The Electrumpet is a hyper instrument designed by Hans Leeuw in 2008. Expression in electronic music is and has always been an issue and subject to both artistic and scientific debate. Hans Leeuw approaches this from a blend between the acoustic and digital handling of sound in such a way that the two are really integrated. Not only is all the sound coming originally from the trumpet but also the design of the handling and mapping of the sensors on the instrument are aimed at a true integration and not just an addition of some buttons and sliders.
Opening June 9 2015, 7:00 pm
#602 596 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
The instruments original and most important purpose is to play in cooperative contexts. The instrument is used in Hans Leeuw’s own big band Tetzepi but also in diverse more loose contexts within the Amsterdam Jazz scene or in his duo with Diemo Schwarz from IRCAM. Many appearances in combined talks and demonstration contexts (e.g. radio interviews, electric spring festival, IRCAM forum, divers academic invitations) made the step to a solo program logical though. This solo program is now developed on a grand from the Dutch cultural ministry.
In his composition work Hans Leeuw combines a very diverse (musical) background. In the pieces and patches you can hear Jazz influences, world music, micro tonality, Psychoacoustics. In the review from the Dutch cultural committee it states: “The Jury is especially positive about the professional quality of the works”. Although Hans works very meticulously that does not mean that his pieces are rigid. Improvisation is an important aspect of his work. The ability to tell a story on the instrument is always more important then instrumental or compositional craftsmanship but the latter should not be ignored.