Andries Boone (mandolin, violin, bulbul-tarang & voices) / Rony Deprins (accordeon, synths, theremin, vocoder & voices) / Jasper Hautekiet (electric bass & double bass) / David Vertongen (drums, percussion, glockenspiel & piano)
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Ballroomquartet is a unique Belgian band with an exceptional sound and unusual instrumentation. The eccentric combination of classical and traditional instruments with electronics creates a dancy and dreamy atmosphere. On stage, they're always in for musical experimentation. Energy, virtuosity and sensitivity are the key words. Their two full-albums, Surfing Sufi (2004) and Soundmanifest (2007), got some very good press reviews. This band has an exceptional live reputation!
Influences
16 Horsepower, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Ry Cooder, Kraftwerk, Ali Farka Toure, Nusrat Fati Ali Khan, The Band, Natasha Atlas, Sigur Ros, Aphex Twin, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Cinematic Orchestra, Calexico, Roy Orbison,...
Sounds Like
Nothing Else-----
The press about 'soundmanifest', new fullalbum of The Ballroomquartet...some quotes....:
"Soundmanifest: The ideal name for this second album.....not as many others....exciting dance(music),..." (Oor , Willem Jongeneelen)/////
"Original, surprising, daring and (again) crossing borders...4 stars" "...Their sound is eclectic and universal, touches the bounderies of rock, classical music and klezmer, but the songs are always dynamical and original!
(Bart Steenhout - De Morgen )/////
"Their sound is fresh and new. Soundmanifest is a strong manifest...." (Matthieu van Steenkiste - Goddeau)
For all pressquotes see website!
The Ballroomquartet was set up in autumn 2001. After only a handful of performances the band wins the musical contest ‘Rockvonk 2002’ in Belgium. The mini-album Ballroom on the Rocks (2002) and the single Death Valley (2003) set the ball rolling. The quartet performs at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels and is featured at e.g. Brosella, Dranouter, Fonnefeesten, Marktrock and Plazeyfestival. In 2004 the band launches its first full-CD Surfing Sufi. The recording was done by Red Tape Studio-duo ‘Monsieur Paul’ (Triggerfinger) and Filip Goris. The press were almost unanimously laudatory about the album: Surfing Sufi harvests good write-ups aswell in Belgian as in Dutch newspapers and magazines like for instance Oor, Knack, De Morgen, De Standaard, Rifraf, fRoots and Stage. The band is not short of airplay either and the filmic qualities of the boys’ music did not pass unnoticed with television makers. Several compilations – e.g. Klara - feature the group as soon as in 2002. In 2007 Ballroomquaret released their second fullalbum ’Soundmanifest’. They recorded and produced the album themselves and Raf Roesems from ‘Alamo Sound Services’ signed for the mixing. Again the album was received with excellent and amazing reviews and forced a breaktrough in the Belgian musicscene. Again the press was unanimously laudatory ( e.g. 4 stars - De Morgen and excellent reviews - Oor & De Standaard again) and brings the band to a lot of famous festivals in Belgium. The groups starts aswell doing concerts in France and The Netherlands. Music of this second album was used by several film and documentary makers such as Julien Vrebos. The rather unusual combination of instruments and influences endowes The Ballroomquartet with one of the most original sounds in Belgium. These citizens of the world of music blend loads of exotic sonorities into their repertoire. The sound of their acoustic instruments – accordion, mandolin, violin, double-bass and drums – is distorted in every possible way thus producing a cinemascopic mixture of dance, trance, eastern world music, roots and rock. Effects, synthesizers, vocoders and all sorts of electronical devices endow their tunes with a contemporary and sometimes even experimental personality. The members of The Ballroomquartet are Andries Boone (mandolin, violin, bulbul-tarang and voices), Rony Deprins (accordion, synths, theremin, vocoder and voices), Jasper Hautekiet (double-bass and electrical bass) and David Vertongen (drums, percussion, glockenspiel and piano). The boys also had the opportunity to work together with artists like e.g. Guy Swinnen, Neeka, Venus In Flames, Will Tura, P. Vansant, Yasmine, Monza, Steven Debruyn & The Rhythm Junks and the Korean percussionist Yung Yung Lee. The wide diversity of influences result in an unheard musical cross-breeding that could be localised somewhere between the London suburbs and the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. Without any doubt ballroomquartet has one of the most original and innovating sounds in Belgium!
Bedankt voor de toevoeging op MySpace, ik heb jullie ontdekt dankzij Facebook maar vindt MySpace veel leuker :-)) Jullie zitten nu op mijn Franse versie, heb ook een vlaamse versie maar ben daar minder actief want de meeste contacten (en contracten) in Frankrijk ! Leuke site zal zeker regelmatig langskomen. Bisous Câlin ;o) Chantal
This Friday 16/5/2008 in BRUSSELS, Belgium, discover the debut album ANTIKRISIS by MEC YEK's beautiful Rom gypsy girls LIVE ON STAGE at MUZIEKPUBLIQUE www.myspace.com/mecyek
