Music & Graphic Design
Brouwersgracht 238F
1013 HE AMSTERDAM
M: son@sonjavanhamel.nl
T: +31 (0)6 107 44923
BOOKINGS AT:
FRIENDLY FIRE
& VIVESCO
SONJA VAN HAMEL
new album
“Transcendental Man”
released on October 17th 2011
Order here!
Sonja van Hamel is a singer, songwriter, illustrator, designer
-- an artist with many avenues of expression, all of which reflect her playful, adventurous spirit and contemporary design aesthetics.
Sonja graduated in 1999 from the Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy (Amsterdam). In the same year she formed the group Bauer together with Berend Dubbe (ex-Bettie Serveert). Her new album “Transcendental Man” produced by Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, R.E.M., Big Star) and JB Meijers (De Dijk, Solomon Burke) will be released on October 17th 2011 on Basta Music.
Sonja’s current musical presentation is a concept she calls “Draw Clips” -- the songs are illustrated by her own drawings that move and travel in time with the music, thanks to ingenious mechanical inventions by renowned photographer Eddo Hartmann. The result is a real time, live video accompanying Sonja’s live performance.
This week 2 radio shows:
Tonight (Jan 26) between 21-23 h in VPRO's De Avonden, from the Holland Dance festival in Korzo Theater in The Hague.
Saturday (Jan 28) between 16-18 h in TROS Muziekcafe in Hilversum.
Both shows are with an audience. So come see us play or tune in!
The Roman Empire - draw clip...
mentioned as of the most inventive videoclips of 2011 by MusicFrom.nl !!!
Also watch the Behind The Scenes On Stage video below.
Learn more about DRAW CLIPS HERE!
The Roman Empire - Behind the scenes on stage
Sonja van Hamel and band performing The Roman Empire “Draw Clip” at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam, 17 oct 2011 With Annie Tangberg, Ken Stringfellow, Mark van den Driest, Diets Dijkstra, Tini Thomsen en Juliane Gralle. The Pop-up book was flipped over and filmed live by Eddo Hartmann.
Also watch the original Draw Clip and more at VIDEO & DRAWINGS
Transcendental man (live at Bitterzoet)
CD release show at Bitterzoet, Amsterdam, on 17th of October 2011. With: Ken Stringfellow, Sonja van Hamel, Annie Tangberg, Diets Dijkstra en Mark van den Driest. Live Draw Clip visuals on the Zoetrope by Eddo Hartmann.
Have an Illuminated X-mas!
Een stem die klinkt alsof het altijd Kerstmis is
“Nu is hét moment om Sonja van Hamels plaat te kopen.” aldus Jan Vollaard op Twitter. Lees zijn recensie hieronder in het NRC Cultureel supplement van donderdag 22 december.
interview in german music magazine
Interview in German online Music Magazine GAESTELISTE (in german)
english version
395 draw clip on tv
Yesterday we played on Dutch TV show "De Wereld Draait Door" with 395 Draw Clip!
Review in OOR magazine
interview on UK web radio
Cool interview on Different Class radio, You and the Night and the Music with Adrian Arratoon! Interview with Sonja (at 1:12)
review & interview in lust for life
****review + interview in Revolver's LUST FOR LIFE magazine! (Click to enlarge)
more interviews & great reviews!
• Radio interview about my music and Draw Clips in KUNSTSTOF radio 1 (NTR)
• Interview 3voor12: Sonja van Hamel maakt papieren videoclips
• Review Krenten uit de Pop
• Belgium review DEMOFARM
• Read this very detailed and raving review by Cutting Edge (BE)
• **** review in VOLKSKRANT newspaper! (see below, click to enlarge)
• MusicFrom.nl review (see below, click to enlarge)
• MANIA review (see below, click to enlarge)
LISTEN TO THE SINGLE “395”
Here's the first single from my new album “Transcendental Man”
Watch a new DRAW CLIP and learn more about DRAW CLIPS HERE!
CD release SHOWS: 2 in 1 week!
Announcing the RELEASE of my new album TRANSCENDENTAL MAN on October 17th
produced by JB Meijers (De Dijk, Solomon Burke) and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, R.E.M., Big Star)
SONJA & BAND playing 2 SHOWS IN 1 WEEK:
Oct 19th: Duo CD release party with Dusty Stray (ft Ken Stringfellow) in BITTERZOET
Oct 22nd: Ken Stringfellow (solo) and Sonja van Hamel (band incl Ken Stringfellow) at DE NIEUWE ANITA
Both shows will be featuring: Annie Tangberg (cello), Mark van den Driest (drums), Diets Dijkstra (bass), Ken Stringfellow (guitar, guitaret, keys & vocals) & Sonja van Hamel (wurlitzer piano, guitaret, vocals)
Special guests: Vera van de Bie (violin) and Isabella Petersen (viola), Juliane Gralle (Bass Trombone & Tuba) and Katharina Thomsen (sax, clarinet).
Also performing DRAW CLIPS filmed by Eddo Hartmann!
produced by JB Meijers (De Dijk, Solomon Burke) and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, R.E.M., Big Star)
SONJA & BAND playing 2 SHOWS IN 1 WEEK:
Oct 19th: Duo CD release party with Dusty Stray (ft Ken Stringfellow) in BITTERZOET
Oct 22nd: Ken Stringfellow (solo) and Sonja van Hamel (band incl Ken Stringfellow) at DE NIEUWE ANITA
Both shows will be featuring: Annie Tangberg (cello), Mark van den Driest (drums), Diets Dijkstra (bass), Ken Stringfellow (guitar, guitaret, keys & vocals) & Sonja van Hamel (wurlitzer piano, guitaret, vocals)
Special guests: Vera van de Bie (violin) and Isabella Petersen (viola), Juliane Gralle (Bass Trombone & Tuba) and Katharina Thomsen (sax, clarinet).
Also performing DRAW CLIPS filmed by Eddo Hartmann!
show with ken stringfellow at de nieuwe anita
Show in shanghai, china
Last week (sept 5th) we played a show with Ken Stringfellow at Yu Yin Tang, Shanghai
CHINA tour with draw clips & Ken Stringfellow
We'll be performing Draw Clips in Beijing, CHINA on the International Book Fair for The Dutch foundation for Literature. Shows will be part of “Café Amsterdam” at UPPC: www.ucca.org.cn
More info here
Dates: 1-4 sept 2011 Showtime: 7 pm
I'll be taking some talented bandmembers: Ken Stringfellow (guitar, guitaret, vocals and melodica) Annie Tangberg (cello) and Eddo Hartmann (visuals).
And....two more clubs show in Beijing and Shanghai with Ken Stringfellow:
Aug 31st : Ken Stringfellow solo & Sonja van Hamel performing Draw Clips
at Yugong Yishan , Beijing
Sept 5th: Ken Stringfellow solo & Sonja van Hamel at Yu Yin Tang, Shanghai
Draw Clips
“Draw Clips” are: drawings and paintings I made, that represent lyrics and accomplish my songs in different sequences. All is filmed and projected LIVE on a screen while the band is playing. They come as a freeway (395), a book (Bizarro City), actors on a stage (Parallel Lives), scrolling by in a Meccano-machine (Freezing Time) or simply animated by a hand-made Zoetrope (A fast Fragmented Mind).
So songs and drawings are telling a story simultaneously, in music and images.
Here's a compilation of “Draw Clips” shows we played in the past for the Dutch Foundation of Literature in Madrid, Barcelona and Frankfurt, at the BALIE and at our all time favourite venue in Amsterdam: The Nieuwe Anita.
Take a look at the compilation and if you want MORE, scroll down for the individual clips below:
draw-clips compilation
Show in Beijing, china
Announcing Ken Stringfellow solo acoustic show & Sonja van Hamel (ft Ken Stringfellow) performing Draw-Clips. With Annie Tangberg on cello & Eddo Hartmann on visuals.
31 August 2011 at Yugong Yishan, Beijing, CHINA
Showtime: 9 pm
Look at this: http://www.mask9.com/node/33916 Wow!
freezing time
A new song called "Freezing Time" with images of a landscape reproduced by the Meccano machine, build by Eddo Hartmann
A fast fragmented mind
A new song called "A Fast Fragmented Mind" with images of the zootrope in the back
395- A long painting (1 x 12 meter) of a freeway, the 395 in CA, USA, was taped across the floor of the club. A cameraman (Marijn J.T. Scholte) walks through the audience and follows the images along the freeway representing the lyrics of the song. All was filmed live and projected on the screen behind the band during the show.
PARALLEL LIVES - A simple drawing of a room with two windows forms the stage for multiple drawings on transparent sheets. They come and go and interact, like actors on a stage, but also make the the room turn into different dimensions. Draw-clip was filmed live (by Odilo Girod) and projected during the show .
BIZARRO CITY - A large cardboard book with images about life in the big city. Pages were turned over (by Odilo Girod) live during the show and projected behind the band.
WHY DO PEOPLE TALK? - Drawings in a sketchbook were filmed live (by Odilo Girod) and projected behind the band. The audience travels through the story of the song, in drawings of landscapes and words.
395 was performed by Sonja & band at The Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam. The rest was performed by Sonja (wurlitzer, vocals), Annie Tangberg (cello) and Hanna Vink (backing vocals, melodica) in Madrid.
Draw-clips at the Pop Arts Festival
Sonja and her band will be performing Draw-clips at the Pop Arts Festival in Bellevue Theatre on the 18th and 19th of February. It will be a late night concert with live-animated videoclips: drawings on a cardboard book, a paper freeway, a Meccano machine producing a landscape, a Zoötrope and more. Sonja and Eddo are working on a new draw-clip for the song "Cosmic fear" that will have it's première on these nights. Don’t miss it!
Band: Annie Tangberg, Rik Hansen, Mark van den Driest, Susanne Linssen & Hanna Vink
Camera: Eddo Hartmann
Show start at 22:00
Tickets & info: popartsfestival.nl
het tekenlab
On Saturday the 6th of November (Museumnacht) we present a special show at The Nieuwe Anita: Het Tekenlab (The Drawing Laboratory).
Sonja and her band will be playing new and old songs accompanied by “Draw-clips” (Teken-clips). For these clips I made drawings in different sizes and sequences that are based on my songs. They are filmed and projected live during the show by Eddo Hartmann and Marijn RJ Scholte.
Eddo build an amazing Meccano-machine and a Zootrobe that will be reproducing drawings during the show!
The BABO TRIO will be opening the night with some delightfull strings. Especially for this night they wrote a new score on two of my favourite animations by Winsor Mc Cay (1921).
Hope to see you there!!!
Sonja
The 395 interstate at the Nieuwe Anita
Show at the Balie
On Wednesday the 10th of November we will play a show at the BALIE on an event about the Graphic Novel, called:
Was getekend... Een avond over de Graphic Novel.
We will play some songs with live projected Draw-clips.
Special guest: Susanne Linssen on violin.
Show starts at 20:00 at the BALIE, Amsterdam.
More info & tickets: www.debalie.nl
demonstrerende kunstenaar
Sonja & band in BARCELONA
We spend last weekend in Barcelona, playing a show for the Dutch Foundation for Literature. In between lectures of writers like Robbert Haasnoot and Bernlef, we played songs accompanied by live-filmed drawings I made for these shows (also see Drawings).
My bandmembers: Annie Tangberg (cello), Marit de Loos (vocals, banjo, melodica and drums/percussion) and Eddo Hartmann (camera).
Click on pics to enlarge.
Sonja & band in MADRID
Photo taken by my dear bandmember Annie Tangberg
Sonja & band in METROPOOL, HENGELO
An impression of me and my band at the last night of our mini-tour (may 22). Annie Tangberg (cello, banjo), Hanna Vink (vocals, banjo, melodica), Mark van den Driest (drums and percussion) and Gert-Jan Blom (bass).. and me on keyboards (wurlitzer piano 200A) and vocals.
Click on pics to enlarge.
Sonja on Vibes!
Niels Meliefste played some amazing vibraphone during our show at the Nieuwe Anita last friday. Here's me trying, at the rehearsal...
Sonja van Hamel & band Tourdates in MAY 2010
15 may - Burgerweeshuis, Deventer (support for Tim Knol)
17 may - CCCB, Madrid (acoustic show for Dutch Foundation of Literature)
21 may - De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam (with Duo Percucello) See flyer above!
22 may - Metropool, Hengelo (support for Tim Knol)
28 may - Circulo de Bellas Artes, Barcelona (acoustic show for Dutch Foundation of Literature)
SHOWS IN SPAIN
I was invited by The Dutch Foundation of Literature to play on the opening night at the Literature Festival in Barcelona and Madrid.
We are playing in acoustic set up with Annie Tangberg on cello, Hanna Vink on vocals, banjo and melodica and myself on keys and vocals. Hanna will be replaced by Marit de Loos (Scram C Baby, ex-Caesar) in Barcelona.
For these shows I made a serie of drawings and paintings that accompany the songs in images and words. This will be filmed and projected live in different sequences by Odilo Girod (in Mardrid) and Eddo Hartmann (in Barcelona).
The concept for these shows was created by Dick Tuinder and myself in October 2009 when we did a couple of shows in the Melkweg (Amsterdam) called WINTERLAND LIVE.
Dick Tuinder made some amazing paintings and combined those with clips from his multi-layered movie WINTERLAND (where I wrote the soundtrack for).
Watch the live-shows and trailer on You Tube.
Soon more about these shows!
