John Ghost (albumrelease) / opening act: Melting Pot 08-05-24

wo 8 mei '24

Sonic Hug's concert was moved to label night on VR MAY 31. Ticket holders were notified.

Dystopian new record

The sextet John Ghost draws influences from jazz, rock and contemporary classical music. Led by guitarist/composer Jo De Geest, seemingly simple motifs emerge into complex compositions, rich in rhythmic and melodic layers, bursting with otherworldly sounds and harmonies. They present a new intriguing album Thin Air . Mirror Land, out on Sdban Ultra.

John Ghost is as ingenious as it is playful and accessible, like a symbiosis between Steve Reich, Nils Frahm and Jaga Jazzist. Like the latter, the group places great emphasis on a careful and intense production process, not afraid of extremes and with a keen eye and ear for detail. It earned the critically acclaimed Airships Are Organisms (2019) 4-star reviews in The Guardian and Financial Times, as well as airplay on BBC 6 and Worldwide FM.

John Ghost
Jo De Geest (compositions), Rob Banken (reeds), Karel Cuelenaere (keys), Wim Segers (vibes), Lieven Van Pée (bass), Elias Devoldere (drums)

Opening act: Melting Pot

At Melting Pot, you always get a meeting of fresh talent on stage. The musicians meet and play together with the energy of the moment. And exciting encounters that always result in something special.

This time on stage:
Louise van den Heuvel (BE) bass
Camila Nebbia (DU) sax
Tuva Halse (NO) violin
Mona Riahi (AU) clarinet
Hubert Zemler (POl) drums

Melting Pot is a collaboration between five European venues: Victoria Scene (Oslo), Jazztopad (Wroclaw), Jazzfestival Berlin, Jazzfest Saalfelden and Ha Concerts. Each house contributes a musician.

More about Thin Air. Mirror Land from John Ghost

For this album, they continued their fruitful collaboration with legendary producer Jørgen Træen, known for his work with Jaga Jazzist, Electric Eye, Kaizers Orchestra, and numerous projects on the Hubro Record Label. The result is an album with a slightly more somber tone, focussing on a broader range of instruments and an emphasis on percussive elements.”Thin Air . Mirror Land” unfolds as an aesthetic refuge in stormy times. It is a musical urge for introspection in a chaotic reality, and a longing to reconnect with a natural environment.

During the creative process, Jo drew inspiration from the music of artists such as Hans Zimmer, György Ligeti, Magma, The Residents, Disasterpeace, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, Do Make Say Think, William Basinski, and Jóhann Jóhannsson. The album title “Thin Air . Mirror Land” and the song titles are driven by a fascination with the artwork of Edvard Munch. Jo found inspiration in Munch’s painting “The Storm” (1893) as a catalyst for the writing process, exploring a dystopian backdrop and the intriguing interplay between comfort and unrest. Heavily inspired by the music, Jaak De Digitale created the gloomy artwork for the album.

WERF Records and JazzLab are celebrating their 30th anniversary together with three tours/albums for which they are joining forces. One of them is with bassist Louise van den Heuvel, a great talent of Belgian jazz who is turning out with a haunting new project.