Grouper, the moniker of musician/vocalist and sound artist Liz Harris, continues to bewilder with the most basic resources: a voice, one instrument and the ambience of her surroundings. Her sparse compositions occupy an intimate space between sound and song, with performances transcending the relationship between performer and listener, offering a meditative and restorative experience.
Trixie Whitley’s prismatic artistry reflects electronica, R&B, the vulnerable ethos of singer-songwriters, and the unapologetic individuality of punk rock. Although her previous effort reflects her broad tastes, it is with her latest that Trixie creates a transcendent musical miscellany. She sits confidently at the intersection between introspection, Avantgarde and pure unadulterated pop.
DeWolff consider themselves “three old souls in a young body” who play every show as if it were the last damn show on earth. With six studio albums and a live album under their belt, in only eight years of existence, it’s obvious that Robin Piso and the brothers Van der Poel have no intent on slowing down. DeWolff is an ode to sixties / seventies titans like Deep Purple, Focus and The Allman Brothers, and at the same time the new evolutionary branch.
At a time of great uncertainty, it helps to surround yourself with those things you trust, and so marks the timely return of the reliably brilliant Nick Mulvey. His standout debut album, First Mind, in 2015 was the introduction of an artist who shirked the conventional and side-stepped the expected. It was a record of opposing shades, all leftfield rhythms, and harnessing an exquisitely natural guitarist doing extraordinary things, painting unique colours across a very moreish collection of songs. It was quite peerless, and translated to the stage alongside fine collection of talented players that formed his band.
Klangstof is a dynamic Norwegian / Dutch band led by Koen van de Wardt. Dynamic is the magic word: the group sounds as fragile as glass at times, other songs rise like raging flying cars through Blade Runner-like futuristic structures. Like his hero Thom Yorke, Van de Wardt tends to feelings of unrest, alienation and isolation.
Hallelujah! The legendary The Jesus and Mary Chain is finally coming back to Rotterdam! The Scottish band has been one of the most influential groups of the Northern Hemisphere for almost 35 years. Characteristic is their abrasive guitar pounce, which sounds as if they’re being destroyed by a shredder in an industrial building. Hidden under that hailstorm of fuzz are honey-like pop melodies that stick to you like cotton candy.
The deep, guttural voice of Mavis Staples is an omnipresent force that transcends both generations and musical boundaries. In the 1950s, Staples became the face of influential music family The Staples Singers, one of the first to combine protest songs with gospel music. Since the sixties, she has been a celebrated and prolific singer, working with legends such as Bob Dylan, Prince and Curtis Mayfield. And more recently with contemporary greats like Gorillaz, Arcade Fire and Wilco-frontman Jeff Tweedy.
Heather Nova keert terug naar Rotterdam voor een speciale akoestische set in Arminius. Nova heeft in de jaren negentig een iconische status geworven met prachtalbums als Oyster and Siren. Kenmerkend in haar loopbaan zijn die kraakheldere stem, spannende arrangementen (Nova begon als visuele kunstenaar en schrijfster van filmmuziek) en veelzijdigheid. College rock, folk, country en donkere pop passen feilloos in haar brede vocabulaire.
Kristian Matsson, The Tallest Man On Earth, plays small autumnal songs about big themes as if his life depends on it. The Swedish troubadour returns in 2018 with a special audiovisual project called The Bird Sees The Solid Ground. Matsson connects songs to a series of self-directed clips. The clips contain images made during the winter, autumn and summer in the USA and Sweden.
Dit bijzondere all-star kwartet met grote namen uit de Amerikaanse jazz bestaat uit Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman en Eric Harland. De musici delen een fascinatie voor liedstructuur, groove en eigentijdse invloeden. Songs met een kop en een staart. De muziek is ritmisch en technisch complex, en tegelijkertijd rijk aan harmonie en melodie, en dwingend qua emoties.
De gouden formule van De Likt is inmiddels bekend: de lompe, betonnen beats van Giorgi Kuiper en John van Beek zijn het ideale speelveld voor frontman Jordy Dijkshoorn’s ongeveinsde Rotterdamse flow. Het beroep ‘entertainer’ staat Dijkshoorn net zo passend op het lijf geschreven als de glitterhotpants die hij graag op het podium draagt. De Likt overstijgt elk genre, doelgroep en regel op de meest krankzinnige manier denkbaar en laat na iedere show een spoor van lichaamssappen achter.
Ólafur Arnalds is a renowned Icelandic composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Arnalds has been active for years with leading London-based label Erased Tapes; he forms movements such as neo-classical, minimal, experimental techno and post-rock into his own, completely unique vocabulary.
Het Engels-Amerikaanse duo Young Gun Silver Fox verraste eind 2015 met hun debuutalbum ‘West End Coast’, een plaat vol zonovergoten palmbomensoftrock die rechtstreeks uit het Los Angeles van de 70s lijkt te komen. Producer Shawn Lee (componist van filmmuziek) en zanger Andy Platts (frontman van de soulband Mamas Gun) wisten niet alleen de superbe studiosound van acts als Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs en Hall & Oates te evenaren, maar schreven ook ijzersterke songs.
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