From improvised melodies to groovy electronic noise | West Side Trio | Kunstruimte Willem II

The members of the West Side Trio are classically trained, experienced in jazz and pop music and always looking for new sounds. With wood, voice, strings, cables, amplifiers and effect pedals they defy musical categorization, creating a world of their own. Recently the 3rd album ’Alternate Realities’ was released. In this session, recorded at Willem Twee in ’s Hertogenbosch, they play 4 tracks from that album. West Side Trio: Vera van der Bie - Violin/ fx/ voice, Rani Kumar - Viola/fx/voice, Annie Tångberg - Cello/fx/voice Track list: 00:00 OPA - Rani Kumar 07:12 Tiny Road Sharks - Vera van der Bie 12:22 Cogito Ergo Sum - Annie Tångberg 16:13 Evolution - Vera van der Bie, Rani Kumar, Annie Tångberg “Each song describes a potentially different reality, an alternate reality. For example: What would it be like if we all moved to another planet in a while?” They compose and improvise everything from soft sweet melodies to groovy distorted electronic noise. The colors and nuances are endless and innovative. This experimental string sound draws attention from jazz and pop musicians who ask WST to collaborate with them. They go on a European tour with Bill Laurance (Snarky Puppy) and play Pinkpop and Tivoli/Vredenburg with Jonathan Jeremiah. They also play with and record for Ken Stringfellow (., The Posies), Sonja van Hamel, Fay Lovsky, and Tini Thomsen. The combination of WST with film appears to be a successful one: the trio is commissioned by EYE Filmmuseum (Amsterdam) and De Balie to write and play their music live for several silent and animated films. For the silent film “Tabu” they write and perform with the Metropole Strings at the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ. Editors: Melchior Huurdeman, Aad van Nieuwkerk, Sakti Khedoe, Kaya Belfor Camera & lighting: Ramon de Boer, Edwin Vermeulen, Jan Rein Heitinga Sound: Marc Broer Producer: Jorinde Hiddema/Pippa Harris Director/Editing Reinier Bruijne This video was recorded at Willem Twee 2023 in ’s Hertogenbosch for VPRO Vrije Geluiden: music program made by the Dutch public broadcast organization VPRO full session: ​ ​​ twitter, instagram @vrijegeluiden. #westsidetrio #stringtrio #newmusic #electronics #willemtwee #vrijegeluiden #npo2extra #nporadioklassiek #ranikumar #veravanderbie #annietangberg