Hendrik Lasure - Het Wiel / Vitja Pauwels

Vitja Pauwels
Vitja Pauwels is a Brussels-based guitarist who earned his spurs with bands such as Bombataz, Naima Joris and Lara Rosseel. In November 2022, the label WERF released his second solo album Drift By / Sink In. Characteristic of his style is the combination of electric guitar with an original use of effects pedals, electronic layers, samples and his own voice. The results are contrary earworms that sound simultaneously familiar and adventurous.

Hendrik Lasure - The Wheel
(live ensemble)
It is hard to believe that keyboardist, composer, singer and creative waterfall Hendrik Lasure is still only 25. His duo Schntzl with drummer Casper Van De Velde has been a household name for many years, made an impression in the theatre world (including collaborations with Femke Gyselinck and Lisa Verbelen) and played with groups such as Bombataz and An Pierlé Quartet. Jazz, classical, groovy pop and unctuous kitsch all come together in his impressive oeuvre. And yet the man surprises again with Het Wiel, an album of folkloric kleinkunst in Dutch. With this, he resolutely puts himself in the tradition of Jules De Corte and Boudewijn De Groot. And yet: jazz and ambient are never really far away. Thematically, songs like Wolkje and Bethlehem tell of memories of his childhood. The arrangements are beautiful in their simplicity, courtesy of producer and longtime partner-in-crime Koen Gisen.