Vaag – Vague (DETUND): Glitch Patterns from Haarlem’s IDM Architect
Digital Disassembly with Feeling
Label: Detroit Underground
Released: 2025
Format: Digital
🎧 Listen / Buy on Bandcamp →
Vaag, aka Marc Brinkerink, isn’t new to this. He’s been simmering in the deep waters of glitch and post-IDM abstraction for a while now, quietly crafting intricate, minimal chaos from his Haarlem-based lab. A graphic designer by trade and modular explorer by passion, he approaches sound like a fragmented grid system – precise, yet constantly shifting. His 2025 feature in Igloo Mag laid it all out: deep love for digital fragmentation, steady influence from early Autechre, and a dedication to keeping the glitch sharp but soulful.
His latest offering, Vague, lands on the ever-shapeshifting Detroit Underground (aka DETUND), and it hits that sweet spot between mechanical precision and human fuzz. If you’re into early Warp Records gearhead releases, Raster-Noton circuitry, or the Clean Error/Encrepit Records side of things, this EP is for you.
Controlled Glitchwork and Improvised Precision
From the jump, Vague keeps its structure loose but smart. The beats don’t loop in the traditional sense, they shift, break, reshape. It’s like the patterns have a mind of their own but still remember what you were dancing to 20 seconds ago. This style is tough to pull off without losing the listener, but Vaag does it smoothly, letting tracks like “Like A –” evolve in real time, building tension with fragmented vocal samples repeating the titular phrase (“like a…”) as the rhythm morphs underneath it.
That track especially feels like a small performance, sequencing and programming at work, not just a DAW grid on playback. Very much that “let it run and build” energy you’ve talked about before, where drum patterns start as texture and gradually become the spine of the track.
Across the EP, melodies take a backseat to rhythmic texture and tonal experimentation. It’s not melodic in a conventional sense, it’s more about the motion and the texture of rhythm, how it’s processed, how it unfolds. Beautifully smeared glitch drums, subtle reverb tweaks, heavy use of EQ sculpting… but it never feels over-processed or bloated.
Machines Behind the Mayhem
If you check out Vaag’s Instagram, he doesn’t keep his gear a secret. You’ll catch him messing around with the Polyend Tracker, Digitone II, and the elusive SYNTH DWA engine. That combination makes sense – gritty FM tones, precision sequencing, and just enough instability to keep things interesting. It’s clear he builds tracks by ear more than template. There’s a tactile, human feel in how things lock in and fall apart.
And yeah, you can hear it all here. There’s no traditional “drop” or chorus-verse-chorus structure. Tracks like “i’m hearing voices” or “520ST” are more like modular snapshots – each one a slightly different software state or circuit behavior.
The record isn’t long, but it’s dense. A lot of these pieces end abruptly – like they were caught mid-boot and shut down before they could loop. It adds to the experimental vibe without feeling unfinished.
Vague Review Metrics™
Beat Entropy Level: 🔁🔁🔁🔁.5/5
Patterns don’t loop – they evolve. It’s freeform sequencing with just enough familiarity to stay grounded.
Glitch Grit Factor: 🧹🪵🪨🧱🧱/5
Crunchy in the best way. No sterile noise here – each sound is textural and reactive.
Autechre Ghost Energy: 👻👻👻👻/5
Not a clone, but the influence is real – those early Chiastic Slide era chops, but with its own drift.
Modular Feel Index: 🎛️🎛️🎛️🎛️/5
You can tell this wasn’t just arranged, it was performed. Feels live, even in the abstraction.
Length-to-Depth Ratio: 7.7/10
Short runtime, but stacked with detail. Every track hits a pocket.
This EP doesn’t reinvent the glitch wheel but it polishes it, filters it through rust, and lets it roll unpredictably across the floor. Vague is a continuation of the best parts of IDM’s experimental roots: not sterile laptop click-tech, but music that moves and breathes with the gear.
Marc (aka Vaag) doesn’t need to impress with flashy transitions or overly ornate processing. He flexes subtly, through rhythm play, tone shifting, and spatial restraint. These aren’t bangers. They’re sonic puzzles. And the more you listen, the more you notice.
Massive props to Kero and the DETUND camp for putting this one out. Always good to see artists like Vaag getting the spotlight – especially when they keep pushing glitch into new forms without losing what made it fun in the first place.