In 2008 Vanvinckenroye created a solo project called BASta! and recorded Cycles, an album featuring him on solo multi-tracked double bass.
Now 10 years later a new album is ready! Together with flute- player Jana Arns, Joris creates his work through recording double bass and flute and layering the sound to create an orchestral ambience in his own cinematic fusion style!
Listen (and buy) here: bastaduo.bandcamp.com
Now 10 years later a new album is ready! Together with flute- player Jana Arns, Joris creates his work through recording double bass and flute and layering the sound to create an orchestral ambience in his own cinematic fusion style!
Listen (and buy) here: bastaduo.bandcamp.com
musicframes.nl (Oct. 2018) by Mattie Poels
Around ten years ago the Belgian contra-bassist Joris Vanvinckenroye recorded ‘Cycles’. A project called BASTa! A special project because he recorded several audio tracks double bass, to create a complete ‘double bass orchestra’. The compositions on ‘Vertigo’ are played in a similar way, but this time he’s assisted by flute player Jana Arns. The result is beautiful cinematic music with a profound eloquence.
A double bass solo album is very rare. But Joris Vanvinckenroye recorded his CD ‘Cycles’ in 2008. Four years later the French double bass player Renaud Garcia-Fons released his album ‘Solo’. But now there is a new collaboration on the CD ‘Vertigo’ on which we hear the contrabass of Vanvinckenroye with flute player Jana Arns. The flute has, from a solo point of view, a great ‘nothing-to-worry-about’ atmosphere, but in combination with the double bass the instrument sounds great. The ensemble (alto) flute and contrabass offers a cinematic presence that gives both instruments a new sound scale. For example the bass plays simultaneously plucked (pizzicato) and bowed (con arco) by using a loopstation. A small recording device that records fragments on which you play along with yourself to create your own orchestra. Something similar happens with the flute which can be heard playing staccato and legato. These techniques offer many possibilities that are used in a smart way by Joris Vanvinckenroye and Jana Arns, where the vocals of Arns’ are added and the voice is used as an instrument. The flute with its high timbre and sharp sound creates a beautiful contrast with the double bass, with its low and predominantly deep sound which creates a rich breeding ground. The result is beautifully inspiring music with a picturesquely atmosphere. The instruments complement each other, are each other’s equivalent but also each other’s opposite pole. The CD opens with an organic resonance in the title piece ‘Vertigo’, followed by a rhythmic part. The long flute sounds in ‘Insomnijana’ contrast beautifully with the staccato and pizzicato tones of the double bass. Or the Renaissance-like ‘Amorta’ that sounds beautiful with its double-bowed bass parts, complemented by fast flute tones. The album ‘Vertigo’ is full of these kinds of musical quibbles, great to listen to. That makes the duo BASTa! a splendid combination.