Category: news

NEWS – Screening The Last Wall by Haider Aljezairi

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On Wednesday 6 July at the Fin! Filmfestival the wonderful film The Last Wall by Haider Aljezairi will screen at Lantarenvenster in Rotterdam.

Haider approached me with his remarkable project at the beginning of this year. He was about to travel to Kuwait and Iraq to film a fictional film with a local crew and actors nearby a conflict zone. The film is about local villagers having to leave their homes and families to fight against ISIS. The script is based on a true story and is filmed at the locations were it took place with a crew and actors that have experienced events like the one the film is based on firsthand.

When he first told me the details I was very surprised by the sheer ambition and adventure of his plan. To be honest, I was even a bit skeptical if he could pull it off. At the same time I was so curious about the material he was going to shoot, that I immediately promised to help him out with the sounddesign of his project. The result is this wonderful short film that has combines a local setting and atmosphere with a universal story about the basic human need of shelter.

Haider Aljezairi has a remarkable life story himself. He lived in a lot of different places in the Middle East and used to be a war correspondent during the last Iraqi war. In the Netherlands he started a new life, learned to speak Dutch flawlessly within a couple of years and studied movie direction at the Willem de Kooning Academy. He is undeniably a great talent and I am very curious to see what his next project is going to be.

 

NEWS – release Zen app

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Recently I designed a bell sound for a Zen meditation app for Zen.nl. I had lots of fun doing it. The sound is based on a recording of an original Japanese templebell which is very hard to reproduce on a telephone speaker.

If you’re into Zen and have the need for a wonderful timer, check the app out at the iTunes Store or at the Google Play Store.

NEWS – One Minute Blues – Gustan Asselbergs

 

Gustan het beest

I’m proud to announce the release of the ‘One Minute Blues’ by Gustan Asselbergs. The project is an exploration of the fictional phenomenon of the music that is played in the Dutch coastal city of IJmuiden. In between production runs the molds that were used in the blast furnaces of the local industrial steel factory needed to cool down for a minute . This lost minute initiated an acoustic blues practice in which workers developed a strong, grooving, rough sound that started the IJmuiden tradition in Dutch blues music.

Gustan Asselbergs is a Dutch writer and musician. The One Minute Blues project consists of a beautiful limited edition notebook with short stories and a cd with ‘found field recordings’ from the IJmuiden blues tradition.

The cd is mixed and mastered by me.

1446480978It will be available online and at the Haarlem bookstore Athenaeum.

Gustan will read from his work at the ‘Avond van het korte verhaal‘ (‘Night of the short story’) on Friday 19 February at bookstore Pantheon in Amsterdam.

NEWS – UPDATE – Steve Edwards Project

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Last week I’ve recorded Steve Edwards’ jazz sextet at Arnold Mühren Studio in Volendam. Working with great musicians in such a wonderful space as the Mühren Studio is an absolute privilege. The London jazzscene is alive and kicking, that’s for sure.

Arnold Mühren and his son Patrick are the driving force behind the studio. They have been accommodating the greatest musical projects for decades and have tons of great stories to tell. The place has been rebuilt a couple of times over the years and has one of the best sounding medium sized live rooms I’ve ever worked in. Every little workflow is thought out and most of it is custom made. The passion driving a place like this sparks creativity and I would like to thank the guys for their hospitality and inspiration.

The project will soon be mixed and released. I will post again as soon as dates are being announced.

Photos by Katrin Magrowitz

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NEWS – London jazz project – Steve Edwards

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I’m very happy to report that in February London based jazz composer Steve Edwards will travel to Amsterdam with a wonderful band to record an album. I will produce it and preproduction is happening right now.

Steve Edwards is no stranger to the London jazzscene. He has been playing saxophones and composing for decades and he has now decided to collect a great group of musicians to finally record an album with his own music. While clearly influenced by modern jazzheros like Billy Strayhorn, Archie Shepp, and Wayne Shorter, his music also contains flavours from hiphop and Caribbean rhythms. The fact that Steve has been travelling the world from an early age to see generations of great players perform, not only makes him an incredible resource on all things jazz, but also comes through in his own highly original compositions.

Personnel:

Steve Edwards – saxophones
Samuel Eagles – alto sax
Duncan Eagles – tenor sax
Eric Ford – drums
Sam Leak – piano
Max Luthert – bass

 

NEWS – exhibition at IDEA festival – 7 november

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On november 7 the film ‘Beams’ will be screened at the philosophy festival ‘IDEA’. This film is the result of a collaboration with visual artist Rosa Johanna. I made a soundscape that will be played with the film.

Beams ,2015 Series of 5, 2/5 Film screening I installation

Lloyd Hotel, Cultural Ambassy Amsterdam

07-11-2015

15.30 h – 16.00 h
20.00 h – 20.30 h
20.45 h – 21.15 h

Visual artist Rosa Johanna researches the borders of the canvas. This research is based on the canvas but expend to video works, performances and curatori- al activities. In her research to artists like Lygia Clark and Agnes Martin she searches to the border of art disciplines and how lines do relate to a bigger universe.