The band exists since 2008 and has four members including the brothers Zeven on the rhythm section and mexican Willem Niehorster on fretless and fretted guitar. In 2012 italian singer Antonio Tumbiolo who sings in his native language joins the band. In the beginning DFtA played instrumental music influenced by European progressive bands from the 70’s like King Crimson, Soft Machine and Banco. With the arrival of Toni they also have songs with vocals. DFtA plays weird time signatures and difficult passages that are strongly influence by melody.
Het vierkoppige Dream Flight to Antarctica bestaat sinds 2008 en bestaat uit de gebroeders Zeven in de ritmesectie en de in Mexico geboren Willem Niehorster op fretloze en fretted gitaar. In 2012 voegde zich de Italiaanse zanger Antonio Tumbiolo die in zijn moedertaal zingt daarbij. In het begin speelde Dream Flight to Antarctica instrumentale muziek beïnvloed door Europese progressieve bands uit de jaren ‘70, zoals King Crimson, Soft Machine en Banco. Met de komst van Toni zijn er ook nummers met zang. Dream Flight to Antarctica speelt gekke maatsoorten en moeilijke passages die sterk beïnvloed zijn door de melodie.
The MTS Trio (IRL, H)
The MTS Trio is an exciting new international project formed in early 2012 by musicians Jay Matharu (Fretless Guitar, UK/SWE), Zoltan Toth (Fretless Bass/ Vocals, UK/HUN) and Andras Salyik (Drums/ percussion, HUN). Incorporating elements of jazz, blues, rock, metal, Hungarian folk, Hindustani classical music and psychedelia, the trio is best described as an improvisational group; however they employ an “anything goes” attitude, so a structured pop song would not be an oddity in their repertoire either. Originally conceived over a Weiss beer in 2009 when Matharu and Toth were both resident in London, UK and members of progressive rock band “Mahavira”, this new project would be an outlet for Matharu and Toth to express alternate angles of their creativity which were not possible to explore within the constraints of a rock band. After many discussions Toth contacted Salyik (drummer in his previous band “Watchful Eye”) who was resident in Budapest, Hungary. The trio met up in a dark and dingy rehearsal space in London and played for the first time. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances it was not possible to pursue the project further.
In February 2012, Toth and Salyik were in Budapest in the middle of preproduction with their band “Blamish” and decided that they needed a break, they invited Matharu to the studio to jam again and the MTS Trio was born.
BAREND TROMP & THRANG (NL)
Barend Tromp is een experimentele gitarist die elementen uit fusion combineert met wereldmuziekinvloeden en soundscapes. Naast gitaar speelt hij ook fretloze bas, contrabas en sitar. Om zich te meer te verdiepen in de Indiase muziek heeft hij een jaar in India gewoond. Gezien zijn ervaring met fretloze instrumenten en sitar was de fretloze gitaar de volgende logische stap. Op dit instrument vermengt hij alle invloeden en technieken van bovenstaande instrumenten tot een eigen stijl. Hierin is hij beïnvloed door gitaristen als Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp en David Torn. Maar even goed door 20e eeuws klassieke componisten als Debussy, Strawinsky en Steve Reich.
Barend speelt vanavond met zijn vaste band Thrang. Dit experimentele trio is een mix van fusion, ambient, rock, avant-garde, jazz en new wave. De basis van de nummers is steeds de improvisatie. Thrang bestaat uit:
Barend Tromp: fretloze gitaar/loops
Eugene Vugts: fretloze bas
Mario Hooijmans: drums
Wonka Live (S)
“Trying to organize freedom….how very Scandinavian”
Wonka Live is a band that geographically and musically reach across the world, the music is completely improvised and created in a flowing now
Gunnar Backman-fretted and fretless virtual guitar, live loops
Henrik Wartel-drums
Anders Berg-el bass
WL has toured Europe and USA , played over radio in Poland, Germany, Japan, UK and USA etc.
Jahloon (GB)
Credited with kick starting the fretless guitar revolution, Jahloon founded www.unfretted.com the fretless guitar resource. Often referred to as the Godfather of the fretless guitar he produced the seminal fretless CD “Village of the Unfretted”, constantly committed to building the community of fretless players world-wide his rare musical performances crash the boundaries of modern fretless guitar.
Scott McGill (USA)
Proclaimed “The Thinking Man’s Yngwie Malmsteen” by celebrated jazz and fusion author/critic Bill Milkowski, Scott McGill is the cutting edge of Jazz Fusion/Progressive guitar playing.
His formal training includes a B.M. in Jazz Performance/Composition from Temple University (Summa Cum Laude).For ten years he studied with legendary composer/ theoretician Dennis Sandole (teacher of John Coltrane, Pat Martino, and James Moody, among others).
McGill records and tours with FreakZoid, Jones McGill, DeCarlo, with fretless bass icons Michael Manring and Percy Jones, and his solo discs have featured internationally respected producers Neil Kernon and David Torn, and Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater on keyboards. He won a fretless guitar endorsement from Vigier Guitars at the 2006 NYC Fretless Guitar Festival and he is a monthly columnist for Guitar Techniques in the U.K.
Propeller (MEX, NL)
Founded in 2000 by guitar player Willem Niehorster and singer John van Maanen. Strongly influenced by funk-rock, the band has performed more than 100 times in the Dutch Circuit. Many changes in the rhythm section has afected the way it sounds and the music that has been written. In 2005 the band stoped playing and in 2008 they reunited for a small tour. The band has recorded 3 albums, Elastic City, Down 2 Earth and Koco. The present line up, was called together to participate at the Dutch Fretless Guitar Festival 7, consists of Michiel Coolen on drums, Hans Swaep on bass , Willem Niehorster on fretless guitar and singer John van Maanen.
Weijters/Wamper (NL)
Melle Weijters studeerde in 2005 af als Jazzgitarist aan het Conservatorium Maas- tricht. In 2006 nam zijn carriere een drastische wending, toen hij tijdens het eerste Dutch Fretless Guitar Festival besloot om 100% fretloos te gaan. Hiervoor liet hij een unieke 10-snarige fretloze gitaar bouwen, zijn kanariegele Charlee Livingston (2010). Dit instrument brengt hem tot de kern van zijn muziek: improvisatie op basis van sound en intuitie.
Tellef Øgrim (N)
Tellef got his first guitar in 1969. It was a really bad instrument, The ones that follo- wed where not much better. Some of them were home built, plugged into amplifiers made from modified radio cabinets. (The drummer was playing on plastic buckets.) It was all about rock and roll. There were records, television and touring, after a while with real instruments. Jazz and theater music followed. At one point, inspired by the do-it-yourself-experimenting from his youth, he ripped the frets of a Yamaha SG elec- tric. It was used on single tracks on 2 records and then forgotten. From 1992 he and did not play for 5 years but in stead worked as a talk radio host, journalist and father of 3. His period away from playing ended when he rediscover the de-fretted Yamaha. Since then this weird instrument has been his steady partner. In 2004 he released a solo CD with this instrument and in 2007 Curling Legs Records put out his CD Wagon8 featuring Dag Einar Eilertsen and Jacek Kochan. Later the same year he played on “Do I the In?” (NotTwo records) with Joe Fonda, Franz Hautzinger and Jacek Kochan. In the fall of 2010 Tellef started a collaboration with Clementine Gasser and Jacek Kochan in a Gasser-Kochan-Ogrim Trio. The group’s first album “What’s wrong with Now?” was released by NotTwo records in May 2012.
Craig Scott Gastric Band (GB)
Craig Scott – Fretless guitar Tom Lumley – Saxophones Drums – TBC
