Ruben Machtelinckx
Member of: Poor Isa
dissolution of the other
Tip! Banjo and woodblocks are the scarce ingredients of Poor Isa's second album, ‘dissolution of the other’. The instruments can be used not only in their usual form, but in alternative tunings, with preparations and additional attributes. This creates an otherworldly vacuum, rich in silence and shadow, with sounds that seem equally familiar as mystical. The music is broken up from its classical form and sounds like an instrumental eld recording or a musical ceremony. In contrast to the rst al…
A Short Story
For almost ten years, Ruben Machtelinckx has followed an extraordinary path in Belgian and European improvised music. As a guitarist, but equally as a composer. It began in 2013, when the quartet Machtelinckx/Badenhorst/Jensson/Wouters released their debut, ‘Faerge’. The album was praised by international press and was listed ‘Best Belgian jazz release’ by Knack magazine. In 2020 he won the Klara Award for Best Belgian Jazz release for his latest record: Porous Structures (Aspen 009). In between…
Shapes
** 2021 Stock ** Karl Van Deun has been active as a musician/composer since the late 80's. He has been involved in a.o. jazz, folk, rock, blues, and contemporary music. As a professional musician he was especially active in the late 80's and early 90's and played with musicians like Mal Waldron, Philip Catherine, Erwin Vann, Pierre Van Dormael, Michel Hatzigeorgiou, Kurt Van Herck, Dré Pallemaerts and many others... Because of hearing problems (hyper-acusis) Karl had to take a step back as a per…
Flock
** 2021 Stock ** The music is played by guitarists Ruben Machtelinckx and Hilmar Jensson, Joachim Badenhorst on reeds and Nathan Wouters on double bass. These atypical occupation produces a distinctive and soothing sound. Strong melodies and earthy progressions form the basis of the compositions that often have a melancholic undertone. The music consists of atmospheric, warm, poetic sounds, and allows the individuality of each musician to come forward. The emphasis is on the sound texture and ho…
Porous Structures
**250 copies** Ruben Machtelinckx has a new quartet. It is not a coincidence that the guitar is central, in particular the steel-string with its typical western sound. 2019 was a fruitful year for Ruben Machtelinckx (BE). This project is the last part of a triptych: in the spring Poor Isa, his duo with Frederik Leroux, released its debut album; in the summer he came out with the cassette Sualme with field recordings, improvisations and compositions; the winter appears to be the proper season for…
Let's Drink the Sea and Dance
Aspen Edities introduces a new duo project by guitar brothers Frederik Leroux and Ruben Machtelinckx in which banjo and woodblocks share the main part. The duo has already collaborated in the past (... Aspen 007, When The Shade Is Stretched, one of our favourite picks of 2018...) and this time they came up with a new name to officially baptize their project, Poor Isa. It looks like the latest Aspen Edities releases share an inspiration for the deep blue and Let's Drink the Sea and Dance makes no…
When The Shade Is Stretched
A split album is a marriage of autonomous partners. On each side of the vinyl, one artist presents a limited selection of music. Both sides relate to each other, but they do not intertwine. On Aspen’s first split, guitar brothers Ruben Machtelinckx and Frederik Leroux each contribute twenty minutes of solo performance. Both Machtelinckx and Leroux make use of the oating sounds of the banjo, but in a quite distinct way. While the former presents a determined and solid selection of music, the latt…