no one else being involved - in contradiction with any other project they made, they kept this one to themselves. By the end of 1985, working together on TWR became more difficult, as both Peter and Geert moved out and lived quite far away from each other. Moreover, Geert started focussing yet more on graphical arts, photography, video, painting, and studying art history, and Peter started to be engaged in A Split Second as his project with Linear Movement came to an end. They recorded some last tracks in 1985 which are available on the tape 'The Factory Scream'. It will be another 7 years until they perform again.

Linear Movement : 1982 - 1983

A short-lived project but with a solid legacy, Peter was joined by Lieve Van Steerteghem on vocals. Peter Koutstaal also came around for several tracks. Linear Movement never released a full tape, just the 30-minute tape called ‘Pulse Music’. Various tracks however were posted on compilation releases throughout the world. With the attention shifting to Autumn’s ‘Metropolis’ project and Twilight Ritual’s album ‘Rituals’, Linear Movement was discontinued by the end of 1983.

A Split Second : 1986 - 1991

In 1985, Peter met up with Marc Ickx who also was a former classmate. They started recording some demos at Micrart studio Attne D, and later at the newly founded Top Studio in Ghent (Gent, Belgium). As Peter moved to Ghent, he made a deal with Peter Gillis, the studio owner, exchanging synthesizer equipment and recording facilities. Some tracks of Twilight Ritual, like 'The Factory Scream' were recorded there. Peter took some sound-engineer courses from Peter Gillis, and started working as sound engineer at Top Studio. From then on, Marc and Peter (who started using the artist name 'Chrismar Chayell') started working on A Split Second. Micrart Group once again was the organizational tool, making it all possible. In this period, Chayell started some involvement in other projects as well, including some solo releases. One year later, Antler Records became interested in their work and they signed a record deal for 3 albums. A first 12" was released and was an instant success : On Command, Body Check, Burnout and Flesh. All material was performed by the two of them, on this 12" assisted in mixing by Roland Beelen, president of Antler. It was co-published by the Micrart Group and Antler. They soon were requested for concerts all over Europe and started to work on a first full-length album 'Ballistic Statues', due out early 1987. With Rigor Mortis, they did better than everyone expected. They went on tour through Europe and soon released a live 12". In the meantime, it is commonly recognised that 'Flesh' started a new rage called 'New Beat' which was soon to put Belgium on the map of dance music - however, a bit in contradiction with the overall style of A Split Second which had nothing to do with this rage. In this time, Geert was involved in the artwork of the record cover. Soon after, 'Ballistic statues' was the first CD to be released from Antler. During 1987 and early 1988, they continued to work at maximum productivity, focussing not on quantity but quality, stretching the musical boundaries of their work. It resulted in a 12" 'Scandinavian Bellydance' and the album 'From The Inside...'. Again, Geert created the artwork and inlay of the release. Rigor Mortis already made it to the US through a compiled release by Wax Trax, Chicago. It reached No1 in Rockpool's independent dance charts. From the new album, Mambo Witch and Colosseum Crash were chosen as singles, and they each made it to the top of the same charts. It was the sign for A Split Second to go on tour across North America september-october 1989. They played in all major cities raising huge crowds, which made them focus even more on the US market. In 1990, they released 'Kiss Of Fury', of which 'FireWalker' was chosen as first 12". Though a revolutionary track assisted by a great video, it did not score as good as expected and was soon followed by 'The Parallax View', a track clearly more guitar-oriented. However, the band's popularity kept on growing and they went for a second tour across to the US, this time for 28 gigs in 5 weeks all over the country. Again, the tour was very successful, but also indicated that it was time for something new.1991 was again a year of changes : Peter built the Micrart Studio in Gent, allowing him to work even more and better than at the Top Studio. He felt A Split Second was due to make changes in style in order to keep growing. But these changes didn't come and he made a remix album while Marc started working on a solo project. This evolution signed the end of A Split Second : Peter started working on Wasteland, while Marc continued solo with A Split Second. This closed a very successful period.

Wasteland : 1991 - 1993

As Peter was in search for new musical forms, he invited some other musicians to start a new band, Wasteland, to be the follow-up of A Split Second. Alain Allaeys and Nico Mansy joined this initiative. Wasteland created great tracks, raised much interest from the music industry, but had to suffer the bad luck of a general crash in the music industry, causing the project to finish in 1993. Most people consider the work of Wasteland as of much higher quality than A Split Second ever made. However, the Micrart Group provided the means to create, but could not provide a top quality CD release. Wasteland didn't want to sign on with minor labels, which made the band decide to quit and search other ways. This period was quite short, but the produced music is definitely one of the best around. Check back in 2020.

Twilight Ritual : 1992 - ...

In the meantime, Peter invited Geert over to revive Twilight Ritual again, having the Micrart Studio available for free experiment. At a slow pace, they started to work on a new Twilight Ritual which was soon to be admired by many people. In 1992, they created tracks like 'My Delay', 'Veneto Sundown' and 'Autumn Doesn't Suffer When It Dies'. Although TWR did not intend to make tracks ready for release, unlike other projects, it became clear that these tracks were well worth being released, and they started looking for a record company. Although the record was ready and mastered since 1994, it wasn't until 1996 that Subtronic released the Twilight Ritual CD 'Organic', but only in Germany. This CD got such great reviews that it was obvious for TWR to continue. However, TWR has never and will never compromise: a release is not the goal, the music is. The 'Organic' booklet is entirely created by TWR, using photographs and paintings of Geert and Peter, and was entirely recorded and produced at Micrart Studio 6 by Peter. In 1997, they organised a promotional event in Gent, focusing on graphical art rather than on music. For this exhibition, some tracks were composed that are now awaiting new releases. In the meantime, Subtronic wanted to re-release the old Rituals album. This album was remastered and some bonus tracks were added. By the time it should be released, Subtronic went bankrupt, and the release never took place. Twilight Ritual simply continues whatever happens. 'Full Moon' is a worthy predecessor of 'Organic' and ambient trakcs were compiled on 'Painted Wall'.In 2000, Twilight Ritual went LIVE again after many years, and this with a unique event counting over 15 people involved. This project was named 'Nocturnal Transmissions' and you can read all about it on the Twilight Ritual pages. In 2005, Twilight Ritual is back on stage with a short uptempo performance of old tracks, celebrating 25 years if Micrart Group and supporting the final re-release of RITUALS in CD by Genetic Music. Since 2006, Twilight Ritual did a limited amount of Live performances.

Das Cabinett & Gerardus Le Monk

In early 2003, Geert started experimenting with new material, resulting in a new project baptized 'Das Cabinett'. This project proved to be very productive with several CD releases soon following each other. Geert, operating under the name Gerardus Le Monk, consequently produced several more CDs with a specific dark ambient soundscape.

Downtempo

During the early years of the new millennium, Peter returned to his early love for soft downtempo electronic music, which resulted in a new initiative he initially called ‘Gnostic Reveil’. A first release was assembled for release in 2009, and was recuperated later on under Chayell Zen.

Releases on iTunes and Hardcopy CDs

Since 2006, all heritage material is remastered and made available online from iTunes. From 2009 on, all material is remastered again and made available through Audiolife, an online service to produce CDs on-demand. All new releases will be made available through both iTunes (digital download) and Audiolife. Audiolife has meanwhile stopped operations and printed CDs for Micrart Group releases have become rare.

Micrart selection getting released on new compilations and special vinyl

Minimal Wave has released Linear Movement on vinyl : a collection of the 1983 material. "On The Screen: is available through many channels and has additionally been made available as a digital download and CD. Linear Movement, Twilight Ritual, and Autumn are participating in several vinyl projects. Minimal Wave releases a collection of '81 - '83 Autumn tracks on "Synthesize", Walhalla Records encloses 'Synthesize' on its VolII Belgian Underground Wave LP. Read more about releases through third-party initiatives on our Blog. Later on, Minimal Wave released a second LInear Movement album “The Linear Way”.

Quite a bit of special releases were brought to the market by various initiatives, covering select work from all Micrart Group bands.

Twilight Ritual on Vinyl

In the second half of the 2010s, the 3 original Twilight Ritual albums were released on vinyl through Onderstroom Records. ‘The Factory Scream’ and ‘Rituals’ were both released in 2012, and ‘The Ritual’ followed soon after in 2015. As limited editions, only a few of them remain available today.

Wasteland 92

In 2020, we prepared to release the Wasteland heritage. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, releases have been postponed for a while, but the first single is out. The plan to release a vinyl version had to be put aside, as record stores limit their efforts to well-known artists.
Before we could pick up the work again, Alain Allaeys died at age 59 in April 2022.

Micrart Group Catalog on all streaming platforms

From 2021, Micrart Group has made all music from the catalog available for streaming services across the globe. Check out the links on the top of each Band page from the Bands and Projects menu.

New releases by Chayell

As the working-from-home way of life overtook us all, it did generate more time to revisit recordings that were just sitting there to be released. Having distributed all previous materials on streaming media, it was now time to do the same with the previously unreleased materials. First out were recordings by Chayell, a great bunch of tracks with friends titled ’Grape’, followed by a cool retro-synth release titled’ Bloodrush’.

Into relaxing music: here’s Chayell Zen

In the age of Aquarius, the world has turned open to musical styles supporting a Zen lifestyle. Be it meditation, yoga, or just chilling, relaxing music has never been more present than today. Revisiting the early love for electronic “cosmic” music, Peter created yet another alter-ego Chayell Zen as the new vehicle to channel a brand new repertoire. First releases hit the market end of 2021 followed by more new stuff in 2022 and 2023.

Twilight Ritual’s heritage release by Wave Records

In 2021, Wave Records Brazil released a very special edition double CD with a selection of 40 years of Twilight Ritual music.

Twilight Ritual Live after more than 10 years

Indeed, TWR performed live at the OMBRA festival in Barcelona, November 2022. Probably with more live gigs to come.

Releasing the Back-catalog of A Split-Second

The Micrart Group / Chayell bv regained full ownership of the publishing rights of all A Split-Second materials from the Antler period. In 2023, remastered versions are put to the online platforms and streaming services.

Linear Movement Live after more than 40 years!

On request of the OMBRA team, Linear Movement is to perform at OMBRA 2023, December 2023 after exactly 40 years. More gigs follow this event!

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Keeping track of the studio's as they grew with the bands :
Atem : the cellar of the youth club near Geert's house, Sinaai, Belgium (1977-1982)
Attne A : Peter's home bedroom, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (1977-1981)
Attne B : Peter's dad's dining room, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (1979-1982)
Attne C : Peter's sister's bedroom rearranged after she married, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (1982-1983)
Attne D : Peter's brother's bedroom rearranged after he married (bigger place), Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (1983-1985)
Attne E : Attne D rebuilt at Top Studio Gent, Belgium (1985-1988)
Top Studio : Peter Gillis' recording studio, Gent, Belgium (1986-1990)
Micrart Studio 6 : Micrart Midi Recording Room, Gent, Belgium (1990-1995)
Micrart Studio 7 : Micrart Studio, De Pinte, Belgium (1995-2011)
Micrart Cabinett Studio : Geert's well-equipped attic, Antwerp, Belgium (2002-2015)
Micrart Studio 8: Peter’s temporary working place, De Pinte, Belgium (2006-2011)
Micrart Studio 9: Micrart Studio, Merelbeke, Belgium (2011-today)

contact: chayell bv (in one word) at gmail dot com.
contact: micrart group (in one word) at gmail dot com.