Soundtrack by: DJ Jasper

8:45 pm

Jan Swerts (be)

“Of a beauty that can barely be captured in words.”

(De Morgen)

“The man from Limburg has designed a sound that fuses the nostalgia of pianists like Keith Jarrett, Wim Mertens and Philip Glass with the Spartan sound of singer-songwriters like Mark Hollis and Nick Drake.”

(De Morgen)

You can't get a much more Flemish sounding name than Jan Swerts but his music is unearthly. This minimal pianist from Limburg has also absorbed his heroes Wim Mertens, Joni Mitchell and the entire wave of contemporary classical indie composers like Jóhann Jóhannson, Max Richter and Hauschka. His self-released debut ‘Weg’ (from ’10) received nothing but rave reviews. His second litter was released at the outset of ‘12: ‘De Anatomie Van De Melancholie’, by a major label at that. Something that only further emphasises the general faith in this artist. This album – again with amazing artwork – once more deals in awe inspiring beauty.

Behind the scenes, AB has already been supporting Jan Swerts for more than a year, in his search for the transition from ‘recording artist’ to ‘live artist’. Swerts still considers performing as a ‘necessary evil’ but for AB, as Artist In Residence, he's happy to make an exception.

9:45 pm

Julianna Barwick (us)

America's Julianna Barwick is a unique talent who moves in the periphery of (experimental) pop, ambient and avant garde. So it's no wonder that she works with Sharon Van Etten, is asked by Radiohead to rework a song from ‘In Rainbows’, and has been put through the remix-mill by Diplo (Major Lazer). Just as she performs in the famous Guggenheim museum and works together with avant garde composer Ikue Mori.

Her – now fourth - album ‘Nepenthe’ will be released at the end of the summer and was recorded in Iceland at Sigur Rós' studio with Alex Somers (Riceboy Sleeps, Jónsi & Alex) and members of amiina and Múm. Musically, she's best situated between Brian Eno, Cocteau Twins, Björk (think: ‘Medúlla’) and Grouper. You can expect a sacred trip highlighted by vocals and loops.

Finally, also the Humo on her previous album ‘The Magic Place’ from ’11: “She places loop over loop over loop until she seems to fill up a cathedral all on her own. The beauty of her album is as radical as it is direct: as if she's singing next to us in a clearing in the forest – and the echoes of the echoes swell into splintered, almost abstract hymns.”