Stef Kamil Carlens (el. & ac. guitars, banjo, percussion, Q-Chord, Farfisa Fast 2, Hohner Organetta)/ Aarich Jespers (percussion, xylophone, bulbul tarang) / Amel Serra Garcia (percussion, xylophone) / Bart Van Lierde (el. bass, upright bass) / Wim De Busser (upright piano, Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, Philicorda, Farfisa Compact, kalimba) / Eva Gysel (vocals) / Kapinga Gysel (vocals) / Jeroen Baert (violin, viola, pump organ)/ Hugo Boogaerts (saxophones, traverso)
Produced by Stef Kamil Carlens / Arranged by Zita Swoon Group / Recorded by SKC at The Rabbitfield, Hoboken / Mixed by Christophe Albertijn at Esme / Mastered by Karel De Backer at Kabel, Vlierzele / Artwork by Aarich Jespers & Jelle Jespers / Photography by Bache Jespers / A Wolvin production distributed by PIAS
“Eleven instrumental pieces where short night interludes are alternated with pieces of wild percussion. Even without the visuals, the very pop-inspired music is very appealing.” T.C. Le Soir (2 *on 3)
“After the soundtrack for Sunrise (1997) and Plage Tattoo/Circumstances (2000) Zita Swoon – sorry, I mean Zita Swoon Group- has made another hit.” GVA De Morgen (4 *)
Several times in their career, Zita Swoon has explored what they can do with instrumental music. As early as 1997 they composed a new soundtrack from F.W. Murnau’s ‘Sunrise’ and later in 2000, in collaboration with Les Ballets C. de la B., they made the dance piece ‘Plage Tattoo/ Circumstances’. From both creations they released CD’s with studio recordings of the pieces.
In 2009, Zita Swoon celebrated their 15 + anniversary and announced a change in direction. In the coming years they would start making specific creations. He hasn’t lost his love for song but is searching for parallels with dance, theatre and classical or experimental music ensembles. The ensemble calls itself ‘Zita Swoon Group’. SKC wants to stress the fact that they are a collective and that they are marking a new start and working in a new way.
The first one was and is ‘Dancing With The Sound Hobbyist’, a collaboration with dancer Simon Mayer and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker of the dance company Rosas. This resulted in a danced concert, which is still touring today.
On April 16th they release a CD and vinyl record with studio recordings of the pieces. The music was recorded in the summer of 2010. The driving force of the record is the percussion tandem Aarich Jespers – Amel Serra Garcia. Their instrumentarium consists of traditional latin instruments such as the conga’s, the bongo’s or the surdo, parts of the drums such as a snare, a floortom and cymbals, a series of timpani from the Orff music and a bunch of ‘objects trouvés’ instruments such as tin cans, pots and pans, a giant steel industrial ‘bell’, several glass vases and light bulbs, iron filings used as a guiro and so forth.
The record is, unlike the live performance, instrumental, except for one song. Wim De Busser gets a starring role on an old Steinmetz upright piano, complimented by a Wurlitzer electric piano, a Philicorda organ made by Philips in 60ies and a Fender Rhodes. The compositions, sometimes modest, sometimes explosive, are from each of the players. The music sounds familiar and alienating at once. The arrangements are contradictionally harmonious. SKC is recording the album himself in his Rabbitfield studio and in terms of production is choosing for a factual, transparent sound with a touch of psychedelics. SKC, himself, plays a range of electric and acoustic guitars that complete the carefully picked instrumentarium and that makes listening to the pieces a true journey through sound.