During the summer of 2006 and 2007 I worked with the Welsh duo Ember performing in the UK on festivals and in folkclubs and recording the album "Open All The Doors".
I met these talented singer-songwriters in the summer of 2005 while doing voluntary work in the UK. Immediately I envisioned percussion with their music and proposed to try working together. In March 2006, a few days before their Dutch tour kicked off, we rehearsed together and the rest is history... A typical case of synchronicity which Einstein called ‘useful coincidence’ and is an important belief within the Mayan calender.
In the first half of 2006 I played 27 Dutch theatres with the performance group Zenga in a show called ‘Inventions’. The group which was founded by two former members of the legendary Flairck, combines dance, acrobatics and world music.
In 2004 I participated in the XL Jazz Project, focusing on the music of the Brazilian genius composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal. For the project I mainly used a large table full of sound colors including muted cowbells, woodblocks, nutshakers, keychimes, whistles and children's toys.
The band of singer-songwriter Cecile Morel from The Hague was the first real opportunity I had to provide accompaniment without a drummer. From that moment on this became my main focus: not only playing colors but providing the main groove as well. The guitar and lapsteel player in this band was the great Paul Deneer, formerly of Nancy Works On Payday.