Mark Haanstra/Oene van Geel & Bitch ’n Monk
MARK HAANSTRA & OENE VAN GEEL
Oene van Geel viola, Mark Haanstra bass/double bass
Special guests: Raphael Vanoli guitar/effects, Udo Prinsen visuals
BITCH ’N’ MONK
Mauricio Velasierra traditional flutes, Heidi Heidelberg vocals/electric guitar
Duos like these are exceptionally rare: Bitch ‘n’ Monk and Haanstra & Van Geel create music that yields even more than the already impressive sum of its parts.
Bitch ‘n’ Monk is acclaimed for its wonderous combination of electric guitars, Andes flutes, soprano vocals and beatboxing. The duo of British singer/guitarist Heidi Heidelberg and Columbian flutist Mauricio Velassiera earned a ****½-review in Jazzism with the album We Are Peering Over. ‘Exquisite, a kaleidoscope of musical forms (BBC).
Oene van Geel and Mark Haanstra share a musical history of more than twenty years.Traversing eclectic musical genres – jazz to classical, Indian to pop music – has led them to a surprisingly original idiom. Equipped with only a viola and a bass guitar, they have achieved an equally surprising contrast, with what is essentially the smallest “band” possible. Their debut album, Shapes of Time, will be released on March 19, 2018, and features special collaborations with visual artist Udo Prinsen and guitarist Raphael Vanoli. From the 23rd of March, the album will be toured live, in collaboration with the British-Colombian duo Bitch ‘n Monk.
About Shapes of Time
Shapes of time, is an attempt to aurally translate a search for suspension and focus in a world led by fragmentation and urgency. During a polar expedition, visual artist Udo Prinsen installed various pin-hole cameras; the light of several months is represented in one photo. While short movements are not visible on the images, the movements of the sun along the horizon are a ‘coagulated’ map of time. Mark and Oene’s music is an auditory translation of these images: one unit made up of elements that have emerged from years playing together and exchanging ideas – and the tranquil and contrasting landscapes in the photos served as inspiration for the material on this new album. Ideas arose that perhaps the subtlety of guitarist Raphael Vanoli could contribute powerfully, connecting images and sound. Both the duo’s music and Udo’s photographs give a skewed image of reality – you hear and see the familiar, but unusual. On the album (as well as the concerts), music and images form a rather poetic whole.