6 (The Ex album)

6
Box set by The Ex
Released 1991
Genre Anarcho-punk, Folk music, Jazz, Comedy, Rap music, Dance music
The Ex chronology

Treat
(1990)		 6
(1991)		 Scrabbling at the Lock
(1991)

6 is a collection of six singles by Dutch musical group The Ex. The singles were available in record shops, and also through a subscription with a new one being issued every two months throughout 1991.[1] Each of the singles explored different facets of The Ex's musical relationships and interests, having featured collaborations with an array of musicians and other artists. The 6 singles were not released on The Ex's CD collection, Singles. Period. The Vinyl Years 1980–1990 as they comprised an album to be collected and stored in a single box. The band announced plans to reissue the collection on CD in 2010, but have yet to do so.[2]

Packaging

Each of the 6 singles featured cover art riffing off an iconic image by Soviet Constructivist artist Alexander Rodchenko. The 1924 original featured a portrait of Lilya Brik with hair pulled back under a bandanna and hand raised to her mouth, shouting "КНИГИ!" ("BOOKS!")[3] The Ex maintained Rodchenko's format, swapping Brik out for each record's primary vocalist and filling in the record's song titles and issue number, 6.1 through 6.6, as the shouted text. The corners of each record's cover bore the band's name along with those of any guests appearing on the recording.

6.1 came in a paper shopping bag screenprinted with the image of a despised Dutch politician bearing the words, "This is an Amsterdam Scumbag". In addition to the record, the bag contained a Rodchenko-stylized box for storing all six 7-inch singles as they were released. Because 6.4 was a double 7", the box was filled up with the release of 6.5, and 6.6" revealed itself to be a 12" single, supplemental to the 7" box set.

Music

Every issue of 6 had a special theme. 6.1 bore two songs sung by Ex vocalist G.W. Sok and were characteristic of the band's music from that period. 6.2 featured vocals and saz by Brader, a Kurdish musician who had previously collaborated with The Ex on their album Joggers and Smoggers. On 6.3, The Ex's drummer Kat Bornefeld stepped up to the mic to sing the Hungarian folk song "Hidegen Fújnak a Szelek" ("Cold Winds Are Blowing"), a song that also appeared on the band's first album with Tom Cora and became one of The Ex's most well-known songs.

The double 7" 6.4 had The Ex playing live with improvisational elements added by members of the Dog Faced Hermans and Amsterdam's Instant Composers Pool. 6.5 offered commentary on the dominance of the English language from Belgian comedians Kamagurka and Herr Seele, and 6.6. had The Ex exploring the genres of dance and rap music as was implied by the 12" single's format at the time.[1]

The Six 6 Singles

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "An Extended Exography: A History of The Ex". The Ex.
  2. ↑ "New 7" Single". The Ex. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  3. ↑ Steward, Sue (20 January 2008). "Lilya Brik: a very Soviet siren". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2011.