The Squid's Ear Magazine

van Hemmen, Flin

Casting Spells & The Coves [2 CDs]

van Hemmen, Flin: Casting Spells & The Coves [2 CDs] (Neither/Nor Records)

Blending live improvisation with studio composition & production, NY-based Dutch drummer, pianist and composer Flin van Hemmen spent 3 years making recordings with guitarist Todd Neufeld, double bassist Eivind Opsvik and himself, transforming them with layering, studio effects, processors and field recordings to create these intensely fascinating compositions.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Todd Neufeld-acoustic guitar

Eivind Opsvik-double bass, glockenspiel

Flin van Hemmen-piano, farfisa, percussion


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Label: Neither/Nor Records
Catalog ID: n/n 012
Squidco Product Code: 28099

Format: 2 CDSs
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded at Todd and RemaÕs home, in Brooklyn, New York, on April 27th, 2017, by Joe Branciforte.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"New York City-based Dutch drummer, pianist and composer Flin van Hemmen presents an ambitious double album with his long-standing trio. This release is a followup to his 2016 debut album Drums of Days (also on Neither/Nor Records).

In Casting Spells and The Coves Flin further focuses on his compositions and production. In his writing he explores haunting dark melodies and ever more mysterious forms. In the production aspects he delves deep into the minute sonic details employing a wide variety of sound processors, effects, overlaid tracks, field recordings, etc. The overall effect is a blend of "live playing" and processing/post-production where the two aspects are completely integrated and inseparable.

Casting Spells and The Coves are twin albums, each featuring eleven original compositions. Casting Spells is tracks 1-11, The Coves is tracks 12-22. Each album was conceived as a suite which strings the tracks together for two continuous 40+ minute listening sessions."-Neither/NorRecords


Artist Biographies

"Todd Neufeld is an electric and acoustic guitarist, born August 5th, 1981 in Huntington, NY.

Todd has performed and/or recorded as a member of the Lee Konitz Quartet,Masabumi Kikuchi's TPT Trio, Tyshawn Sorey's Koan, Oblique and other ensembles, Gerald Cleaver's NiMbNl,Dan Weiss Group, Tony Malaby Group, Samuel Blaser Quartet, Michael Adkins Quintet, Aaron Parks Quintet, Richie Barshay's RB3,Alexandra Grimal Quartet, Thomas Morgan Quartet, Rema Hasumi's UTAZATA band, Flin VanHemmen trio, Sergio Krakowski Trio, Vitor Goncavles quartet, Raphael Malfliet Trio and many others. He has performed at various venues, concert halls and festivals across New York, the United States,Canada, Europe and Japan.

In 2015 Todd co-founded, with Rema Hasumi, Ruweh Records. For the label Todd has produced four albums to date.On September 25th, 2017 Todd released his debut album as a leader, "Mu'U" on Ruweh Records. The album featuresa unique and special two-drummer band of Tyshawn Sorey, Billy Mintz, with Thomas Morgan on bass and Rema Hasumu on vocals.The band explores a set of Neufeld originals and improvisations in a highly sensitive and dynamic exploration.

Todd attended New York University in 1999, where he studied both English Literature and Music.It was at NYU that Todd began his study of classical composition and counterpoint.Throughout this and other periods Todd has benefited greatly from the private teachings ofJohn Quara, Joe Giglio, Chris Jentsch, Vanderlei Pereira, Bruce Arnold, Tony Moreno and Jeff Slatnick.

Aside from performing, Todd teaches guitar and music to students in the New York area.Todd currently resides in Brooklyn, NY."

-Todd Neufeld Website (https://www.toddneufeld.net/bio.html)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Born in Oslo, bassist and composer Eivind Opsvik was introduced to music at home. His father loved to play the saxophone and constantly spun records-everything from Ornette Coleman to Billie Holiday and The Beatles. An early memory features Eivind on drums, jamming out "A Hard Day's Night" with his father. Later, a denim-clad rocker cousin lent him a bass guitar and the newfound ability of adding pitch to rhythm was a revelation. Opsvik spent the rest of his teens getting to know this instrument, as well as the double bass, while also experimenting with a 4-track tape recorder and pouring music into his head.

At the age of twenty, Opsvik began studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music, focusing on classical bass. By then, he was already an active participant in Oslo's vibrant jazz scene, regularly playing with musicians like Paal Nilssen-Love, Christian Wallumrød, Bjørnar Andresen, and Håkon Kornstad; while also performing at festivals and clubs around Europe.

In 1998, Opsvik relocated to New York City, where he has thrived as a working musician, collaborating on projects with among others Anthony Braxton, Paul Motian, John Zorn, Nate Wooley, and Bill Frisell and performing in a wide range of venues like Carnegie Hall, Village Vanguard, Le Poisson Rouge and The Stone. At the Manhattan School of Music he studied jazz and met some of his closest musical brothers, including Loren Stillman, Jeff Davis, and Jacob Sacks. Building on the bonds and shared musical understanding that developed while at school, Eivind invited these players to help him fulfill his vision for the solo project, Overseas.

Opsvik has stated that "overseas" is a fitting way of describing his life-whether in New York or Norway, he is always an ocean's distance from home. This deep loyalty towards friends and loved ones has, over time, been reflected in Overseas' various lineups. The first record was realized with the help of long-term friendships that went back to Opsvik's earliest days in New York. As he continued his journey through the city via late night gigs, Opsvik connected with other players-visionaries versed in noise improv, electronic, jazz, and classical-who, on subsequent Overseas records, were brought in to augment the lineup. Since 2005, the band has remained consistent, featuring Tony Malaby, Jacob Sacks, and Kenny Wollesen; in 2010, guitarist Brandon Seabrook also became a regular member. Over the years, they have played countless shows around New York City, as well as extensively toured Europe and the American east coast.

In addition to four Overseas albums and his extensive session work, Opsvik's discography also includes four experimental chamber-pop records made in collaboration with songwriter Aaron Jennings (under the moniker of Opsvik & Jennings) and a multimedia project with photographer Michelle Arcila, which pairs tens songs with ten photographic prints. This project, titled A Thousand Ancestors, came out of Opsvik's solo double bass performances, which sometimes featured projections of Arcila's photographs. In recording these bass-centric pieces, he would layer bass with subtle overdubs of lap steel guitar, vintage keyboards, and drum machines, with Arcila's prints displayed around the studio. The project proved to be an auspicious collaboration for the couple, who, as The New York Times put it, "share an aesthetic of haunting introspection, and the desire to seek out beauty in austerity."

Other critics have described Opsvik's work as "sonorous," "like a waking dream," and able "to transport the listener to another time and place, creating a cinematic experience...[like] the soundtrack to an imaginary film." His Overseas records create "a world of unfolding soundscapes" that defy categorization; they have "a compositional complexity that suggests jazz, [but] also references a diverse and imaginative palette of genres and influences." Opsvik's jazz is "the slow burn, down-turned variety that still has plenty of beauty underneath all of its darker undertones." But it's not just jazz for jazz-heads. By tapping into the energy, groove, and directness of rock, Opsvik reach people who are afraid of jazz and think they have to "understand" it.

Ultimately, Opsvik is the epitome of a multi-faceted, multi-instrumentalist working musician. While steadily playing gigs and recording sessions as a bass player, he is also a capable hand on the guitar, the keyboard, or behind the drums. At the Greenwood Underground, his basement studio, Opsvik records, mixes, and produces his own music, as well as various projects for his friends. Since 2007, he has also been running the Loyal Label, releasing a carefully curated catalog of albums, which run the gamut in terms of musical exploration but are all united with careful aesthetic choices and creative graphic design.

Maturing as a musician, Eivind never wanted to be up front in the band, but it would be incorrect to say he's been hiding. As a kid, watching bands perform on Norway's only TV channel, his gaze was instinctively drawn to the rhythm section, waiting for the camera to move the tight frame off the singer so that he could catch a glimpse of the bass player's steady hands or the drummer's hypnotic concentration. The rhythm section were the guys with their heads down doing the real work. Adolescent instincts are pure in that they don't know why they want what they want, but the quiet and focused dignity that Eivind honed in on has driven his life for the past 30 years.

(Eivind is currently a member of these bands/projects: Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio, Die Trommel Fatale, Nate Wooley Quintet, Skuli Sverrison's Seria, Two Miles A Day (Sacks, Maneri, Motian), Anthony Braxton's Tristano Project, Vinnie Sperrazza's Apocryphal, David Binney, Okkyung Lee, Jeff Davis Trio with Russ Lossing, Mary Halvorson's Reverse Blue, Plainville, Kris Davis' Capricorn Climber, Håkon Kornstad, Rocket Engine, Tone Collector, Jesse Harris' Cosmo, The Interaction of Non-Interaction (w Ben Gerstein), Poor Pluto ...and more)"

-Eivind Opsvik Website (http://eivindopsvik.com/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Flin van Hemmen is widely regarded as a versatile drummer and composer with a keen ear and a commanding presence. Flin has reached beyond the modern jazz audience, inspiring listeners of all backgrounds by exploring the drums as a melodic instrument as much as a dynamic force. Since moving to NY in 2009 he has become an important presence in the 'downtown' jazz and improv scene, playing with such people as Tony malaby and Kris Davis, as well as being a part of the 'Promnight Records' scene. Flin has recently toured with Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio (w/ Drew Gress and Ben Monder) in Europe, Eivind Opsvik's Overseas (w/ Jacob Sacks, Brandon Seabrook, Tony Malaby), Harmen Fraanje's trio in Vietnam, Robin Verheyen's quartet in Switzerland, and Bram deLooze's 'Septych'.

Born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Flin played guitar before switching to drums and then moved to Amsterdam at age 18. There he forged many strong musical and personal relationships most notably with fellow young musicians Harmen Fraanje, Robin Verheyen, and Clemens van der Feen with whom he formed Narcissus. This band has released two records for 'de WERF' and continues to be an active presence in Europe. Today Flin remains active on both sides of the Atlantic, honing his skills as an improvisor and taking a serious interest into composing. Currently he is launching his debut CD 'Drums of Days' consisting of Eivind Opsvik and Todd Neufeld, in which he plays piano as well as drums. Here his body of compositions comes to life. Other projects co-lead projects include: LathanFlinAli (w/ Lathan Hardy and Sean Ali), Costa/vanHemmen duo, Narcissus, While We Still Have Bodies, Gestures (w/Eliot Cardinaux), and plays solo concerts. Flin has performed/recorded with: Todd Neufeld, Frantz Loriot, Mat Maneri, Thomas Morgan, Ben Gerstein, Michael Moore, Joe Moffett, Sean Ali, Harmen Fraanje, Kris Davis, Tony Malaby, Pascal Niggenkemper, JP Schlegelmilch, Eivind Opsvik, Lathan Hardy, Kenny Warren, Ralph Alessi, Robin Verheyen, Daniel Levin, Brandon Seabrook, Franz von Chossy, Carlo Costa, Yoni Kretzmer, Jesse Stacken, Patrick Breiner, Eliot Cardinaux, Roberto Pianca, Jacob Sacks and many others.

-Flin van Hemmen Website (http://www.flinvanhemmen.com/bio)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



CD1



1. Lusores 2:25

2. The Weather Meadows I 2:08

3. Strange Attractors 1:39

4. St. Jozef 2:13

5. Ecumenical 6:34

6. Stilleven 11:17

7. What's Lurking In Your Systems 2:11

8. Clouds Are Not Spheres 1:26

9. Linedancing 4:38

10. My Echo 1:13

11. The Weather Meadows II 7:13 CD2



1. Where's The Theatre 1:38

2. Paradise Cove 9:45

3. Now You Hear It... (Now You Don't) 3:04

4. Baai 3:42

5. Casting Spells 3:12

6. Waving 2:00

7. The Magic Show At The Variety Theatre 2:41

8. Parameters 2:14

9. The Womb 4:47

10. Vagaries 6:49

11. Come On Man, It's Harvest Time! 2:48

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Organized Sound and Sample Based Music
Electroacoustic Composition
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Experimental & Electronic Music

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Neither/Nor Records.


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