On April 6th the Dropa House residency officially opened it’s doors. Marieke D’Hose and Stanzy Cresens, Bart van Dongen, Ornella Noulet and Grégoire Tirtiaux and Daniel Levin where the first artists in an exemplary one day residency.

And the next Dropa House artists-in-residence are already emerging:
First in line on May 9th are Tashi Dorji and De Vlaamse Primitieven  getting a chance to explore, record and collaborate in the spontaneous setting of Dropa House, before stepping out for a show at POM in Eindhoven on May 10th. Dorji will also join Terrie Ex on May 11th at Occii in Amsterdam.

On May 9th from 19:00 until 22:00 we organize Sneak Peek 2, an evening where you can discover what Dropa House is all about, have some nice food and drinks and enjoy an exclusive live session by Tashi Dorji and De Vlaamse Primitieven. Tickets are limited, get yours while they last !

Tashi Dorji (BT/US)

Bhutanese guitar player Tashi Dorji is without any doubt one of the most original improvisors of the moment. His first appearance in the Oorstof series in 2015 – also his first European concert ever – and the following European tour as guest and support of  Godspeed You! Black Emperor was a real triumph. In 2021, Dorji and his fellow improvisors Dave Rempis and Tyler Damon unleashed Kuzu upon the POM and SiM/Oorstof crowd followed by a magical solo acoustic set at Summer Bummer in 2022 and one of the best and most intense sets ever at Summer Bummer in 2023 in a duo with Susie Ibarra.

Dorji took in free improvised music for the first time while studying in the U.S., where he still resides. It’s there that Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) discovered his exceptional talent as guitar player and improvisor. Chasny started the Hermit Hut label in 2014 in order to release Dorji’s Debut album. Though often compared to legends like John Fahey or Derek Bailey, Dorji remains very modest.

In the mean time Dorji started a series of very successful collaborations with artists like Mette Rasmussen, Tyler Damon, Dave Rempis, C. Spencer Yeh, Michael Zerang, Susie Ibarra, Aki Onda and released solo works on fine labels like VDSQ and Drag City. We will be wherever the fires are lit, his most recent release for Drag City, is a sort of sequel to  Stateless. Dorji takes the torch and storms forward, with ten improvised acoustic guitar anthems. These musical thoughts are torn from the fabric of his life and music. “Strumming in opposition to the towers” (as he puts it) is part of an existence that is always political, even in its most abstract iterations — a truth laid bare in these deep, raw performances.

De Vlaamse Primitieven (BE)

De Vlaamse Primitieven is the alter ego of Antwerp-based guitar players Jan Boudart  and Freek Vreys. After they studied jazz guitar, they discovered a common love for 60’s psychedelia, ethnic-drones, minimalism and the music of American primitive guitar players like John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Glenn Jones and the likes. They studied these masters and developed an obsession to not only keep this beautiful tradition of guitar playing alive, but also to mix the ‘American primitivism’ with British folk, jazz, drones and other genres.

Boudart and Vreys shared the stage and collaborated with mainstays like Glenn Jones, Jon Collin, Chris Rainier, Hellvete, Gwenifer Raymond, Dennis Tyfus, Pat Murano, Nina Garcia and Tashi Dorji, toured with Liam Grant & Kadunnot Manner, and curate their own concert series at Antwerps Café Multatuli. In March 2025 they presented the critically acclaimed debut album Lucht van een Andere Planeet recorded by Venediktos Tempelboom on Pang Pang Records/Carbon Records.