Biography
Boyz in Parx consisted of Robby Horsfall and Peter van Garderen. Our intense friendship and musical collaboration lasted from approximately 1983 to somewhere in 1993. Robby also has had a musical collaboration with Menko Konings in the band 'No Honey From These' and has played in 'Plastic Cocon'. In 1980 I founded the band 'Nine Circles' with Lidia 'The Rose' which lasted up to and including 1983. In ten years time Robby and I have made about thirty songs that have never been released. On this first album I have digitized ten songs covering a wide scope of our repertoire from the original cassettes. Each recording was played live at my home studio in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam.
Most of the songs were recorded on two tape decks with the use of a simple Sony mixer with two inputs. Further we used a Sanox echo, a Korg delay, the Yamaha CS-30, a vintage Philicorda organ from 1963, the Yamaha PortaSound PC-100 (also used by Tuxedomoon I saw them playing it live in Paradiso in the song "Desire" with the organ sound), the Boss Dr. Rhythm and the Roland Drumatix TR-606 (loved it!), an Ibanez bass guitar, the Casiotone polyphonic synthesizer 202, the Fender Telecaster and a Shure microphone. In the later period we used the Teac 4-tracks portastudio from Robby and the Korg O1/WFD on which I also played guitar in the song ‘Nature’s Way’. Often I recorded a bass track with the CS-30 to a rhythm track from the Boss Dr. Rhythm and then we went on it. We also made bass tracks together with the Roland Drumatix TR-606 which Robby operated. Usually I played a second batch and then Robby wrote a text and started singing and later sometimes sang double vocals. On the last take I played the synth always trying to support the vocals of Robby. In that aspect ‘Temptation’ is a very special number in which the power of the song is completely inserted into the song and the lyrics, which I only supported with the keyboards as reinforcement for the vocals. It is a very powerful song in it’s simplicity with a beautiful and strong bass underneath. A gem that touches me every time, especially by Robby’s lyrics and vocals. He had a beautiful voice and sang breathtakingly well. I loved playing the solos on the CS-30. An analog monophonic synthesizer with catchy bass sounds and beautiful strings and a little sister of the iconic Yamaha CS-80 used in ‘Blade Runner’ by Vangelis. It has two VCO’s, VCF’s and VCA’s. Because the CS-30 is a monophonic synthesizer I often plugged in the PC-100 polyphonic mini Yamaha PortaSound with just 10 preset sounds in the external of the CS-30, sometimes mastered by the Dr. Rhythm which often resulted in very distinct and unusual sounds and rhythms. In many songs we used polyphonic chords of the PC-100, particularly the harpsichord, the organ, the violin and the piano, and in that respect it has been very decisive for our sound. Robby's Telecaster made it complete which he played sublime. We also have held Crazy Dance jam sessions and Moving Fascination anthems for next releases. That was with the Dr. Rhythm plugged into the CS-30 to give a very special dance-like bass track.
Robby’s lyrics were about love, sex, romance and passion but also went about worldly themes and were brilliant as he was brilliant at playing the guitar. For years I looked for the lost song ‘Crippled Emotions’ and when I finally found it again two years ago, a single take of good quality on one tape had been preserved, I was thrilled. What a brilliant text that still is so actual nowadays! In that song the guitar of Robby is simply superb in it’s simplicity. It was at that time that our friendship was beginning to fade because we both took to another side of our lives. After that we recorded our last song ‘Nature’s Way’ which is on this album and we went our separate ways somewhere in '94.
So ended a very special friendship that will stay with me forever and lives forth in our music. After all those years I wanted to share this music with you and I hope you will enjoy it. Robby and I surely did while making it, and I know he would be pleased with this album.
Peter van Garderen Amsterdam, March 2017