The Flat Earth Society (FES) is a Belgian big band ensemble founded and led by Peter Vermeersch. They mix the rich Belgian brass band (HaFaBra) tradition with characteristic topsy-turvy creativity.
Their earliest gig took place in 1997, when they performed a composition by Peter Vermeersch to accompany a circus act by De Circusplaneet during the Oorsmeer festival. They also performed on the song Porqué te Vas by A Group, Peter Vermeersch' avant-garde pop band.
Wider attention came thanks to the Flemish radio station Radio 1, where they performed on the show Levende Lijven. The entire gig was recorded and later released under the title Live at the Beursschouwburg 1999, containing compositions by Peter Vermeersch and covers of jazz numbers. Unfortunately the Viakra label that released this CD went bankrupt, preventing a wide distribution. This prompted Peter Vermeersch to found his own record company, Zonk!Records.
The year 2000 was a busy one, with a Belgian tour, a new appearance in the last broadcast of the Levende Lijven radio show, and the first release on Zonk!Records: Bonk. The track list contains new and old compositions by Vermeersch and other members of the big band, but ends with two covers of songs by The Residents. FES also played in the theatre play Larf by Josse De Pauw, the music of this performance being released the same year. Meanwhile Peter Vermeersch also composed the music for Minoes, a children's movie by Dutch film director Vincent Bal on a story by Annie M.G. Schmidt (released in 2001).
In 2002, the Flat Earth Society was the house band of the Brugge2002 festival, where they participated in the Benenwerk project, turning the centre of the city of Bruges into a large ballroom. Trap became the second regular studio recording, and in August the Flat Earth Society premiered their Louis Armstrong project The Armstrong Mutations at the last night of the free Brussels festival Boterhammen in de Stad. A tour and a CD release followed in 2003.
Meanwhile, Peter Vermeersch was also commissioned by Gerard Mortier to write a big band opera on the libretto Heliogabal by Thomas Jonigk, with stage directions by Roy Faudré. The opera premiered on May 8, 2003 in Duisburg during the Ruhr Triennale festival. In 2005, the opera toured Belgium in a new setting provided by Josse De Pauw.
In 2003 Peter had met with jazz composer and pianist Uri Caine, and the two decided to work together. Old compositions were re-orchestrated and new pieces were written. FES toured with Uri Caine in 2004.
International success was now assured, and FES was able to sign distribution deals with Ipecac, who released the compilation FESisms, and later with Crammed Discs who released Psychoscout in 2006[1] and Cheer Me, Perverts! in 2009.[2] In May 2011 they toured the US for the first time in their career. Starting in Tampa, they went from Washington and Philadelphia to New York, where they performed at the Lincoln Center and the Museum of the Moving Image.
^Jones, Nic (2006-10-22). "CD/LP/Review: Psychoscout". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
^Patterson, Ian (2009-12-06). "CD/LP/Review: Cheer Me, Perverts!". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
External linksedit
Official site
Spotify
February 12, 2024
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Flat Earth Society band news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Flat Earth Society FES is a Belgian big band ensemble founded and led by Peter Vermeersch They mix the rich Belgian brass band HaFaBra tradition with characteristic topsy turvy creativity Contents 1 Biography 2 Members update 2020 3 Discography 4 References 5 External linksBiography editTheir earliest gig took place in 1997 when they performed a composition by Peter Vermeersch to accompany a circus act by De Circusplaneet during the Oorsmeer festival They also performed on the song Porque te Vas by A Group Peter Vermeersch avant garde pop band Wider attention came thanks to the Flemish radio station Radio 1 where they performed on the show Levende Lijven The entire gig was recorded and later released under the title Live at the Beursschouwburg 1999 containing compositions by Peter Vermeersch and covers of jazz numbers Unfortunately the Viakra label that released this CD went bankrupt preventing a wide distribution This prompted Peter Vermeersch to found his own record company Zonk Records The year 2000 was a busy one with a Belgian tour a new appearance in the last broadcast of the Levende Lijven radio show and the first release on Zonk Records Bonk The track list contains new and old compositions by Vermeersch and other members of the big band but ends with two covers of songs by The Residents FES also played in the theatre play Larf by Josse De Pauw the music of this performance being released the same year Meanwhile Peter Vermeersch also composed the music for Minoes a children s movie by Dutch film director Vincent Bal on a story by Annie M G Schmidt released in 2001 In 2002 the Flat Earth Society was the house band of the Brugge2002 festival where they participated in the Benenwerk project turning the centre of the city of Bruges into a large ballroom Trap became the second regular studio recording and in August the Flat Earth Society premiered their Louis Armstrong project The Armstrong Mutations at the last night of the free Brussels festival Boterhammen in de Stad A tour and a CD release followed in 2003 Meanwhile Peter Vermeersch was also commissioned by Gerard Mortier to write a big band opera on the libretto Heliogabal by Thomas Jonigk with stage directions by Roy Faudre The opera premiered on May 8 2003 in Duisburg during the Ruhr Triennale festival In 2005 the opera toured Belgium in a new setting provided by Josse De Pauw In 2003 Peter had met with jazz composer and pianist Uri Caine and the two decided to work together Old compositions were re orchestrated and new pieces were written FES toured with Uri Caine in 2004 International success was now assured and FES was able to sign distribution deals with Ipecac who released the compilation FESisms and later with Crammed Discs who released Psychoscout in 2006 1 and Cheer Me Perverts in 2009 2 In May 2011 they toured the US for the first time in their career Starting in Tampa they went from Washington and Philadelphia to New York where they performed at the Lincoln Center and the Museum of the Moving Image Members update 2020 editBenjamin Boutreur alt saxophone Peter Delannoye trombone Berlinde Deman tuba Pauline Leblond trumpet Frederik Leroux guitar Bart Maris trumpet Michel Mast tenor saxophone Marc Meeuwissen trombone Marti Melia Marganon clarinette Kristof Roseeuw double bass Wim Segers vibraphone Peter Vandenberghe keyboards Bruno Vansina baritone sax Teun Verbruggen percussion Peter Vermeersch clarinet Guests Esther Lybeert vocals Ernst Reijseger cello John Watts Jimi Tenor Uri CaineEx members David Bovee guitar Jan De Backer trombone Leonaar De Graeve tuba Anja Kowalski vocals keyboards Pieter Lamotte bass trombone Eric Morel sax Roel Poriau percussion Danny Van Hoeck percussion Stefaan Blancke trombone Pierre Vervloesem guitar Wim Willaert accordion Tom Wouters clarinet percussion Luc Van Lieshout trumpet Thomas Mayade trumpet Discography editLive at the Beursschouwburg 1999 1999 Bonk 2000 Larf 2001 Minoes 2002 Trap 2002 The Armstrong Mutations 2003 ISMS 2005 Psychoscout 2006 The Oyster Princess 2006 Cheer me Perverts 2009 Answer Songs 2009 13 2013 Call sheets Riders amp Chicken Mushroom 2014 Boot en Berg 2014 FES XL S 2014 Terms of Embarrassment 2016 SS De Belgenland 2016 Boggamasta 2017 Untitled 0 2018 References edit Jones Nic 2006 10 22 CD LP Review Psychoscout All About Jazz Retrieved 2010 08 24 Patterson Ian 2009 12 06 CD LP Review Cheer Me Perverts All About Jazz Retrieved 2010 08 24 External links editOfficial site Spotify Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Flat Earth Society band amp oldid 1155635027, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
