3voor12 Leiden – Interview
3voor12 VPRO Leiden — March 2023
Vivienne Aerts studied clinical psychology in Leiden, conducted the children’s choir De Leidse Sleuteltjes, and founded the local branch of the student room festival Stukafest. Though she still keeps a house in Leiden, she has lived in Brooklyn, New York for several years. Originally trained as a jazz composer, soprano, and conductor, Aerts now focuses more on experimental performances that defy genre. After two years of work, her collaborative album Typuhthâng was released on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023. She set it up, wrote, produced, and edited it herself. Two defining features: only women contributed, and each CD version comes with chocolate that supports Congolese cocoa workers.
In the interview, Aerts reflects on her career in both Leiden and New York, the underground experimental scene in Brooklyn, and the differences between performing in the U.S. and the Netherlands. She recounts her time organizing Stukafest Leiden in 2008, when she creatively promoted the event by collecting thousands of socks and turning them into an art installation.
Discussing her artistic process, Aerts emphasizes performance as her deepest source of satisfaction: “Your mission as a musician is to connect. It’s not about ‘look at me,’ it’s about sharing something with reciprocity.”
About Typuhthâng, she explains her vision of albums as complete experiences — with music, a booklet, and the tangible connection of chocolate. The title itself comes from the phrase “type of thing,” reflecting the diverse global influences of the project, with arrangements from Cuba, Sweden, South Korea, and beyond.
She also highlights her collaboration with book designer Natalia Olbinski, who created a striking CD booklet featuring illustrations of cocoa trees, musicians, and Aerts herself, with the first 500 copies printed on handmade cocoa paper.
The project was inspired by the women-run Femmes de Virunga collective in Congo, where 1,500 women grow cocoa under sustainable conditions supported by Original Beans. Aerts explains: “I wanted to show that there are so many incredibly talented women. It’s about visibility and opportunities because you’re good, not just because you’re a woman.”
Soundscapes connect the diverse pieces of the album, many built from recordings by BBC journalist Pennie Taylor, who captured three gigabytes of sounds from Virunga State Park. These were combined with short audio samples from the 100 female musicians who contributed to the project.
The CD includes Pygmy in Mundubiena – Soundscape #4, a track available only on the physical edition, to highlight the tangible link between music and sustainable cocoa production.
For Aerts, the project is already a success: “Every bar of chocolate is a tree. With 300 pre-sold albums, 300 trees are planted, which means an annual income for families in Congo. I’ve already paid all the female professionals involved, and they’re being approached for more work. That’s impact.”
Typuhthâng is available physically (with booklet and chocolate bar) and digitally on Bandcamp, YouTube, and Spotify.
Date
March 8, 2023