princess4president is a project by pianist/composer Kaat De Windt, bass player Mirko Banovic, drummer Etienne Plumer and singers Naomi Sijmons and Annelies Van Dinter.
The colourful pop and jazz arrangements created by the rhythm section form the basis of the headstrong universe that Kaat De Windt’s compositions populate.
Free jazz forms and minimal pop acquire the warmth of gospel and desert blues without forfeiting rawness.
The socially committed lyrics of Elvis Peeters (among others), the enveloping voices of singers Naomi Sijmons (aka Reena Riot) and Annelies Van Dinter (Echo Beatty), the grooves and palate of sounds by bass player Mirko Banovic (Arno, Arsenal), the delicate and tribal percussion of Etienne Plumer (Rêve d’Eléphant, Animus Anima) and the headstrong keys of Kaat De Windt result in true musical gems.
Kaat De Windt (piano, rhodes, composition),
Naomi Sijmons (vocals, guitar)
Annelies Van Dinter (vocals, guitar)
Mirko Banovic (bass, bass arrangements),
Etienne Plumer (drums, drum arrangements)
What came before
The compositional assignment given to Kaat De Windt by Vooruit, for the exchange project between the “Vooruit Geluid” festival in Ghent and the “Musiques Echanges” festival in Québec, led to the formation of the group “White Wine Dark Grapes”; Six musicians from various scenes playing contemporary jazz, influenced by contemporary classical and ethnic jazz.
The lyrics were carefully chosen and performed by singer Isnelle Da Silveira. Together with Jan Rzewski, Jean Kowalski, Veronique Delmelle and Michel Hatzigeorgiou – later to be replaced by Mirko Banovic – they toured in Belgium and abroad and recorded a cd with the label Needrecords. This project “White Wine Dark Grapes ” led to more collaborations in new projects.
Some predecessors of “princess4president”:
- “Sugarbeat”, a project by bass player Mirko Banovic and Lazara Rossel Albear (performance, drums). Guest: Kaat De Windt (piano).
- In 2013 “Beeldenstorm” vzw assigned a project to Kaat De Windt, to create the music for a dance film for children:
“ Klokkenluider” choreografie: Karin Vyncke, Annelore Bakeland, Angélique Wilkie, Isnelle De Silveira (vocals), Etienne Plumer (drums), Mirko Banovic (bas), strings: Jeroen Robbrecht, Pieter Jansen, Romek Maniewski, Kaat De Windt (compositions, piano).
- Kaat De Windt composed sound tracks and a few songs to texts by Elvis Peeters (among others) for the music theater production “Mest”/”Hunger for Trade” (KVS, 2014) directed by Guy Dermul. This was performed together with singers Naomi Sijmons (Reena Riot) and Lucy Grauman, with Kaat De Windt on piano/fender rhodes. Mirko Banovic and Etienne Plumer created the samples for bass and drums.
- Singers Naomi Sijmons and Annelies Van Dinter are both singer-songwriters and lead their own bands, “Reena Riot” and “Echo Beatty”. They collaborated already on other projects and recorded the soundtrack to the youth opera “It’s Frankenstein, stupid” with music by Kaat De Windt.
princess4president is een project van pianiste/componiste Kaat De Windt, bassist Mirko Banovic , drummer Etienne Plumer en zangeressen Naomi Sijmons en Annelies Van Dinter.
De veelkleurige pop-, jazz arrangementen van de ritmesectie vormen de basis voor het eigenzinnige universum van de compostities van Kaat De Windt.
Vrije jazz vormen en minimal pop krijgen de warmte van gospel en desert blues zonder rauwheid te schuwen.
De sterke sociaal geëngageerde teksten van oa Elvis Peeters, de indringende stemmen van zangeressen Naomi Sijmons (aka Reena Riot), Annelies Van Dinter (Echo Beatty), de grooves en het klankenpalet van bassist Mirko Banovic (Arno, Arsenal) , de fijne en tribale percussie van Etienne Plumer (Rêve d’Eléphant, Animus Anima) en het eigenzinnige toestenwerk van Kaat De Windt leveren muzikale parels op.
Kaat De Windt (piano, rhodes, compositie),
Naomi Sijmons (zang, gitaar )
Annelies Van Dinter (zang, gitaar,
Mirko Banovic (bas, arrangement bas),
Etienne Plumer (drums, arrangement drums)
wat vooraf ging
De compositie opdracht van Vooruit aan Kaat De Windt voor het uitwisselingsproject tussen het “Vooruit Geluid”-festival in Gent en het “Musiques-Echanges”-festival in Québec leidde tot de oprichting van de groep “White Wine Dark Grapes”.
Met zes muzikanten van uit uiteenlopende scènes brachten zij hedendaagse jazz, met invloeden van hedendaags klassiek, etnische muziek en jazz.
Teksten waren uitgekozen en bijzonder gebracht door zangeres Isnelle Da Silveira. Samen met Jan Rzewski, Jean Kowalski, Veronique Delmelle en Michel Hatzigeorgiou, later vervangen door Mirko Banovic, toerden zij in binnen- en buitenland en namen zij een CD op met het Label Needrecords. Het project “White Wine Dark Grapes ” leidde tot meer samenwerkingen in nieuwe projecten.
Enkele voorlopers van “princess4president”:
- “Sugarbeat”, een project van bassist Mirko Banovic en Lazara Rossel Albear (performance, drums). Gast: Kaat De Windt (piano).
- In 2013, de opdracht van “Beeldenstorm” vzw aan Kaat De Windt voor de muziekcreatie van een dansfilm voor kinderen:
“ Klokkenluider” choreografie: Karin Vyncke , Annelore Bakeland, Angélique Wilkie, Isnelle De Silveira (zang), Etienne Plumer (drums), Mirko Banovic (bas) , strijkers: Jeroen Robbrecht, Pieter Jansen, Romek Maniewski, Kaat De Windt (compositie, piano).
- Voor de muziektheater productie “Mest”/”Hunger for Trade” (KVS, 2014) in regie van Guy Dermul componeerde Kaat De Windt soundtracks en een aantal songs op teksten van oa Elvis Peeters. Met zangeressen Naomi Sijmons (Reena Riot), Lucy Grauman, en Kaat De Windt (piano/fender rhodes). Mirko Banovic en Etienne Plumer creërden de samples voor bas en drums.
- Zangeressen Naomi Sijmons en Annelies Van Dinter zijn beiden singer songwriters en leiders van hun eigen band; “Reena Riot ” en ” Echo Beatty”. Zij werkten samen aan andere projecten en namen o.a.de soundtrack op voor de jeugdopera “It’s Frankenstein, stupid” met muziek van Kaat De Windt.
SONGS LYRICS
Feed them with hunger
Feed them with greed
Know it’s a stunner
Echoing cheat
Amazing Amazon
Will please you and tease you
Erase and delete
Up goes the money
Down to the beat
Everything looks sunny
At this side of the street
Beat them with hunger
beat them with greed
Know it’s a stunner
Echoing cheat
Amazing Amazon
Will cease you increase you
Default and defeat
Down go the wages
Up to the beat
Everything looks funny
At the heart of Wall Street
Lyrics : Elvis Peeters
Our only hunger is the food
If we obey Free Markets mood
It’s constant care is not to feed
But to make money of our greed
Our only hunger is the food
If we obey Free Markets mood
It’s constant care is not to feed
But to make money
Of what we eat
Lyrics: Elvis Peeters
One hand stirs the soup
The other bandages a scraped knee
The third holds the telephone
And the fourth turns up the volume
One the radio
To catch the news
We attended parlor meetings
After the children were fed and put to bed
After we had hung the loundry and washed the dishes
We had a large assembly at the Jerusalem hall
Everone applauded the beautiful speeches
And drove home
But we stayed on the dangerous roads
And went on having
More babies
Carefuly monitoring
High risk pregnancies
And tending husbands
With flue
One hand stirs the soup
The other bandages a scraped knee
The third holds the telephone
And the fourth turns up the volume
One the radio
To catch
New sounds
They say that man is mighty,
He governs land and sea,
He wields a mighty spectre,
O’er lesser powers that be,
But a mightier power and stronger,
Man from his throne has hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle,
Is the hand that rocks the world. –
Shame on us
Not to see us
Overwhelmed by too many papers
Not to see them
Without
No man’s land
In a so called free land
If their only way out
Is to conquer hearts
Of welfared women
How do you think their perception
Of love
Is molded
Again and again
Obliged to lie
Not able to greet
Their dying mothers
Finding seeds
On our way back
Home
Those seeds that once were
Promising and bright
As light opening wide
As a baby scent so sweet
Sand and seeds
On our way back
From home
Wish you were there
By my side
My child
Your eyes that once looked
Promising and bright
As light opening wide
Growing seeds
Promising and bright
As light opening wide
Trough a small slit
Of those prisondoors
As raindrops
In springtime