Distant Fires Burning

Mechelen, Belgium (2007 – present)
Gert De Meester, also known as the bass-player of The Seven Laws of Woo, and knob twiddler of The Mental Attack and 2questionmarks, lives in Mechelen, Belgium.

It all started with a Commodore 64. A friend asked Gert to take care of his C64 while he was renovating his house. In exchange he got the oportunity to experiment with that machine. Gert soon discovered you could use that C64 to make electronic music. For years he played with taperecorders mixed with the C64 and a cheap Bontempi keyboard. But for Gert nothing interesting enough came out. He is clearly influenced by, The Future Sound of London, Aphex Twin, The Black Dog, Autechre, Global Communication, Biosphere and The Orb.

Around 2000 he started to experiment with PC’s and software like Cubase etc… He took up the moniker “The Mental Attack” and started to make breakbeat-techno-idm. In 2003 this resulted in the “Structures EP”. A self-released CDR with 5 tracks. One of these tracks was “Doorchaser”. He took that title as username on different internet sites. But the title actually refers to his job. He works as a social worker, councelling at home. His job is to learn people how to live independently with all ups and downs and closed doors….

In 2004 he was asked to make the music and soundeffects for the space-comedy-play called “Ark” He took up the moniker “Reverend Basstorius’ Intergalactic Funk Experience”, short R.B.I.F.E…

Gert bought himself a laptop, a midi-controller a usb-basguitar-connection, etc…, etc…. And two years later he made his first Mental Attack album called “Iluvatar”. Again a self-released CDR.

In 2007 Gert started to experiment more with ambient. He was asked to make the soundtrack of a commercial for the brand “Kinto”. At the same time he began to make an ambient album, because the genre drew his attention more. He renamed himself “Distant Fires Burning” just to state the difference with the more beat-oriënted work by “The Mental Attack”. In 2008 he self-released the CD “Messierobjekten” as “Distant Fires Burning”. The main theme of this concept CD was the work of 17th Century astronomer Charles Messier. This CD got quite a lot of media attention, though opinions were divided.

In September 2009 he releases “7 Sisters”. It’s an album with 7 tracks that refer to the myth of the Pleiades. According to the Myth the 7 Sisters commited suicide at the same time, because they couldn’t bare the faith of their father (Atlas). Out of compassion Zeus put them in the sky as stars.

On April 14 2010, U-Cover Records releases the third album by Distant Fires Burning, “Build on Me”, on it’s sublabel U-Cover CDR Limited.

It’s a CDR limited on 155 copy’s. For 9,50 euro u get 8 tracks of ambient-soundscapes and drones. The difference with Messierobjekten and 7 Sisters is that for the first time the basic sound is created by using the Fender Jazz Bass. Tracks 2,6,7 and 8 start from a bass-scape where additional synths were added to empower the feel of the Bass-scape. Tack 3 “Oppression” exists only of a Bass-Scape and effects no synths were added there. Build on Me is more personal than “Messierobjekten” and “7 Sisters”. You can say that music is Gerts way of dealing with things and this album is all about things he dealt with.