Airboxes – Confluence (Trad Records, 2024)
Airboxes is the name of a Belgian folk duo that specializes in innovative squeeze box music. Composers Guus Herremans and Bert Leemans play evocative, virtuosic, melodic, danceable, cinematic and highly engaging contemporary folk music that is deeply grounded in traditional music. They do so with chromatic and diatonic accordion. Often, it just the two of them, but also regularly with musical guests.
On their second album, Confluence, the guests are Jeroen Gheerinck on electric guitar and flügelhorn, Ward Dhoore on acoustic guitar and Ludo Stichelmeyer on percussion. Notably, the album was also recorded, mixed and mastered by Geerinck, while Dhoore provided the cover artwork. What a nice collaboration!
So if you look at the front of the cover, a peaceful coastal landscape, you know roughly what kind of music to expect. The water is still, it is quiet, the weather is pleasant, no clouds. It is sunset and seemingly a perfect time to make joyful music together.
Bert Leemans plays chromatic accordion, accordina, hybrid bandoneon. Meanwhile, Guus Herremans uses diatonic accordion, piano and electric bass.
Buy Confluence.
Author: Sonia Keller
