VHVR #10 met Mulder, Willems & zn, Farbenfroh & Tribolumina
I know, we’re not very good in explaining our weird stuff for all ye brave new haddocks. But come & have a look and listen for yourself.
Mulder, Willems & zn
Not a plumbing firm, but a sonic excavation team. Meet Mulder, Willems & Zn — a new trio that doesn’t perform music so much as dig through it, overturning expectations and reconfiguring sound from the ground up. With Nora Mulder (keys, strings, things), Karen Willems (drums/percussion/voice), and Lukas Simonis(strings/noise/electronics), this trio is built on improvisation — not as a genre, but as an attitude. They combine strands of experimental jazz, sound art, contemporary classical, post-rock, noise, and beyond, crafting music that feels as intuitive as it is unexpected.
What to expect?
A performance by Mulder, Willems & Zn is a journey through textures and tensions — from near-silence to sonic mayhem. You’ll hear scraping springs, breathing rhythms, piano like you’ve never heard it, spontaneous rituals, derailed grooves, and feedback loops that feel almost organic. This is music in conversation: instruments listening, interrupting, transforming one another. There are no setlists, only settings. No solos, only shared disruptions. Sometimes it’s playful. Sometimes disturbing. Often both. And yes — they bring their own instruments, but they might also use a fan, a tin toy, or a discarded piece of metal to unlock new sonic possibilities.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Willems
https://noramulder.nl/
https://lukassimonis.nl/category/about/
Farbenfroh
Farbenfroh is what happens when cabaret crashes into a chamber ensemble. Their eclectic sound, shaped by influences like Kurt Weill, Nina Hagen, Björk, and the Tin Hat Trio, blurs the lines between the theatrical and the experimental.
With an unusual lineup, the group weaves a rich tapestry of progressive music that promises an evening full of make-believe, humor and free improvisation. All compositions are written by vocalist Helene Matthia, who will be joined by Bernat Boronat on bass clarinet, Nina Hitz on cello and Alejandra Rony on double bass.
Tribolumina
Tribolumina is an ongoing audiovisual project by SpOp & Bruinsma in collaboration with percussionist Christian Smith. The metariality of played upon objects is a central topic for our audiovisual performance. While playing and projecting we are following the phenomenon of Triboluminiscence, in which light may appear while hitting, shaking, rubbing or scratching solidmaterial. The composition evolves as a live improvisation: a combination of percussion and a set of recorded samples in correlation with projected video. The duo percussionists achieve a unique in between meditative and extatic sound, with rhythms emerging out of found metal objects and fabricated instruments. Machinery pieces, chains, bells, plates, dishes and more. These are arranged as a sprawling landscape on surfaces as well as hanging mid-air. Added to that are drums, flexible plastic tubes and electronics manipulated by controllers and pedals.
About the players:
Dirk Bruinsma works as a composer and musician in various settings.
Marit Shalem, also active as SpOp, is a visual artist, creating experimental video works and projects.
Christian Streit Smith is a percussionist living in The Hague.
