Yes, we did it, we arranged it, and now it’s available: the album HOMME FATALE on VINYL! We’re very proud to have this album also available as a real record, sounding awesome and looking good. So for everyone who has a turntable, find us after our gigs, because we’ll have it with us all the time, or order your own copy here
Last summer we played the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague with VinnieVibes – the energetic band of Vincent Houdijk. The gig was awesome, there was a huge line to get into the venue we played, and the responses were amazing.
SO – GOOD NEWS: we recorded the whole thing, and it’s being mixed and mastered as we speak, to be released soon as the new VinnieVibes album! I had a sneak preview this week, and it’s really something special. I’ll keep you posted about the release date (follow me on facebook and you’ll know it the minute it’s available), but make sure you check it out when available..
Woohoo! We worked on it for quite a while, because we wanted it to be really good – the new album of Ratzke with the songs of Homme Fatale. And it’s ready, and I think it’s really good! Man, the hours we put in it to get all the sounds right, and the instruments I played! Not only like four different drumkits, but also vibraphone, some keys, a metal bin with drumsticks in it (beaten with two hammers!) and a top-part of a heater! But it’s been worth it, after Joris Wolff (our engineer and producer) put everything in the right spot. It’ll be available soon (we’re still planning on a release party), but here’s a teaser to make your mouth water..
This year I’m playing on the new album by Willem Hellbreker called ‘Balanced Action’. Together with the great Johan Clement, with whom I got to play for the first time, and my pal Jasper Somsen on double bass. The album contains a lot of originals by Willem, and some standards along with that. We got some great reviews already, and the albums sounds really nice!
Check it out and find some more info here!
Next month the Young Vips tour 2016 will start, which I’m am playing with the great band VinnieVibes. The tour will take us through all of the Netherlands, and we’re sharing the stage with Rogier Telderman Trio, the other winner of the Young Vips price. Along with playing this tour comes the release of VORTEX, the new album by VinnieVibes. Vincent Houdijk, the leader and founder of the band, composed some new music which we recorded live at Paradox (Tilburg) last year. That recording has been mixed and mastered, and we’ll bring it along on this tour. So come and check us out:
Yes, we did it! Or actually, YOU DID IT!!!
To be able to release the next Traeben album we started a crowdfunding campagne to raise money for producing this album and to get you involved in our project. Luckily everybody liked what we were doing, and so we gathered even more than we asked for – an incredible 106%!
We’re very grateful that you guys helped us out, and therefore very pleased te present you our newest album: Looking at the Storm.
So you are hereby invited to come to the release-party we’re throwing at Lantaren Venster in Rotterdam, next week September 19th. Tickets are only €10,- (get them here) and it’s going to be a great night! Also if you’re going, let us know by clicking on this facebook-event, and share the event so everybody knows you will be there.
In may this year I recorded a new album with Ellen ten Damme, called ‘Berlin’. It was recorded live at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and it features a great band with horns and strings. The tracklist has some old and some new material on it, all fabulously sung by Ellen.
In the meantime the album was mixed and mastered and is now ready to be released, which will be done september 26th. BUT: you can pre-order the cd now already!! Just go to this website, click on the album and order it there. There’s a tracklist available too.
And for those interested, the band was Robin Berlijn, Aram Kersbergen, Thijs Cuppen and me, ten string-players of Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and the hornsection: Tini Thomsen, Werner Jansen, Robbert Scherpenisse, Jan Harshagen and Matthias Konrad.
And here it is, the new cd of the Holland Big Band! We’ve recorded it a couple of weeks ago, containing pieces written by different band members, and arranged by Hollands best arrangers. Also this cd was recorded in Fattoria Musica by Chris Weeda, and it is going to be released next week with a presentation at the Bimhuis – Amsterdam (nov 22nd). It contains swing, boogaloo, beautiful ballads and some heavy grooves, altogether a great energetic album called PUSH FORWARD!
Here’s an impression of the studio session, also check www.hollandbigband.com for more info or to order your copy of the album:
Finally it’s there, the new Traeben album PUSH! After a great time of recording, mixing and mastering it’s all good: great tunes, fresh sound, super playing – well, you should check it out and hear it yourself. Hein van de Geyn did that, and these were his thoughts:
“Four men on a mission: to give the world real, honest, strong and beautiful music. Thank you gentlemen!”
So, there’s three things you can do:
– go to the Traeben website, there’s lots of information there, video’s, agenda. You can even subscribe to the newsletter. click here
– of course the cd is available on iTunes, with bonus tracks! click here
– come to the cd-presentation: we’ll play a nice concert at theater De Tobbe in Voorburg the 16th of March. All the pieces of the cd will be played, and of course the cd will be for sale there!
I hope to see you there, or at one of our other concerts, and let us know what you think of our music!!
