«FUNDAMENT» (foundation in Dutch) is a project of Belgian double bass player, sculptor and visual artist performer Peter Jacquemyn, dedicated to late, great German trombonist and close collaborator, Johannes Bauer (1954-2016). Jacquemyn choreographed together deep, dark and low sounds and images and created an almost spatial mass, or as he calls it «an exploration and celebration of the underflow».
Jacquemyn organized a unique ensemble, a «small army of bass instruments» focused on the most vibrant, deep-toned spectrum of sounds and breaths, comprised of five double bass players the shamans of the ensemble, tubax player, bass saxophone player, trombonist, two bass tuba players, two baritone sax player plus five vocalists, including Jacquemyn himself, who uses Mongolian Tuvan throat-singing.
«FUNDAMENT» is informed by innovative compositional ideas of John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Anthony Braxton and invites the listener to experience multitude of deep and dark vibrations and let these powerful. meditative vibrations lead to a spiritual dream state, a «temple» of imaginative aural terrains and sonic images. During the performance of «FUNDAMENT» the musicians are placed in different positions of the venue («FUNDAMENT» was rehearsed and recorded at Nona arts centre in Mechelen, Belgium), marching forward, back and across the venue, producing a fascinating sonic environment where the deep and resonant timbral exchanges of different families of instruments move in synchronized directions.
«FUNDAMENT» succeeds to create its own sonic universe. A massive and almost tangible entity of dark, deep-toned sounds that keeps embracing the listener with more and more layers of seductive sounds. These resonant sounds have cumulative powerful, emotional effect, almost a psychedelic one. You may feel that your senses are attuned anew to capture the most delicate and fragile vibrations, experiencing to the fullest by all sonic and visual nuances. The short interlude, especially the second, the meditative chanting of «earth», call for a humble kind of compassion, maybe asking to apply the powerful experience of «FUNDAMENT» in our daily life.
Eyal Hareuveni
Peter Jacquemyn (b, v), Eric Sleichim (tubax), Yannick Peeters (b), Kristof Roseeuw (b), Lode Leire (b), Pieter Lenaerts (b, v), Jan Pillaert (tuba, v), Carl-Ludwich Hübsch (tuba, v), Matthias Muche (tb), Gregoire Tirtiaux (bs, v), Mathieu Lilin (bs), Peter Verdonck (bass-s, v)
Fundament – voorstelling Predikherenkerk Leuven (30CC) from JazzLab on Vimeo.
