Sudoku
It is such a pleasure to introduce my first solo album to all of you: Sudoku. In 2015 I have had several recording sessions in the Warning Studio’s, with the wonderful engineer Björn Warning.
Some tracks I recorded in layers by myself and on the other tracks I invited inspiring musical friends: Oguz Büyükberber, Mark Haanstra, Miriam Overlach and Matteo Mijderwijk. The album has been released 26 May on the ZenneZ Records Label Night (Miles, Amersfoort). Now I am playing a tour linked to the album release. Most of these concerts are based around my duos with Mark Haanstra and Matteo Mijderwijk. (more info at: concerts).
Here are the tour dates
- 15 May Jazz in Duketown – duo with Matteo Mijderwijk
- 26 May Zennez Release Night in Miles, Amersfoort (Solo set with electronics)
- 29 May Gemeente Bibliotheek Den Haag – with Mark Haanstra and Indu Panday (Indian dance)
- 10 June Pletterij, Haarlem – with Mark Haanstra & George Dumitriu & Sanem Kalfa
- 15 June Lola Luid! Amsterdam – with Matteo Mijderwijk and Kenzo Kusuda (dans)
- 17 June Paradox, Tilburg – with Matteo
- 9 July Tilburg te Water, with Mark Haanstra
- 23 July Wonderfeel Festival, with Mark Haanstra
- 24 July Beauforthuis, Austerlitz, with Mark Haanstra and Rembrandt Frerichs
- 11 Sept Enkhuizen, with Mark Haanstra
- 17 Sept Sijthoff, Leiden, with Mark Haanstra and Rembrandt Frerichs
- 18 Sept Nootstop, Tilburg, with Mark Haanstra and Bram Stadhouders
- 23 Sept Vredenburg, Utrecht with Mark Haanstra and George Dumitriu
- 23 Oct De Vermaning, Zaandam with Mark Haanstra and Matteo Mijderwijk
- 25 March 2017 Orgelpark, Amsterdam, with Mark Haanstra and Matteo Mijderwijk
- 26 Oct 2017 Portugese Synagoge, Amsterdam, with Mark Haanstra
More background info
For many years I have been fantasizing about recording a solo album, but each time my focus was on playing with my main bands and composing chamber music.
This changed when a symphonic metal project brought me to the studio of Björn Warning. Immediately, I felt that I wanted to record my solo project with Björn as the recording engineer/fellow producer. Since then, every day that I worked with him in making the album, I left the studio with a smile on my face. It became a personal quest in which I made new plans after each recording session on what side of my personality I wanted to show now, what I could compose next and how I was going to challenge myself in the next session.
My goal was to give every piece its own identity: complementary grooves, oriental melodies, math metal, desolate soundscapes, expressionism. Some music was inspired by (befriended) musicians: Theotuma by Theo Holsheimer (guitarist), Oleg by Oleg Fateev (Bayan player), and Tabjörn by Graig Taborn (pianist).
Other music was inspired by cities and journeys: (Metro al Madina is a venue in Beirut, Maribor is a city in Slovenia). Landscapes and structures found in nature have also influenced me: (Polderlucht, Dew Drops on a Spider’s Web).
Sudoku and Sudoku 2 are both based on rhythmical cycles with different internal pulses. Rhythm in Indian music is the main source of inspiration here. After recording several pieces in layers, it was a big pleasure to invite some of my favorite musicians to play compositions or improvisations in a duo setting. Mark, Oguz, Miriam and Matteo: Thanks a lot for your inspiring contributions!
And for the listeners: I hope to include you in my personal musical story.
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