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.

WHAT WAS (IN 2022) AND WILL BE (IN 2023)

2022 was a pretty good year for us musicwise. Since 2.5 years we finally released an album again. It was the IT DEEL I lp with Jacaszek. We're really proud of this one, full of instant composed tracks. We also did some great shows together of which the one on the Into The Great Wide Open on the Dutch Wadden Sea island of Vlieland will be unforgettable to us. It was a kind of Seeljocht déjà vu... In February 2023 we will do some final shows in Poland.

2022 was also the year of IT DEEL II with Eivind Lønning and Espen Reinertsen of Streifenjunko. We recorded an album in the St. Thomas Church of Katlijk in the Netherlands and also did a sold out performance there. In spring 2023 the IT DEEL II lp will be released. Keep an eye on Moving Furniture Records for the release.

Then Piiptsjilling went on stage again at the Welcome To The Village Festival in the Netherlands and also resided in the St. Thomas Church for some recordings. We hope to finish these recordings in 2023 and have it all published.

There were more great things, like a nice interview in the Flamish/Dutch magazine Gonzo. Meanwhile Jan released a track with Norwegian instrumentalist Lasse Marhaug on the 100th release of Moving Furniture, while Romke made a track with Sylvain Chaveau on Sylvain's new album L'Effet Rebond. And there was one more FEAN-track released on the 100th release of Esc.Rec.

Besides the release of IT DEEL II, Transtilla's third album should finally be released on lp in 2023. Hopefully the sixth Piiptsjilling studio-album will also see the light of day. And there will be more. Romke recorded something for a new Machinefabriek album, Jan is working on a new book with visual artist Christiaan Kuitwaard called 'BOSWERK' and we will do IT DEEL III, early July, with...

Thanks to loads of people, that came to see our shows, that helped us realizing shows and projects! It means a lot and keeps us to carry on. So, February Poland and more after that!

TRANSTILLA LIVE

 

 

 

For the first time since very long, Transtilla will hit the stage again. On April 23rd Transtilla plays the Groundshakes festival in the Dutch city of Groningen. For tickets go here!

Transtilla is also working on new releases, but due to the fact that it takes ages to press an album nowadays, it all takes a bit longer...

LAST YEAR AND NEXT

 

Here's an update with some of last year, some of next year!

 

IT DEEL I

Kleefstra Bros started a 4-year artist-in-residence project for Oranjewoud Festival. We named it IT DEEL, referring to the place where we spend our youth and still come to enjoy flocks of ten thousands of geese in winter. For the first edition of IT DEEL we invited Michał Jacaszek from Poland, recorded for a week in a small church near the festival site in June, and performed live on the festival in August. The lp with the recordings will be released next year on Moving Furniture Records. On YouTube you’ll find a nice 10 minute documentary about IT DEEL. The DEEL-concert on December 19^th in Gdanks is postponed until further notice, due to “covid-restrictions”.

 

FEAN

In September FEAN played live for (probably) the very last time. The plan was to make just one album with FEAN, but that turned into two albums and FEAN isn't quite done yet. In some time an unreleased song called 'Oare tiden' will appear on a beautiful compilation album. More about that soonish. The second FEAN album is still available at Laaps.

 

GONZO INTERVIEW

In the new number of Gonzo (Circus) there’s an interview with the Kleefstra Bros, about a lot of our projects and the role of and attention for nature and ecology in it. Go to the Gozo-site to read moreabout it!

 

TELEFRICK FEAT. JAN KLEEFSTRA

The Belgian artist Teleferick released the online mini-album 'Dijkjutter' last year, that includes the track 'Guilini' feat. Jan Kleefstra on vocals. You can buy and/or listen to the album on Teleferick's bandcamp page.

 

DYN LJOCHT IS MYN SKAAD | DYN SKAAD IS MYN LJOCHT

‘Dyn ljocht is myn skaad | dyn skaad is myn ljocht’ is a photo work by Romke, which is part of an art-route through his place of birth Akkrum. The art-route is there until May 2022 and the image is placed in the town’s harbour. It might also be the start of more photo works by Romke, of which some you can see on Instagram.

 

GODWITS

Early October we performed a few times with GODWITS, the half Portuguese, half Frisian poetry and music project. This time it was partly made possible by the Explore The North festival. We hope to give GODWITS a sequel next year with performances in Portugal. In the meantime, the bundle GODWITS is still available in our webshop.

 

IT DEEL II

Next year the second edition of IT DEEL will take place. We have invited the Norwegian duo Streifenjunko for it and they are coming over to play and record with us in June. Streifenjunko made a few stunning albums on SOFA Music and are high on our list of favorites!

 

TRANSTILLA

Last but not least: Transtilla. Beware people. Next year Transtilla III and Transtilla IV will be published. Albums influenced by love and death, and death and love, that might surprise you and are made to be played as loud as possible. Chris and I will toll some bells when Transtilla III arrives.

 

AND MORE…

So, that is quite something, but not all. More plans and small projects in the near future.  Jan is working on a book called ‘Boswerk’ with painter Christiaan Kuitwaard. Romke is doing some new music here and there. To keep up with all of it, there is this blog with everything, there is Fakebook, there is Instagram, there is Bandcamp…

 

All the best! Stay healthy, sharp and down to earth!

TRANSTILLA - ASKVOLL

 

TRANSTILLA VIDEO 'ASSEMBLAGE 2008'

Transtilla recently released a new video for the track 'Assemblage 2008'. This video is a sequence from the film which Transtilla made for the GOLF Festival, last December in the Dutch city of Haarlem. 'Assemblage 2008' was taken from the album 'Transtilla II', released on Midira Records, also last December. Both Transtilla-albums are available through the band's webshop.

OUT NOW: TRANSTILLA II

 The second album of Transtilla is out on Midira Records. It is simply called 'Transtilla II' as it was like a twin-album of 'Transtilla I', that was released in spring by Opa Loka Records. "Transtilla II is the culmination of floating drones, squeezing ambient noises and calm soundscapes with a violent melancholic aura, always moving slowly to a climax that crawls through the speakers like lava", as Midira describes it. The cd can be purchased in the Midira Shop. The digital album is available on Midira's Bandcamp.

SECOND TRANSTILLA ALBUM UP FOR PRE-ORDER

Transtilla's second album is up for pre-order over at Midira Records. 'Transtilla II' conatains four tracks; "dark drones and ambient soundwalls, perfectly shaped for winter weather", as Midira states. The album will officially be released on December 13th. The track 'Valavond Aan Concourslaan' can already be heard on Soundcloud.

TRANSTILLA LIVE IN THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM

Transtilla will start performing live this fall. There are four Dutch dates and one in Belgium. Transtilla's second album is to be released in December by Midira Records.

21-09-19: Dordrecht (NL) - Fluister (with Ochre and Neon Hotel)
10-11-19: Brugge (B) - AMOK Festival, KAAP
15-11-19: Heerlen (NL) - Lima Ateliers (t.b.c.)
16-11-19: Goor (NL) - H.A.N.S. (with Orphax)
21-12-19: Haarlem (NL) - GOLF-festival

FEAN LIVE

FEAN will perform live two times in the Netherlands. On 31 August FEAN plays the Savelbergklooster in Heerlen as part of the Cultura Nova Festival and organised by (h)ear and Intro in Situ.

A week later, on September 6th, FEAN plays the Lubuiniskerk in Deventer, organised by Vondst and De Perifeer. The gigs will probably differ very much, because FEAN performs in different settings.

The FEAN-project also included a documentary about the loss of peat soil (fean in Frisian). You can watch it on the Dutch NPO-site in two parts (part 1 and part 2). The FEAN cd is almost sold out. Over at Moving Furniture Records there are only a few copies left. Check the Bandcamp page.

Keep an eye on the 'live dates' on this blog, as we are also adding some first live performances by Transtilla.

NEW RELEASE: TRANSTILLA I

New project, new music. Transtilla is Anne-Chris Bakker and Romke Kleefstra. Their first collaboration was back in 2009, when the trio Kleefstra|Bakker|Kleefstra (KBK) recorded Wink. Since then KBK recorded several albums and toured frequently. Over the last year Anne-Chris Bakker and Romke Kleefstra recorded new music together, leading to this first Transtilla release.

'Transtilla I' is published on Opa Loka Records. It contains five pieces, darker and just a bit more harsh than the KBK-sound. The album can be ordered at Opa Loka Records or on Opa Loka's Bandcamp.

SUNDRY 2019

A new year, new projects. Music wise there are new releases coming up. We hope it wont take long before the third Alvaret Ensemble will be released. Then there is the renewed collaboration between Romke Kleefstra and Anne-Chris Bakker under the moniker of 'Transtilla'. Transtilla's first album comes out just before spring on Opa Loka Records. And there might be some other Romke-collab in 2019 too...

As for the writing, a new collection of Dutch poems by Jan Kleefstra is coming up soon. It is called 'Windtoon' and will be published again by Uitgeverij Aspekt. Then there is Jan's collaboration with painter Christiaan Kuitwaard, which will lead to a book and an exhibition in 2019.

That's not all, more later. Hopefully FEAN (see picture) will perform live here and there. And off course there's this new free download on our bandcamp named 'It Goeshoes'.