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Paramaribo – Amsterdam

Last month, I had the incredible opportunity of traveling with a delegation from Muziekschool Amsterdam to Suriname. This journey wasn’t just about music; it was about building connections, sharing knowledge, and celebrating cultural exchange.

This trip also meant that after a year of teaching online, I finally had the chance to meet my students from the Conservatory of Suriname in person. Hearing their ideas and feeling their energy in real life was an unforgettable experience.

Our delegation was warmly welcomed by local music schools such as CCS, Bellas Artes, Alakondre, Mi Melodi, the Conservatory of Suriname, and the National Folk Music School (NVMS). We discussed the challenges and opportunities in music education and explored ways to strengthen our collaboration.

Throughout the week, we organized workshops and masterclasses on topics like technique, improvisation but also musical entrepreneurship. Together with my colleagues Willem Smit, Adriana Romijn, and Eddy Veldman, we were inspired by the enthusiasm and curiosity of the students and teachers alike.

We ended the week with a shared meeting with the music schools and the conservatory, not just as a conclusion to the trip but as the start of a lasting partnership. Suriname has left a profound impact on me, and I am excited about the future of our collaboration.

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‘T Züden: Ode aan het Limburgs Lied

Around a year and a half ago, Esther van der Heijden and I stumbled upon our shared fascination for the music from Limburg’s hills. Our curiosity extended beyond our hometowns of Maastricht and Venlo to cover the entire province. While Limburg’s carnival music is widely known, we wondered what other music lies waiting to be discovered. Who are the voices behind these songs, and what stories do they tell? Are there tunes that all of us from the South recognize, or do they vary by region? What started as a simple “we should do something with this” has now grown into a full-fledged concert program we are incredibly proud of: ‘T Züden – Ode aan het Limburgs Lied.

After a successful try-out at Theater de Roode Bioscoop earlier this year, we continued with a performance at the Zomerparkfeest in Venlo and then a sold-out matinee at Theater Heerlen. Meanwhile, we captured a selection of these unique southern songs during the Roode Bioscoop Sessions. It’s a pleasure to share our first live recording!

Curious to hear more of our leedjes and the story behind this project? Join us live on Saturday morning, November 16th 2024, on L1 Cultuurcafé.

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Ipoh

Ipoh is a city in Malaysia close to the Cameron Highlands, famous for their fields filled with tea plants. The scent is amazing.

‘Ipoh’ is the second composition in a series of original photographs and original instrumental songs inspired by mobile recordings. All photos and compositions by Robbert Suilen.

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Penang

‘Penang’ is the first in a series of original photographs and original instrumental songs inspired by mobile recordings. This is a short piece with a chant recording from Penang, a beautiful city in Malaysia.

All photos and compositions composed by Robbert Suilen.

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‘Songs from the Garden’

I’m super proud and excited to share WANDER’s first album with you. ‘Songs from the Garden’ is a collection of songs written by Babs van Bree, Renée Steenvoorden and myself, recorded at Studio 150, De Bethlehemkerk, in Amsterdam. The songs reflect our vision on nature, dreaming, cities, playfulness and improvisation. It was such a joy to make. The dutch Jazz magazine ‘Jazzism’ wrote a lovely review on our album (excerpt):


“Three voices and guitar, that’s all WANDER needs to build an intriguing world of sounds… Sometimes scat where you don’t expect it, sometimes you’re dreaming away. WANDER surprises you constantly.”

– Marcel Haerkens (Jazzism #5 2021) –


You can listen to ‘Songs from the Garden’ here:

Check my agenda or click here for all the tour dates!

Artwork ‘Songs from the Garden’ by Isabel Camps

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…About Guitars

I love guitars, always have. There’s something in the sound that really speaks to me. Especially in when I’m singing or comping. A year ago I travelled to Southeast-Asia where I found a guitar that amazed me.

It was a rainy day (read: monsoon) and I was walking through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. By chance I kind of walked into Guitar street, which is a street that holds more than 40 guitar shops. Vintage, new, famous brand and custom guitars are built there. Imagine a street, with an open garage door near the road. Cars and scooters racing by and it’s a 40 degrees celsius with 80% humidity. I ended up in the shop of Binh Nuygen, he’s the owner and builder of a store called: Guitar Binh. He works on guitars in a small shop and the guitars he sells are, amazingly considering the circumstances, quite wonderful.

I picked up a model that was roughly based on an Gibson L1, not expecting too much of it. But the sound and resonance shook me. The guitar played and sounded great. I was super surprised. In fact, I couldn’t put it down. The guitar wasn’t completely finished yet. But I had made up my mind, this guitar would return to The Netherlands with me. When I asked him if he could finish it he said; “Yes, there’s a café around the corner, come back in an hour”.

After an hour I returned and the guitar was indeed ready, set-up and all. Crazy craftsmanship and friendliness from mr. Binh that I still cherish every time I pick up this instrument. I will enjoy this guitar for many years (and gigs) to come.

If you’re ever in Ho Chi Minh, go see this shop and get yourself a nice instrument. You will not regret it.

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Snow

Besides playing music, I really love listening to music. It’s basically what gets us into music in the first place. You hear a melody, a chord or a lyric that sends shivers down your spine. It was the moment I knew I wanted to be a musician. Let me paint you a picture. I was in a car looking at the passing fields somewhere in the south of Italy. I was listening to “…All This Time” by Sting. Expressive singing, poetic lyrics and lush chords (that I didn’t understand, but eagerly wanted to understand) made me fall in love with the record. I probably played that record more times than any other record I own.

It was also the first record I heard that used soundscapes mixed with acoustic instruments. 

This is an important part of what Keri and I do now with Hireth. On the 25th January we released our first real single called “Snow”. I wrote it looking outside the window on a snowy day in Amsterdam. The snow was falling down so fast that you couldn’t tell if the snow was falling or ascending. Keri and I worked a lot on soundscapes in the mixing progress, trying to capture the movement of the snow.

Its thrilling to know that music you once heard in your head to be available online!

You can listen to “Snow” here:

Spotify: spoti.fi/2B3jIEl
Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/nl/album/snow-single/1450430437