Dutch harpist Remy van Kesteren loves a challenge. On his new album Muses, he offers ten radically reinvented interpretations of tracks by his musical heroes. His taste is pretty eclectic, so it makes sense that songs by Radiohead, Muse and Aphex Twin find themselves next to Sibelius and Bon Iver. Van Kesteren leaves the main melody intact most of the time, but he allows himself a lot of leeway when it comes to textures. Play a Kendrick Lamarr fan his version of crown, and chances are that it won't be recognized.
Radical rearranging, stacking loops and pushing himself to come up with something special make Muses a covers album that could be mistaken for a collection of originals by the uninitiated. Van Kesteren is single-handedly dragging his harp into the spotlight as an adventurous lead instrument that does not deserve to pigeonholed as solely a soft-spoken tool for incurable romantics.
Muses is released via Snowstar Records (vinyl, CD, digital).
Tracks:- dawn chorus
- daydreaming
- avril 14th
- alberto balsalm
- perth
- crown
- gnossienne no. 3
- isolated system
- small memory
- largo (sonatina in f sharp minor, op. 67/1: II. largo)
- 09/19 Konzerthaus, Berlin, Germany
- 10/04 De Roma, Borgerhout, Belgium
- 10/05 Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
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