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!

THE ALVARET ENSEMBLE ON TOUR

The Alvaret Ensemble will do a short Dutch/Belgium tour from 6-11 December. The quartet extends to a sextet with Polish violist Olga Wojciechowska and Portuguese cellist Joana Guerra. The tour starts with an intimate kinda try-out show in the cosy theatre Dijktheater, for those who want to meet and greet the band. Then The Alvaret Ensemble carries on to Leuven (with Otto Lindholm), Utrecht (Fluister-gig), Heerlen (nice monastery), Den Haag (the State X New Forms festival) and ends in home town Leeuwarden in a small church. Directly after the tour the six will record new work together, intended for a new release in 2017.

It's been two years since the last Alvaret Ensemble show, so if you want to see the group play, this is your chance!

06-12-16: Amsterdam – Dijktheater (20.00 h)
07-12-16: Leuven – Histaruz (19.00 h)
08-12-16: Utrecht – Fluister in Vechtclub XL (21.30 h)
09-12-16: Heerlen – Savelbergklooster (20.00 h)
10-12-16: Den Haag - State X New Forms in ’t Paard (21.00 h)
11-12-16: Leeuwarden - Dorpskerk Huizum (20.30 h)

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!

TSJINLÛD: ALBUM RELEASE AND PRE SALE

Tsjinlûd is the Frisian collective we form with the poets Elmar Kuiper, Grytsje Schaaf, Remco Kuiper, and the musicians Anne-Chris Bakker and Christiaan Kuitwaard. November 26th we'll present our debut album, consisting of a book with cd. The book contains 48 pages of photography, drawings, paintings and poetry by all members. The cd contains nine tracks. The album will be presented on the Explore The North festival in the city of Leeuwarden. We'll be playing the ship Bald'r at 22.00 pm. Pre sale of the album starts a week before, November 19th, on Bandcamp. The album is a self-release by Tsjinlûd and we're damn proud of it!

LJERKE: Dutch november tour

LJERKE is a Dutch-Norwegian artist in residence project, featuring the Kleefstra Bros and Sytze Pruiksma from the Netherlands and Alexander Rishaug, Hilde Marie Holsen and Michael Duch from Norway. They'll be touring in the Netherland from 6-13 November, together with the video artists Marco Douma and Haraldur Karlsson. A new project of live impro music, poetry and film, kinda in the same context of former projects as Seeljocht and Skeylja that also featured the Kleefstra's and Pruiksma. LJERKE can be seen on several locations and each night it will be different. The LJERKE-group will also hit the studio for recordings.

LIVE UPDATE

 

This Fall and Winter we'll be playing live quite often, mainly in the Netherlands. More info about the gigs and the (new) projects will follow soon-ish, but as you can see we'll be bringing along some great musicians! Hope to see you at one or a few of these gigs.

TSJINLÛD
03-09-16: Dokkum (NL) - Tosta Festival 

LJERKE
Kleefstra|Pruiksma|Kleefstra with Alexander Rishaug, Hilde Marie Holsen & Michael Duch
06-11-16: Drachten (NL) - De Lawei
10-11-16: Nijmegen (NL) - Extrapool
11-11-16: Rotterdam (NL) - WORM
12-11-16: Utrecht (NL) - Le Guess Who?
13-11-16: Leeuwarden (NL) - Noordelijk Film Festival (Neushoorn)

THE ALVARET ENSEMBLE  
feat. Joanna Guerra & Olga Wojciechowska
07-12-16: Leuven (B) - t.b.a.
09-12-16: Heerlen (NL) - Savelbergklooster
10-12-16: Den Haag (NL) - State X New Forms
11-12-16: Leeuwarden (NL) - t.b.a.

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...

THE KLEEFSTRA BROS BANDCAMP

We put the ep Sieleslyk on the Kleefstra Bros Bandcamp, the rare one-track 3" CDr that we did with Gareth Davis and which was published by Rural Colours in 2011. Check it out. Furthermore we're running short on some items, which is indicated with the number of copies we've got left. You can also get all available releases for a kinda discount price. We're working on new releases, but that might take a while. So till then, visit our Bandcamp. There's also some old stuff Romke once did, here and here.

TSJINLÛD LIVE

Tsjinlûd's Christiaan Kuitwaard drew portraits of twenty Frisian poets. These is now an exhibition of these portraits in the museum for modern art Belvédère, in the small town of Oranjewoud. Wednesday evening 23 March almost all poets will perform in the museum and as all Tsjinlûd-poets are present, Tsjinlûd will play live. The event starts about 20.00 h. More information about Belvédère can be found here.

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.

TSJINLÛD LIVE FEAT. RAQUEL LIMA, NUNO GARCIA & JOANA GUERRA

Tsjinlûd is doing two special performances in its home province of Friesland. The collective will join the Portuguese poets Raquel Lima and Nuno Garcia, supported by Joana Guerra on cello. An encounter of languages, a collaboration in sound.

29-01-16: Workum (NL) - De Klameare
31-01-16: Leeuwarden (NL) - Tresoar

Tsjinlûd met the Portuguese during a trip by 'King Of The Meadows' to Portugal, when Jan Kleefstra got in contact with Portuguese poets and joined them on the Portugal Slam Festival. There is common concern about the loss of cultural diversity as a result of the decline of biodiversity especially in the heavily used agricultural landscape of Europe. With that the three Portuguese are now part of the journey that King Of The Meadows is making to 2018, when the city of Leeuwarden is cultural capital of Europe.

Raquel, Nuno (both on the picture above) and Joana were asked to come to Friesland. Late January they'll visit Leeuwarden. Besides the performances with Tsjinlûd they'll cross the Frisian landscape to get the feel of the King Of The Meadows project. Such an exchange should lead to a better mutual understanding of the problems of nature and landscape in both countries and to a collaboration in which landscape and the loss of cultural diversity is central.

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!