Three generations of unique Dutch musicians find each other in a common urge to improvise in which aesthetics, poetry and ensemble play have a major role. The listener is taken to an almost dreamlike new reality. 

Under the Surface is a new Dutch band formed by drummer Joost Lijbaart (1967), guitarist Bram Stadhouders (1987) and vocalist Sanne Rambags (1994).  It’s about time the very first recording (2015) is being released ! Here it all started :

On the night of 18 December 2015, we finished a recording with Under The Surface in the MCO together with Frans de Rond, Harry van Dalen and Michael van Polen.

It was a live to 2 track analogue recording .

We listened back to it and were amazed by the beautiful sound but somehow, we felt the urge to record something more.
Following a suggestion from Michael we decided to record 5 improvisations without any prior agreements.
It was late, for sure after midnight. The room was calm, the audience left, and we started to play. From the first note we were in a ‘zone’ with each other. We improvised 5 tracks which sounded like compositions created in the moment. In music sometimes ‘the magic is turned on’. This happens most of the times when musicians forget themselves, their ego and just follow the spirit of the moment. Musicians are in that moment a conduit of divine energy. We did not know how it happened that night, but it happened, and Frans, Harry and Michael recorded it in a most beautiful way.

Under The Surface became a band that night and we decided to continue with the concept of improvised concerts. We were able to find and keep that spirit again and again and started to tour for the next eight years. We performed all over the planet, from Mali to Bolivia, from India to China to Rwanda to Cuba and in every country, people could feel the spirit of our music. We played on big festivals, in Buddhistic temples in museums, on roofs of buildings and for blindfolded audiences.  We grew in our improvisations and discovered so many aspects of each other, our music, and spirits during all our travels.

After 8 years and more than 200 live concerts with Under The Surface I played the music from this first recording again and it brings me into tears.
I realize the enchantment of ‘doing something for the first time’ is difficult to reproduce.
The beauty of fragility and the relativity of time are precious.

On this recording you hear Under The Surface maybe in its most pure form, as a flower just about to bloom. Just before it’s journey on this earth.

(Joost Lijbaart)

More than a year ago we met Jeremy Olivier (a South African singer-song writer) through
Frank Lenselink, They showed their new album with great artists, wow what a performance!
So we had the suggestion to Record Jeremy on our label and with perhaps
other talented musicians.
Mike del Ferro is not only a pianist of the highest level but also a fascinating person,
Mike has already done several projects with us and we thought this is the right combination.
Well it turned out that Jeremy and Mike have played together before which we didn’t know 🙂
Once in the studio this Duo is all amazing !! Very professional and musically we managed to record this album successfully within 2 days!

“What a beautiful day. Cutting a record. Just me and Mike del Ferro The sound. Oh my word. Have never heard a piano sound better- or my vocals, or my guitar! Just incredible. Honoured to be in the same studio as Lester Young, Oscar Peterson and the great Bill Evans. They all recorded here in the 60’s and it’s still the same!” (Jeremy Olivier)
Take a listen to these beautiful songs:

(recording date: 31-08 & 01-09-2020)

-Jeremy Olivier
“Where the Light Gets In”-
—>For sale on Vinyl and SACD at Concerto & Plato.

Also in our shop at:
Rhapsody,
Maasdijk 4
5357NB Maasdijk
+31  6-54780316
(Tape on request)

-SOON ON VINYL TOO 2023 –

-FULL DYNAMIC AUDIOPHILE RECORDING-
One year ago at a Spiritconnection concerts in a big church in Weesp (the Netherlands) we had an rehearsal with some musicians for a sound-experience, Atzko and Eddy played an improvisation together for fun, we immediately realized that these musicians could form a suitable duo so we asked them if it would be an idea to record them.

They were certainly in for that! After a number of rehearsals we were invited to listen to this duo if the music that they have practiced would be something we were looking for, but that turned out not really to be the case so we gave them some ideas as not only to perform improvisations but also to pay attention to the musicality and that the songs would matter, so that everyone would enjoy putting on this music.

The result is incredible, this duo has risen above themselves under the guidance of us to a top duo! 4 beautiful pieces is the result of 2 recording days. The beautiful melodies of Atzko takes you into an emotional experience of spring, summer, autumn and winter where eddy interprets the enormous thunderstorms in the summer with his beautiful percussion work.

For audiophiles it is also highly recommended not only because we spend a lot of attention to detail and with the use of the very best equipment, but sonically it worked out to be a very dynamic and musical recording. This recording will be released on Tape and Vinyl and perhaps later digitally.
Take a listen to this shortend sample:

-Atzko Kohashi & Eddy Koopman “Sketches of Seasons”-
—>For sale on SACD at Concerto & Plato.

-SOON ON VINYL TOO – !!!!! 2023

Also in our shop at:
Rhapsody,
Borneolaan 25, 1217 GX Hilversum
(035) 628 46 44
(Tape on request)

Recording date: june 22/23 2020

A few months ago we had an fantastic idea to try to capture one of our old high resolution recordings we did with “Turtle Records” (our former Label) to tape and LP on the highest possible way.
So we asked Bert van der Wolf (Edison Production Company BV) who has the Original high-res. masters in his posession to collaborate with us and aim for this geart project.

So we all came together and talked about the possibilities , so we planed a day to do this job and prepared our studio with amps of Soulution and Moon, TAD Compact Evolution loudspeakers and the tape machines with cables from SCHNERZINGER® GIGA-PULSE technology and Interfering field elimination, Audioquest Niagara Power conditioners. Bert tried to get the most sofisticated MERGING NADAC+PLAYER+POWER and CLOCK (world premier!)

We did some tests and finally recorded DEAN PEER album on to tape !
This recording comes from our high resolution masters (352kHz 32Bit)
The sound is incredible !!!

We were all impressed what we catch on to tape !
It is as if Dean is playing in front of us, the energy of the Bass the tabla etc. it’s unbelievable impressive!
Soon available on direct tape copy’s and LP
More info soon.

Some time ago Atzko was at our shop (Rhapsody) and was telling us about plans she had for a new trio and she came up with some suggestions of musicians, I asked her directly to record her on tape and Harry told her “why not choose Tony Overwater on Bass and Angelo Verploegen on trompet? ” She was directly in for the suggestion and she was thinking already to play sometime in the future with these great dutch jazz musicians.

Last thursday and friday 29,30th of march 2018 we recoded an studio and live recording of this great jazz trio on to analog tape.
What a great performance and fantastic songs that Atzko choose from the good old history of jazz and let’s not forget some beautiful songs of Atzko,Tony and Angelo that will make this recording a succes!

It was as always an exciting experience to create an almost ready product in the moment if you go live to 2 track!
And we did it again! Try to catch the energy of the musical performance as real as possible direct on to tape is always a challenge but fun to do and great if is works out well !

These musicians have a lot of experience and giged worldwide with numerous musicians and this is the first time they played with each other and we are honored to have made this analog recording with them! We will create an master tape in the next couple of months,.
Atzko,Tony and Angelo will be touring for the next couple of years.

We made a special mastering for CD
Order the CD  ———-> CLICK HERE

Our dear friend Harry Bouwman keeps our Studers up and running superior ! 
He’s chancing some bearings and brings it back to spec.
What a great guy !

See the gallery fore some more pictures of the inside of the A80

There is a new recording coming up this thursday 26 january 2017 at MCO Studio’s Hilversum.

It is a piece from -Fons Brouwer- called “Tempera”
This piece is gonna be performed by Navarra String Quartet.

More info. after the recording.

-NEWS-  Today: Januari 28 2019 we will finish the recording and will be available in a digital format soon.

Navarra String Quartet

Recorded Live at MCO Hilversum on Sunday November 13 2016

Harry came up with an idea to cover the album ‘Harry Belafonte Sings The Blues’. Frans took the idea to Carmen Gomes Inc. And they started rehersing and playing the album live for a few times. On the 12 and 13th of november we came together to record the album live on tape

The members are fresh and ready for the concert. The warm vocals of Carmen is hitting the tape and there she goes gluing into the bass who’s carying the band, the sometimes dynamic bassdrum opens up the vains that give us the thrills of a ‘yeah!‘ and then the great guitar playing of Folker he’s screamin blues all over us , what a great band coming alive and on tape it is just overwhelming.