WRAPPING UP 2023

 

We can call 2023 a productive year, with various records, books and performances. As for the records it started off with Machinefabriek's '+', containing a track of Romke + Machinefabriek, based on a field recording Romke made. In July IT DEEL II by Eivind Lønning, Espen Reinertsen and the Kleefstra Bros was released on vinyl by Moving Furniture Records. The result of the IT DEEL II-residency the Kleefstra's did with both Norwegians in 2022. Shame Eivind and Espen were unable to take IT DEEL II out on the road... In September the third album by Transtilla (lp) came out on Midira Records. The best album the duo of Anne-Chris Bakker and Romke Kleefstra made, receiving critical acclaim. In October Piiptsjilling released its sixth studio-album 'in spoar' on Cloudchamber Recordings.

Meanwhile Jan Kleefstra published two books. First 'Een krui-tocht over Aarde'. And shortly after 'Boswerk', which was the follow up of 'Veldwerk' and again a collaboration with painter Christiaan Kuitwaard.

Live the Kleefstra Bros performed in different formations throughout the year: with Jacaszek in Poland performing IT DEEL I, with Karen Willems at the end of the IT DEEL III residency, Romke solo as Transtilla, and once again with Piiptsjilling.

In 2024 there are three things for sure. The album of IT DEEL III, by Karen Willems and the Kleefstra Bros, will be published. And the last and forth part of IT DEEL will take place in the beginning of July. With whom the residency will be, will be announced later. And the works of Jan Kleefstra's and Christiaan Kuitwaard's book Boswerk are exhibited at De Mesdag Collectie in the Dutch city of The Hague (March 22 - July 21, 2024).

 

NEW ALBUM + RELEASE SHOW PIIPTSJILLING

Piiptsjilling's sixth studio-album will be released on October 25 by Cloudchamber Recordings. The 7-track album (CD) is already up for pre-order. On October 26 Piiptsjilling will do a release show at Worm in Rotterdam. For more info about the album, and for purchasing it, go to Cloudchamber Recordings' Bandcamp!

NEW ALBUM AND GIG TRANSTILLA COMING UP

The release of the third album by Transtilla is set for September 29. The vinyl record (and download) will be released on Midira Records and pre-sale starts on the 16th of September. Transtilla is the duo consisting of Romke Kleefstra and Anne Chris Bakker. They made two albums so far: Transtilla I on Opa Loka Records, Transtilla II on Midira Records, both in 2019. According to the duo and the label, this is their most personal album to date, and one of extremes.

There will also be a special Transtilla solo live set by Romke Kleefstra on the Het Rumoer Festival in Haren (Netherlands) on September 28. It will be a solo set as Anne Chris Bakker currently lives in Norway. 

Order the Transtilla III lp at Midira Records, or digital on Bandcamp, or have a listen on Soundcloud.

IT DEEL II IS OUT!

July 28! Our IT DEEL II album is out! We recorded IT DEEL II last summer with Streifenjunko-members Espen Reinertsen and Eivind Lønning, in the Thomas Church, Katlijk, where we also recorded the FEAN album and IT DEEL I with Jacaszek. IT DEEL II is an album that is serene, restrained, minimal, sparse, exciting, jazzy at times. Way different than IT DEEL I. It's out on Moving Furniture Records and you can order the lp and/or the digital album on its Bandcamp. There is also the opportunity to order both IT DEEL I and II as a bundle.

PRE ORDER IT DEEL II LP

 
In the summer of 2022 the Kleefstra Bros did an artist-in-residence with Espen Reinertsen and Einvind Lønning (who also collaborate as duo Streifenjunko), as part of the 4-year project IT DEEL. For a few days the four artists improvised and recorded new music in the small Thomas Church in the woods of Oranjewoud, the Netherlands. The sessions ended with a public performance in a packed church. The recordings are about to be published on LP by Moving Furniture Records. The album is now up for pre-order. Check it out. We do love this album, as the sessions were very tense, the recordings were perfectly edited and mixed by Rutger Zuydervelt (who also did the graphic design of the album) and the result is just astonishing. So, rush over to Moving Furniture's Bandcamp!

IT DEEL III WITH KAREN WILLEMS

From the 6th until the 8th of July the Kleefstra Bros are creating and recording new music with the Belgian drummer, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Karen Willems. It is the third edition of the IT DEEL project and all takes place in the Thomaschurch in the Dutch village Katlijk. On the Sunday afternoon of July 9 the trio presents itself with a public gig in the church. Tickets for this gig are available through Explore The North. The recordings will be published on lp by Moving Furniture Records in the near future.

IT DEEL III - KLEEFSTRA BROS WITH KAREN WILLEMS

The third edition of our 4-year project IT DEEL is coming up! And this year we will be making new music with the Belgian drummer/percussionist and multi musician Karen Willems. Karen started as a drummer in rock and pop bands (incl. Yuko, Zita Swoon Group a.o.). The last couple of years Karen has been in numerous collaborations and projects within improvised music and sound art.

Early July we will record our impro sessions in our little St. Thomas Church (Katlijk, NL) and on July the 9th there will be a public performance at the church. The recordings will lead to a vinyl album, published in the IT DEEL-series of and by Moving Furniture. Tickets for the gig on the 9th come through the Explore The North Festival, and off course we again set the whole thing up with Popfabryk.

More info soon! Picture of Karen Willems by Mahieu Yvan.

BOSWERK

Three years after the publication of the acclaimed book VELDWERK, Jan Kleefstra and Christiaan Kuitwaard come up with its follow up BOSWERK. VELDWERK was a book about the loss of biodiversity in the Frisian landscape, but environmental problems, nitrogen deposition, drought in nature areas, often as a result of the heavy load of the big agricultural industry on the Dutch landscape, hit the Dutch forests hard. More than enough reasons to publish BOSWERK.

Jan and Christiaan made BOSWERK together with Annelies Henstra. It contains paintings by Christiaan, subsequent texts by Jan and an essay on the biodiversity in the woods by Annelies. The book is once again published by Uitgeverij Wijdemeer and is beautifully designed by Gert-Jan Slagter.

BOSWERK will be officially presented on 22 April (Earth Day) at Broekhuizerlaan in Leersum. The first copy will be handed over to Marjan Minnesma of Urgenda. BOSWERK will then also be available in the webshop of Wijdemeer. On the 10th of June there will be a special presentation on the Wadden Sea isle of Vlieland, including a musical performance (feat. Romke Kleefstra).

NEW BOOK BY JAN KLEEFSTRA

The 45 works Jan Kleefstra wrote during Henry Mentink's walking tour with a wheelbarrow full of earth, from the Netherlands to UNESCO in Paris, with the request to put the Earth on the World Heritage List, appears in book form. The works are written in Dutch, the book is called 'Een kruitocht over Aarde', it was designed by Rutger Zuyderveldt and it is published by The Optimist. You can order it here.

MACHINEFABRIEK'S '+' FEAT. ROMKE KLEEFSTRA

If it had not been for Rutger Zuyderveldt aka Machinefabriek to suggest to record some new music together in 2008, the Kleefstra Bros probably wouldn't have made all the records and done all the projects and shows they did since then. And there's a lot the Kleefstra Bros did togeter with Rutger, such as Piiptsjilling, CMKK and FEAN, not to mention Kleefstra-related albums Rutger mixed and edited, such as Ljerke, Tsjinlûd and the new, upcoming IT DEEL II-album. Meanwhile Romke contributed to Rutger's projects 'Take A Closer Listen' (2009) and 'Stay Tuned' (2014). Now Romke contributed to Machinefabriek's newest album '+', among 51 other collaborators, all contributing with a one minute recording. Surprisingly Romke did not come up with one minute of guitar rambling, but with a field recording, made during his field work in the spring of 2022. You can check the album and buy your physical copy on Machinefabriek's Bandcamp. Great stuff!

IT DEEL I LIVE IN POLAND

Jacaszek and the Kleefstra Bros will perform IT DEEL I live in Poland. February 3rd the trio is playing the Old Town Hall (Ratusz Starego Miasta) in Gdansk, February 4th they play Galeria EL in Elbląg. Check for concerts our live dates.