[CP 243 CD] Hero Wouters; Fiction

Covering his scores for the films of Gerard Holthuis, W. K. Broer, & Ronald Beer & Floor Peters, the 1981 Herophone LP in question being replicated here was the only proper mass-market solo outing by Panta Rhei member Hero Wouters (though he did issue a further tape-only set 5 years later, "Laios / Een Zaak Van Leven Of Dood", partially reissued 15 or so years back by Enfant Terrible; and of course the three P.R. tapes "Mental Designs", "Birthday Music", and "Weird Duck" were Herophone productions). 

The majority of the proceedings here are comprised of the titular "Fiction" score, realized by Wouters with/in an ensemble comprised of Neel Holst (Sax, Vocals), Ron Jansen (Drums), Willem Hagen (Piano), & Holthuis himself (Piano, Effects) and perfectly encapsulating the claustrophobic, alternate realities of the film's synopsis (handily excerpted on the sleeve):

A man working at a nuclear reactor is involved in an accident caused by gross negligence on the part of the management. He decides to go underground and to provoke a nuclear accident. His aim is to set an example and to show what happens if something really goes wrong. At the same time he is confronted by someone from his past. Fiction deals with the feelings of fear and uncertainty that the 'problem' of nuclear energy may cause. In the film the line between fiction and reality becomes blurred. This is not a neatly rounded story, but an attempt to express the sence (sic) of anxiety and uncertainty.

The remainder offers a series of wry processed rhythm-box études (that fall from the same tree as Conrad Schnitzler's 70s/80s work; "Rot" comes to mind) & the sort of diaristic room-toned extrapolations of "musical" elements and raw Musique Concrète forms that yield short, sharp juxtapositions between the narrative arcs via "found" audio footage and fidelity-challenged "field" performances by the group. There's even a fair bit of Krautrock-tinged synth détournement, short segments of Chansonnerie, and even an honest-to-goodness Psych number or two (the range & sudden arrival of such canonic forms reminds me a little bit of the two Philippe Doray et Les Asociaux Associés LPs bundled as [CP 215 CD] - fans of which would do well to investigate herein).