John Sellekaers | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John-Nicolas Sellekaers |
| Also known as | Xingu Hill |
| Born | December 19, 1973 |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Electronic, Electronica, Experimental music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, Audio Mastering Engineer, Photographer |
| Instruments | Keyboards, Music sequencer, Sampling |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Ad Noiseam, Angle Rec, Ant-Zen, Delikatessen, Foton, Disques Hushush, Hymen Records, Klanggalerie, Low Impedance Recordings, Mirex, Nova Zembla, Re-Load Ambient |
| Associated acts | Ambre, Ammo, Black Lung, Dead Hollywood Stars, Moonsanto, Myrza, Torsion, Snog, Uncotones, Urawa, Xingu Hill |
| Website | www.metarc.com |
John Sellekaers is a Canadian-born musician and audio mastering engineer. Born in 1973 in Montreal, Quebec he later moved to Brussels, Belgium. He has released over 40 records under various aliases on labels such as Ant-Zen, Hymen Records, Nova Zembla and Disques Hushush. His style range from experimental music to electronica.
Around 1988, under the influence of electronic music pioneers such as Cabaret Voltaire and Tangerine Dream, he began experimenting with synthesizers. Later, in the early nineties, he started a magazine devoted to underground culture entitled "Noyade mécanique" (for Mechanical drowning). Other contributors for this magazine included Belgian artists such as Olivier Moreau and Seal Phüric.
In 1994, the Belgian underground techno, ambient and IDM record label Nova Zembla signed him for three albums. In 1995 his first album "Maps Of The Impossible" came out under the Xingu Hill moniker.
Besides his main incarnation, Xingu Hill, Sellekaers has recorded under several aliases. They include Dead Hollywood Stars, Urawa, The Missing Ensemble, Uncotones, Ambre, Moonsanto and Ammo. Moonsanto is an experimental music and political project by Sellekaers, C-drik Fermont, Gabriel Séverin and Marc Mœdea. Active since 2000, Moonsanto can be called an industrial supergroup as it consist of members of Xingu Hill, Dead Hollywood Stars, Silksaw and Ammo. Moonsanto's first full-length release is called Fraud Hell Dope. It is in fact a play on words about Monsanto Company's motto, "Food Health Hope". It is a multinational company active in the genetic engineering market.
He has collaborated with artists such as Mick Harris (of Scorn), David Thrussell (of Snog and Black Lung), Olivier Moreau (of Imminent Starvation), C-drik Fermont, Silk Saw and Panacea. In 2005, John Sellekaers, Daniel De Los Santos (of Tamarin) and literary fiction writer Brian Evenson released a record of experimental spoken word.
During his career, John Sellekaers has extensively played live in Europe and North America.
Since 1998, he is also running the Metarc mastering studio, currently located in Montreal.