STADHOUDERS, BRAM

Opmerkelijk album van de jonge gitarist Bram Stadhouders en het Nederlands Kamerkoor waarbij ook percussie en elektronica een belangrijke rol vervullen. Wie denkt dat jazzimprovisaties niet samengaan met genoteerde muziek, moet hier zeker naar luisteren. Niet voor niets noemt Stadhouders dit project – live uitgevoerd op het North Sea Jazz Festival – Henosis; ‘eenheid’ in het Oud-Grieks. Stadhouder wilde twee werelden samenvoegen en het resultaat is indrukwekkend, waarbij de contrasten in compositietechnieken leiden tot onverwachte klankexplosies en zeer verstilde momenten.


Henosis

Bram Stadhouders & Netherlands Chamber Choir
Tracklist
1
Heraldorr
2
To a promise
3
Shuntansi
4
Wikpitak
5
Bloemse
6
Escape Now
7
Vegtum
8
Donnext
9
Ralkesfa
About the album

"Super hard in-your-face, that's how Bram Stadhouders' Henosis sounds. Forget your haircut, because it will stand stiff to the back, when the symbiosys forces that are blowing from the stage are over-exceeding the allowed limit. The guitarist got the composition assignment from the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2012, and chose to collaborate with the Netherlands Chamber Choir, 8 singers and conductor, and an improvising electronic musician, and drummer. Exciting in advance, because Stadhouders is known for free improvised, spacey guitartouches that are quite at odds with the classical schooled approach of the choir.

The vocal scores, all written by Stadhouders, are characterized by imposing, bombastic soundwalls that are folded over each other. The lushing underwatersounds from the guitar, whispering in many reverb effects, are bathing on this powerful foundation. Sometimes the guitarist doubles a few voices, more often he freely floats through the vocal parts. The compositions are varying from rippling soundscapes to almost sacred sacrificial rituals. Especially near to the end, when the threatening rhythms from drummer Onno Govaert are boosting, the guitarsynthesizer is opening up and the choir brings multiple layers on top and elevates the climax to an orgasmic altitude. In the history of the North Sea Jazz composition assignment, Stadhouders' interpretation is undoubtedly the most striking one."

These were the words of Volkskrant music reviewer Tim Sprangers, after the première concert in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This album is the live recording.

Tracklisting