Zwerm & Mr. Probe / Dez mona & Box

Q & A HANDELSBEURS / VOORUIT #1

In a new collaboration, Vooruit and Handelsbeurs enter into a musical dialogue. This 'question and answer' between the jazz & beyond programmer of Vooruit (Wim Wabbes) and the classical music programmer of the Handelsbeurs (Liesbeth De Voogdt) leads to two consecutive concerts at two locations. This cross-pollination of genres and styles has grown from both curiosity about each other's musical backyard and from the realization that (contemporary) classical and contemporary jazz and pop/rock are not always so far apart. In this first edition we hear classical musicians who make off with pop music (Zwerm & Mr. Probe: 'Popcorn') and vice versa (Dez Mona & Box: 'Saga'). The pivotal figure in this double concert is singer Gregory Frateur. The evening starts with 'Popcorn' in the Handelsbeurs and ends with 'Saga' in the Vooruit. The public is brought from one location to another under special supervision.

ZWERM, MR. PROBE & GREGORY FRATEUR: 'POPCORN' (HANDELBEURS, 8:15 PM)

Every musician cherishes a secret fondness for a song that he always wanted to play, but never dared to. Now the electric guitar quartet Zwerm is coming out of the closet, together with the experimental duo Mr. Probe and Gregory Frateur. Peter Vermeersch, among others, arranges six favorite pop songs for this seven-piece crossover formation. An equal number of composers also write a new work, inspired by one of the selected songs. Poets such as Serge Verstockt and Yannis Kyriakides enter into dialogue with rock heroes such as Björk, Tom Waits and Jimi Hendrix. Popcorn, for musical gluttons!

Popcorn is a production of Zwerm & Mr. Probe in collaboration with Champ d'Action and Peter Vermeersch.

DEZ MONA & BOX: 'SÁGA' (FORWARD, AFTER CONCERT HANDELBEURS)

The pop group For her part, Dez Mona has long had a soft spot for baroque music. In 2009, singer Gregory Frateur, double bassist Nicolas Rombauts and accordionist Roel Van Camp had a short but fruitful encounter with a baroque harp (Jutta Troch) and a theorbo (Pieter Theuns). It tasted like more. Baroque music radiates a kind of grace, danceability and drama, which closely matches the musical universe of Dez Mona. At the same time, this 'old' timbre gives a new dynamic to the compositions.