THE WELCOME TABLE, FEAT. PIIPTSJILLING

 

The Welcome Table is a 2026 American documentary film directed, written, and produced by Josh Fox. The film follows the story of climate migrants across six continents, centering the voices and experiences of survivors on the front lines of the climate crisis. The film is premiered June 23, on HBO (and streaming there), and features music by Piiptsjilling. Go check it out, it is a must see.

NEW COLLECTION OF POEMS BY JAN KLEEFSTRA

A new collection of Dutch poems by Jan Kleefstra has been published by Uitgeverij Aspekt. The collection 'Ruisen van berken' (Rustling of Birches) is about the rustling of birches, and other sounds and tones, and about what human life inflicts upon non-human life, and the Earth, over which the wind blows, and the reeds bend, but above all about water, as a whole, and that everything is connected to it, where the gulls sleep, and the love it brings, but most of all about birches, the first and the last tree in the memory of the poet who resides in the ever-further sinking center of his birthplace. That is what this collection is about.

You can order 'Ruisen van berken' via the publisher's webshop.

IT DEEL IV LIVE RELEASE + PORTUGUESE TOUR

IT DEEL IV is getting a sequel. We will be releasing a live album, which will be available as a download, soonish. The album was recorded last autumn during our Dutch tour, when we played in Utrecht. Additionally, we are doing a short tour in Portugal in early November, where we will perform 4-5 shows, including in Lisbon and Coimbra. Keep an eye on this blog for more information!

IT DEEL IV IS OUT!

IT DEEL IV is out on Moving Furniture Records. The fourth and last in the IT DEEL-series, and the one we made with the great musicians Joana Guerra and Maria do Mar. You can now get yourself the lp and/or the digital download on Bandcamp. You can order the lp for €18,50 or get yourself the 'IT DEEL 4x LP set' for €60,-. That includes the IT DEEL-albums we made with Jacascek, Streifenjunko and Karen Willems. With it you support you also support a great independent label like Moving Furniture.

IT DEEL IV: PRE-ORDER + TOUR

Our new album IT DEEL IV, with Joana Guerra and Maria Do Mar, is up for pre-order. Release date is set for November 13. To pre-order te album, go here to Moving Furniture on Bandcamp.

From November 13 up to 23 we'll do a tour in the Netherlands. Come to see us one last time, as it will be our last. 

16-11-25: Dordrecht (NL) - Fluister @ DOOR (w/ Otto Lindholm)
17-11-25: Eindhoven (NL) - POM
18-11-25: Morra (NL) - Sint-Johanneskerk
19-11-25: Utrecht (NL) - Metaal Kathedraal
20-11-25: Akkrum (NL) - Terptsjerke
21-11-25: Amsterdam (NL) - Grond
22-11-25: Leeuwarden (NL) - Explore The North
23-11-25: Oostum (NL) - M.O.O.I.

 

IT DEEL IV in 2025

In the summer of 2024 we the Kleefstra Bros recorded and peformed with Joana Guerra and Maria do Mar within the framework of the four-year project IT DEEL. Just like the previous editions of IT DEEL the recordings lead to a vinyl album, published by Moving Furniture Records. IT DEEL IV will be released late summer or fall and the four will do at least a little tour in November, including the Explore The North Festival and a special first (and last) show in the church in our very own hometown. We keep you posted. Meanwhile the previous three records of IT DEEL are available at Moving Furnirure's webshop, for instance the great album we did with Karen Willems. Go here!

HOW TO ORDER AND STREAM IT DEEL III

  

Late last year IT DEEL III, our album with Karen Willems, was released. The record was well received and we did some great performances in the Netherlands. Hopefully those performances will be continued. The album can be ordered via Moving Furniture Records on Bandcamp. Overseas the album is also available via Further Records in Kirkland WA, USA. You can also find the album on a range of streaming platforms.

In the meantime the fourth IT DEEL album is in the making, Jan is working on a sequel to the book Boswerk, so more news soon.

NEW ALBUM 'IT DEEL III' UP FOR PRE-ORDER

Our new album IT DEEL III with Karen Willems will be released on November 22, but is now up for pre-order. You can order the vinyl lp and/or the digital download at Moving Furniture Records' Bandcamp-page, go here!

IT DEEL is our multi-year project that we realise together with Popfabryk, the production house for Frisian pop culture. For IT DEEL III we collaborated with the Belgian multi-instrumentalist Karen Willems. July 2023 we worked in the Thomaskerk in Katlijk on new material that will now be released on vinyl by Moving Furniture Records. Karen Willems is active in various fields. She started as a drummer in rock and pop groups such as Zita Swoon Group, Yuko, Arno, Novastar, Mauro Pawlowski and others. With a number of musicians she built a tradition in improvised music and sound art from Belgium. Just like us, Karen Willems is intrigued by the forests, landscapes and nature that can be heard in her work.We are really excited by this album; it is a haunting piece of music.

KAREN WILLEMS + KLEEFSTRA BROS LIVE

 
Karen Willems and the Kleefstra Bros will perform IT DEEL III live three times in October and at least once in November. You can find the live dates here and below. The new album, which will officially be released November 22, will also be available at the gigs. To ge a first impression you can already check two tracks on Soundcloud.

18-10-24: Amsterdam (NL) - Dokzaal
19-10-24: Rotterdam (NL) - Koffie & Ambacht
20-10-24: Deventer (NL) - De Perifeer
24-11-24: Leeuwarden (NL) - Explore The North

 

NICE DUTCH INTERVIEW WITH JAN

 
On the website of Meander Magazine you can find a lovely Dutch interview wit Jan Kleefstra, about his poetry, the music with Romke Kleefstra, books and releases, and where we stand in the world. Go to the website of Meander and if you can't read Dutch ask Chatgtp or Google Translate to read it to you in the language you prefer.

ALBUM AND GIGS IT DEEL III COMING UP

Last year we played with the Belgian multi-instrumentalist and -percussionist Karen Willems as part of our IT DEEL project. The release of the LP of IT DEEL III has been postponed due to delays at the pressing plant. The album is now scheduled for release in mid-October, on Moving Furniture Records off course. By then we will also be doing some performances, including in Deventer, Amsterdam and Leeuwarden. Keep an eye on our live dates and this blog.

IT DEEL IV: KLEEFSTRA BROS + JOANA GUERRA + MARIA DO MAR

IT DEEL is our 4-year project. During all four editions we improvise and record new music with invited musicians, in the Thomaskerk, in the Frisian village of Katlijk. We always conclude the recording sessions with a public performance in the church.

This year the fourth and final edition of IT DEEL will take place. We retreat to the church with Joana Guerra (cello) and Maria do Mar (violin) from Portugal. We will be recording from July 4 to 5, the public performance will take place on Sunday, July 7. Tickets for that performance are available through Explore The North.

We previously made music with both Joana and Maria. For example, Joana was part of The Alvaret Ensemble during the recording of the third album Ea. Both musicians also played in the Godwits project, and are particularly active in the Portuguese improv scene. Joana has already made several solo albums, including Chão Vermelho on Miasmah Records (2020). Together with Maria she is part of the group Lantana, whose beautiful album Elemental was released in 2022.

We are really looking forward to working with Joanna and Maria and come to our concert on July 7!

IT DEEL is a 4-year project by Kleefstra Bros in collaboration with Popfabryk under the wings of the Explore The North Festival. LPs from all recording sessions are released on Moving Furniture Records.

BOSWERK DOCUMENTARY

 

Following the book BOSWERK and the exhibition of the works and poems in De Mesdag Collectie, The Hague, Omrop Fryslân made a documentary about the creation of BOSWERK. This can be viewed via the website of the public broadcaster in the Netherlands. In the documentary the makers of the book are followed, from field work to exhibition, with a loving tribute to the forest and the trees. And this in a Netherlands where trees are losing ground... The documentary features Jan Kleefstra and Christiaan Kuitwaard, and contains music by The Alvaret Ensemble.

OPENING EXHIBITION 'SPREKENDE BOMEN'

 
Following the book 'Boswerk' by Jan Kleefstra, Christiaan Kuitwaard and Annelies Henstra, the exhibition 'Sprekende Bomen' will open on March 21 in De Mesdag Collectie, The Hague. 'Sprekende Bomen' shows all the works by Jan and Christiaan. There will also be workshops for painting and writing. To register for the opening go to the Van Gogh Museum events page. More information about the exhibition can be found on the website of De Mesdag Collectie.

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.