Liesa Van der Aa

wednesday 11 july 2012

Gent Jazz Festival (Podium)

Liesa Van der Aa (vocals, violin, loops), Ephraïm Cielen (bass, drumms, guitar, backing vocals), Pieter-Jan de Smet (guitare, drumms, backing vocals), Arne Leurentop (gitare, percussion, backing vocals)

Liesa Van der Aa took everyone by surprise this spring with her original debut, ‘Troops’. She processes her own compositions with nothing more than a violin, vocals and loop stations and succeeds in weaving a world of sound that is entirely her own. She veers between the avant-garde, moody soundscapes and rock music thanks to the combination of classical training and her urge to experiment.

Her debut, ‘Troops’ was produced by Boris Wilsdorf, the favourite technician of Einstürzende Neubauten. Liesa asked ten artists to create a video clip to her tracks and thus was able to add a complete and unique visual aspect to her album.

Liesa Van der Aa was five years old when she first played the violin. For years Bach and Mozart were her trusty companions. Over time, however, twentieth-century colleagues such as The Velvet Underground, Prince and Chet Baker joined them. Liesa is also an actress with the Antwerp-based Toneelhuis and currently is working on an opera, which is expected to premiere next year. She also played with Het Zesde Metaal and had her own band, called Louisa’s Daughter.

Focus Knack described the CD presentation of her debut album as follows: “The audience’s response was quite clear: they reacted to a unique, original artist who is not afraid of taking risks and who eschews the beaten path. Because even though she has a warm, clear voice and essentially writes accessible pop songs, she adds little barbs to her music by experimenting unrestrainedly with her own songs. This may perhaps stand in the way of a quick success but at the same time, this does lend extra depth. In short: a strong performance. The Belgian scene yet again has become more adventurous and colourful thanks to Van der Aa.”

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