Gæoudji SYGNOK was an alias used by Danish/Faroese experimental artist Kristian Vester (
Goodiepal) in collaboration with his former students and local artists
DJ Hvad & [url=https://discogs.com/artist/4939052]VJ Cancer/VJ Livstræt[/url] and old friend
Poul Erik Veigaard. Hvad also operated an eponymous
Syg Nok label (2008–2014), for which Goodiepal mastered most releases. Vester established the SYGNOK "band" in 2008 after expulsion from the Danish Institute for Electronic Music (DIEM), where he taught for four years until
Mort Aux Vaches Ekstra Extra compositional game scenario and underlying "Radical Computer Music" theory were finally deemed unsuitable for the academic curriculum. In response, Gæoudjiparl declared a "Gentleman's war on the stupidity of modern computer music and media-based art" against the [url=https://discogs.com/label/634100]Royal Academy of Music[/url] in Århus. In April 2010, SYGNOK posted a YouTube clip of the Eventide H8000FW rack-mounted FX processor they stole from DIEM studios as
Danegæld ("Danish debt," an ancient form of protection money paid to Vikings).
In October 2010, Gæoudji SYGNOK presented
Thinkin' 'Bout You album. Named after Martin Lindholm's record store in Århus and pressed at his [url=https://www.discogs.com/label/32511]Dansk Vinyl Produktion[/url], it was co-released by Escho and Pork Salad Press. Limited to 500-1050 copies (exact quantities disputed), "Route 66 Eksperimentet" had no playable grooves, with intricate etchings covering the entire LP surface. The cover listed over 30 prominent independent labels that had previously offered Goodiepal releases. Vester finally delivered one "ultimate LP" to all of them (including labels that already went defunct, like Syg Nok), even assigning "proper" catalog numbers, — without any communication or prior notice to involved companies, though. The record explicitly limited the retail price to 250 DKK ($33) on the spine, but each copy included a genuine 500 Danish Kroner bill, doubling the buyer's investment. Around 40 copies were "hacked" by DJ Hvad and VJ Cancer, who secretly replaced the money with counterfeit SYGNOK bills. The album instantly sold out with widespread publicity from tier-1 Danish press and TV.
In March 2011, Escho released three limited-edition "add-ons," all sharing the ESC18 catalog number. The cheapest
[url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2667626]Fortsat[/url] ("Continued") edition at 19.50 DKK ($3) contained a photocopy of Kristian Vester's credit card with a PIN code; it was supposedly connected to a 7000 DKK (~$920) account. The more expensive
[url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2667627]Taget Til Ekstremerne[/url] ("Taken to the Extremes") at 78.23 DKK ($11) came with a 1000 "Romani bill," a made-up currency that's expected to have legal tender once Roma people establish the government. The most obscure
[url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2667630]Cyber Papegøjen Skudt[/url] edition at 750 DKK ($98) had signed blank checks linked to Vester's bank account with 200,000 DKK ($26,000). All three records had a hyperlink to download accompanying
DJ. Audiosvar "audio responses" printed directly on the LP label. (In September 2011, Gæoudji Sygnok released a double cassette
Mr Anyway's Holey Spirits Perform! One Foot in Bethlehem with a more substantial 180-min "walkthrough"). In subsequent interviews, Vester estimated he gave away close to 752,000 DKK ($99,200) in various "Route 66 Eksperimentet" editions, going severely into debt; supposedly, the artist borrowed money from his Ukrainian friend in organized crime. The 2011 mini-documentary "SYGNOK & The War For Radical Computer Music" also claimed Goodiepal sold the "improved" Eventide H8000 device taken from DIEM to a private collector without the consent of other SYGNOK members to partially fund the release (hence the "Sygnok bill" payback).
Gæoudji SYGNOK produced two "art/anti-records" for the Dutch art foundation Syg Nok and its label Syg Nok: a [url=https://discogs.com/release/2743356]10" dubplate[/url] for "Sound as a Weapon" exhibition in February 2011, followed by
[r=4833921] (2013) polystyrene lathe cut. One of the last SYGNOK artifacts dated 2016, a self-released [url=https://discogs.com/release/9906653]7" single[/url] with covers of Pol Erik's 1970s band [url=https://discogs.com/artist/1787139]Daizy[/url]. The inlay referred to Goodiepal's current collective involved in similar actionism,
[a6749625].
