LOST TRACKS

We are sharing some 'lost tracks' on our Kleefstra Bros Bandcamp. Well, some that did not appear in ‘our online store’ so far. One is 'Land' by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra, music for the short film 'Land' by Rei Hayama. Other tracks are Bernehân, Stienrinner, Snie en Rein by Piiptsjilling, and Marwylgen by LJERKE. You can listen/purchase the tracks on our Bandcamp page.

'LAND' SCREENED IN SLOVAKIA

Tsjinlûd worked together with some Japanese film artists in November 2015. Together we made film and music in the province of Friesland and toured the Netherlands with it. Rei Hayama was amongst the film artists and made the short movie 'Land', with music and poetry by Tsjinlûd. 'Land' will be screened on the 26th of May in BANSKÁ ST A NICA (BSC) in Banská Štiavnica, in the Central Slovakia, two hours by car from Bratislava. 'LAND' will be shown at Galérie Jozefa Kollára for the opening of the photo exhibition of Peter Granser. 

 

LIVE

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra live:

22-04-17: Haarlem (NL) -Pletterij
08-06-17: Den Haag (NL) - Studio Loos  

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra recently released Dage, Desimber and Dize. Check out our Bandcamp for these and more releases.

SMALL UK-TOUR KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA

After the release of Dage, Desimber and Dize it is time for Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra to hit the stage. We will do so April 14th up to the 16th in the UK. First up is London on Friday the 14th, where we play in IKLECTIK. On Saturday the 15th we're in Stround on the Resound Festival. Sunday the 16th we're on the Fat Out Fest in Manchester. Hope to see on one of these dates (or all three).

14-04-17: London - IKLECTIK
15-04-17: Stroud - Resound Festival
16-04-17: Manchester - Fat Out Festival 

Also two Dutch dates coming up: April 22nd we're in Pletterij Haarlem and on June 8th in The Hague in Studio Loos.

NEW CD: DIZE BY KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA

The 8th album by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra is out now! It is called 'Dize' and it is released on cd by Midira Records, that also published Piiptsjilling's 'Moarntiids' in 2014. Dize is "the twin" of Dage, that was released on cassette, late last November by Low Point. Both records are descended from the same recording sessions. Just like Dage, Dize contains four tracks; very dark, very slow and pretty much restrained. We wouldn't know how to describe them otherwise... Dize can be ordered at the Midira shop.

PRE-ORDER KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA'S DIZE

February 17th Midira Records will release Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra's 8th album 'Dize' on cd. Dize is Dage's twin-album, recorded during the same studio sessions a while ago. Dize is up for pre-order at the Midira shop, It comes in a very limited release of only 180 copies (plus unlimited downloads off course). Midira also offers a special limited pre-order bundle including Piiptsjilling's very fine 4th cd-album 'Moarntiids', published in 2014 and sold out on our own Bandcamp! With Dize we complete the "D-thing trilogy" of Dage, Desimber and Dize, more or less.

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra will do a short UK-tour in April, check our live dates for that.

KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA ON 'VAN ONDEREN'

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra will play the 'Van Onderen' festival on January 8th. 'Van Onderen' is a 24 hour lasting festival in Paradiso Amsterdam, featuring loads of Dutch underground like The Ex, Yuko Yuko, Kanipchen-Fit, Dead Neanderthals and many more. The festival starts on January 7th at 12.00 p.m. and ends January 8th at 12.00 p.m.
If you want to see KBK perform beware we're playing January 8th at 10.00 in the morning (coffee time) on the main stage of the venue. We're part of the curated programme [f]luister, also featuring Machinefabriek with Anne Bakker and Rutger R. Muller with Wen Chin Fu. Hope to see you there.

LAST YEAR AND NEXT

The hiatus of about 1,5 year in releasing new stuff since Piiptsjilling's Slieperswaar may have been somewhat disconcerting, we've heard. Hope we made up for that a bit at the end of 2016. It's been a good year music wise, with all different projects we're in on stage and/or releasing.

2016 started off with a small tour by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra joining Danny Saul. With K|B|K we also released two new albums: studio-album Dage (Low Point) and the live-album Desimber (Tombed Visions). Both were released on cassette and are also available as downloads. There's another K|B|K-release on its way and that is Dage's twin-album 'Dize', soon to be released on cd by Midira Records. K|B|K will perform live in January (Paradiso Amsterdam) and April (UK).

2016 was also the year of Tsjinlûd's first album, which consists out of a book and cd. The group also performed a few times in a changing line-up, including the collaboration with the Portuguese poets Raquel Lima and Nuno Garcia, and cellist Joana Guerra. Joana also teamed up with The Alvaret Ensemble, during its tour through the Netherlands and Belgium. A fine tour, about time too, which we closed with two days of recording, what will lead to a new album, set for (hopefully) next autumn.

Also Piiptsjilling recorded new work and even did a rare (recorded) live gig. From both we'll be extracting releases, one soon, the other somewhat later in 2017. And that's not all, because new in 2016 was the LJERKE-project, in which Kleefstra|Pruiksma|Kleefstra was joined by the great Norwegian musicians Alexander Rishaug, Hilde Marie Holsen and Michael Duch. With LJERKE we also did a very, very fine tour and spend two days recording, which will lead to an album release in 2017 too.

So, that's it for 2016 and quite a bit for 2017. More to come. Tsjoch!

NEW RELEASE: DESIMBER BY KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA

Tombed Visions Records released the 7th album by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra (KBK) on December 1st. It is called 'Desimber' (Frisian for December) and it was recorded in December last year when the trio was doing a short tour in the Netherlands. Side A of the cassette contains a show that was recorded in Leiden, side B contains a show recorded in The Hague. Both recordings were mixed and mastered by Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek/Piiptsjilling).

You can order 'Desimber' on Tombed Visions' Bandcamp. KBK released a tape like this, with two gigs, once before. It was called 'Live March 2012' and we've got just a few copies left. If you're interested, check our Bandcamp. Low Point just released KBK's studio album 'Dage'. You can order 'Dage' on Low Point's Bandcamp.

More KBK coming up. There is another studio album on the way. Keep an eye on Midira Records for that one. KBK plays the Dutch underground festival 'Van Onderen' in Paradiso Amsterdam on January 8th. In April KBK will do a few gigs in the UK, including the Fat Out Fest in Manchester!

NEW: 6th ALBUM KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA: DAGE

November 24th saw the release of Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra's (KBK) 6th album 'Dage'. It's released by Low Point as a grey cassette tape in a limited edition of only a 100 copies. 'Dage' contains four slow and dark pieces, typical KBK, but even more minimal and restrained than ever before. It's great to be back on Low Point again, that also released KBK's 2nd (vinyl) album 'Griis'.

To order 'Dage', go to Low Point's Bandcamp. More KBK-releases on the way!

BUCKET LIST

Meanwhile the Kleefstra Bros are making plans for this autumn and winter, involving different collaborations and bands. First of all Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra will be releasing new albums, planned for late summer and October. Meanwhile Piiptsjilling will hit the Landscape Studio again in the original line-up. Tsjinlûd's debut release is delayed. The collective is aiming for November now to release the book plus cd with photography, paintings, drawings, poetry of all members. Before that Kleefstra|Pruiksma|Kleefstra will do several performances early November with an artist-in-residence project involving a few great Norwegian musicians and video-artists from the Netherlands and Iceland. One month later The Alvaret Ensemble can be seen live in the Netherlands and Belgium. As usual the quartet will be joined with some extra musicians and there are plans for new recordings. That might not be all, so stay tuned. More later...

KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA LIVE IN GENT

March 19th Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra will be headlining the Cosmic Nights festival in Gent, Belgium. This festival takes places in the church Sint-Vincent Cultuurkapel and also features Premonition Factory (NL), Rhea (B), Serge Devadder (GER), Ian Mantripp (UK) and Defile Andante (B). More info on the Cosmic Nights facebooksite.

NEW PIECES BY KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA

Recently two new pieces by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra were published on two superb compilation albums. Last fall the Rope To The Sky anniversary compilation by Ambient Blog contained the track Widzjende Treast (Bandcamp). On January 3rd Dronarivm Records published the free New Year's compilation Into The White. This contained an edit of a K|B|K-track called Oant Safier (Bandcamp). Have a listen. A new K|B|K-album is set for this spring.

KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA LIVE WITH DANNY SAUL

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra hits the stage again in January. We'll do three dates in the Netherlands, accompanying Danny Saul. We start off on January 13th in Amsterdam on a West Wednesdays eve, also featuring French guitarist Justin Lépany. Then we head on to Savelbergklooster in Heerlen for a (h)ear eve on Januari 14th, where Anne Chris Bakker will also do a solo performance.

13-01: Amsterdam (NL) - West Wednesday | Hallenkwartier
14-01: Heerlen (NL) - Savelbergklooster
15-01: Leeuwarden (NL) - Neushoorn
17-01: Drachten (NL) - De Lawei

Meanwhile Danny Saul will give a workshop/lecture at the Academy for Pop Culture in the town of Leeuwarden, where the whole bunch will perform on Friday the 15th. Together with students Danny will work on new stuff, which will be performed live on January the 17th in De Lawei in the town of Drachten, where a Klanklânskippen afternoon takes place. That's the last date of the short tour.

Hope to see you at one of these venues! And listen to this new work by K|B|K!

LAST YEAR AND NEXT

While 2014 was a year of quite a few releases, in 2015 we only published Slieperswaar with Piiptsjilling. Though, Jan published three collections of poems within a year; two Dutch collections (Melk Druppen, Raafverwantschap) and one Frisian (Sniefellen). Meanwhile we joined the Tsjinlûd collective, recorded an album with it and were part of the great artist in residence project Klanklânskippen Japan, featuring Rei Hayama, Takashi Makino, Osamu Sakamoto and Kei Shichiri (see picture). The recordings will be published next year as a book plus cd, with poetry, paintings and photography by all Tsjinlûd members. Also the movies made during the Klanklânskippen project will be released in the near future.

What more 2016 will bring? Well, we'll also release new material by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra, we'll be performing now and then with Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra and Tsjinlûd and hope to record more new stuff, for instance with Piiptsjilling. We also hope to be involved in another 'Klanklânskippen artist in residence project' again. So, mainly new releases, gigs, projects and probably more to come... Keep an eye on the blog or Romke's facebook.

KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA LIVE

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra is doing four gigs this month. We start off on December 10th in Studio Loos in The Hague as part of an Ephémère evening. Next day we're in Sittard, where we play the pop stage VOLT, accompanying the great trio Dikeman/Noble/Serries. On the 12th we're in Amsterdam, where we are sharing the stage with Glice in the very nice venue De Ruimte. Last but not least we'll be playing De Vrijplaats in Leiden, together with Machinefabriek.

10-12-15: Den Haag (NL) - Studio Loos
11-12-15: Sittard (NL) - Poppodium Volt
12-12-15: Amsterdam (NL) - De Ruimte
19-12-15: Leiden (NL) - Vrijplaats

Interested in new work by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra? We released one new track just recently on the anniversary compilation of AmbientBlog. That new track, called Widzjende Treast. A new album is set for next Spring.

JAN KLEEFSTRA @ PORTUGAL SLAM

From September 24th-26th Jan Kleefstra will be part of the International Festival of Poetry and Performance in Lissabon. He will perform reciting solo, give a workshop and be part of a debat on various locations. The film 'Sinne op 'e wangen', made by Sabine Bürger with music and poetry by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra, will be part of the exhibition 'Silencio Improvavel, Poesia Experimentada' in the Sociedade Guilherme Cossoul in Lissabon, opening September 26th. More info on the site of Portugal Slam.

ARJAN HUT | ROMKE KLEEFSTRA | ANNE-CHRIS BAKKER LIVE

March 13th Romke Kleefstra and Anne-Chris Bakker will do a one-off gig with the poet Arjan Hut, in the context of Swalk, a traveling festival in the Dutch province of Fryslân. Swalk contains several projects on location of which 'It museum fan binnenút' (The museum from the inside out) is one. It's a crossover of painters and writers that worked together in and got inspired by the Frisian nature museum; it's nature historical collection and the beautiful monument it's located in. One of the writers is poet Arjan Hut. Together with Romke and Anne-Chris he will do an impro of music and spoken work during the opening of the exhibition and the presentation of the book with poems and drawings made for the project. So, 'kleefbakkerhut', March 13th, 16.00 h, Natuurmuseum Fryslân, Leeuwarden.

THE LAST POST (OF THE YEAR)

Each year we look back a little, and a bit ahead. 2014 was mainly a year of quite some releases for the Kleefstra Bros.

In February the dvd Sinne op 'e Wangen saw the light of day. A delightful, meditative video by Sabine Bürger to a pitch black soundscape by Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra. Also Piiptsjilling said hi briefly with a new freebie on its Bandcamp.
In March Skeylja was released by Denovali Records; The Alvaret Ensemble with the great Icelandic musicians Kira Kira, Eiki Olafsson, Ingi Erlendsson and Borgar Magnasson. Our wildest album so far probably. In April Home Normal published the 5cd compilation Elements, containing another new track by Piiptsjilling. In June Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek/Piiptsjilling) released the Stay Tuned cd, featuring Romke and loads of friends and acquaintances. All great stuff!

July was really the Piiptsjilling month. Both Piiptsjilling's 3rd album Molkedrippen was released by Spekk Records, and the 4th album Moarntiids by Midira Records. And it's these two albums we cherish like... well, you name it. At the end of the year the third so far unreleased track by Piiptsjilling was released on the Dronarivm compilation Past Dissapears.

So, what's up for 2015? It's all a bit indistinct really. Jan just published some of his written work. More about that little collection of poems soon. There will be a tiny bit of new Piiptsjilling, related to the gig up at the Moving Noises festival in Bochum (Germany).  We're teaming up with DUIF again, also with our old homies of Tsjinlûd and off course with Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra. So, we'll see, and might see you. Tsjoch.

KLEEFSTRA|BAKKER|KLEEFSTRA LIVE @ INCUBATE: FLUISTERZACHT

Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra will perform live on December 28th on an afternoon organised by the Incubate Festival. Pieter Nooten will be performing too and this all takes place in the Concertzaal in Tilburg. More details here.