gerd

Gert-Jan Bijl operates under the alias Gerd and is chiefly recognized as half of the Rotterdam techno pair Sensurreal. The bulk of his artistic efforts remain tied to that project, shared with longtime partner Dirk-Jan Hanegraaf; the duo has placed recordings on Prime, Beam Me Up!, and Op-Art. Because the Sensurreal studio occupies space inside Bijl’s own residence, spare-time experimentation has steadily built a separate catalog of solo work. Selections from that catalog first surfaced in 1994 as 12-inches issued on Jochem “Speedy J” Paap’s since-shuttered Beam Me Up! imprint. On a single day shortly afterward, two further singles appeared simultaneously via the respected British imprints Pork and Universal Language. Bijl’s lone productions stay close to the atmospheric, tuneful breakbeat techno familiar from Sensurreal, yet they incorporate a stronger funk influence and a clearer debt to downtempo hip-hop, most noticeably on the self-titled Pork release. Universal Language later issued the full-length album The Touch Is Greater Than Moods in 1997. Bijl continued to employ the Gerd moniker into the following decade, delivering High Wide and Wonderful! in 2001 and a collection of remixes two years later.