Wouter Hamel

Holland

2013.09.25 09:30 – 10：30pm

Venue: B10 Live, North District, OCT-LOFT

Artists：

Wouter Hamel – Vocal

Sven Happel – Double bass

Jasper van Hulten – Drums

Rory Ronde – Guitar

Thierry Castel – Piano

Gijs van Straalen – Percussion

Wouter Hamel is one of those rare artists that make people think that he and his songs have been around forever. But he’s only been an established musical figure since 2007 – in his native Netherlands and far beyond.

With catchy, self-written songs that surf blurs the line between pop and jazz, Wouter Hamel was quick in winning the hearts and minds of a large public. His debut album Hamel from 2007, with its hit singles ‘Breezy’ and ‘Don’t Ask’, achieved platinum status, as Wouter and his band played not only the main stages of the Dutch club circuit but also every major pop and jazz festival. His success was welcomed but it also proved somewhat overwhelming for both Hamel and his producer Benny Sings. After getting through the chaos of their 2008 breakthrough, they returned to the studio to work on the follow-up album Nobody’s Tune. Further deepening Wouter Hamel’s sound, the album came out in 2009 during his first major national theatre tour which brought him to 50 major Dutch stages.

As Wouter Hamel’s star rose in his own country, the ‘buzz’ around the young singer-songwriter also began spreading around the globe. Japanese radio picked up on him in 2008 as tracks from his debut Hamel began appearing on their playlists. Later in the year, his debut was released in the land of the rising sun, followed in 2009 by Nobody’s Tune. His Japanese successes proved to be the catalyst for a pan-Asian career. In 2009 he was invited to the Seoul Jazz Festival and its enthusiastic South Korean public. As Nobody’s Tune went platinum in his own country, Wouter Hamel and his band returned another five times to South Korea, where the album has meanwhile gone gold.

Currently Wouter Hamel is working on his fourth album, set to be released in autumn 2013. This fourth album is preceded by the five- track EP ‘G.I.R.L.S.I.N.T.H.E.C.I.T.Y.!’ with the title track being a duet with Lucky Fonz III. The release of ‘G.I.R.L.S.I.N.T.H.E.C.I.T.Y.!’ also marks the beginning of the 2013 theatre tour of the Netherlands, which will keep Hamel and his band busy until the end of April. Later, summer festivals around the world will be welcoming their new favourite son to their stages.

Klangbezirk Quartet

Germany

2013.9.25 08:00 – 09:00pm

Venue: B10 Live, North District, OCT-LOFT

Artists:

Tanja Pannier – Soprano, Arranger, Songwriter

Kathrin Scheer – Alto, Songwriter

Juan Garcia -Tenor, Arranger, Songwriter

Matthias Knoche – Bass, Arranger

Klangbezirk was founded in 2005 by four singers of the federal youth jazz orchestra Germany. After only six rehearsals they competed in Graz at the renowned a cappella festival “Vokal Total“ and won 1st price in the jazz categories and 2nd prize in the pop categories. After that success, they started singing on every well-known and respected a cappella event from Tampere to Taiwan. Until now, Klangbezirk has won more than 10 domestic and international awards and has toured more than 10 countries.

After recording their first album (Klangbezirk), Klangbezirk recorded a winter album (Winter Kuscheldecken Songs) and the first mandarin a cappella album worldwide (Mandarin Songs). Currently, Klangbezirk is producing their fourth album (Back to the Garden) with songs from the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969.

The four members of Klangbezirk live in different cities. So whenever and wherever they meet, they are making up a “district of sound”, which is the literal meaning of the group’s name: “Klangbezirk”.

Based on their international experience, members of Klangbezirk are now teaching in Universities and hold master classes all over Germany. Their arrangements are published and become part of the German choir competition.