27/09/2020 – 16:00
Park Den Brandt
Sound in Motion and Jazz Middelheim teaming up for the first time, presenting a challenging programme with Karen Willems, Frederik Croene, Hanne De Backer, Terrie Ex, Pak Yan Lau, Giovanni Di Domenico, João Lobo, Mathieu Calleja, Teun Verbruggen, Nicolas Rombouts and Tom Lanoye.
The Sound in Motion organisation promotes adventurous music from around the globe by way of concerts (Oorstof), residencies (Visitations), a record label (Dropa Disc) and a yearly festival (Summer Bummer). Connecting young talent with renowned musicians for unique concerts, concert series or residencies is one of the main focal points. Sound in Motion events are organised on a regular base in the superb setting of venues like DE Studio, Het Bos, AB, Trix, De Singer and Zuiderpershuis, and now for the first time in collaboration with the dynamic team behind the acclaimed Jazz Middelheim Festival.
KAREN WILLEMS – FREDERIK CROENE
HANNE DE BACKER – TERRIE EX (replacing Mudskipper)
GOING:
PAK YAN LAU – GIOVANNI DI DOMENICO – JOÃO LOBO – MATHIEU CALLEJA
BLOEDNOOT:
TEUN VERBRUGGEN – NICOLAS ROMBOUTS – TOM LANOYE
“Two different entities with their own language, in search of unity”, that’s how Karen Willems (drummer, composer) and Frederik Croene (piano player, composer) describe their a-typical duo. Willems came to fame with bands like Zita Swoon Group, Novastar and Yuko, started her own band Inwolves. In recent years her pro-active involvement in the world of experimental and improvised music is finding international acclaim.
Though extremely versatile, Croene’s work leans more towards contemporary composed music. He worked with composers like Michael Beil, Stefan Prins and Simon Steen-Andersen and released the stunning and critically acclaimed piano solo Cul-de-Sac (Cortizona) last year. At the end of July Willems and Croene have a week long residency at the Vooruit art center. A first result of this intense meeting will definitely show during their Jazz Middelheim debut.
Due to the increasing travel restrictions and difficulties as a logic consequence of the current Covid-19 wave, both Paal Nilssen-Love and Signe Emmeluth will not be able to make it to Jazz Middelheim 1.5 to perform with Mudskipper. But looking forward already to a very worthy replacement and a world première at that with the dynamic duo of baritone sax player Hanne De Backer (g a b b r o) and Terrie Ex the hyperkinetic guitar player of the legendary punk band The Ex.
Brussels based quartet Going can be seen as double duo of drums and keyboards. The psychedelic ambient sound scapes created on synths, Fender Rhodes and electronics by Pak Yan Lau and Giovanni Di Domenico, infused with a hefty dose of rhythmic pulses by drummers João Lobo and Mathieu Calleja take Going into musical realms as diverse as minimal music and dark ambient to post rock and irresistible groove infected beats.
A trio of words, bass and drums? In Bloednoot author Tom Lanoye and musicians Nicolas Rombouts and Teun Verbruggen cruise somewhere between word racket and prose music. Based on pure intuition the trio excels in a bustling interaction between Lanoye’s randomly picked texts and the musical counteraction by Rombouts and Verbruggen. Preparations are not in order for Bloednoot, jazz and words find common ground in the now. It will either sound or it will collide, there’s no in-between.
Verbruggen is an active participant in the Oorstof concert series, often in the good company of other (inter)national regulars of the series like Jozef Dumoulin, Keiji Haino, Nate Wooley or Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. Now the Bloednoot trio and Oorstof share their passion for ‘the moment’ on the Jazz Middelheim stage.