Cuneiform: Brown vs Brown – Odds and Unevens // Dieses Wochenende für FIVE

“The sound of Brown vs Brown is original, fresh and deserves your great attention.” – Jazzenzo // “No category fits them perfectly, whether punk, jazz, free, avant-garde…open to any influences and with a large affinity to the free improvised jazz scene, Brown vs Brown is a artistically refreshing breeze from the country of windmills.” – Concerto

Brown vs Brown are a intense and stunningly tight ‚rehearsal-intensive‘ avant-garde rock band from Amsterdam, Holland formed in 2000. The band’s electrifying chemistry quickly made itself apparent: A love/hate relationship with jazz, a quirky alt/punk-rock mindset and the genuine need to create a new music that is coherent and personal, became their common ground in the hard-working years that followed.

After 5 years of joint creative exploits and playing hundreds of concerts throughout Europe, Brown vs Brown has developed a musical universe that categorically denies stylistic description. Seemingly contrasting elements clash and recombine: meticulous composition vs. improvisation, complexity vs. raw energy, and breakneck stumble rhythms vs. irresistible swing. Brown vs Brown takes great pride in its reputation as a powerhouse live act, and feels as confident playing the consecrated ground of jazz-temples as well as the beer-soaked floors of ill-lit alt-rock clubs, leaving all of these audiences flabbergasted.

Dirk Bruinsma is known to long-time Cuneiform followers as a co-founder and co-leader of Blast, who recorded several brilliant albums for us. While Blast has moved more into a ‚improvised-music‘ direction, Brown vs Brown builds upon the the composed, angular, intricate tough-edged and aggressive, avant-progressive sound of Blast’s earlier works, as well as groups like Henry Cow, Zs, Doctor Nerve, the Magic Band and Extra Life.

released February 2, 2010

Niljam Nybacka – bass, vocals (1, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Dirk Bruinsma – alto & baritone saxophone, vibraphone (2, 7), vocals (1, 2, 5, 6)
Gerri Jäger – drums & percussion, vocals (5, 6)
Jeroen Kimman – guitar, banjo (4), percussion (1, 3), vocals (1, 4, 5, 6), harmonium, recorders and thumb piano (4)

1, 4 : written by Kimman
2, 6, 7 : written by Bruinsma
3, 5 : written by Nybacka

Produced by Brown vs Brown and Sandor Caron.
Recorded November 24-29, 2008 in Studio Midi-Pyrénées, Caudeval, France.
Recording and engineering by Bob Drake.
Mixing by Sandor Caron at Poesco Studio, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mastering by Gijs van Klooster at Amsterdam Mastering.
Illustration by Marie Tribouilloy.