Monday 22 June 2015, 8pm
Annelies Monseré is a Belgian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter with a compositional style both imaginative and thoughtful. Her debut album “Helder” was released in 2005 on BlueSanct, and since then she ha put out several other albums and EP's as well as collaborating with the likes of Drekka, Jessica Bailiff, In Gowan Ring and Toss. She has performed mesmerizing concerts with the likes of Movietone, Crescent, Hood, Rivulets and Tara Jane O'Neil.
“An exercise in communicating the things in the darkest corners of your skull. Monseré does it magnificently.” – Digitalis industries
“When Monseré plays she allows each note to speak clearly and simply and toys with a childlike naivety which is impossible not to fall in love with.” – Boomkat
Annelies Monseré has been playing music solo since 2000. Initially the music was piano-based and mostly instrumental. Once she ‘discovered’ her voice, vocals became a main focus. Since then, she has released 5 albums and several EP's.
Her debut album ‘Helder’ (released by BlueSanct) was described as “a delicate album, complete with beautiful cracks and loads of tape-hiss. […] an intensely intimate album”. On later albums and EP’s (on labels such as Morc, Stroom and ThreeFour), new routes were explored, such as: inviting other musicians to make contributions (including friends such as Jessica Bailiff, Michael Anderson, Ellen Evers, Justin & Nathan Vollmar and Steve Marreyt); using new instruments, timbres and recording techniques; interpreting traditional ballads; and introducing drum beats. Lyrically also, the records gained more focus. On ‘Happiness is within Sight’, released by the Belgian Stroom label in 2018, she tried to exhibit multiple perspectives on a parting between lovers. The new record ‘Mares’, that will be released by Horn of Plenty, explores personal memories and metaphorical meanings of the sea, how these memories and meanings interact and how childhood memories are distorted or enhanced by future events and thoughts.
Besides her solo work, Annelies is also collaborating with various other musicians. With Jessica Bailiff, an EP has been released by Morc Records, and their debut album – under the moniker Hydromedusae – will be released on Trome Records early 2023. Her full band, Luster, has released its first 10″ (a split with Hellvete) in 2016 and their very well-received debut album has been released in June 2022 on Morc Records. A collaboration with Steve Marreyt, Distels, was released in 2021 on Almost Halloween Time and Feeding Tube Records.
Ute Kanngießer is a London based cellist and composer from Germany. Over the years, she has carefully deconstructed her classical roots and almost exclusively performs unscripted, improvised music. Much of her work has evolved in relationship with other art forms such as film, poetry, dance and site specific work. She is interested in the vast expressive possibilities of her instrument in relation to body, space, and others, always looking to rediscover or redefine what is musical/lyrical in this moment in time.
Recent releases include Blue Monday - a collaboration with writer Zara Joan Miller - on New York label Reading Group.
