9TO9COLLECTIVE

Spring magic

January 10 2025

The >9TO9COLLECTIVE. I remember vividly a boring midday break - early January 2024 at the HKU - waiting in the hall on the second floor for the next class to start, when I told Rik: "Something needs to happen. We need to do something creative."

I had fond, semi-nostalgic memories taunting me, memories of All Nighter, FORM's flagship event1, and then specifically the times my friends and I made songs for volumes 5 and 6 (a loving embrace to Marcus and Lewis). I had a vague idea of wanting to host a similar community "jam" with friends I had made while at the HKU. After sparring with Rik for a while we got the brilliant (and somewhat pompous) idea of chaining studio reservations, to secure a studio for an entire day (09:00-21:00). We gathered some enthousiasts (I think it was Jasper, Jesse (Jacques2) Morris, Maarten, Quinten, Joris and Erdem at first) and made our way to the studio.

Thus, February 01 2024 marked the start of something magical:

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One of my favourite productions to date was made here - Saffraan it is called. I'm sure you'll hear it some time. It's a combination of acoustic recordings and digital synths, meant to build a soothing flow.

Something I came to appreciate very quickly about 9TO9, is the bluntness of drafts and the level at which we dare to challenge ourselves. It's beautiful and it's raw and it's emotional.

And I knew after that day, I would not let that be the only 9TO9—

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1 from the FORM website:

'All Nighter is FORM's flagship event and compilation album series. In this 24-hour challenge, musicians and visual artists submit tracks and album covers they've made within the allotted 24-hour time limit. At the end, we collect around 45 carefully selected submissions into one compilation, hold a community vote to determine the final cover, and then release it on all streaming platforms to raise money for a designated charity.'

2 nicknamed

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Two through five

January 11 2025

And we had so much fun - we hosted five editions during 2024, progressively attempting to aqcuire more studios and editsuites given the growing amount of attendees. We chose themes to guide us but they were not strict in any way, shape or form - creative interpretation is of course to be encouraged.

Some of them were better than others. We produced some gold, don't get me wrong, but there were low moments too; it's exhausting to be spending time with others in this form: listening to (loud) (repetitive) audio, constantly discussing/working together on projects, not eating... You need to take breaks for your mind, your ears, your social battery and your stomach, and if everybody forgets that because they're so driven for their passion - understandable - we all start to become a little crazy. We didn't experience any friction or negative atmospheres at any moment, it's just a lot.

Thus, February 01 2024 marked the start of something magical:

So this is 9TO9 in 2024 - our themes (in Dutch) and dates:

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Betrayal at dawn

January 13 2025

Volume six started with a major setback: the HKU turned out to be closed. I'm so glad Jesse de G is such a hospitable person, because standing there, 09:00, in front of a closed building, I was a bit too lost to take action. He immediately told us we could try to host the day at his place and man - I had not expected that to go anywhere near as well as it did. His house was spacious, friendly and light, and with two floors, there was enough room to split up and safely record. Rik and Jasper arranged a car to get mics and keyboards, and when they came back it all really started to blossom. The first truly sunny day of 2025, and it was a happy one. The first sketch was poor, but that's practically a given, and as the day progressed, so did our quality.

Early in the day I participated in a sketch Jasper and Rik set up, involving guitar, delay(ed drums) and vocals. I was star-struck at the beauty of this very modern KORG synth Jasper brought (minilogue xd), everything I wanted to do with it worked and it had a gorgeous timbre - proud to say that it found its place in their project. Later that day Erdem and I made a groovy track, mainly consisting out of improvised melodies and harmonies, captured quickly and roughly polished.

This was a hectic 9TO9, but it is a perfect example of our competence as a collective, and I'm super proud of that.

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7+8

August 01 2025

Volume seven and eight were both great. We really found our flow and understanding in when we are at our most productive. Some of us work better in the morning, some in the evening. Some prefer to add to many projects, some only stick to one. At the end of these two volumes we finished by hosting a big cypher rap session. Being together for the final hour, laughing at each other's hip hop beats and dutch bars, really was the best idea.

Given the fact that I'm putting a comma on my trajectory at the HKU, we unanimously decided that this would not be the end of 9TO9. In fact, September 09 (09-09-2025) marks the ninth edition of 9TO9–that's gonna be one to remember, and we're definitely gonna keep on going after that.

Here's all the 9TO9s, 2024 + 2025.

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September 09 2025

9OF9

And there was nine. Nine volumes of 9TO9 on the 9-9 day. I'm amazed at all of these people.