Karl Van Deun, Ruben Machtelinckx

 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 performing musician but kept composing until today. He is also active as a teacher at The Royal Conservatory of Antwerp where he met Ruben Machtelinckx. 'Shapes' is the second album of this remarkable duo. The music sounds even more distilled than the 1st album. With only acoustic guitars they managed to create a very personal approach on how to play and improvise within this music. Most of the compositions were written by Karl, somewhere between 1990 and 2016. The pieces were recently arranged by Ruben and Karl. This new album gives a clear view of the different influences in Karl's compositions. From abstract pieces influenced by classical harmony to bluesy and folky songs to more classical sounding compositions, always with his typical approach. The music often sounds simple and playful but always has a certain complexity hidden inside.

Ruben Machtelinckx is a young guitarist/composer from Belgium who is building a reputation for himself in the Belgian and European jazz and improvisation scene. He released 2 acclaimed albums (Faerge/Flock) with his quartet with Hilmar Jensson, Joachim Badenhorst and Nathan Wouters. Faerge was awarded "best Belgian jazz release" in 2013. He is also a member of Linus, a duo that regularly invites guest musicians to work with. Their latest album with ECM violinist Nils Økland and Nils Van Heertum was praised by the international press.